A survey of the status of the local languages of Pulau Simeulue and Pulau Banyak and their use within the community

Abstract

Within Aceh, the languages of Pulau Simeulue and Pulau Banyak are very different to those spoken elsewhere in the province. These languages appear to be the most endangered with relatively low numbers of speakers. This project investigates the status of the languages spoken in Pulau Simeulue and Pulau Banyak, Aceh Indonesia, and their use in the community. In addition to observation in the field, questionnaires were distributed to native speakers of Devayan, Sigulai, and Leukon in Pulau Simeulue, and Haloban in Pulau Banyak. The results of this study show that Devayan has the most speakers (possibly 30,000 or more), whilst Sigulai has somewhat less (perhaps 20,000).Leukon is spoken only in two villages (Lafakha with 687 inhabitants and Langi with a similar number), though language loyalty appears to be particularly strong amongst Sigulai and Leukon speakers. Haloban is spoken in villages on the largest island located in the more remote Kecamatan of Pulau Banyak Barat. Haloban speakers reside in two adjoining villages, Haloban and Asantola. Haloban is in a considerably weakened position.