Austronesian · ISO 639-3 mfa
Pattani Malay Language بهاس جاوي
Pattani Malay is an Austronesian language spoken by about 3.4 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script.
Where Pattani Malay is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Pattani Malay
Language family
- Austronesian
- Malayo-Polynesian
- Malayo-Chamic
- Malayic
- Nuclear Malayic
- Greater Riau-Johoric
- Northeastern Peninsular Malay
- Pattani Malay
Writing system
Perso-Arabic script
Related languages
About the Pattani Malay language
Pattani Malay (بهاس جاوي) is spoken by about 3.4 million people, which makes it the 228th most spoken language in the world — just behind Galician (3.5 million) and ahead of Peripheral Mongolian (3.4 million). It belongs to the Austronesian language family and, more precisely, to the Northeastern Peninsular Malay group within the Malayo-Chamic branch.
Where is Pattani Malay spoken?
Pattani Malay is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Thailand (3.5 million).
Pattani Malay is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Pattani Malay is written in the Perso-Arabic 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 Kedah Malay, Indonesian, Minangkabau, Betawi, Bukit Malay, Banjar and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 mfa.
Frequently asked questions about Pattani Malay
How many people speak Pattani Malay?
Where is Pattani Malay spoken?
What language family does Pattani Malay belong to?
What is Pattani Malay called in Pattani Malay?
Is Pattani Malay 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.