Tae is a language spoken in Tana Luwu (Land of Luwu). It is an
Austronesian language of
Sulawesi,
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 ...
, and one of the languages of the ten tribes that inhabit Tana Luwu, South Sulawesi. The Tae language is used by most of the inhabitants of the three regencies of Tana Luwu (
Luwu Regency
Luwu Regency (Kabupaten Luwu in Indonesian) is a regency of South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The administrative capital now lies at Belopa, since the former capital ( Palopo) became an independent municipality (city) in 2006, at which date ...
,
North Luwu Regency and
East Luwu Regency), and the city of
Palopo. ''Tae'' is part of the
South Sulawesi
South Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Selatan) is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sul ...
group of languages. It is closely related to
Toraja
The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is ...
, and more distantly to
Mandar, Massenrempulu, and
Mamuju. Tae is used as a
lingua franca from south of the border with Buriko Kabupatan Wajo to Malili East Luwu regency, as well as in Tana Toraja and Massenrempulu.
Since Islam as the official religion in official United Luwu, Luwu Government has made
Buginese the language of introduction and Tae is the language in everyday situations.
References
Languages of Sulawesi
South Sulawesi languages
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