Malay is an Austronesian language officially spoken in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore and unofficially spoken in East Timor and parts of Thailand. It is spoken by 290 million people across the Malay world.
Malay is an unwritten language. In the Sriwichai period, Sanskrit characters were used to write. Later, when Malaysia converted to Muslims by the Indians in the Mughal dynasty, they used Arabic scripts to write what we called Yawi (yawi). Later, when Malaysia was under British rule, it turned to use Roman characters to write or called rumi
In the following lesson, rumi is used in Malay writing. Let’s study together with Hai, Taiga.
Chapter 1 Sacrifice in Malay
In Malay, there are 6 sacrifices.
- A: Pronounce ” ah ” such as :-
saya pronounced sa-ya = I , I , I , I , I
Mata reads as Ma-ta = eyes.
kaya pronounced ka-ya = wealthy
2 E ( taling ) : Pronounce ” A ” or ” A ” eg:-
meja pronounced as me-ya or ma-ya = table
sewa pronounced se-va = rent, hire
(It’s an opening sound, a long sound)
- E ( pepet ) : pronounce ” er “, short and light, for example:-
kera pronounced as kera, or may also be heard as than = monkey
mesyuarat pronounced me-su-wa-rat or mesuarat = meeting
peta – peta = map
- I : pronounced as ” I ” ” e ” such as :-
pipi pronounced pi-pi = cheeks
biji ” bi-yi = seed
kiri ” ki-ri = left
If there is a spell after I, change the sound to “E” or “A”, for example:
bilik pronounced b-lek = room
kambing ” kam-beng = goat
- O: Pronounce ” o ” eg:-
bola pronounced bo-la = ball
roti pronounced ro-ti = bread
topi ” topi = hat
- U : Pronounce “U” or “U” or may pronounce “O” when there are spellings such as :-
susu pronounced su-su = milk
buku ” bu-gu = book
guru ” guru = teacher
Vowel pronunciation changes with spelling (exceptions).
sayap read sajap = wings
padang ” pa-dang = plain
( padang besar – padang besar = the name of the border town of Thailand and Malaysia means a great plain)
merah read me-rah = red
dewi ” de-vi = angel
dewa ” de-wa = angel
parang ” pa-rang = war
ketam “ke-tam = crab
pipit ” year-off = sparrow
kikis ” ki-kis = scrape
lompat ” lompus = jump
tongkat ” Tong-kat = staff
kasut “ka-sut = shoes
rumput ” rum-put = grass
Diphthongs ( diftong )
ai is pronounced “ai”, for example :-
misai read me-sai = mustache
pantai “pan-tai = sandy beach
tupai “tu-to = squirrel
au pronounced ” au ” eg :-
kerbau read ker- light = buffalo
hijau ” hi-yao = green
pisau “pi-sau = dagger
oi is pronounced ” oi ” eg:-
kaloi read ka-loi = name of a fish
amboi ” Um-boi = Oh (interjection)
tampou ” tam-poi = alder’s name
Malay consonants
Consonant / The consonant
In general, the pronunciation of consonants in Malay is the same as in English. But there are some consonants that are pronounced differently, such as :-
C : pronounce Mon (Malay doesn’t use Ch ), for example:-
cuci read ju-ji = clean
camca ” jam-ja = spoon to scoop food
G : Pronounce g only, for example:-
gagak read ka-kak = crow
gunung “gu-nung = mountain
gigi ” gi-gi = teeth
H is pronounced ” h ” clearly and firmly when it is the first letter of a syllable, such as :-
hidung read hee-dong = nose
haus ” ha-ul = thirsty
helai ” hae lai = piece sheet
hubaya ” hoo-ba-ya = be careful
K: Pronounced ” g “, but at the end of a word it is not pronounced, but it is extracted to make it sound shorter and more dense, for example :-
kakak (ka-kak) = older sister
Kenal (Kenal) = know
budak (budak) = child
perak (perak) = silver (metal)
tarik (ta-rek) = pull
rokok (ro-kok) = cigarette
R: Pronounce ” r” at the end of a word, it must be pronounced as:-
kertas (kertas) = paper
harta (har-ta) = property
derma (der-ma) = gift
lapar (la-par) = hungry
pasir (pa-ser) = sand
telur (teluar) = egg
NG : Pronounce ” D” eg :-
ngaum (sesame-oom) = growl
ngeri (ngeri) = scared
ngiang (silence) = murmur
NY : Pronounce “Y” like :-
nyayi (ya-ya) = to sing
nyiwa (nyi-wa) = life
nyiur (nyor) = coconut
SY: Pronounced “Y”, for example :-
syah (shah) = king
syarikat (sha-ri-kat) = company
syak (shak) = doubt
KH: Pronounce ” c ” eg:-
khabar (ka-bar) = news
ikhlas ( ik-lus) = sincere
tawarikh (ta-wa-rek) = history
Pronoun kata kanti Nama
saya (sa-ya) = I
beta (be-ta) = I (royal term)
hamba (ham – ba) = servant (used with master)
aku(ah-gu) ku (gu) = me
anda (an – da) = you (polite)
engkau (eng – gao) kau (gao) = eng (used with a friend or someone lower)
kamu (ka – mu) = you, you (applies to people of lower levels)
mereka (mer – rae – ka) = them
kami ( ka – there ) = us (not including listeners)
kita (ki-ta) = us (including listeners)
awak (ah – wak) = you (used with people of the same level)
Malay has an easy and simple possessive grammar. Easier than Thai Chinese language, for example :-
buku saya (Buku – Saya) = my book
buku beta (bugu – beta) = my book
buku aku (bugu – aku) = my book
buku anda (bugu – anda) = your book
buku engkau (buku – engkau) = your book
buku kamu ( buku – kamu ) = your book
buku kami (buku – kami) = our book (not including listeners)
buku kita ( buku – kita ) = our book (including our listeners)
buku awak (Buku-awak) = your book
