Rejang language

Rejang is an Austronesian language predominantly spoken by the Rejang people in southwestern parts of Sumatra, Indonesia. There are five dialects, spread from mountainous region to the coastal region of Bengkulu, including the Musi dialect, the Lebong dialect, the Kebanagung dialect, the Rawas dialect, and the Pesisir dialect.

Classification

Rejang is not obviously close to other Malayo-Polynesian languages in Sumatra. McGinn classified it among the Bidayuh languages of Borneo, closest to Bukar–Sadong. According to the source, these languages shared raising of *a to *ə word-finally, or in final syllables except those ending in velar consonants *k, *ŋ. It may be that it is related to the newly described language Nasal, but that is speculative at this point. Robert Blust and Alexander Smith classified Rejang as part of Greater North Borneo languages.

Dialects

Rejang has five different dialects. Speakers of each dialects are able to communicate with one another, in spite of lexical and phonological differences. The four dialects of Rejang language are Curup, Lebong, Kepahiang, and Utara. Among all dialects, Awes dialect is the hardest for the speakers of other dialects.

Writing system

Rejang was written with the Rejang script for a long time. The script is thought to predate the introduction of Islam to the area in the 12th century CE, although the earliest attested document has been dated to the mid-18th century. It is traditionally written on bamboo, buffalo horn, bark or copper plates. It was only recently that the Latin alphabet was introduced as a way of writing the language.

Phonology

Consonants

A trill is also present, but only in loanwords.

Vowels

Vocabulary

Astronomical terms

Gender

Colour

Pronouns

Numbers

Days of the week

Prepositions

Place

Basic elements

Sample text

The following is a sample text in Rejang, of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights :
Gloss :
Translation :