Malay language
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== :Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India.
| Malay (بهاس ملايو, Bahasa Melayu) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand, southern Philippines, adjacent parts of Indonesia |
| Region: | Southeast Asia |
| Total speakers: | 200-300 million |
| Ranking: | 54 |
| Genetic classification: | Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Western Malayo-Polynesian Sundic Malayic Malayan Local Malay Malay |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore |
| Regulated by: | Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Institute of Language and Literature) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | ms |
| ISO 639-2 | may (B), msa (T) |
| SIL | MLI |
| See also: Language – List of languages | |
The Malay language, also known locally as Bahasa Melayu, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who reside in the Malay peninsula, southern Thailand, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, and parts of the coast of Borneo. It is the official language of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. It is also used as a working language in East Timor. It is practically the same as or mutually intelligible with Bahasa Indonesia, the official language of Indonesia, but differentiated in name for political reasons.
The official standard for Malay, as agreed upon by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, is Bahasa Riau, the language of the Riau Archipelago, long considered the birthplace of the Malay language.
In Malaysia, it is known as Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malaysia, which means the Malay, or Malaysian, language. The latter term, which was introduced by the National Language Act 1967, was predominant until the 1990s, when most academics and government officials reverted to the older term, which is used in the Malay version of the Federal Constitution. Indonesia adopted a form of Malay as its official language upon independence, naming it Bahasa Indonesia. In Singapore and Brunei it is known simply as Malay or Bahasa Melayu. The reason for adopting these terms is political rather than a reflection of linguistic distinctiveness, as standard Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia are mutually intelligible. However, many Malay dialects are not as mutually intelligible: e.g. Kelantanese pronunciation is difficult even for some Malaysians to understand, while Javanese Malay tends to have a lot of words unique to it which will be unfamiliar to other speakers of Malay. The language spoken by the Peranakan (Straits Chinese, a hybrid of Chinese settlers from the Ming Dynasty and local Malays) is a unique patois of Malay and the Chinese dialect of Hokkien, which is mostly spoken in the former Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. The use of this interesting language is dying out, however, with the Peranakan now choosing to speak either Hokkien or English.
Malay is normally written using the Roman alphabet, although a modified Arabic script called Jawi also exists. It is an agglutinative language, meaning that the meaning of the word can be changed by adding the necessary prefixes or suffixes. Root words are either nouns or verbs, e.g. masak (to cook) yields memasak (cooks, is cooking, etc.), memasakkan (cooks, is cooking, etc. [something]), dimasak (cooked - passive) as well as pemasak (cook - person), masakan (cooking, cookery). Many initial consonants undergo mutation when prefixes are added: e.g. sapu (sweep) becomes penyapu (broom); panggil (to call) becomes memanggil (calls, is calling, etc.), tapis (sieve) becomes menapis (sieves, is sieving, etc.)
Another distinguishing feature of Malay is its use of measure words (penjodoh bilangan).
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Extent of use
The extent to which Malay is used in these countries varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language) became the sole official language of Malaysia in 1968, but English is still widely used, especially by the second largest and third largest ethnic groups in Malaysia (Chinese and Indian), and because of its importance as the language of international business, and the situation in Brunei is similar. In Malaysia, the status of Bahasa Melayu as the national language is guaranteed by the Constitution (Perlembagaan Malaysia, Pekara 152).
In Singapore, Malay was historically the lingua franca among people of different races and nationalities. Although this has largely given way to English, Malay still retains the status of national language and the national anthem, Majulah Singapura is entirely in Malay. Most residents of the five southernmost provinces of Thailand — a region that, for the most part, used to be part of an ancient Malay kingdom called Pattani — speak a dialect of Malay called Yawi (not to be confused with Jawi), which is similar to Kelantanese Malay, but the language has no official status or recognition.
By contrast, Bahasa Indonesia has successfully become the lingua franca for its disparate islands and ethnic groups, in part because the colonial language, Dutch, is no longer commonly spoken. (In East Timor, which was governed as a province of Indonesia between 1976 and 1999, Bahasa Indonesia is widely spoken, and recognised under its Constitution as a 'working language'.)
Borrowed words
The Malay language has many words borrowed from Arabic (in particular many religious terms), Sanskrit, Portuguese, Dutch, certain Chinese dialects and more recently, English (in particular many scientific and technological terms). Some examples follow:
- bahasa - language (from Sanskrit)
- bendera - flag (from Portuguese bandeira)
- bihun - rice vermicelli (from Hokkien bi-hun)
- bomba - fire brigade (from Portuguese bomba, "pump")
- buku - book (from English)
- duka - sadness (from Sanskrit dukkha)
- dunia - world (from Arabic dunya)
- gereja - church (from Portuguese igreja)
- guru - teacher (from Sanskrit)
- kamus - dictionary (from Arabic)
- kapal - ship (from Tamil kappal)
- katil - bed (from Tamil kattil)
- kaunter - counter or desk (from English)
- keju - cheese (from Portuguese queijo)
- komputer - computer (from English)
- kongsi - share (from Hokkien kong-si)
- limau - lemon (from Portuguese limão, or directly from Arabic laimun)
- longkang - drain (from Hokkien long-kang)
- manusia - human being (from Sanskrit mannushya)
- mentega - butter (from Portuguese manteiga)
- mee/mi - noodles (from Hokkien min)
- misai - moustache (from Tamil meesai)
- roti - bread (from Sanskrit)
- sains - science (from English)
- sengsara - suffering (from Sanskrit samsara)
- syariah - Islamic law (from Arabic)
- sistem - system (from English)
- suka - happiness (from Sanskrit sukkha)
- tauhu - beancurd (from Hokkien tao-hu)
- teh - tea (from Hokkien tε)
- teko - teapot (from Hokkien tε-ko)
- had - limit (from Arabic hadd)
- waktu - time (from Arabic waqt)
- kuda - horse (from Urdu kudh)
- unta - camel (from Urdu unth)
- utara - North (from Sanskrit uttara)
- tarikh - date (from Arabic tarikh)
- zirafah - giraffe (from Arabic zarafah)
Some Malay words have been borrowed into English. See the list of words of Malay origin at Wiktionary, the free dictionary and Wikipedia's sibling project.
Malay language has also heavily influenced the forms of colloquial English spoken in Malaysia (Manglish).
Some simple phrases in Malay
| Malay Phrase | English Translation |
| Selamat datang | Welcome |
| Selamat jalan | Have a safe journey |
| Terima kasih | Thank you |
| Sama sama | You are welcome (as in a response to Thank You) |
| Selamat pagi | Good morning |
| Selamat tengah hari | Good afternoon |
| Selamat petang | Good evening (note that 'Selamat petang' must not be used at night as in English. For a general greeting, use 'Selamat sejahtera') |
| Selamat Sejahtera | Hello |
| Selamat malam | Good night (Use when ending a meet during the night. To greet someone at night, use 'Selamat Sejahtera') |
| Jumpa lagi | See you again |
| Apa khabar? | How are you? |
| Khabar baik | Fine, good |
| Saya sakit | I am ill |
| Ya | Yes |
| Tidak | No |
| Saya sayang akan kamu | I love you (in a more of a family sort of love. e.g.: mother to daughter) |
| Saya cintakan mu | I love you (romantic love) |
| Saya tidak faham | I do not understand |
| Saya tidak tahu | I do not know |
| (Minta) maaf | Sorry or Excuse Me ('minta' is to request. Begin with 'Minta Maaf' when trying to talk to strangers) |
| (Minta) tolong | please help (me) (only 'tolong!' means just "help!") |
About 10% of Malay words are originated from Sanskrit and some Indian languages.
For example the words
- Bumi - earth
- Sabun - Soap
- Putera - Prince (son)
- Mangga - Mango
- Buat - Do (Sanskrit wuat)
- Raja - King
- Maha - Great
- Maaf - Sorry
See also
- The list of Malay words and list of words of Malay origin at Wiktionary, the free dictionary and Wikipedia's sibling project
- Jawi, an adapted Arabic alphabet for Malay.
- Indonesian language
- Differences between Malay and Indonesian
- Malay-based creoles
- Malay dialects in Indonesia
- Manado Malay
- Manglish, an English-based creole spoken in Malaysia.
- Hamzah Fansuri, a famous Malay poet
External link
- Ethnologue report for Malay
- Basic Course in the Malay Language (GOH Peng Joo)
- Malay-English Dictionary (Dr Bhanot's)
- Malay-English Dictionary (All Free Dictionaries)
- Malay - English Dictionary (Webster's; from Malay to English only)
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Categories: Malayo-Polynesian languages | Languages of Malaysia | Languages of Singapore | Austronesian languages
