The Sundanese are an ethnic group in the western part of the Java island in Indonesia, numbering approximately 31 million. The Sundanese are Muslim. They speak a distinct language which is known locally as
Basa Sunda or in English the
Sundanese language. The oldest historical record containing the term ""Sunda" is the Kebonkopi 2 stone inscription dated from 536 AD, refers to the Sunda kingdom. The word "Sunda" may originate from Sanskrit, in which case it might mean either 'light' or 'water'.
The Sundanese language is spoken by approximately 27 million people and is the second most widely-spoken regional language in Indonesia, after Javanese. This language is spoken in the southern part of the Banten province, and most of West Java - excepting the northern coastal areas which has seen significant urbanization, and eastwards as far as the Pamali River in Brebes in Central Java.
There are several dialects of Sundanese, from the Sunda-Banten dialect to the Sunda-Central Javanese dialect which mixes elements of Javanese. Some of the most distinct dialects are from:
- Banten
- Bogor
- Priangan
- Cirebon
Due to the influence of the Javanese culture during the reign of the Islamic Mataram kingdom, the Sundanese language - especially in the Parahyangan area - have different layers starting from the most formal, or
halus version, to the everyday
loma or
lancaran version and the informal or harsh version. However, in the mountainous regions and most of Banten, the loma version is the most dominant. By contrast, this version is considered "harsh" by people from Bandung. In Central Java, Sundanese is spoken in the Cilacap region.
