Malay language
| Malay | |
|---|---|
| Bahasa Melayu | |
| Native to | Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines |
Native speakers | Over 300 million (including Indonesian) |
Austronesian
| |
| Latin (Rumi), Arabic (Jawi), historically Pallava, Rencong | |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Malaysia), Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa (Indonesia) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | ms |
| ISO 639-2 | may (B) / msa (T) |
| ISO 639-3 | msa |
| Glottolog | mala1464[1] |
| Linguasphere | 31-MFA-a |
Malay (Malay: Bahasa Melayu) is a major Austronesian language spoken across Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand, and parts of the Philippines. It is the historical language of the Malacca Sultanate and functions as the foundation for the modern national languages of Malaysia (Bahasa Malaysia) and Indonesia (Bahasa Indonesia).
History
The earliest known inscriptions in Malay date back to the 7th century, written in the Pallava script from southern India. The Kedukan Bukit inscription (683 AD) discovered in Sumatra is one of the oldest examples.[2]
During the 15th century, under the Malacca Sultanate, Malay became the lingua franca of trade and diplomacy across the Malay Archipelago.[3]
Classification
Malay belongs to the Austronesian family, under the Malayo-Polynesian branch. It is closely related to other Malayic languages such as Minangkabau, Banjar, and Indonesian.
Official status
Malay has different statuses across Southeast Asia:
- In Malaysia, it is the official and national language, constitutionally referred to as Bahasa Malaysia.[4]
- In Indonesia, a standardized form of Malay known as Bahasa Indonesia is the official national language.[5]
- In Brunei, Malay is the sole official language.[6]
- In Singapore, Malay is one of four official languages and is recognized as the national language.[7]
Writing systems
Historically, Malay was written in multiple scripts:
- Jawi script: An Arabic-derived script used primarily for religious and traditional purposes.
- Rumi script: The Latin-based script used today for official and educational purposes in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore.
Dialects and varieties
Several regional dialects exist, including:
- Standard Malay (used in Malaysia and Brunei)
- Indonesian Malay
- Kelantanese, Terengganu, Kedah (Malaysia)
- Baba Malay (spoken by Peranakan communities)
- Pattani Malay (spoken in southern Thailand)
Linguistic features
Malay is an agglutinative language, forming new words by adding affixes. It has:
- No verb conjugation for tense, person, or number
- No noun gender
- Subject–verb–object (SVO) word order
Sample text
Malay (Rumi): Saya suka belajar bahasa Melayu kerana ia indah dan penting.
English translation: I like learning the Malay language because it is beautiful and important.
See also
References
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Malay (macrolanguage)". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. Search this book on
- ↑ Teeuw, A. (1959). Hikayat Sri Rama. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
- ↑ Collins, James T. (1996). Malay, World Language: A Short History. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
- ↑ Federal Constitution of Malaysia, Article 152.
- ↑ Sneddon, James (2003). The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society. UNSW Press.
- ↑ Brunei Darussalam Constitution, Article 82.
- ↑ Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, Article 153A.
