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Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
and
Standard Malay Malaysian Malay ( ms, Bahasa Melayu Malaysia), also known as Standard Malay (Malay: ''Bahasa Melayu Standard''), ( English translation: Malaysian language), or simply Malay, is a standardized form of the Malay language used in Malaysia (as o ...
are two standardised varieties of the
Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines and ...
, used officially in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...
(and in
Timor Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
as a working language) on one hand and in Brunei,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...
and
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borderin ...
on the other. Both varieties are generally
mutually intelligible In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. It is sometimes used as a ...
, yet there are noticeable differences in spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary, as well as the predominant source of loanwords. The differences can range from those mutually unintelligible with one another, to those having a closer familial resemblance. The regionalised and localised varieties of Malay can become a catalyst for intercultural conflict, especially in higher education.


Perception

To non-native speakers the two varieties may seem identical, but to native speakers the differences are noticeable through both diction and accent. They affect the broadcasting industry with regard to foreign language subtitling, for example, in DVD movies and on cable TV. In order to reach a wider audience, both Indonesian and Malay subtitles are sometimes displayed in a movie, along with other language subtitles. Another example is Malaysian TV providing Malay subtitling on Indonesian
sinetron A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored b ...
s (TV dramas) aired in Malaysia, and vice versa. The Malay language in Indonesia and Malaysia also differs in recognition, where in Malaysia it enjoys status as the national language (
Malaysian language Malaysian Malay ( ms, Bahasa Melayu Malaysia), also known as Standard Malay (Malay: ''Bahasa Melayu Standard''), Bahasa Malaysia (Literal translation, English translation: Malaysian language), or simply Malay, is a standardized form of the Ma ...
), while in Indonesia it is considered a
regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Lan ...
in Malay-speaking areas such as the eastern coast of
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent is ...
and
West Kalimantan West Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city is Pontianak. The province has an area of 147,307&nbs ...
. The term "Malay language" (''Bahasa Melayu'') in Indonesia and Malaysia invites different perceptions from its respective people. To Malaysians, the Malay language is generally understood as the
national language A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...
of Malaysia, with Malaysian language (''Bahasa Malaysia)'' being a precise appellation for the Malay variety used in the country. Between 1986 and 2007, the term ''Bahasa Melayu'' was used instead of ''Bahasa Malaysia'', until the latter was reinstated, in order to instill a sense of belonging among Malaysians of all races, rather than just Malays. Therefore, there was no clear distinction between the use of the term Malay (''Bahasa Melayu'') and the national language of Malaysia (''Bahasa Malaysia''). In Brunei, where Malay is also an official language, the language is known as ''Bahasa Melayu'' and in English as "Malay". In Indonesia, however, there is a clear distinction between "Malay language" (''bahasa Melayu'') and "Indonesian" (''bahasa Indonesia''). Indonesian is the national language which serves as the unifying language of Indonesia; despite being a standardized form of Malay, it is not referred to with the term "Malay" in common parlance. The term "Malay" is usually reserved for the forms of Malay indigenous to the Malay ethnic group (the national standardized language of Malaysia and the non-standard idioms of
Malay people Malays ( ms, Orang Melayu, Jawi: أورڠ ملايو) are an Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between these locations — areas that are col ...
, including those used by
Malay Indonesian Malay Indonesians ( Malay/Indonesian: Orang Melayu Indonesia; Jawi: اورڠ ملايو ايندونيسيا) are ethnic Malays living throughout Indonesia. They are one of the indigenous peoples of the country. Indonesian, the national language ...
s). Thus, "Malay" is considered a
regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Lan ...
(''bahasa daerah'') in Indonesia, enjoying the same status as e.g. Javanese, Sundanese, Buginese, Balinese,
Batak languages __FORCETOC__ The Batak languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken by the Batak people in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra and surrounding areas. Internal classification The Batak languages can be divided into two ma ...
and others. Moreover, to some Indonesians, the term "Malay" is more often associated with Malaysia and the Malaysian variety of Malay. In Malaysia, the terms "Indonesian Malay" and "Malaysian Malay" are sometimes used for Indonesian and Malay as spoken in Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Indonesian Malay" usually refers to the vernacular varieties of Malay spoken by the Malay peoples of Indonesia, that is, to Malay as a regional language in
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent is ...
, though it is rarely used. ''Bahasa Malaysia'' and ''Bahasa Melayu'' are used interchangeably in reference to Malay in Malaysia. Malay was designated as a national language by the Singaporean government after independence from Britain in the 1960s to avoid friction with Singapore's Malay-speaking neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia. It has a symbolic, rather than functional purpose. It is used in the national anthem "
Majulah Singapura ""; ; ta, முன்னேறட்டும் சிங்கப்பூர் is the national anthem of the Republic of Singapore. Composed by Zubir Said in 1958 as a theme song for official functions of the City Council of Singapor ...
", in citations of
Singaporean orders and decorations Orders and decorations conferred to civilians and military personnel in Singapore, listed by order of precedence. Awards specific to the military or police forces are separately listed. All state orders and decorations are styled in the Malay lang ...
and in military commands. Singaporean Malay is officially written in the Latin-based
Rumi script The modern Malay or Indonesian alphabet ( Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore: ''Tulisan Rumi'', literally "Roman script" or "Roman writing", Indonesia: ''Aksara Latin'', literally "Latin script"), consists of the 26 letters of the ISO basic Latin alp ...
, though some Singaporean Malays also learn the Arabic-based
Jawi script Jawi (; ace, Jawoë; Kelantan-Pattani: ''Yawi''; ) is a writing system used for writing several languages of Southeast Asia, such as Acehnese, Banjarese, Kerinci, Maguindanaon, Malay, Minangkabau, Tausūg, and Ternate. Jawi is based ...
. Jawi is considered an ethnic script for use on Singaporean identity cards.


Orthography

Before the 20th century, Malay was written in a local modified form of the Arabic alphabet known as Jawi. During the 20th century, Malay written with
Roman letters The Latin script, also known as Roman script, is an alphabetic writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae, in southern It ...
, known as Rumi, almost completely replaced Jawi in everyday life. The romanisations originally used in
British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Un ...
(now part of
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...
) and the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
(now
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...
) reflected their history as British and Dutch colonial possessions respectively. In British Malaya, the romanisation of Malay, devised by Richard Wilkinson was influenced by English, whereas in the Dutch East Indies, the system devised by C. A. Van Ophuijsen was influenced by
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...
. As a result, in Indonesia, the vowel was formerly represented ''oe'', as in Dutch, although the official spelling of this sound was changed to ''u'' in 1947 when the
Republican Spelling System The Republican Spelling System (in Indonesian: , when written in the current spelling system, or , when written in this spelling system) or Soewandi Spelling (in Indonesian: ) was the orthography used for Indonesian from 17 March 1947 until 1972 ...
was used. Similarly, until 1972, was represented in Malaysia as ''ch'', whereas in Indonesia, it continued to follow Dutch and used ''tj''. Hence the word for 'grandchild' used to be written as ' in Malaysia and ' in Indonesia, until a unified spelling system was introduced in 1972 (known in Indonesia as ' or the 'Perfected Spelling') which removed most differences between the two varieties: Malay ''ch'' and Indonesian ''tj'' became ''c'': hence '. Indonesia abandoned the spelling ''dj'' to conform to the ''j'' already in use in Malaysia, while the old Indonesian ''j'' for the semivowel was replaced with ''y'' as in Malaysia. Likewise, the
velar fricative A velar fricative is a fricative consonant produced at the velar place of articulation. It is possible to distinguish the following kinds of velar fricatives: *Voiced velar fricative, a consonant sound written as in the International Phonetic Alp ...
which occurs in many Arabic loanwords, which used to be written 'ch' in Indonesian, became ''kh'' in both languages. However, ''oe'' was retained in some proper names, such as the name of the former vice-president,
Boediono Boediono (Perfected Spelling System, EYD: Budiono, pronounced ; born 25 February 1943) is an Indonesian economist and statesman. He was the 11th Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia, in office from 2009 to 2014. He became vic ...
or former minister
Mohammad Roem Mohammad Roem (; May 16, 1908 – September 24, 1983) was a diplomat and one of Indonesia's leaders in the Indonesian war for independence. During the Sukarno presidency, he served as Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and later Mi ...
. The ''ch'' and ''dj'' letter combinations are still encountered in names such as ''Achmad'' and ''Djojo'' (pronounced as ''Akhmad'' and ''Joyo'' respectively), although the post-1972 spelling is now favoured. One notable difference in
punctuation Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. An ...
between the two languages is the use of different
decimal mark A decimal separator is a symbol used to separate the integer part from the fractional part of a number written in decimal form (e.g., "." in 12.45). Different countries officially designate different symbols for use as the separator. The choi ...
s; Indonesian, influenced by Dutch, uses the
decimal comma A decimal separator is a symbol used to separate the integer part from the fractional part of a number written in decimal form (e.g., "." in 12.45). Different countries officially designate different symbols for use as the separator. The cho ...
, whereas Malay, influenced by English, uses the
decimal point A decimal separator is a symbol used to separate the integer part from the fractional part of a number written in decimal form (e.g., "." in 12.45). Different countries officially designate different symbols for use as the separator. The cho ...
.


Pronunciation

Pronunciation also tends to be very different, with East Malaysia, Brunei and East Indonesia pronouncing words in a form called ''Bahasa Baku'', where the words are pronounced as spelled. Moreover, enunciation tends to be clipped, staccato and faster than on the Malay Peninsula, which is spoken at a more languorous pace. Many vowels are pronounced (and were formerly spelt) differently in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Sumatra: ' is pronounced (and was spelt) ', ' as ', etc., and many final ''as tend to be pronounced as
schwa In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it r ...
s; and are also allophones of and in closed final syllables in peninsular Malaysian, Singaporean and Sumatran varieties of Malay.


Vocabulary


Vocabulary differences

Indonesian and Malay both differ in the forms of loanwords used as the Malay Archipelago was divided by long-lasting colonial influences between the Dutch and British as a consequence of the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London, was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Anglo-D ...
: Indonesian absorbed primarily Dutch loanwords whereas Malay absorbed primarily English words. Pronunciation of certain loanwords in Standard Malay follows English, while in Indonesian it follows Dutch, for example Malay "" (from English: television) and Indonesian "" (from Dutch: '); the "-syen" and "-si" also prevail in some other words, though "-si" has become more preferred in Malay of late. Malay has also experienced significant conservative pushback as precedent entities that existed within the British sphere made efforts to create words that would fit naturally foreign ideas of governance and thought through a Malay-oriented context. The Pakatan Belajar Mengajar Pengetahuan Bahasa in
Johore Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime bor ...
headed by
Abdul Rahman Andak Dato' Sri Amar DiRaja Abdul Rahman bin Dato' Wan Andak (13 June 1859 – 10 September 1930), was a campaigner for Johor's independence when the British were trying to extend their influence throughout Malaysia. From modest origins, in 187 ...
during the 19th century was especially important in introducing
neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
s like ''pejabat'' ("office", cf. Indonesian ''kantor'' from ) and ''setiausaha'' ("secretary", cf. Indo ''sekretaris'' from nl, secretaris) into the Malay lexicon. For example, the word for 'post office' in Malaysia is "" (in Indonesia this means 'post officer'), whereas in Indonesia it is "". There are also some Portuguese language, Portuguese influences: in Indonesia, Christmas is known as "", whereas Malaysia uses both "Natal" and "", the latter derived from English. There are also instances where the Malay version derives from English pronunciation while the Indonesian version takes its cue from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. The Latin preference of the (older) Indonesian intellectuals in these instances may be ascribed to the influence of their classical-oriented education when ''Gymnasium'' schools were established during the Dutch colonial period: compare Malay ', ', ', ' and ' with Indonesian ', ', ', ' and '. Some words which are spelt the same in both languages may even carry entirely different meanings in the other language, potentially leading to humorous or embarrassing situations: while ' means "steel" in Indonesian, in Malay it means "fertiliser". Also, whereas the Indonesian word ' (from Sundanese ᮘᮥᮒᮥᮂ butuh) means "require" or "need", in Malay, it is a vulgar slang term equivalent to "cunt/cock". Conversely, where the word "" seems innocuous enough in Malaysia ("census"), in Indonesia it is a derogatory term for "transvestite". The relatively large share of Islamic (Arabic or Persian) loan words shared by Malay and Indonesian often poses no difficulty in comprehension and usage, although some forms may have developed a (slightly) different meaning or have become obsolete either in Malay or in Indonesian, e.g. ', ' (see below).


Vocabulary comparison


A


B


C


D


E


F


G


H


I


J


K–L


M


N


O


P


Q–R


S


T


U


V


W


Y–Z


False friends

Besides vocabulary differences, there are also a number of
false friends In linguistics, a false friend is either of two words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning. Examples include English ''embarrassed'' and Spanish ''embarazada'' 'pregnant'; English ''parents'' ...
in both languages. As these words are in quite common use in either or both of the languages, misunderstandings can arise.


Same words, same meaning, but different forms


Syllabification


Influence from English

One of the most important aspect in differences between Malay (Malaysian and Brunei) and Indonesian is the degree of influence from English. Apart from being heavily influenced by the Dutch language, the Indonesian language also adopted a significant number of English loanwords in its vocabulary, although English did not play significant role on the Indonesian language and in fact most of these vocabulary are of Dutch origin – Dutch and English share a similar Germanic origin, and Dutch has also borrowed from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, although to a lesser extent than English. There have been many changes in Indonesian as a result of its historical development. Words have been freely borrowed from English and only partly assimilated, in many cases, to the Indonesian patterns of structure. By the late 1970s, English words began pouring into the language, leading one commentator, writing in 1977, to refer to the "trend towards Indo-Saxonization", known in Indonesian as '. Many loanwords from English sometimes fulfill no communicative need, expressing concepts adequately covered by existing words. Among the examples are: ' instead of ' (accurate, Dutch ), ' in the place of ' (alliance, Dutch ), ' rather than ' (exist), ' as well as ' (candidate, Dutch ), ' instead of ' (conclusion, Dutch ), ' in the place of ' (contamination, Dutch ), ' rather than ' (opinion, Dutch ) and ' in the place of ' (option, Dutch ). However, these ' is not directly borrowed from English, but through their cognates in Dutch pronunciations as ' is heavily influenced by Dutch pronunciation.


Example

The original text in Indonesian: : ' ', ' ' ' ' ' ' . The same text rendered in Malay (Malaysian and Brunei): : ' , ' ' ' ' 10 ' ' e. English translation: :If the ''European stability pact'' rules had been respected in ''detail'', the ''ratio of public debt'' ''to'' ''gross domestic product'' on the days of crisis would have been at the ''position'' 10 ''percentage points'' less in the euro''zone'', he said.


Convergence of vocabulary

The rift of evolution between the two languages is based more on political nuance and the history of their formation than on cultural reasons. As a result, views regarding each other's languages differ amongst Malaysians and Indonesians. In Malaysia, the national language is Malay; in Indonesia, it is Indonesian. Malaysians tend to assert that Malay and Indonesian are merely different varieties of the same language, while Indonesians tend to treat them as separate – albeit closely related – languages. The result of this attitude is that the Indonesians feel little need to synchronize their language with Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, whereas the Malaysians are keener to coordinate the evolution of the language with the Indonesians. However, both parties have realized that communication benefits from mutually comprehensible and intelligible languages, which motivated efforts to synchronize the languages' development. The effort to synchronize both languages' evolution to increase their mutual intelligibility has been embarked by imposing standard
rules of language In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domai ...
. This process is headed by
Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa The Language Development and Fostering Agency ( id, Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa), formerly the Language and Book Development Agency () and the Language Centre (), is the institution responsible for standardising and regulating the Indon ...
on the Indonesian side and
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka ( en, Institute of Language and Literature, Jawi: ديوان بهاس دان ڤوستاک), abbreviated DBP, is the government body responsible for coordinating the use of the Malay language and Malay-language literat ...
as its Malaysian counterpart. Authorities in both Brunei and Singapore generally abide by the Malaysian standard in disputes.


Sample

The following texts are excerpts from the official translations of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...
in Indonesian and Malay (Malaysian and Brunei), along with the original declaration in English. * ''Indonesian text sample:'' ::' :: :: :: ::: * : ::', :: :: . :: :::. * The original English version of the text: ::''Now, therefore,'' ::the General Assembly proclaims ::this UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction. ::Article 1 :::All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.


References


External links

*
Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia
2008. Pusat Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional * Regina Pasys, "Ternyata 4 Negara Ini Mempunya Bahasa yang Mirip dengan Bahasa Indonesia, Sudah Tahu?", ''Grid Kids'', https://kids.grid.id/read/472255841/keren-ternyata-4-negara-ini-mempunya-bahasa-yang-mirip-dengan-bahasa-indonesia-sudah-tahu?page=all (accessed in 5 Juli 2022 on 1:30 pm)
Senarai komprehensif perbezaan ejaan Malaysia dan ejaan Indonesia
Hiroki Nomoto, Nahoko Yamashita, Ayano Osaka (orthographic differences between Standard Malay and Indonesian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Comparison of Standard Malay and Indonesian Malay language Indonesian language Language comparison False friends Indonesia–Malaysia relations