Austronesian language spoken in Flores, Indonesia
The Manggarai language (tombo Manggarai, Indonesian: bahasa Manggarai) is the language of the Manggarai people from the western parts of the island of Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia.
Background
Manggarai is the native language of the Manggarai people of Flores island in East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. Based on statistical data reported by the Central Agency on Statistics (BPS) in 2009, it is the native language of more than 730,000 people in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.[2]
Outside Flores, there are some Manggarai-speaking people in the village of Manggarai in the eastern part of Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. Formerly a concentration of workers from Greater Manggarai, the population is now just a few of the original people, because the majority in the village has now become the Betawi.
The Manggarai language is part of the Austronesian family, and is therefore related to Indonesian and other Malay varieties. Most speakers of Manggarai also speak Indonesian for official and commercial purposes and to communicate with non-Manggarai Indonesians. Riung is often considered a dialect of Maranggai or a separate language.