When it comes to the diversity of languages, the land of Papua probably is one of the richest of them all. There are about 428 regional languages on the western side of Papua. And it does not include Papua New Guinea. One of the regional languages that exist in Papua is As language.
The language of As is one of the Austronesian languages used by a small part of the native tribes of Papuan. Just like any other kind of regional language of Papua, the use of this language is limited to certain areas. Then, where is the language of As spoken, and who are the people that speak it?
So, here are must-know and interesting facts about the language of As that you need to know!
The Place Where the Language of As is Spoken
The language of As is probably one of the regional languages in Asbaken Village. Asbaken Village itself is located in Makbon District, Sorong Regency, West Papua Province. Aside from Asbaken Village, there are the people of Mega Island who use the As language.
However, the language of As is a minority in Asbaken Village. This is because most of the people there speak the Moi language. As time went by, there are fewer and fewer people who speak the language of As. This is the reason why the language became endangered.
Around Asbaken Village, the people also use other regional languages. In the eastern part, which is Dela Village, the villagers speak the Moi language. So do the villagers in Malaumkarta Village in the west who speak the Moi language. In the south, that is Sayosa Village, the villagers speak both Moi and Morai languages.
Due to the similarity of the regional language, namely the Moi language, people who are using the language of As became rare. This is because most people there are using the Moi language, Indonesian language, and also Papuan Malay language.
The People Who Speak the Language of As
Then, who are the As language speakers? In fact, the speakers of the language As are the minorities in the Moi tribe. Moi is one of the native tribes of Papua who live in the City and Regency of Sorong. The number of members of this tribe is large, and it became one of the largest tribes in West Papua.
However, As language speakers are very few. According to the records, users of this language only exist on the coast of Asbaken Village. Then, in total, the number of speakers of As language is only around 360 people.
Actually, these kinds of numbers are very common in the land of Papua. The reason is that the use of regional languages is only limited to one or two villages.
The Uniqueness of As Language
If you trace it by its family, the language of As belongs to the Austronesian language family. The language family closest to As is the Raja Ampat, language family. This is due to the proximity of the area. Because Asbaken Village is one of the entrance gates to the Archipelago of Raja Ampat.
The speakers of this language are spread in the northern coastal area of the Bird’s Head Peninsula. Just like any other Austronesian speakers in Papua who live in coastal areas.
Then, the percentage difference with other languages, such as Moi, Maris, Kais, and Palamul is around 81% to 100%. So, based on dialect metric calculations, As is included in the language and not just a dialect.
Another major language family in Papua is the Papuan language, which is spread in mountains and inland areas. This is what causes the emergence of many languages that exist in the land of Papua up until today. One of them is the As language whose existence must be preserved.
