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
20 core words in Simalungun Batak
Water
bah
/bah/
Fire
apuy
/apuj/
Sun
mata ni ari
/mata ni ari/
Moon
bulan
/bulan/
Mother
inang
/inaŋ/
Father
bapa
/bapa/
Eat
mangan
/maŋan/
Drink
minum
/minum/
Love
holong
/holoŋ/
Heart
uhur
/uhur/
Tree
hayu
/haju/
House
rumah
/rumah/
Dog
baliang
/baliaŋ/
Cat
huting
/hutiŋ/
Hand
tangan
/taŋan/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hello
horas
/horas/
Thank you
diatebei
/diatebei/
One
sada
/sada/
Good
dear
/dear/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian languages
| Meaning | Simalungun Batak | Toba Batak | Batak Angkola | Old Malay | Musi | Malay | Indonesian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | bah /bah/ | aek /aek/ | aek /aek/ | ayar /ajar/ | ayek /ajek/ | air /ˈa.ir/ | air /ˈa.ir/ |
| Fire | apuy /apuj/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ |
| Sun | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | mata ni ari /mata ni ari/ | ari /ari/ | matari /matari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ |
| Moon | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ |
| Mother | inang /inaŋ/ | ina /ina/ | inang /inaŋ/ | ibu /ibu/ | mak /mak/ | ibu /ibu/ | ibu /ibu/ |
| Father | bapa /bapa/ | ama /ama/ | amang /amaŋ/ | bapa /bapa/ | bapak /bapak/ | ayah /ajah/ | ayah /ajah/ |
| Eat | mangan /maŋan/ | mangan /maŋan/ | mangan /maŋan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ |
| Drink | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ |
| Love | holong /holoŋ/ | holong /holoŋ/ | holong /holoŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | cinta /tʃinta/ |
| Heart | uhur /uhur/ | roha /roha/ | roha /roha/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ |
| Tree | hayu /haju/ | hau /hau/ | hayu /haju/ | kayu /kaju/ | kayu /kaju/ | pokok /pokoʔ/ | pohon /pohon/ |
| House | rumah /rumah/ | jabu /dʒabu/ | bagas /baɡas/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ |
| Dog | baliang /baliaŋ/ | biang /biaŋ/ | asu /asu/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ |
| Cat | huting /hutiŋ/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | huting /hutiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ |
| Hand | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mato /mato/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hello | horas /horas/ | horas /horas/ | horas /horas/ | — /—/ | halo /halo/ | hai /hai/ | halo /ˈhalo/ |
| Thank you | diatebei /diatebei/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | mauliate /mauliate/ | — /—/ | terimo kasih /terimo kasih/ | terima kasih /tərima kasih/ | terima kasih /tərima kasih/ |
| One | sada /sada/ | sada /sada/ | sada /sada/ | sa /sa/ | siko /siko/ | satu /satu/ | satu /satu/ |
| Good | dear /dear/ | denggan /deŋɡan/ | denggan /deŋːan/ | baik /baik/ | bagus /baɡus/ | baik /baiʔ/ | baik /baiʔ/ |
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