Acehnese language

Acehnese
Achinese
Bahsa/Basa Acèh
بهسا اچيه
Bahsa/Basa Acèh written in Jawi script (Jawoë)
Pronunciation[bahsa at͡ʃɛh]
Native toIndonesia
Malaysia
RegionAceh, Sumatra
Kedah
Ethnicity3.37 million Acehnese (2010 census)
Native speakers
2.8 million (2010 census)
DialectsAcehnese dialects
Latin script (Acehnese alphabet)
Jawi script (Jawoe)
Official status
Official language in
Indonesia
Regulated byBadan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa (in Indonesia)
Language codes
ISO 639-2ace
ISO 639-3ace
Glottologachi1257
  Areas where Acehnese is a majority
  Areas where Acehnese is a significant minority

Acehnese (/ˌɑːtʃəˈnz/ AH-chə-NEEZ; Bahsa/Basa Acèh; Jawoe: بهسا اچيه, IPA: [bahsa at͡ʃɛh]), also written as Achinese, is an Austronesian language of the Chamic branch natively spoken by the Acehnese people in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia. This language is also spoken by Acehnese descendants in some parts of Malaysia like in Yan District, Kedah. Acehnese is used as the co-official language in the province of Aceh, alongside Indonesian.

Being part of the Chamic languages group, Acehnese is the only Austronesian language of the Chamic branch spoken in Indonesia, its closest relatives are the other Chamic languages, which are principally spoken in Vietnam and Cambodia.