| Malay | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | South East Asia |
| Language family | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | ms |
| ISO 639-2 | may (B) msa (T) |
| ISO 639-3 | msa – Macrolanguage individual codes: btj – Bacanese Malay mfb – Bangka bve – Berau Malay bvu – Bukit Malay liw – Col hji – Haji jax – Jambi Malay vkk – Kaur meo – Kedah Malay kvr – Kerinci mqg – Kota Bangun Kutai Malay kvb – Kubu lce – Loncong lcf – Lubu mui – Musi mfa – Pattani Malay msi – Sabah Malay vkt – Tenggarong Kutai Malay |
The Malay languages are a group of closely related languages that developed from Malay outposts across Malaysia and Indonesia. They include Malay proper (Malaysian and Indonesian), Bacanese Malay, Bengkulu, Berau Malay, Cocos Islands Malay, Jambi Malay, Kedah Malay, Kota Bangun Kutai Malay, Loncong, Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay, Sabah Malay, Terengganese Malay, Tenggarong Kutai Malay, and Kedayan/Bukit Malay. (Brunei Malay is quite divergent from standard Malay and the rest of the Malay dialects and is mostly mutually unintelligible.)
See also Malay-based creole languages.
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The extent to which Malay and related Malayan languages are used in the countries where it is spoken varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Bahasa Melayu is the national language in Malaysia by Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia, and became the sole official language in West Malaysia in 1968, and in East Malaysia gradually from 1974. English continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in the superior courts. Other minority languages are also commonly used by the country's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to that of Malaysia.
In Singapore, Malay was historically the lingua franca among people of different 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. In addition, parade commands in the military, police and civil defence are given only 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.
Owing to earlier contact with the Philippines, Malay words — such as dalam hati (sympathy), luwalhati (glory), tengah hari (midday), sedap (delicious) — have evolved and been integrated into Tagalog and other Philippine languages.
By contrast, Indonesian 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 from 1976 to 1999, Indonesian is widely spoken and recognized under its Constitution as a 'working language'.)
Besides Indonesian, which developed from the Riau dialect, there are many Malay dialects spoken in Indonesia Malay-based creole languages, divided into western and eastern groups. Western Malay is predominantly spoken in Sumatra, and known as Sumatran dialects, such as: Riau, Langkat, Palembang and Jambi. Minangkabau and Bengkulu are believed to be Sumatran Malay descendants. Meanwhile Jakarta dialect (known as Betawi) also belongs to the western Malay group.
The eastern dialects are spoken in the easternmost part of the Indonesian archipelago and include: Manado dialect Manado Malay (in north Sulawesi) and Maluku, North Maluku and Papua dialects.
The differences among both groups are quite observable. For example the word 'kita' means "we, us" in western, but means "I, me" in Manado, whereas "we, us" in Manado is 'torang' and Ambon 'katong' (originally abbreviated from Malay 'kita orang' (means "we people"). Another difference is the lack of possessive pronouns (and suffixes) in eastern dialects. Manado uses the verb 'pe' and Ambon 'pu' (from Malay 'punya', meaning "to have") to mark possession. So "my name" and "our house" are translated in western Malay as 'namaku' and 'rumah kita' but 'kita pe nama' and 'torang pe rumah' in Manado and 'beta pu nama', 'katong pu rumah' in Ambon dialect.
The pronunciation may vary in western dialects, especially the pronunciation of words ending in the vowel 'a'. For example Malaysian pronounce 'kita' (inclusive we, us, our) as /kitə/, Kelantan and Southern Thailand as /kitɔ/, Riau as /kita/, Palembang as /kito/ and Betawi as /kitɛ/.
Betawi and eastern dialects are sometimes regarded as Malay creole, because the speakers are not ethnically Malay.
A comparison of various varieties of Malay, plus three Para-Malay languages:
English = Where are you going on this bicycle? May I go with you?
| Language | Sentence | Spoken In |
| Varieties of Malay | ||
|---|---|---|
| Malay language (informal) | Kau nak pergi mana dengan basikal tu? Boleh aku ikut? |
Malaysia |
| Standard Malaysian Malay (formal) | Ke mana kamu mahu/hendak pergi dengan basikal itu? Bolehkah saya ikut? |
Malaysia |
| Standard Indonesian Malay (formal) | Kamu ingin pergi ke mana dengan sepeda itu? Bisakah/bisa saya ikut? |
Indonesia |
| Indonesian (informal) | Lu mau naik sepeda ke mana? Boleh ikut nggak? |
Jakarta (Indonesia) |
| Johor/Selangor dialect | Kau nak pergi ke mane dengan basikal tu? Boleh saye ikut? |
Central and Southern States of Peninsular Malaysia including Pahang and Southern Perak |
| Bengkulu (Central Malay) | Kau ndak pergi mano kek sepedo tu? Aku bulih ikuik idak? |
Bengkulu (Indonesia) |
| Jambi dialect | Kau nak pergi ke mano naek sepedo tu? Aku biso ikut dak? |
Jambi (Indonesia) |
| Palembang dialect | Kau nak pergi ke mano naek sepedo tu? Aku pacak melok dak? |
South Sumatra (Indonesia) |
| Bangka dialect | Ka nek pergi ke mane naek ketangin tu? Ku boleh ngikut dak? |
Bangka Island (Indonesia) |
| Belitung dialect | Ikam nak pergi ke mane naek ketangin tu? Aku bisak ngikut ndak? |
Belitung Island (Indonesia) |
| Banjar Malay | Ikam/kawu handak tulak ka mana basapeda tu? Bulih kada' aku umpat? |
South Kalimantan (Indonesia) |
| Kedah dialect | Hang nak pi mana naik gerek tu? Aku ikut buleh dak? |
Northern States of Peninsular Malaysia, Western part of Southern Thailand |
| Baling dialect | Mu nok gi mana naik gerek tu? Ku nak ikut buleh dak? |
Eastern part of Kedah (Baling, Sik and Padang Terap), Yala, Pattani, Satun |
| Terengganu dialect | Mung nok gi mane naik basikal? Buleh ikut? |
Terengganu (Malaysia) |
| Kelantan dialect | Demo nok gi mano naik gerek tuh? Buleh kawe ikut? |
Kelantan (Malaysia), Eastern part of Southern Thailand |
| Perak dialect | Mike nak ke mane naik sika tu? Teman nak ngekor buleh? |
Perak (Malaysia) |
| Penang dialect | Hang nak pi mana naik basikal tu? Aku ikut boleh tak? |
Penang and Northern Perak (Malaysia) |
| Brunei Malay | Kan kamana kau babiskal tu? Bulih ku ikut? |
Brunei Darussalam and Labuan |
| Sarawak Malay | Ke sine kitak maok make basikal? Boleh sik kamik ngekot? |
Sarawak (Malaysia) |
| Sabah Malay | Mana ko mo pigi sama itu beskal? Buli sia ikut ka? |
Sabah (Malaysia) |
| Pontianak dialect | Mane kitak nak pergi naik sepeda tu? Kamek bulih ikut tadak? |
West Kalimantan (Indonesia) |
| Larantuka Malay | Flores | |
| Kutai Malay | Nda pegi kemana besepeda tu ? Kawa umpat ndi ? |
East Kalimantan (Indonesia) |
| Para-Malay languages | ||
| Minangkabau | Kau andak pai kama naiak kareto angin tu? Den bulih ikuik indak? |
West Sumatra (Indonesia), Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia) |
| Negeri Sembilan Malay | Ekau nak poie mano naik basikal tu? Boleh den ikut? |
Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia) |
| Rawa | Kao nak poie mano nek basika to? Buleh ikoiyt ko indo? |
Gopeng (Malaysia) |
Word by word comparison (based on sentences above):
| Language/dialect | Ke | Mana | Kamu | Mahu | Pergi | Dengan | Basikal | Itu | Boleh | -kah (atau tidak) | Saya | Ikut | Extra Words |
| English proximate literal translation | to | where | you | want | to go | with | bicycle | that | can/may | or not | I | follow | 1:to ride, 2:"question particle" |
| Standard Malayan Malay (formal) | ke | mana | kamu | mahu | pergi | dengan | basikal | itu | boleh | kah | saya | ikut | -- |
| Malay language (informal) | ~omitted~ | mane | ko | nak | pegi | ngan | basikal | tu | boleh | ~omitted~ | aku | ikut | -- |
| Standard Indonesian Malay (formal) | ke | mana | kamu | mau | pergi | dengan | sepeda | itu | bisa | kah | saya | ikut | -- |
| Indonesian (informal) | ke | mana | lu | mau | ~omitted~ | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | sepeda | tu | boleh | nggak | ~omitted~ | ikut | 1:naik |
| Singapore Malay | ke | mana | awak | hendak | pergi | dengan | basikal | itu | boleh | ~omitted~ | saya | ikut | -- |
| Johor/Kuala Lumpur dialect | ke | mane | kau | nak | pergi | dengan | basikal | itu | boleh | ~omitted~ | saye | ikut | -- |
| Bengkulu dialect | ~omitted~ | mano | kau | ndak | pergi | kek | sepedo | tu | bulih | idak | aku | ikuik | -- |
| Jambi dialect | ke | mano | kau | nak | pergi | ~substituted with 'naek'~ | sepedo | tu | biso | dak | aku | ikut | 1:naek |
| Palembang dialect | ke | mano | kau | nak | pergi | ~substituted with 'naek'~ | sepedo | tu | pacak | dak | aku | melok | 1:naek |
| Bangka dialect | ke | mane | ka | nek | pergi | ~substituted with 'naek'~ | ketangin | tu | boleh | dak | ku | ngikut | 1:naek |
| Belitung dialect | ke | mane | ikam | nak | pergi | ~substituted with 'naek'~ | ketangin | tu | bisak | ndak | aku | ngikut | 1:naek |
| Banjar Malay | ka- | -mana | ikam/kawu | handak | tulak | ba- | sapeda | tu | bulih | kada' | aku | umpat | - |
| Kedah dialect | ~omitted~ | mana | hang | nak | pi | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | gerek | tu | buleh | dak | aku | ikut | 1:naik |
| Baling Dialect | ~omitted~ | mano | mu / dema | nok | gi | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | gerek | tuh | buleh | dok | ku / ambe | ikut | 1:naik |
| Terengganu dialect | ~omitted~ | mane | mung | nok | gi | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | basikal | ~omitted~ | buleh | ~omitted~ | ~omitted~ | ikut | 1:naik |
| Kelantan dialect | ~omitted~ | mano | demo | nok | gi | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | basika | tuh | buleh | ~omitted~ | kawe | turuk | 1:naik |
| Perak dialect | ke | mane | mike | nak | ~omitted~ | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | sika | tu | buleh | ~omitted~ | teman | ngekor | 1:naik |
| Penang dialect | ~omitted~ | mana | hang | nak | pi | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | basikal | tu | boleh | tak | aku | ikut | 1:naik |
| Brunei Malay | ka- | -mana | kau | ~omitted~ | ~omitted~ | ba- | -biskal | ~omitted~ | bulih | ~omitted~ | ku | ikut | 2:ah |
| Sarawak Malay | ke | sine | kitak | maok | ~omitted~ | make | basikal | ~omitted~ | boleh | sik | kamik | ngekot | -- |
| Sabah Malay | ~omitted~ | mana | ko | mo | pigi | sama | beskal | itu | buli | ka | sia | ikut | -- |
| Pontianak dialect | ~omitted~ | mane | kitak | nak | pergi | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | sepeda | tu | bulih | tadak | kamek | ikut | 1:naik |
| Minangkabau | ka- | -ma | kau | andak | pai | ~substituted with 'naiak'~ | kareto angin | tu | bulih | indak | den | ikuik | 1:naiak |
| Negeri Sembilan | ~omitted~ | mano | ekau | nak | poie | ~substituted with 'naik'~ | basikal | tu | boleh | ~omitted~ | den | ikut | 1:naik |
| Rawa | ~omitted~ | mano | kao | nak | poie | ~substituted with 'nek'~ | basika | to | buleh | ko indo | ~omitted~ | ikoiyt | 1:nek |
In ISO 639-1 there is 'ms', ISO 639-2 there are two codes: 'may'/'msa'. In ISO 639-3, 'msa' is defined as a "macrolanguage".
| Code | Name | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| btj | Bacanese Malay | |
| mfb | Bangka | |
| bjn | Banjar | |
| bve | Berau Malay | |
| kxd | Brunei | |
| bvu | Dayak Bukit Malay | |
| pse | Central Malay | |
| coa | Cocos Islands Malay | |
| liw | Col | |
| dup | Duano | |
| hji | Haji | |
| ind | Indonesian | lingua franca in Indonesia, also used in East Timor |
| jak | Jakun | |
| jax | Jambi Malay | |
| vkk | Kaur | |
| - | Kelantan Malay | Malaysia - Kelantan |
| meo | Kedah Malay | |
| kvr | Kerinci | |
| mqg | Kota Bangun Kutai Malay | |
| kvb | Kubu | |
| lce | Loncong | |
| lcf | Lubu | |
| mly | Malay (individual language) | Code was retired 2008-02-18, Split into: Standard Malay [zsm], Haji [hji], Papuan Malay [pmy] and Malay (individual language) [zlm]. Note: pmy is not part of the . |
| zlm | Malay (individual language) | |
| xmm | Manado Malay | |
| min | Minangkabau | |
| mui | Musi | |
| zmi | Negeri Sembilan Malay | |
| max | North Moluccan Malay | |
| orn | Orang Kanaq | |
| ors | Orang Seletar | |
| mfa | Pattani Malay | Thailand, Pattani Province |
| pel | Pekal | |
| msi | Sabah Malay | |
| zsm | Standard Malay | |
| tmw | Temuan | |
| vkt | Tenggarong Kutai Malay | |
| urk | Urak Lawoi' |