Our MALAY Roots

 
FOREWORD
 
Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) is spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Southern Thailand and by Malays in Singapore.
Indonesia’s national language, Bahasa Indonesia, evolved from Malay, and so did Pilipino (Tagalog) and other Philippine dialects.

Only about 15 to 20 % of the Malay language is retained in most of the Philippine dialects,
but the traces of it will still evoke interest in those who want to know their roots.

This modest compilation attempts to highlight such similarities, as well as shed light on other obscure, borrowed words.

Knowledge of Malay will prove useful to people with interest in foreign languages or history,
as well as to those who plan to work in Malay-speaking countries, or for those planning to go on tour.
 

SOME CULTURAL SIMILARITIES

Body Language:

• When a Malay passes between two people who are talking to each other, the Malay will stoop.
• It is rude to put your hands on your hips, especially while talking to someone.
• Kissing a parent’s hand is done as a sign of respect.

Games:

• Congkak – same as our “sungka”

Interestingly, similar boards dating back to the sixth century have been found in Zaire, Angola and Ghana.

• Sepak Takraw – Although we have recently embraced this sport, we have long

known “sipa”, which is more of an individual sport.

THE CHINESE CONNECTION

• Repeating nicknames – We have inherited a practice of repeating nicknames (Ex. Bong-Bong, Don-Don, Jing-Jing, Rap-Rap, etc.)

Some Chinese given names are repeated.

Ex. NBA player Wang Zhi Zhi, whose given name is Zhi Zhi.

• Food – Many Chinese delicacies have retained their original names:

Siew Bao – Siopao (the Chinese ‘b’ is pronounced as ‘p’.)

Law Mee – Lomi

Bee Hoon – Bihon

• Vocabulary – Some Chinese words have found their way into the Bicol dialect.

Mayo – nothing/none (the Mandarin word “Mei-yo” has the same meaning.)

Nanay – mother (possibly from Nainai, which means grandmother in Mandarin.)

KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS

Arab.	Arabic
Bic.	Bicol
Iloc.	Ilocano
Kap.	Kapampangan
Leg.	Legazpi, Albay
Lit.	Literally
Span.	Spanish

AUTHOR’S NOTES

The following general observations about Malay are worth mentioning:

A letter k found at the end of a word is not explicitly pronounced.

To illustrate, we take the Pilipino word bansa (country) as an example. If we were to write it the way Malay words are spelled, it would be written as “bansak”, where the k refers to the hard stress on the second occurrence of ‘a’. Other examples:

Itik (duck)

Anak (son/daughter)

The c (pronounced as a ch sound) was replaced by a simple s:

Congkak – sungka (an indigenous toy/game)

Cinta – sinta (Pil. for love)

The j in Malay words was replaced by a d:

Jalan – dalan (Bic. for street)

Senjata – sandata (Pil. for weapon)

Gergaji – Lagadi (Bic. for saw - a carpenter's tool)

To pluralize a noun, we add mga (pronounced as manga). Manga came from banyak, Malay for many.
So in a way, we have simplified pluralization by adding the word “many” before the noun.

In Malay, the noun is repeated to pluralize it.

Orang-orang – people

Rumah-rumah – houses

Adjectives come after the noun they describe:

tahun baru – bagong taon (new year)

bukit merah – pulang bukid (Bic. for red hill)

The sentence structure is similar to the English language, that is, the subject is usually followed by the predicate.

This is good. Ini Bagus.

I can do that. Saya boleh buat itu.

Past Tense is made simple by adding “sudah”(already) before the verb OR by adding an adverb (of time).

He ate a banana. Dia sudah makan pisang.

You went to the market yesterday. Semalam anda pergi ke pasar.

Future Tense is done by adding akan before the verb.

We will buy books. Kita akan beli buku-buku.

There are words whose vowels or syllables were deliberately switched.

ENGLISH	MALAY	BICOL	PILIPINO
Tongue	Lidah	Dila	Dila
Reverse	Terbalik	Baliktad / Suwi	Baliktad
Hole	Lubang	Labot	Butas
Not	Bukan	Bako	Hindi
Line	Garisan	Gira	Linya (Span.)

Words that retain only the first syllable of the original

ENGLISH	MALAY	BICOL	PILIPINO
Nine (number)	Sembilan	Siyam	Siyam
To (a person)	Kepada	Ki	Kay

Words wherein one consonant was replaced

ENGLISH	MALAY	BICOL	PILIPINO
Anchovies	Ikan Bilis (Ikan means fish)	Dilis	Dilis
He, She	Dia	Siya	Siya

Some Malay words are preserved as surnames.

Tugas – Duty

Kalaw – If (from Kalau)

TOPICS

Adjectives

Arts / Letters

Body Parts / Organs

Business Terms

Colors

Dimensional Adjectives

Directions

Drinks & Liquids

Fauna

Flora

Food

House

Household Terms

Jewelries / Minerals

Man-made Structures

Nature's Elements

Numbers

Pronouns, Personal

Pronouns, Demonstrative

Pronouns, Interrogative

Tastes

Verbs

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Veny is a mechanical engineer–turned–I.T. professional. He’s also a graduate of Naga City schools (Parochial, Ateneo and UNC).

He does not claim to be an expert in either Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Indonesia, although he speaks Spanish, and can read/write Arabic.

His knowledge of the Malay language is largely self-taught. Fact is, the notes in this material are based on his observations/insights of the language.

Thanks to the internet; it’s possible to write an online material like this without spending a single cent.