Palembang is a member of the Musi group of Malayic languages. It is spoken by about 1.6 million people mainly in and around the city of Palembang in the east of South Sumatra Province in Indonesia.
Palembang is also known as Palembang Malay. It is closely related to varieties of Upper Musi, which are spoken nearby. Dialects include Palembang Lama, Palembang Pasar and Pesisir. Palembang Lama, or "Old Palembang", is the traditional variety of the language spoken by the Palembang people in Palembang city and in nearby areas. It contains many loanwords from Javanese, whereas other dialects contain more words borrowed from Indonesian. Palembang Pasar, or "Bazaar Palembang", is used as a lingua franca between Palembang people and others in the region, and Pesisir, or "Coastal", is spoken in coastal areas on the Bangka Strait.
There are several ways to write Palembang with the Latin script. The orthography developed for Hasyim's 2003 dictionary is used in school textbooks, and in the official Palembang translation of the Quran. It can also be written with the Jawi (Arabic) script.
Palembang is officially recognized as one of the regional languages of South Sumatra by the Provincial Government. It has been taught in primary and secondary schools in Palembang since 2021.
Download an alphabet chart for Palembang (Excel)
Wong tu dilaherke merdeka galo, jugo samo-samo punyo martabat dengen hak galo. Wong-wong beroleh karunia akal dengen nurani, dan mestinyo besuo sikok samo laen dengen caro bedolor.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palembang_language#Registers
ووڠ تو ديلاهىرکى مىردىکا ݢالو، جوݢو سامو٢ ڤوڽو مارتابات دڠن هاک ݢالو. ووڠ٢ بىرولى کارونيا اکال دڠن نوراني، دان مىستيڽو بىسوو سيکوک سامو لاىن دڠن چارو بىدولور.
Jawi transliteration by Michael Peter Füstumum
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Information about Palembang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palembang_language
https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahasa_Palembang
https://worldschoolbooks.com/palembang-language/
Banjarese, Bengkulu, Brunei Malay, Indonesian, Johor Malay, Kendayan, Kerinci, Malay, Minangkabau, Palembang, Sambas Malay, Urak Lawoiʼ
Languages written with the Latin alphabet
Page created: 22.10.25. Last modified: 25.10.25
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