The Simeulue language is spoken by the Simeulue people of

Simeulue Simeulue is an island of Indonesia, off the west coast of Sumatra. It covers an area of 1754 square kilometres (677 square miles), including minor offshore islands. It had a population of 80,674 at the 2010 census and 92,865 at the 2020 censu ...

off the western coast of Sumatra,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Names

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

Varieties

Simeulue is spoken in five of eight subdistricts (''kecamatan'') of Simeulue Regency. It includes two dialects. * Defayan: spoken in the four eastern subdistricts of Teupah Selatan,

Simeulue Timur Simeulue Timur (East Simeulue) is a district of the Simeulue Regency on Simeulue island in the Indonesian province of Aceh. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 28,931 people, living in 4,334 households in 2005. In 2020, after being ...

, Teupah Barat, and Teluk Dalam * Simolol (prestige dialect): spoken around Kampung Aie and Simeulue Tengah * Leukon: spoken in two villages in Alafan, namely Langi and Lafakha. * Haloban: spoken in two villages in

Banyak Islands The Banyak Islands (sometimes spelled Banjak Islands) are a group of inhabited islands located between Simeulue and Nias off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia's Aceh Province. Surveys of the area approximate around 71 islands and addit ...

, namely Haloban and Asantola. Sikule, related to

Nias Nias ( id, Pulau Nias, Nias language: ''Tanö Niha'') (sometimes called Little Sumatra in English) is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago () of which the island is the centre ...

, is spoken in Salang,

Alafan Alafan is a district of the Simeulue Regency on Simeulue in the Indonesian province of Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the ...

and

Simeulue Barat Simeulue Barat is a district of the Simeulue Regency on Simeulue in the Indonesian province of Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is locate ...

in northern Simeulue, while Jamu (also called ''Kamano''), related to

Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see belo ...

, is spoken in the capital city of

Sinabang Sinabang is a town on the east coast of Simeulue Island, which lies off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Sinabang is the administrative seat (capital) of the Simeulue Regency, in Aceh Province of Indonesia and has a population of approx ...

and has become the lingua franca of the island.

Names

Varieties

See also

References

Further reading