The Manggarai language (, ) is the language of the

Manggarai people The Manggarai are an ethnic group found in western Flores in the East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. Manggarai people are spread across three regencies in the province, namely the West Manggarai Regency, Manggarai Regency, and East Manggara ...

from the western parts of the island of

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

, in

East Nusa Tenggara East Nusa Tenggara (; ) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the north, with a total land area of 47,238.07 km2. It cons ...

Province,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Background

Manggarai is the native language of the

island in

province, Indonesia. Based on statistical data reported by the

Central Agency on Statistics Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

( BPS) in 2009, it is the native language of more than 730,000 people in the province of

, Indonesia. Outside Flores, there was once a small minority of Manggarai-speaking people in the village of Manggarai located in the eastern part of Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Formerly a neighbourhood in the capital with a large concentration of transmigrant workers from the Greater Manggarai region of

Nusa Tenggara Timur East Nusa Tenggara (; ) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the north, with a total land area of 47,238.07 km2. It cons ...

, the neighbourhood's populace today from the said area has been decreasing (due to factors such as return to their ancestral village, intermarriage with different ethnic groups, etc.) for it is now populated by the majority native Betawi ethnic group. The Manggarai language is part of the Austronesian family, and is therefore related to Indonesian and other Malay varieties. Most speakers of Manggarai also speak Indonesian for official and commercial purposes and to communicate with non-Manggarai Indonesians (including citizens of the same province from different diverse ethnic groups). Riung is often considered a dialect of Maranggai or a separate language.

Background

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Citations

References