Malaysian Malay ( ms, Bahasa Melayu Malaysia), also known as Standard Malay (Malay: ''Bahasa Melayu Standard''),
Bahasa Malaysia (
English translation: Malaysian language), or simply Malay, is a standardized form 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 an ...
used in
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 Mal ...
(as opposed to the
variety used 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 Gui ...
, which is referred to as the
"Indonesian" language). Malaysian Malay is
standardized from the
Johore-Riau dialect of
Malay. It is spoken by much of the Malaysian population, although most learn a
vernacular form of Malay or
another native language first.
[ Malay is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools.
]
Status
In Malaysia
Article 152 of the Federation designates "Malay" as the official language, but the term "Malaysian" or ''bahasa Malaysia'' is used on official contexts from time to time. The choice of name can be politically contentious; in 1999 the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka rejected the publication of some short stories as the preface to the publication used the term ''bahasa Malaysia'', not the preferred at the time ''bahasa Melayu''. Between 1986 and 2007, the term ''bahasa Malaysia'' was replaced by "''bahasa Melayu''". Since then, to recognize that 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 Mal ...
is composed of many ethnic groups (and not only the ethnic Malays), the term ''bahasa Malaysia'' has once again become the government's preferred designation for the ''bahasa kebangsaan'' (national language) and the ''bahasa perpaduan/penyatu'' (unifying language). However, both terms remain in use, as the terms Malay and ''bahasa Melayu'' are still very popular. The language is also referred to as ''BM''.
In Brunei and Singapore
The national standard variety of Malay employed in Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...
largely follows the Malaysian standard, the main differences being minor variation in pronunciation and some lexical influence from Brunei Malay, the local non-standard variety of Malay. Also in Singapore, the Malaysian standard form of Malay is employed.[
]
Writing system
The script of the Malaysian language is prescribed by law as the Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...
, known in Malay as Rumi (Roman alphabets), provided that the Arabic alphabet called Jawi (or Malay script) is not proscribed for that purpose. Rumi is official while efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve the Jawi script and to revive its use in Malaysia. The Latin alphabet, however, is still the most commonly used script in Malaysia, both for official and informal purposes.
Borrowed words
The Malaysian language has most of its borrowings absorbed from Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
, Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
, Hindustani, Persian, Portuguese, Dutch, Sinitic languages, Arabic and more recently, English (in particular many scientific and technological terms). Modern Malaysian Malay has also been influenced lexically by the Indonesian variety, largely through the popularity of Indonesian dramas, soap operas, and music.
Grammar
Colloquial and contemporary usage
Colloquial and contemporary usage of Malay includes modern Malaysian vocabulary, which may not be familiar to the older generation, such as:
*''Awek'' (means girl, in place of ''perempuan'').
*''Balak'' (means guy, in place of ''jantan'').
*''Cun'' (means pretty, in place of ''cantik / jelita'').
New plural pronouns have also been formed out of the original pronouns popularly nowadays and the word ''orang'' (person), such as:
*''Korang'' (''kau'' + ''orang'', "you all", in place of ''kalian / kamu semua'' (or ''hangpa / ampa'' in Kedahan)).
*''Kitorang'' (''kita'' + ''orang'', the exclusive "we", in place of ''kami'').
*''Diorang'' (''dia'' + ''orang'', the exclusive "they", in place of ''mereka'' (or ''depa'' in Kedahan)).
In addition, Arabic terms that is originally used in Standard Malay nowadays has been popularly changed where some of the words and pronunciations in the involved terms have been added by the local conservative Muslims by disputing the terms suggested by the ''Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka'' (DBP), claiming that the involved terms with implementation of the additional words and pronunciations is the real correct terms as same as stated in the Qur'an, where it is predominantly used by the local Muslim netizens in the social medias nowadays. The several involved terms in comparison to Standard Malay that is popularly used, such as:
*''Ramadhan'' (means the holy fasting month, in place of ''Ramadan'').
*''Aamiin'' (means asking Him to verify the prayer (''Du'a''); real term is Ameen, in place of ''Amin'').
*''Fardhu'' (means obligatory (''in Islam''), in place of ''Fardu'').
*''Redha'' (means accepting, in place of ''Reda'').
*''Mudharat'' (means harm, in place of ''Mudarat'').
*''Dhaif'' (means poverty, in place of ''Daif'').
*''Zohor'' (means mid-day or noon time, in place of ''Zuhur'').
*''Hadith'' (means Prophet (Mohamed) terms or speeches, in place of ''Hadis'').
Code-switching between English and Malaysian and the use of novel loanwords is widespread, forming Bahasa Rojak. Consequently, this phenomenon has raised the displeasure of linguistic purists in Malaysia, in their effort to uphold use of the prescribed standard language
A standard language (also standard variety, standard dialect, and standard) is a language variety that has undergone substantial codification of grammar and usage, although occasionally the term refers to the entirety of a language that include ...
.
See also
* Comparison of Standard Malay and Indonesian
* Indonesian language
Indonesian ( ) is the official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries. Indonesia ...
* Jawi, an Arabic script
The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used writing system in the world by number of countries using it or a script directly derived from it, and th ...
based writing system for Malay
* Language politics
* Malaysian English, English language used formally in Malaysia.
* Varieties of Malay
The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The most prominent member is Malay, which is the national language of Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia; it further serves as basis for Ind ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Institute of Language and Literature Malaysia, in Malay only)
with 40 Interactive Free Lessons
Malay–English Online Dictionary (from Malay to English only)
fro
Webster's Dictionary
Malay–English Online Dictionary
The Malay Spelling Reform
Asmah Haji Omar, (Journal of the Simplified Spelling Society, 1989-2 pp. 9–13 later designated J11)
* Pogadaev, V.A., Rott, N. V. Kamus Bahasa Russia – Bahasa Malaysia. Lebih kurang 30 000 perkataan. Moscow: Russky Yazik, 1986
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaysian Malay
Agglutinative languages
*
Languages of Malaysia
Standard languages
Subject–verb–object languages