Austronesian · ISO 639-3 min
Minangkabau Language Baso Minangkabau
Minangkabau is an Austronesian language spoken by about 8.0 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Minangkabau is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Minangkabau
Language family
- Austronesian
- Malayo-Polynesian
- Malayo-Chamic
- Malayic
- Nuclear Malayic
- Northern Sumatra Malay
- Kerinci-Minangkabau
- Minangkabauic
- Minangkabau
Writing system
Latin script
Related languages
About the Minangkabau language
Minangkabau (Baso Minangkabau) is spoken by about 8.0 million people, which makes it the 144th most spoken language in the world — just behind Bagheli (8.0 million) and ahead of Tachelhit (8.0 million). It belongs to the Austronesian language family and, more precisely, to the Minangkabauic group within the Malayo-Chamic branch.
Where is Minangkabau spoken?
Minangkabau is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Indonesia (8.4 million).
Minangkabau is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Minangkabau is written in the Latin script. Glottolog classifies it as threatened, meaning fewer children learn it than in the past.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Negeri Sembilan Malay, Jambi Malay, Indonesian, Betawi, Bukit Malay, Banjar and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 min.
Frequently asked questions about Minangkabau
How many people speak Minangkabau?
Where is Minangkabau spoken?
What language family does Minangkabau belong to?
What is Minangkabau called in Minangkabau?
Is Minangkabau 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.