Gayo language

File:Languages of Northern Sumatra en.svg

The map of Gayo language in Northern Sumatra.

Gayo (alternatively rendered as Gajo) is an endangered Austronesian language spoken by some 275,000 people in the mountainous region of the Indonesian province Aceh on the Northern tip of the island of Sumatra, specifically around the Central Aceh, Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues regencies. It is classified as belonging to the Western Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages, but is not closely related to other languages. Ethnologue lists Bukit, Dëret, Lues, Lut, and Serbejadi-Lukup as dialects.

Gayo is distinct from other languages in Aceh. The art and culture of the Gayo people is also significantly different compared with other ethnic groups in Aceh.

In 1907, G.A.J. Hazeu wrote a first Gayo–Dutch dictionary for the colonial authorities of the Dutch East Indies.

Phonology

Consonants

		Bilabial	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal	Labial-velar
Nasal		/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket	Template:IPA link Template:Angle bracket		Template:IPA link Template:Angle bracket	Template:IPA link Template:Angle bracket
Plosive	voiceless	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket			/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
	voiced	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket			/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
Fricative			/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket				/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
Affricate	voiceless			/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
	voiced			/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
Trill			/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
Approximant			/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket		/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket			/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket		/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
Near-Close	(Template:IPA link)		(Template:IPA link)
Close-Mid	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
Open-Mid	/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket		/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket
Open		/Template:IPA link/ Template:Angle bracket/Template:Angbr

External links

• An open access of recordings in Gayo are available through Paradisec, including traditional stories, historical narratives and conversation.

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