Austronesian · ISO 639-3 bjn
Banjar Language
Banjar is an Austronesian language spoken by about 4.0 million people in 2 countries. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Banjar is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Language family
- Austronesian
- Malayo-Polynesian
- Malayo-Chamic
- Malayic
- Nuclear Malayic
- East Borneo Malay
- Banjar-Berau-Brunei Malay
- Banjar-Bukit Malay
- Banjar
Writing system
Latin script
Related languages
About the Banjar language
Banjar is spoken by about 4.0 million people, which makes it the 207th most spoken language in the world — just behind Kamba (Kenya) (4.1 million) and ahead of Northern Hindko (4.0 million). It belongs to the Austronesian language family and, more precisely, to the Banjar-Bukit Malay group within the Malayo-Chamic branch.
Where is Banjar spoken?
Banjar is used in 2 countries. The largest communities live in Indonesia (4.2 million) and Malaysia (4,839).
Share of the population that speaks Banjar: Indonesia 1.5% (4.2 million) and Malaysia <0.1% (4,839).
Banjar is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Banjar is written in the Latin script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Bukit Malay, Sabah Malay, Indonesian, Minangkabau, Betawi, Pattani Malay and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 bjn.
Frequently asked questions about Banjar
How many people speak Banjar?
Where is Banjar spoken?
What language family does Banjar belong to?
Is Banjar an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.