# Malaysian Malay

Malaysian Malay (Malay: Bahasa Melayu Malaysia) or Malaysian (Bahasa Malaysia) – endonymically known within Malaysia as Standard Malay (Bahasa Melayu piawai) or simply Malay (Bahasa Melayu, abbreviated to BM) – is a standardized form of the Malay language used in Malaysia and also used in Brunei Darussalam and Singapore (as opposed to the variety used in Indonesia, which is referred to as the "Indonesian" language). Malaysian Malay is standardized from the Johor–Riau dialect of Malay, particularly a branch spoken in the state of Johor south of the Malay Peninsula. It is spoken by much of the Malaysian population, although most learn a vernacular Malay dialect or another native language first.

## Terminology
### In Malaysia

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, but the term bahasa Malaysia (lit. 'Malaysian language') is used in official contexts from time to time. The latter term was endorsed by Tunku Abdul Rahman during his premiership.
The exact wording of either names above can be politically contentious. Between 1986 during Mahathir Mohamad's tenure and 2007, the term bahasa Malaysia was replaced by "bahasa Melayu"; even 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. 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. Internally as of present since 2002, the affiliating Dewan Bahasa prefers the term bahasa Melayu in its literature as well as Ministry of Education's syllabi (as of 2023); the latter ministry's official communications used Bahasa Malaysia for a period of 2011 to 2015.

### Other countries

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", the name as well as Bahasa Melayu is used continuously in its own educational literature; 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).$^{:81}$
The national standard variety of Malay employed in formal communications of Brunei dubbed "Standard Brunei Malay" (or internally "Standard Malay") is observed to largely follow the Malaysian standard; the main differences being minor variation in pronunciation and some lexical influence from Brunei Malay, the local non-standard vernacular variety of Malay.$^{:72}$

## Writing system

The Latin alphabet, known in Malay as Rumi (Roman alphabet), 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. The Latin alphabet, however, is still the most commonly used script in Malaysia, for both official and informal purposes.

## Borrowed words

While literary Malay throughout the region has mostly absorbed from Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindustani (Hindi–Urdu), Arabic, Persian, Portuguese and Sinitic languages; the variety spoken within British colonies that eventually make up Malaysia following the 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty borrowed majorly from English (in particular many scientific and technological terms) compared to Dutch as spread within the East Indies.
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. 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.
* 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).
* 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).
* 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).
* Chinese: Trade relations between Chinese merchants and the local population led to the borrowing of words such as tauhu (tofu), mi (noodles), lombong (mine).
* Portuguese: The Portuguese occupation of Malacca in the early 16th century introduced words like gereja (church), keju (cheese), jendela (window), and almari (cupboard).
* Dutch: Borrowing from Dutch occurred during the Dutch colonial period, including words like kabin (cabin), sekolah (school), kontrak (contract).
* 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

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.