# Malay leid

| Malay |
| --- |
| **Bahasa Melayu** بهاس ملايو‎ |
| Native tae | **Indonesie** (as Indonesian)
**Malaysie** (as Malaysian)
**BruneiSingaporeThailand** (as Bahasa Jawi)
**East Timor** (as Indonesian)
**Christmas IslandCocos (Keeling) Islands** (*de jure*) |
| Native speakers | 77 million (2007) Tot: mair nor 215 million |
| Leid faimily | Austronesian
* Malayo-Polynesian (MP)
	+ Nuclear MP
		- Malayo-Sumbawan
			* Malayic
				+ Malayan
					- **Malay**
 |
| Staundart forms | Malaysian
Indonesian

 |
| Writin seestem | Latin (Malay alphabet) Arabic (Jawi)
Thai (in Thailand)
Historically Pallava, Kawi, Rencong |
| Offeecial status |
| Offeecial leid in |  Indonesie  Malaysie  Brunei  Singapore Cocos (Keeling) Islands (*de jure*) |
| Recognised minority leid in |  Indonesie(Local Malay enjoys the status o a regional leid in Sumatra apart frae the naitional staundart o Indonesian) |
| Regulatit bi | Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Institute o Leid an Literatur); Majlis Bahasa Brunei–Indonesia–Malaysia (Brunei–Indonesie–Malaysie Leid Council – MABBIM) (a trilateral jynt-venture) |
| Leid codes |
| ISO 639-1 | `ms` |
| ISO 639-2 | `may (B)` `msa (T)` |
| ISO 639-3 | `zlm` – inclusive code Individual codes: `zsm` – Malaysian `ind` – Indonesian `lrt` – Larantuka Malay ? `kxd` – Brunei ? `meo` – Kedah Malay ? `zmi` – Negeri Sembilan Malay ? `dup` – Duano ? `jak` – Jakun ? `orn` – Orang Kanaq ? `ors` – Orang Seletar ? `tmw` – Temuan ? |
|  |

**Malay** is a major leid o the Austronesian family. Staundartized varieties o Malay are the offeecial leid o Malaysie (Malaysian), Indonesie (Indonesian) an Brunei. Malay is ane o fower offeecial leids o Singapore, an is a wirkin leid o East Timor, a consequence o ower twintie years o Indonesian administration. It is spoken natively bi 40 million fowk athort the Malacca Strait, includin the coasts o the Malay Peninsula o Malaysie an soothren Thailand, Riau province, the eastren coast o Sumatra, an the Riau Islands in Indonesie, as haes been establisht as a native leid o Jakarta an o pairt o wastren coastal Sarawak an Kalimantan in Borneo. As a seicont leid, Indonesian is spoken bi an estimatit 140 million.

In Malaysie, the staundart leid is cried *Bahasa Malaysia* "Malaysian leid". In Singapore, Brunei, soothren Thailand, an the soothren Philippines it is cried *Bahasa Melayu* "Malay leid", an in Indonesie it is generally cried *Bahasa Indonesia*, "Indonesian leid", though *Bahasa Nasional* "Naitional Leid" and *Bahasa Persatuan/Pemersatu* "Unifyin Leid" are an aa heard. Housomeivver, in auries o Sumatra an Riau whaur the leid is indigenous, Indonesians refer tae it as *Bahasa Melayu*.

## Oreegin

There are mony hypotheses as tae whaur the Malay leid oreeginatit. Ane o these is that it came frae Sumatra island. The auldest inscriptions in Malay, date frae the end o the 7t century AD, wur foond on Bangka Island, aff the sootheastren coast o Sumatra (the Kedukan Bukit Inscription) an in Palembang in soothren Sumatra. "Malayu" wis the name o an auld kinrick locatit in Jambi province in eastren Sumatra. It wis kent in auncient Chinese texts as "Mo-lo-yo" an mentioned in the *Nagarakertagama*, an auld Javanese epic written in 1365, as ane o the "tributary states" o the Majapahit kinrick in eastren Java.

The uise o Malay throughoot insular an peninsular Sootheast Asie is linked tae the rise o Muslim kinricks an the spread o Islam, itsel a consequence o growin regional trade. At the time o European colonization, the Johor-Riau Sultanate haed ascendancy. Syne the 15t century, the Johor-Riau dialect o Malay haed been uised as a *lingua franca* throughoot the Malay Archipelago, as the similar dialect o Malacca haed been uised afore it. When Johor-Riau wis dividit atween Breetish Malaya (Johor) an the Dutch East Indies (Riau), its leid wis accordit offeecial status in baith territories.

Indonesie pronoonced Riau (Johor) Malay its offeecial leid (*Bahasa Indonesia*) when it gained unthirldom. Syne 1928, naitionalists an young fowk throughoot the Indonesian archipelago haed declared Malay tae be Indonesie's ae offeecial leid, as proclaimed in the *Sumpah Pemuda* "Youth Vow." Thus Indonesie wis the first kintra tae designate Malay as an offeecial leid.

In Malaysie, the 1957 Article 152 o the Federation adoptit Johor (Malacca) Malay as the offeecial leid (*Bahasa Malaysia*). The name "Malaysia", in both leid an kintra, emphasized that the naition consistit o mair nor juist ethnic Malays. In 1986 the offeecial name wis chynged tae *Bahasa Melayu*, but in 2007 it wis chynged back.

"Bahasa Melayu" wis defined as Brunei's offeecial leid in the kintra's 1959 Constitution.

The Indonesian an Malaysian dialects o Malay are separatit bi some centuries o different vocabulary development, pairtly due tae the influence o different colonial leids; Dutch in the case o Indonesie, umwhile the Dutch East Indies, an Inglis in the case o Malaysie, Singapore, an Brunei, which wur umwhile unner Breetish rule. Housomeivver, Indonesie an Malaysie lairgely unified their previously divergent orthographies in 1972, an they alang wi Brunei hae set up a joint commission tae develop common scientific an technical vocabulary an itherwise cooperate tae keep their staundarts convergent.

Some Malay dialects, housomeivver, show ae limited mutual intelligibility wi the staundart leid; for example, Kelantanese or Sarawakian pronunciation is difficult for mony fellae Malaysians tae unnerstaund, while Indonesian contains mony wirds unfamiliar tae speakers o Malaysian, some acause o Javanese, Sundanese or ither local leid influence, an some acause o slang.

The leid spoken bi the Peranakan (Straits Cheenese, a hybrid o Cheenese settlers frae the Ming Dynasty an local Malays) is a unique patois o Malay an the Hokkien Cheenese, which is maistly spoken in the umwhile Straits Settlements o Penang an Malacca in Malaysie, an the Indonesian Archipelago.