# Perak Malay

Perak Malay (Bahase Peghok or Ngelabun Peghok; Standard Malay: bahasa Melayu Perak; Jawi script: بهاس ملايو ڤيراق) is one of the Malay dialects spoken within the state of Perak, Malaysia. Although it is neither the official language nor the standard dialect in the whole state of Perak, its existence which co-exists with other major dialects in the state of Perak still plays an important role in maintaining the identity of Perak. In spite of the fact that there are five main dialects traditionally spoken in Perak, only one of which is intended by the name "Perak Malay". There are subtle phonetic, syntactic and lexical distinctions from other major Malay dialects. Perak Malay can be divided into two sub-dialects, Kuala Kangsar and Perak Tengah, named after the daerah (districts) where they are predominantly spoken.

## Classification

Linguistically, the Malay dialects spoken in the state of Perak are diverse. In fact, there is still no definite classification of the type of Malay dialects used in Perak. Ismail Hussein (1973) classified the Malay dialects in Perak into five types segregated into five different areas. While Harun Mat Piah (1983) categorized them into six. Although Asmah Haji Omar (1985) divided the Malay dialects in Perak into five types, the specifications of the division did not coincide with that of Ismail's.

## Distribution

Perak Malay is spoken throughout the whole state except in the northwestern parts of Perak (Kerian, Larut, Matang and Selama), and a few parts of Manjung district including Pangkor Island where the northern dialect is predominantly spoken.
In the northeastern part of Perak (Hulu Perak) and some parts of Selama and Kerian, the Malay people natively speak a distinct variant of Malay language which is most closely related to Kelantan-Pattani Malay and the Malay dialects of southern Thailand due to geographical borders and historical assimilation. This variant is occasionally classified as a sub-dialect of Yawi. The district of Hulu Perak once was ruled by the Kingdom of Reman. Reman was historically a part of Greater Pattani (which is now a province of Thailand) before gaining independence in 1810 from the Pattani Kingdom via a rebellion by the Royal Family.
In the southern parts of Perak (Hilir Perak and Batang Padang) and also in the districts of Kampar and Kinta and several parts of Manjung, the dialect is heavily influenced by southern Malay dialects of the peninsula such as Selangor, Malacca and Johore-Riau Malay and various languages of Indonesian archipelago namely Javanese, Banjar, Rawa, Mandailing and Buginese as a result of historical immigration, civil war such as Klang War and other inevitable factors.
Whilst there are many Malay dialects significantly found in Perak, all Malay dialectologists basically agreed that Perak Malay is spoken by the native Malay people who traditionally have long been subsisting along the riverine system of Perak which comprises Perak River valley and its vicinity except those at the upper stream. Historically, it was a tradition for the Malay peasants in Perak to settle along the Perak River. Royal residences also were built at various sites along the river basin, and there was never any attempt to move to another tributary.

## Characteristics
### Phonology
#### Open final syllables

It has been said that in general, the Malay people in Malaya distinguish the dialect of Perak by the final /-a/ vowel in Standard Malay substituted into strong 'e': [-ɛ], in contrast to [-o], [-ɔ], [-ɑ] and [-ə] in the other Malay dialects, similar to inland Terengganu dialect. So as for the word mata (eye) which is shown by the phonemes /mata/ in Standard Malay, is pronounced as [matɛ] in Perak Malay notably in central Perak region. It appears that Perak Malay has a vowel raising rule which changes word final /-a/ vowel of Standard Malay to [-ɛ].
| Word | Standard Malay | Perak Malay | Perak Malay | Meaning |
| Word | Standard Malay | Perak Tengah | Kuala Kangsar | Meaning |
| Bota بوتا | /bota/ | [botɛ] | [botə] | Bota (a town in Perak) |
| mata مات | /mata/ | [matɛ] | [matə] | eye |
| kita كيت | /kita/ | [kitɛ] | [kitə] | we, us, our (inclusive) |
| rupa روڤـا | /rupa/ | [ʁopɛ] | [ʁopə] | look (noun) |
| kena كنا | /kəna/ | [kənɛ] | [kənə] | to be subject to (passive voice), to contact with |
| kereta كريتا | /kəreta/ | [kəʁetɛ] | [kəʁetə] | car, cart |
Exception of this rule occurs for some words as shown in the table below. This exception is regarded as common amongst most Malay dialects in the peninsula.
| Word | Standard Malay | Perak Malay | Meaning |
| Kinta كينتا | /kinta/ | [kinta] | Kinta (a district in Perak) |
| merdeka مرديـک | /mərdeka/ | [məɾdeka] | independent |
| bola بولا | /bola/ | [bola] | ball |
| beca بيچـا | /betʃa/ | [betʃa] | trishaw |
| lawa لاوا | /lawa/ | [lawɐ~o] | pretty, good |
| maha مها | /maha/ | [maha] | very (adj.), the most (superlative) |
As the prevalence of Perak Malay, the diphthongs presented by the graphemes -ai and -au are often articulated as varied forms of monophthongs. Still and all, diphthongization of monophthongs occurs in certain conditions instead. For instance, the final vowels sound /-i/ and /-u/ are articulated to some extent as diphthongs [-iy] and [-uw] respectively. The monophthongization patterns phonetically vary by the sub-dialects.
| Word | Standard Malay | Perak Malay | Perak Malay | Meaning |
| Word | Standard Malay | Perak Tengah | Kuala Kangsar | Meaning |
| gulai ڬـولاي | /gulai̯/ | [gulaː] | [gulɛʲ] | gulai (a traditional Malay cuisine) |
| kedai كداي | /kədai̯/ | [kədaː] | [kədɛʲ] | shop, store (noun) |
| sampai سمـڤـاي | /sampai̯/ | [sampaː] | [sampɛʲ] | to arrive (verb), until (prep. and conj.), as far as (adverb) |
| risau ريساو | /risau̯/ | [ʁisaː] | [ʁisɔː] | to be worried |
| bangau باڠـاو | /baŋau̯/ | [baŋaː] | [baŋɔː] | stork |
| limau ليماو | /limau̯/ | [limaː] | [limɔː] | lime |
The pattern /-ai̯/ transformed to [-aː] is particularly restricted to some areas within the district of Perak Tengah. Typically in most villages in Parit and southward to Bota, this pattern is applied. While in the sub-districts of Kampung Gajah and northward to Lambor, the speakers tend to utter in the similar form as in Kuala Kangsar sub-dialect.

#### Closed final syllables

There is a phonological rule in Perak Malay that neutralizes the final nasals to alveolar nasal. The final nasals /-m/ and /-ŋ/ phonetically exist in certain environments. In other circumstances, the nasals are neutralized to [-n]. This neutralizing rule operates only if the final nasals are directly preceded by /i/ or /e/. In addition, the [e] and [o] are allophones of /i/ and /u/ in closed final syllables in general Malaysian phonology.
| Word | Standard Malay | Perak Malay | Meaning |
| Taiping تايـڤـيـڠ | /taipiŋ/ | [tɛpen] | Taiping (a sub-district in Perak) |
| kering كريـڠ | /kəriŋ/ | [kəʁen] | dry |
| bengkeng بيـڠـكيـڠ | /beŋkeŋ/ | [bɛŋken] | fierce, livery, pugnacious |
| kirim كيريم | /kirim/ | [keʁen] | to send, to post |
| musim موسيم | /musim/ | [musen] | season |
| alim عاليم | /alim/ | [alen] | pious |

#### Rhoticity

Most of Malay dialects particularly in Malaysia are non-rhotic. Perak Malay is one of non-rhotic variants of Malay language and the 'r' is guttural. In Perak Malay, if the 'r' appears in the initial and middle position of a word, it will be pronounced as French 'r' specifically voiced uvular fricative, [ʁ] but if it comes in the final position of a word and in a postvocalic setting, it will be dropped or deleted and then substituted into an open vowel; usually 'o' by affecting the open vowel preceding it.

### Vocabulary
#### Personal pronouns

Perak Malay differs lexically from Standard Malay for some personal pronouns. The suffix '-me' indicates plural pronoun. Possibly '-me' is derived from the word semua that means 'all' in Malay.
Perak Malay Personal Pronouns :
| Type of pronoun | Type of pronoun | Perak Malay | Meaning |
| First person | Singular | teman (general), awok (intimate), keme (familiar), aye (very polite), aku (informal) | I, me |
| First person | Plural | keme (general), kume*, temanme (rare) | we, us: they and me, s/he and me (exclusive) |
| First person | Plural | kite | we, us: you and me, you and us (inclusive) |
| Second person | Singular | mike (general), kamu (familiar), kome (intimate) | you, thou, thee |
| Second person | Plural | kome (general), mikeme, mengkeme*, mengkome* | you, y'all |
| Third person | Singular | die/diye, deme (familiar) | he, she, him, her |
| Third person | Plural | deme (general), depe** | they, them |
Notes: * Kuala Kangsar variant ** Influence of the northern dialect

#### Intensifiers

Instead of using 'bebeno' or 'sangat' as intensifier for an adjective, Perak Malay speakers also use specific intensifiers for some adjectives.
| Standard Malay | Perak Malay | Meaning |
| sangat putih | puteh melepok | very white |
| sangat hitam | itam bere/legam | very dark/black |
| sangat merah | meghåh menyale | very red |
| sangat busuk | busuk bango/melantong | very smelly |
| sangat manis | maneh meleten | very sweet |
| sangat tawar | tawo lesyo/besyo | very tasteless |
| sangat masam | masam meghutuk | very sour |
| sangat hangus | hangit pengit | very scorched |
| sangat terik | panah/paneh jantan | very hot (Sun) |
| sangat panas | hangat pijo | very hot |
| sangat sejuk | sejuk bedi | very cold |
| sangat kurus | kuruih merehek | very thin (body) |

#### Animals

Perak Malay also differs phonetically and lexically from Standard Malay for some animals.
| Standard Malay | Perak Malay | Meaning |
| anjing | anjen | dog |
| buaya | boye | crocodile |
| burung | boghong | bird |
| cacing | cacen | worm |
| cencurut | cencoghot | Malayan shrew |
| harimau | ghima/ghimo | tiger |
| ikan haruan/gabus | anåk maråk/meghåh, ikan bocat/bujuk, ikan bado | snakehead murrel |
| ikan temelian/tembelian | ikan temoleh | Probarbus jullieni |
| ikan tongkol | ikan kayu | Euthynnus affinis |
| kala jengking | kale lipit | scorpion |
| kambing | kamben | goat |
| kelekatu | mengkiok | winged caste of termite |
| kerbau | koba/keghobo | buffalo |
| kerengga | kongge/koghongge | weaver ant |
| kucing | kucen | cat |
| labi-labi | jelebo | softshell tortoise |
| pepatung/sesibur | cakcibo/cikcibo | dragonfly |
| pianggang | cenanga/cenango | Leptocoriza varicornis |
| semut api | semut gata/gatey | fire ant |
| ular | ulo | snake |

#### Fruits and plants

Perak Malay has distinct names for specific fruits and plants. Some differ in pronunciation from Standard Malay.
| Standard Malay | Perak Malay | Meaning |
| cili | caba/cabey | chili |
| cili padi/api | caba/cabey boghong | Bird's eye chili |
| durian | doyan/deghoyan | durian |
| durian belanda | doyan/deghoyan mekåh/meghokah | soursop |
| kabung | kanto | sugar palm |
| kedondong | amra | Spondias dulcis |
| kelapa | nyio | coconut |
| kerdas | geduåk/genuåk | Archidendron bubalinum |
| kuini | kuinen | fragrant mango |
| limau bali | lima/limo tambun | pomelo |
| mangga | pelam/mempelam | mango |
| manggis | manggeh | mangosteen |
| mencupu/cerapu | ceghopu | Garcinia prainiana |
| petai | peta/petey | Parkia speciosa |
| rambutan | mbutan/ghombutan | rambutan |
| tampoi | laghah | Baccaurea macrocarpa |