Indonesian
Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia)
is a language used by over 200 million residents of Indonesia and millions more
world-wide. Of this group, perhaps 30,000,000 are mother tongue speakers. Bahasa Indonesia or Indonesian Language is both an old and new
language. It is based on Malay, which has been the lingua franca
throughout much of Southeast Asia for centuries. As a symbol of national pride
and unity, Bahasa Indonesia spread rapidly, incorporating many new words so that
today, although similar, it is quite distinct from Malay. It is an
Austronesian language.
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![Indonesia - Click for Information]](https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/id-flag.gif){kind=small}