The Tutong language, also known as ''Basa Tutong'', is a language spoken by approximately 17,000 people in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

. It is the main language of the

Tutong people The Tutong people are an ethnic group indigenous peoples of Brunei, native to Brunei, mainly in Tutong District. They traditionally speak the Tutong language. They are officially recognised as one of the seven ethnic groups of the Bruneian Mala ...

, the majority ethnic group in the Tutong District of Brunei.

Classification

Tutong is an Austronesian language and belongs to the Rejang–Baram group of languages spoken in Brunei as well as

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

, Indonesia, and

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

, Malaysia. Tutong is related to the Belait language and roughly 54% of the words come from a common root.

Language use

Today, many speakers of Tutong are shifting away from the traditional language and code-mix or code-shift with Brunei Malay, Standard Malay and English. The language has been given a vitality rating of 2.5 based on a scale of 0–6 that uses the measures of the rate of transmission to future generations, the level of official support, and the geographical concentration of speakers. This means it is considered

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

. Nonetheless, there is interest in revitalising the language. Since 2012, a module has been taught in Tutong at

Universiti Brunei Darussalam Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD; Jawi: ) is a national research university located in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. It was established in 1985 and has since become the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curric ...

. Similarly, the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Brunei's language agency) published a Tutong–Malay, Malay–Tutong dictionary in 1991 and a word list of several Brunei languages in 2011.

References

Resources

* * {{Languages of Brunei Languages of Brunei Berawan–Lower Baram languages