Buginese

The Buginese language is a member of the Austronesian family of languages. It is spoken by the Bugis people of Sulawesi in Indonesia. The language is also spoken by the Makassarese people of Sulawesi. The Buginese language has three dialects: North Buginese, Central Buginese, and South Buginese. The North Buginese dialect is the most divergent from the other two. The Buginese language is written in a Latin alphabet. The alphabet was introduced by Christian missionaries in the 19th century. The Buginese language is not related to the Indonesian language, which is also spoken in Sulawesi. The two languages are not mutually intelligible. The Buginese language has been declining in recent years. Many young people in Sulawesi now prefer to speak Indonesian.