The Buginese Alphabet

Q: What is the Buginese alphabet?

The modern Buginese alphabet is a Latin-based writing system with 25 letters : 6 vowels and 16 consonants, plus the Ny and Ng digraphs and the glottal stop [3] . It largely replaced the traditional Lontara script in everyday writing during the colonial period.

Q: What is the Lontara script?

The Lontara script , also called the "four-cornered letters", is the traditional abugida used to write Buginese, Makassarese, and Mandar. Today it is mainly used for ceremonial purposes , such as wedding ceremonies, and for printing traditional Buginese literature.

Q: Where is Buginese spoken?

Buginese is spoken across South Sulawesi and parts of West Sulawesi , in Indonesia. It is the most widely spoken regional language in South Sulawesi, used by 26.42% of the province's population [1] .

Q: How many people speak Buginese?

Buginese was recorded as the top regional language in South Sulawesi, spoken by 26.42% of the population at the 2020 census [1] . It ranks ahead of Makassarese (14.92%) and Toraja (6.40%) in the same province.

Q: Why are geminate consonants not written in Buginese?

Buginese has contrastive geminate (doubled) consonants , meaning they change word meaning, but standard spelling does not mark them. This creates spelling ambiguity : for example, the same written word can represent either a single or doubled consonant sound.

Q: What is the glottal stop in Buginese?

The glottal stop , written as an apostrophe, marks a short catch in the voice, as in ana' (child). It is treated as a distinct letter of the modern Buginese Latin alphabet, occasionally also written with q.

Q: How does Buginese spelling handle the schwa vowel?

The schwa vowel /ə/ is usually spelled the same as plain e, which can create ambiguity with the true "e" sound. Some texts use é with an acute accent for the true "e" sound to help distinguish the two vowels.

Q: What does the ISO 639-3 code "bug" mean?

The code bug is the official ISO 639-3 identifier assigned to Buginese by the international standards registration authority [3] . This code distinguishes Buginese from other Sulawesi languages in international language databases and library catalogues.

Q: Who are the Bugis people?

The Bugis (To Ugi) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to South Sulawesi , historically renowned as skilled seafarers and traders. Bugis communities have settled widely across the Indonesian archipelago and neighbouring Malaysia through centuries of maritime trade.

Buginese Alphabet at a Glance

25 letters: 6 vowels and 16 consonants, plus the Ny and Ng digraphs and the glottal stop
Buginese, or Basa Ugi, is the most widely spoken regional language of South Sulawesi, used by 26.42% of the province's population ^[1]
Buginese belongs to the South Sulawesi branch of the Malayo-Polynesian family ^[2]
Buginese carries the ISO 639-3 code bug ^[3]
Buginese was traditionally written in the native Lontara script, an abugida also called the "four-cornered letters"
The Latin alphabet has largely replaced Lontara in everyday use, though Lontara remains important for ceremonies and traditional literature
Geminate (doubled) consonants are common and phonemically contrastive in Buginese, but are not distinguished in standard spelling

[AH]

[UH]

[EH]

[EE]

[OH]

[OO]

[ah]

[uh]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[oo]

[BEE]

[CHUH]

[DEE]

[GEE]

[HUH]

[JUH]

[KAY]

[EL]

[EM]

[EN]

[PEE]

[AR]

[ESS]

[TEE]

[WUH]

[YUH]

[BEE]

Uppercase B, a voiced bilabial stop, similar to "b" in "boy".

[CHUH]

Uppercase C, a voiceless postalveolar affricate, similar to "ch" in "chair".

[DEE]

Uppercase D, a voiced alveolar stop, similar to "d" in "dog".

[GEE]

Uppercase G, a voiced velar stop, similar to "g" in "go".

[HUH]

Uppercase H, a voiceless glottal fricative, similar to "h" in "hat".

[JUH]

Uppercase J, a voiced palatal stop, similar to "j" in "jam".

[KAY]

Uppercase K, a voiceless velar stop, similar to "k" in "key".

[EL]

Uppercase L, an alveolar lateral approximant, similar to "l" in "lamp".

[EM]

Uppercase M, a bilabial nasal, similar to "m" in "man".

[EN]

Uppercase N, an alveolar nasal, similar to "n" in "nose".

[PEE]

Uppercase P, a voiceless bilabial stop, similar to "p" in "pen".

[AR]

Uppercase R, a tapped or trilled rhotic consonant, similar to the rolled "r" in Spanish.

[ESS]

Uppercase S, a voiceless alveolar fricative, similar to "s" in "sun".

[TEE]

Uppercase T, a voiceless alveolar stop, similar to "t" in "top".

[WUH]

Uppercase W, a labial-velar approximant, similar to "w" in "water".

[YUH]

Uppercase Y, a palatal approximant, similar to "y" in "yes".

[bee]

[chuh]

[dee]

[gee]

[huh]

[juh]

[kay]

[el]

[em]

[en]

[pee]

[ar]

[ess]

[tee]

[wuh]

[yuh]

[bee]

Voiced bilabial stop, similar to "b" in English "boy".

[chuh]

Voiceless postalveolar affricate, similar to "ch" in English "chair".

[dee]

Voiced alveolar stop, similar to "d" in English "dog".

[gee]

Voiced velar stop, similar to "g" in English "go".

[huh]

Voiceless glottal fricative, similar to "h" in English "hat".

[juh]

Voiced palatal stop, similar to "j" in English "jam".

[kay]

Voiceless velar stop, similar to "k" in English "key".

[el]

Alveolar lateral approximant, similar to "l" in English "lamp".

[em]

Bilabial nasal, similar to "m" in English "man".

[en]

Alveolar nasal, similar to "n" in English "nose".

[pee]

Voiceless bilabial stop, similar to "p" in English "pen".

[ar]

Tapped or trilled rhotic consonant, similar to the rolled "r" in Spanish.

[ess]

Voiceless alveolar fricative, similar to "s" in English "sun".

[tee]

Voiceless alveolar stop, similar to "t" in English "top".

[wuh]

Labial-velar approximant, similar to "w" in English "water".

[yuh]

Palatal approximant, similar to "y" in English "yes".

[ENYE]

[ENG]

[enye]

[eng]

[glottal stop]

A a

B b

C c

D d

E e

É é

G g

H h

I i

J j

K k

L l

M m

N n

Ng ng

Ny ny

O o

P p

R r

S s

T t

U u

W w

Y y

;

(

)

Expand All Collapse All

What is the Buginese alphabet?

What is the Lontara script?

Where is Buginese spoken?

What language family does Buginese belong to?

How many people speak Buginese?

Why are geminate consonants not written in Buginese?

What is the glottal stop in Buginese?

How does Buginese spelling handle the schwa vowel?

What does the ISO 639-3 code "bug" mean?

Who are the Bugis people?

References:

[1] Badan Pusat Statistik (Statistics Indonesia). "Profil Suku dan Keragaman Bahasa Daerah Hasil Long Form Sensus Penduduk 2020" — recording Bugis as the most-spoken regional language in South Sulawesi at 26.42% of the population. Retrieved from Badan Pusat Statistik: Profil Suku dan Keragaman Bahasa Daerah 2020
[2] Glottolog 5.x. "Buginese [bugi1244]" — Austronesian > Malayo-Polynesian > South Sulawesi classification. Retrieved from Glottolog: Buginese
[3] SIL International. "ISO 639-3 Registration Authority: Buginese [bug]". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: Buginese