Enggano is a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by about 700 people on Enggano Island in North Bengulu Regency of Bengkulu Province to the southwest of Sumatra in the west of Indonesia. In particular, Enggano speakers can be found in villages of Meok, Apoho, Malakoni, Kaana, Khayapu and Banjarsari on the north coast of Enggano. In the former three villages, Enggano is the main language, while in the latter three villages, there are migrants from other parts of Indonesia who speak other languages, and use of Enggano is declining, especially among younger people.
Enggano is also known as Engganese. There is some controversy about its classification: some believe it belongs to the Austronesian language family, while others classify it as a language isolate with many words borrowed from Austronesian languages.
Enggano was first documented in the mid-19th century by the Dutch, who compiled word lists and some texts. Hans Kähler (1921-1983), a linguist at the University of Hamburg, published a grammar of the language in 1940, and a collection of texts in 1975, and a dictionary written by him was published in 1987. In each of his publications, he used different spelling systems. Others have worked on the language since
There is as yet no standard way to write Enggano. The alphabet shown below is proposed in Challenges in Enggano Orthography Development by Hemmings C., et al. 2023.
Download an alphabet chart for Enggano (Excel)
Information about Enggano
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enggano_language
https://www.lddjournal.org/article/id/1009/
https://jmb.lipi.go.id/jmb/article/view/1849
https://ugm.ac.id/en/news/enggano-language-on-the-brink-of-extinction/
https://www.research.ox.ac.uk/map/enggano-in-the-austronesian-family-historical-and-typological-perspectives
Alorese, Ambai, Ambel, Anuki, Balinese, Bambam, Batuley, Biak, Bima, Bugis, Chamorro, Duri, Enggano, Fijian, Fordata, Gayo, Iban, Javanese, Kei, Komering, Lamaholot, Lampung, Ledo Kaili, Madurese, Makasarese, Mamasa, Mandar, Mandar, Mbula, Mentawai, Mualang, Musi, Ngaju, Nias, Ogan, Palauan, Sasak, Selaru, Sumbawa, Sundanese, Toqabaqita, Toraja-Sa'dan, Ulumandaʼ, Wamesa, Yamdena
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page created: 09.01.25. Last modified: 09.01.25
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