This article is about the official language of Malaysia. For an overview of all languages used in Malaysia, see Languages of Malaysia. For ethnic Malays in Malaysia, see Malaysian Malays.
Native: Few (2022)[1] L2: Spoken by the vast majority of those in Malaysia, although most learn a local Malay dialect or another native language first.
Article 152 of Malaysia's Constitution as drafted in 1957 (revised in 1963) merely mentions "Malay" (Bahasa Melayu) as the designation of its "national language" without any further definition,[9] but the term bahasa Malaysia (lit.'Malaysian Language') is used in official contexts from time to time.[10] The use of the latter term 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 instead of bahasa Melayu.[11] Between 1986 and 2007, the term bahasa Malaysia was replaced by "bahasa Melayu". In 2007, to recognize that Malaysia is composed of many ethnic groups (and not only the ethnic Malays), the term bahasa Malaysia became the government's preferred designation for the national language.[10][12][13][14] Internally as of present, the Dewan Bahasa prefers the term bahasa Melayu in its literature[15] whereas Malaysia's Ministry of Education prefers both Bahasa Melayu in its syllabi material[16] as well as Bahasa Malaysia in its official communications.[17]
In Singapore, "Malay" as an official language allocated in its constitution's "General Provisions" (Part 13) is not defined in detail other than "in the Roman script",[18] the name as well as Bahasa Melayu is used continuously in its own educational literature;[19] however, there is presumption that the standard "Malay" used by Singapore is the same as that utilised by the Malaysian government in contrast to the standard used by Indonesia (though with little differences in vocabulary).[20]: 81
Article 152 of the Malaysian Constitution mentions the Malay language as the national language while the National Language Act 1963/67 strengthens the status of the Malay language as the official language.
The use of the term Bahasa Malaysia was also official in the publication of books and government agencies before the 20th era. This matter was coordinated by the first Prime Minister of Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman in order to distinguish Indonesian language after the 13 May incident.[21]
During the era of Mahathir Mohamad, the Malaysian Government coordinated all book publications to use the term Bahasa Melayu instead of Bahasa Malaysia to respect the constitution and the national language act. This led to the publication of many scholarly books that mixed the use of either Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Malaysia until the 2010s during Abdullah Ahmad Badawi era and the beginning Najib Razak era and finally the term Bahasa Melayu was successfully harmonized in the education system in the 2020s.[22]
The national standard variety of Malay employed in Brunei 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.[20]: 72
Comparison of the Malay language written in Rumi and Jawi with other languagesTraffic signs in Malaysian: Warning sign "Level crossing" and regulatory sign "Stop".
The Latin alphabet, known in Malay as Rumi (Roman alphabets), is prescribed by law as the official script of Malaysian Malay, and the Arabic alphabet called Jawi (or Malay script) is not legally prescribed for that purpose. Rumi is official while efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve the Jawi script and to revive its use in Malaysia.[23][24][25] The Latin alphabet, however, is still the most commonly used script in Malaysia, both for official and informal purposes.
Since Malayan independence and later Federation formation, its own Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka followed a purist approach in lexicography away from Western loanwords (even favouring established roots like Sanskrit and Arabic) as well as neologizing from native roots.[26] In recent years, Malaysian has also been influenced lexically by the Indonesian variety largely through the popularity of neighbouring mass media like dramas, soap operas, and music – akin to the effect of American media towards other Englishes like those of Britain and Australia.[27]
Sanskrit:
This language had a significant influence on the Malay language through trade and the spread of Hindu-Buddhist religions that arrived in the Malay Archipelago from the 1st to the 14th century. Borrowed words include bahasa (language), raja (king), syurga (heaven), neraka (hell), desa (village).
2. Arabic:
With the arrival of Islam in the region during the 7th century, Arabic began influencing the Malay language, especially in religious and philosophical terminology. Examples include kitab (book), masjid (mosque), ilmu (knowledge), iman (faith), zakat (almsgiving).
3. Tamil:
The influence of the Tamil language came primarily through maritime trade between India and the Malay Archipelago. Borrowed words from Tamil include kedai (shop), mangga (mango), and vadai (a type of snack).
4. Chinese:
Trade relations between Chinese merchants and the local population led to the borrowing of words such as tauhu (tofu), mee (noodles), lombong (mine).
5. Portuguese:
The Portuguese occupation of Malacca in the early 16th century introduced words like gereja (church), keju (cheese), jendela (window), and almari (cupboard).
6. Dutch:
Borrowing from Dutch occurred during the Dutch colonial period, including words like kabin (cabin), sekolah (school), kontrak (contract).
7. English:
The English language introduced many technical and modern words into Malay, especially during British colonial rule. Examples include telefon (telephone), komputer (computer), bank, internet, and stesen (station).
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).
Kitorang (kita + orang, the exclusive "we", in place of kami).
Malaysian speakerDiorang (dia + orang, the exclusive "they", in place of mereka).
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 Allah (Islam) 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.
^Asmah Haji Omar (1992). "Malay as a pluricentric language". In Clyne, Michael G. (ed.). Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations. Contributions to the sociology of language 62. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 403–4. ISBN3-11-012855-1.
^"Bahasa Rasmi". MyGovernment (in Malay). Government of Malaysia. Retrieved 19 April 2021. Perkara 152 Perlembagaan Persekutuan menjelaskan bahawa bahasa Melayu yang dikenali juga sebagai bahasa Malaysia adalah bahasa rasmi yang tidak boleh dipertikai fungsi dan peranannya sebagai Bahasa Kebangsaan.
^Encik Md. Asham bin Ahmad (8 August 2007). "Malay Language Malay Identity". Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
