Malay is the main language of the Austronesian language family, spoken in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as some of the population of Singapore and other border countries. This language is spoken by a total of 290 million people. The article will tell about this exotic and ancient Asian language.
Where Malay is spoken
Speakers of this language live in the Strait of Malacca, including the coast of the Malay Peninsula and along the east coast of Sumatra in Indonesia. Some part of the population of Kalimantan also speaks Malay. It is used as the language of trade in the southern Philippines, including the southern parts of the Zamboanga Peninsula, the Sulu Archipelago, and the southern (predominantly Muslim) settlements of Palawan (an island in the Philippines).
How this language is called in different countries
Because Malay is the national language of several states, the standard variant of the language has a variety of official names. In Singapore and Brunei it is called Bahasa Melayu (Malaylanguage), in Malaysia it is called Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian language), in Indonesia Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language), and is often referred to as the unifying language or lingua franc of this region of Asia.
However, in the areas of central and southern Sumatra, where this language is indigenous, Indonesians call it Bahasa Melayu and it is considered one of their local dialects.
Standard Malay is also referred to as Judicial Malay. It was the literary standard of pre-colonial Malacca and the Sultanate of Johor, and therefore the language is sometimes referred to as Malacca, Johor, or Riau Malay (various combinations of these names are used) to distinguish it from other related languages. In the west, it is often referred to as Malayo-Indonesian.
Classification and related adverbs
Malay is part of the Austronesian family of languages, which includes languages from Southeast Asia and the Pacific. More specifically, it is the language of the Malayo-Polynesian branch. Malagasy, which is mainly spoken in Madagascar (an island in the Indian Ocean), is also part of this language group.
Although each language of the family is mutually incomprehensible, their similarities are quite striking. Many of the root words have remained largely unchanged and are similar to those spoken in Proto-Austronesian, which no longer exist. In the vocabulary of these languages there are many similar words denoting relatives, parts of the body and animals, household items.
Numbers, in particular, inbasically called almost the same in all languages of this group. Within the Austronesian family, Malay is part of a set of closely related languages known as Malay, which were spread through Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago by Malay traders from Sumatra.
Dialect or separate language
There is disagreement as to which varieties of the language commonly referred to as "Malay" should be considered dialects of that language, and which should be classified as separate languages. For example, Brunei's native language is Malay, but it is not always understood by standard speakers, and the same is true of some other dialects.
According to a study by scientists, some of this category of languages, which are currently considered independent, are very related to classical Malay. Therefore, they may turn out to be his dialects. There are also several Malay trade and creole languages derived from Classical Malay.
Spreading the language
Malay is spoken in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, parts of Thailand and the southern Philippines. Indonesia and Brunei have their own standards. Malaysia and Singapore use the same standard. The degree of use of this language in these states varies depending on historical and cultural conditions.
Malay is the national language of Malaysia under the Constitution of Malaysia and became the sole official language in Peninsular Malaysia in 1967, and in East Malaysiasince 1975. English is used in professional and commercial fields and in higher courts.
Other languages are also widely spoken by the state's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to the situation of this language in Malaysia. In the Philippines, Malay is spoken by the Muslim population living in Mindanao (in particular, the Zamboanga Peninsula) and the Sulu Archipelago.
However, they mostly speak a variant of Creole, reminiscent of one of the trade dialects of Malay. Historically, it was the language of the archipelago before the Spanish occupation. Indonesian is spoken in the city of Davao in the Philippines, and common phrases are taught to members of the Philippine military.
At the moment, thousands of people are learning this southeastern language, including from Malay tutorials. Various linguistic aids and resources are also widely used. Many attend special language courses.
