Hata Simalungun
Simalungun Batak
Austronesian
Simalungun Batak (autonymously Hata Simalungun) is a Batak language of the Austronesian family, spoken by around 1.2 million people in the Simalungun Regency of North Sumatra, Indonesia, primarily around the city of Pematangsiantar. The Simalungun Batak are one of the six main Batak subgroups (alongside Toba, Karo, Pakpak, Mandailing, and Angkola), with distinct cultural traditions including the Simalungun royal court tradition and the Simalungun horja cultural festival. Linguistically, Simalungun is part of the Batak cluster within Sumatran Austronesian, with shared phonological features (vowel harmony, consonant clusters) but distinct lexicon from the more famous Toba Batak (bbc). The Simalungun community has maintained their language despite significant Indonesian assimilation pressure in the urban Pematangsiantar metropolitan area.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Simalungun Batak
Water
bah
/bah/
Fire
apuy
/apuj/
Sun
mata ni ari
/mata ni ari/
Moon
bulan
/bulan/
Star
bintang
/bintaŋ/
Mother
inang
/inaŋ/
Father
bapa
/bapa/
I
ahu
/ahu/
You
ho
/ho/
Name
goran
/goran/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hand
tangan
/taŋan/
Heart
uhur
/uhur/
Love
holong
/holoŋ/
Tree
hayu
/haju/
House
rumah
/rumah/
Dog
baliang
/baliaŋ/
Cat
huting
/hutiŋ/
Eat
mangan
/maŋan/
Drink
minum
/minum/
One
sada
/sada/
Two
dua
/dua/
Hello
horas
/horas/
Thank you
diatebei
/diatebei/
Good
dear
/dear/
Computer
komputer
/komˈputər/
Sushi
sushi
/ˈsuʃi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian languages
| Meaning | Simalungun Batak | Toba Batak | Batak Angkola | Musi | Banjar | Old Malay | Gayo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | bah /bah/ | aek /aek/ | aek /aek/ | ayek /ajek/ | banyu /baɲu/ | ayar /ajar/ | weih /weih/ |
| Fire | apuy /apuj/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | rara /ɾaɾa/ |
| Sun | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matari /matari/ | matanlo /matanlo/ |
| Moon | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | ulen /ulən/ |
| Star | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ | bintang /bintaŋ/ |
| Mother | inang /inaŋ/ | ina /ina/ | inang /inaŋ/ | mak /mak/ | uma /uma/ | ibu /ibu/ | ine /ine/ |
| Father | bapa /bapa/ | ama /ama/ | amang /amaŋ/ | bapak /bapak/ | abah /abah/ | bapa /bapa/ | ama /ama/ |
| I | ahu /ahu/ | au /au/ | au /au/ | aku /aku/ | aku /aku/ | aku /aku/ | aku /aku/ |
| You | ho /ho/ | ho /ho/ | ho /ho/ | kau /kau/ | ikam /ikam/ | kamu /kamu/ | ko /ko/ |
| Name | goran /goran/ | goar /goar/ | goar /goar/ | namo /namo/ | ngaran /ŋaran/ | ngaran /ŋaran/ | gerel /gərəl/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mato /mato/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hand | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | pumu /pumu/ |
| Heart | uhur /uhur/ | roha /roha/ | roha /roha/ | hati /hati/ | ati /ati/ | hati /hati/ | ate /ate/ |
| Love | holong /holoŋ/ | holong /holoŋ/ | holong /holoŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | kunyung /kuɲuŋ/ |
| Tree | hayu /haju/ | hau /hau/ | hayu /haju/ | kayu /kaju/ | batang /bataŋ/ | kayu /kaju/ | kayu /kaju/ |
| House | rumah /rumah/ | jabu /dʒabu/ | bagas /baɡas/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | umah /umah/ |
| Dog | baliang /baliaŋ/ | biang /biaŋ/ | asu /asu/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | asu /asu/ |
| Cat | huting /hutiŋ/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | pusa /pusa/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ |
| Eat | mangan /maŋan/ | mangan /maŋan/ | mangan /maŋan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | mangan /maŋan/ |
| Drink | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | nginum /ŋinum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ |
| One | sada /sada/ | sada /sada/ | sada /sada/ | siko /siko/ | asa /asa/ | sa /sa/ | sara /saɾa/ |
| Two | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | duo /duo/ | dua /dua/ | dua /dua/ | roa /roa/ |
| Hello | horas /horas/ | horas /horas/ | horas /horas/ | halo /halo/ | salam /salam/ | — /—/ | salam /salam/ |
| Thank you | diatebei /diatebei/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | terimo kasih /terimo kasih/ | tarima kasih /tarima kasih/ | — /—/ | berejen /bərədʒən/ |
| Good | dear /dear/ | denggan /deŋɡan/ | denggan /deŋɡan/ | bagus /baɡus/ | bagus /baɡus/ | baik /baik/ | jeroh /dʒeɾoh/ |
| Computer | komputer /komˈputər/ | komputer /komˈputər/ | komputer /komˈputər/ | komputer /komˈputər/ | komputer /komˈputər/ | — | komputer /komˈputər/ |
| Sushi | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | pekasam /pəkasam/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ |
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