Basa Toraya

Toraja-Sa'dan

Austronesian (South Sulawesi, Toraja-Sa'dan)

FamilyAustronesian (South Sulawesi, Toraja-Sa'dan) Speakers~750K ScriptLatin CountriesIndonesia (Tana Toraja and North Toraja regencies, South Sulawesi) Official inIndonesia (regional) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3sda

Toraja-Sa'dan is the principal language of the Toraja people of highland South Sulawesi (Indonesia), with ~750K speakers in the Tana Toraja and North Toraja regencies. Famous worldwide for elaborate Aluk-Todolo funeral ceremonies (Rambu Solo' lasting up to a week), boat-shaped Tongkonan houses on tall stilts, and cliff-face hanging-burial galleries with tau-tau effigies. Belongs to the South Sulawesi branch of Austronesian alongside Buginese and Makassarese. Latin orthography; Bible translation completed 1996. Indonesian regional language status.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Toraja-Sa'dan

Water

uai

/uai/

Fire

api

/api/

Sun

mata allo

/mataʔalːo/

Moon

bulan

/bulan/

Star

bintoen

/bintɔɛn/

Mother

indo

/indo/

Father

ambe

/ambe/

I

aku

/aku/

You

iko

/iko/

Name

sanga

/saŋa/

Eye

mata

/mata/

Hand

lima

/lima/

Heart

penaa

/penaː/

Love

ma'pa'iya

/maʔpaʔija/

Tree

kayu

/kaju/

House

banua

/banua/

Dog

asu

/asu/

Cat

serre

/serːe/

Eat

kumande

/kumande/

Drink

ma'iru

/maʔiru/

One

mesa

/mesa/

Two

dua

/dua/

Hello

tabe

/tabe/

Thank you

kurre sumanga'

/kurːe sumaŋaʔ/

Good

melo

/melo/

Computer

komputer

/komˈputər/

Sushi

sushi

/ˈsuʃi/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Austronesian (South Sulawesi, Toraja-Sa'dan) languages

Meaning Toraja-Sa'danMandarBugineseNgajuIbanTausugBatak Angkola
Water uai /uai/ uai /uai/ wae /wae/ danum /danum/ ai /ai/ tubig /tubiɡ/ aek /aek/
Fire api /api/ api /api/ api /api/ apui /apui/ api /api/ kayu /kaju/ api /api/
Sun mata allo /mataʔalːo/ mata allo /mata alːo/ mata esso /mata esːo/ matanandau /matanandau/ mata-ari /mataari/ adlaw /adlaw/ mata ni ari /mata ni ari/
Moon bulan /bulan/ bulang /bulaŋ/ uleng /uleŋ/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/ bulan /bulan/
Star bintoen /bintɔɛn/ bittoeng /bittoeŋ/ wittoing /wittoeŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ bituun /bituʔun/ bintang /bintaŋ/
Mother indo /indo/ indo /indo/ indo /indo/ indu /indu/ indai /indai/ inaꞌ /inaʔ/ inang /inaŋ/
Father ambe /ambe/ ama /ama/ ambo /ambo/ bapa /bapa/ apai /apai/ amaꞌ /amaʔ/ amang /amaŋ/
I aku /aku/ iyau /ijau/ iyya' /ijːaʔ/ aku /aku/ aku /aku/ aku /aku/ au /au/
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