The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society

This important book, the first of its kind, is a historical, social, cultural and linguistic study of Indonesian. Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world, and one of the most linguistically complex. Its ethnic groups speak more than 500 languages and of these Malay, renamed Indonesian, was chosen to be the sole national and official language.

James Sneddon is Head of the School of Languages and Linguistics at Griffith University in Brisbane. A university-level teacher and researcher of linguistics and Indonesian language for over 20 years, he is the author of "Indonesian Reference Grammar" (1996) and "Understanding Indonesian Grammar" (2000)

Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world, and one of the most linguistically complex. Its ethnic groups speak more than 500 languages and of these Malay, renamed Indonesian, was chosen to be the sole national and official language. Indonesian’s development into a modern world language has been described by one socio-linguist as ‘miraculous’. The language has been a key factor in the shaping and unification of modern Indonesia.

This important book traces the origins and pre-colonial development of the language, the emergence of Classical Malay from the fourteenth century, the choice by the nationalist movement of Malay as the national language prior to Independence, the planning associated with the adoption and implementation of the language, its borrowings from other languages, its use in contemporary Indonesia and its future. The book challenges many assumptions about Indonesian, particularly countering the myth that Indonesian is a simple language.