Gorontalo Malay
| Gorontalo Malay | |
|---|---|
| Bahasa Indonesia Gorontalo | |
| Mobisala Molayu | |
| Native to | Indonesia (Gorontalo and Central Sulawesi) |
| Region | Gorontalo and the northern part of Gulf of Tomini |
| Ethnicity | Gorontaloan |
Native speakers | ~1,000,000 |
Malay-based creole languages
| |
| Latin and Jawi | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
Gorontalo Malay, also known as Bahasa Indonesia Gorontalo or Mobisala Molayu in Gorontalo, is a Malay-based creole language spoken by the majority of the Gorontalo people in the northern part of Sulawesi, Indonesia, especially in the province of Gorontalo, as well as in Buol Regency, Central Sulawesi.
Linguistically, Gorontalo Malay us classified as a trade language and a Malay-based creole. It generally functions as a lingua franca in Gorontalo and its surrounding areas, including parts of the northern Gulf of Tomini, which are also inhabited by the Gorontaloan people.
The influence of Arabic is evident in Gorontalo Malay, with several Arabic words incorporated into the language, such as ana (أنا) for the first-person singular pronoun (I) and ente (أنت) for the second-person singular pronoun (you).