Banjar

A language of Indonesia

Bandjarese, Banjar Malay, Banjarese, Labuhan

بنجر‎ (Banjar)

3,650,000 in Indonesia (2015 UNSD), increasing. Total users in all countries: 3,655,000.

Central Kalimantan province: Palangkaraya, Pangkalanbun, and Sampit; East Kalimantan province: Kutai, Pasir, and Pulau Laut coastal regions, north toward Samarinda city and Mahakan delta; South Kalimantan province: Banjarmasin area; West Kalimantan province: some in coastal Matua; Kalimantan south and southeastern coasts, Java Sea and Makassar Strait.

Language Maps

Indonesia, Kalimantan

Language Status

3 (Wider communication). Banjar became a LWC through trade. LWC in the market, in business, and in media. Banjar, already dominant in South Kalimantan Province, is also growing rapidly in Central and Eastern Kalimantan provinces.

Classification

Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Malayo-Chamic, Malayic, Malay

Dialects

Kuala, Hulu. Lexically influenced by Javanese [jav]. Lexical similarity: 73% with Indonesian [ind], 66% with Tamuan (Malayic Dayak) [xdy], 45% with Bakumpai [bkr], 35% with Ngaju [nij]. A member of macrolanguage Malay [msa].

Language Use

Vigorous. Also use Indonesian [ind].

Language Development

Taught as subject in some primary schools. Newspapers. TV. Dictionary. Bible portions: 2019.

Language Resources

OLAC resources in and about Banjar

Writing

Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab].

Other Comments

Muslim.