Simeulue language

The Simeulue language is spoken by the Devayan people of Simeulue off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia.[1][2]

Simeulue
Long Bano
Native to	Indonesia
Region	Simeulue, Aceh, Sumatra
Ethnicity	Simeulue people
Native speakers	(undated figure of 30,000)[1]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Northwest Sumatra–Barrier Islands Simeulue
Language codes
ISO 639-3	smr
Glottolog	sime1241

Names

Simeulue is also called Mae o, which literally means 'Where are you going?'. Ethnologue also lists Long Bano, Simalur, Simeuloë, and Simulul as alternate names.

Varieties

Simeulue is spoken in 5 of 8 subdistricts (kecamatan) of Simeulue Regency. It includes 2 dialects.[3]

• Defayan: spoken in the 4 eastern subdistricts of Teupah Selatan, Simeulue Timur, Teupah Barat, and Teluk Dalam
• Simolol (prestige dialect): spoken around Kampung Aie, Simeulue Tengah

Simeulue is also spoken on Babi Island and the Banyak Islands.

Sikule, related to Nias, is spoken in Alafan on the western end of Simeulue, while Jamu (also called Kamano), related to Minangkabau, is spoken in the capital city of Sinabang.

See also

• Simeulue people
• Sikule language

References

1. Simeulue at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
2. "Tsunami 1907: Early Interpretation and its Development" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26.
3. "Simeulue" (PDF), asiaharvest.org

Further reading

• A Survey on the status of the local languages of Pulau Simeulue and Pulau Banyak and their use within the community
• A Study on Comparison between the dialects of West Simeulue and Middle Simeulue