Published February 28, 2019
This video was recorded by Nabil Berri and depicts an Acehnese-language conversation between Iqbal Hafidh, who sat off camera, M. Kalam Daud, and T.A. Sakti, an academic specializing in Acehnese language and culture. Acehnese is spoken by at least three million people, primarily in Aceh, the northermost Indonesian province on the island of Sumatra. Acehnese speakers have historically used the Arabic alphabet to write their language, but have shifted to Latin over the past century. An Austronesian language, Acehnese shares roots with languages across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from Hawaiian to Malagasy. There are at least ten regional varieties of the language ("dialects"), but since a comprehensive study has not been conducted, there are likely more.