Gayo (alternatively rendered as Gajo) is an endangered Austronesian language spoken by some 275,000 people in the mountainous region of the Indonesian province
Aceh on the Northern tip of the island of
Sumatra, specifically around the
Central Aceh,
Bener Meriah and
Gayo Luesregencies. It is classified as belonging to the
Western Malayo-Polynesian branch of the
Austronesian languages, but is not closely related to other languages. Ethnologue lists Bukit, Dëret, Lues, Lut, and Serbejadi-Lukup as dialects.
Gayo is distinct from other languages in Aceh. The art and culture of the
Gayo people is also significantly different compared with other ethnic groups in Aceh.
In 1907, G.A.J. Hazeu wrote a first Gayo–Dutch dictionary for the colonial authorities of the Dutch East Indies.[2]