basantara

Indonesian

Etymology

Blend of bahasa (“language”) +‎ perantara (“intermediary”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba.san.ˈta.ra/

Noun

basantara (first-person possessive basantaraku, second-person possessive basantaramu, third-person possessive basantaranya)

1. lingua franca

   Synonyms: bahasa dagang, bahasa pasar

Further reading

• “basantara” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Javanese

Alternative forms

• ꦧꦱꦤ꧀ꦠꦫ (basantara)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Javanese basantara (“lingua franca”); a portmanteau of ꦧꦱ (basa, “language”) +‎ ꦲꦤ꧀ꦠꦫ (antara, “intermediary”).

Noun

basantara

1. (linguistics) lingua franca, a common language used by people of diverse backgrounds to communicate with one another, often a basic form of speech with simplified grammar, particularly, one not the first language of any of its speakers.