Sundanese Dictionary

January 22nd, 2007, in News, by Patung

A new Sundanese dictionary has been compiled.

Compiled by Raden Alla Danadibrata and containing forty thousand entries the Sundanese dictionary was released on the 18th of January, after a wait of fifty-seven years.

According to the President of Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Himendra Wargahadibrata, who is also chief of the team of editors, Danadibrata took forty years (1930-1970) to compile the dictionary but it was not published. After he died in 1987 a team from Padjadjaran continued with the work. Said Himendra: [1]

Three days before he died, Danadibrata handed the manuscript over to me.

The dictionary has 2,000 pages. The entries consist of root words, reduplications, and combined words, with an extensive range of meaning: spoken language, street language, polite language, dialects and slang.

The Danadibrata dictionary is considered more complete than the previous works, “A Dictionary of the Sunda Language of Java” by Jonathan Rigg (1862) which had 9,300 entries, and the “Kamus Basa Sunda” by R. Satjadibrata (1948) with eighteen thousand entries. In 2003, R.R. Hardjadibrata published the “Sundanese-English Dictionary” with 22,500 entries.

Himendra hopes the new dictionary will spur on the study of the language in schools, considering that Sundanese is the second most spoken regional language in Indonesia. [2]

↑1 tempo
↑2 gatra

Tags: Bandung, Java

8 Comments on “Sundanese Dictionary”

joni rock n roll Says:
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:36 pm
urang boga kamus anyar deui euy!

I think it’s totally right if sundanese is the second most spoken regional language in Indonesia after javanese invasion in first top rank followed batak and padang on third and fourth rank. Feel it they are in every where.

I think sundanese is fun. Meanwhile I’m not a person from that tribe. we ussually hear people speak with fast dialect, high tones and apparently “anjing…Goblog siah” out from mouth their closed friend dialog.

Salute for Himendra to take the action. But what about college student demonstration from your almamater about transparancy fund for their practical money.

Are you hear it silly old twat.
sgn Says:
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Hi, don’t be surprised the “New Testament” translated to Sundanese is very very good. I have one at home.

sgn
1ndra Says:
January 23rd, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Wah, kandel banget bukune, opo ora mumet nek nggoleki tulisan sak emprit.

It such a very thick book.
Fanglong Says:
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:46 pm
As a linguist, I enjoy considerably the publication of any comprehensive dictionary. This is good news for this whole bunch of New Years!
sgn Says:
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I recalled reading Sundanese Novel, like “Kalana”, “Balebat”, “Akibat Munjung”, “Nur Elah”, “Mapay Jalan Ka Naraka”, “Si Buntung Jago Tutugan”, etc.

What was a wonderful moment.

sgn
Dimp Says:
January 24th, 2007 at 5:05 am
Interesting, the Indonesian government need to encourage the printing of traditional books, maybe by giving grants for authors or artists engaging in traditional arts.

Save the Indonesian traditional arts before they become extinct.
1ndra Says:
January 24th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Yeah, this is our culture wealth. And there’re so many to be saved.
Dimp Says:
January 26th, 2007 at 7:02 am
Maybe we need the media to increase the exposure on Indonesian traditional arts, I know a lot of the youngsters regard them as “kampungan” but when they became extinct, we would lost another identity as Indonesians.