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Malay Language

The Malay language which belongs to the Austranesian or Malayo-

Polynesian language group includes dialects such as Achenese, Javanese and

Sundanese found in the various islands that make up the Indonesian

archipelago, the Malay speech of Malaysia and Yawi, a dialect of Malay

spoken in Southern Thailand. Also closely related to Malay is Tagalog spoken

in the Phillipines.

The local Malay language known as Melayu Bahasa somewhat differs from

the standard Malay language of Indonesia (Bahasa Indonesia) and Malaysia

(Bahasa Malaysia). Hussainmiya (1987) believes the local Malay language to

be descended from a colloquial dialect known variously as Batavian Malay

(Omong Jakarta), Low Malay, Bazaar Malay etc, a Malay pidgin that originated

in the coastal areas of Java. In support he points out that the original Malaysettlers, since the beginning of Dutch rule in Sri Lanka were drawn from many

East Indan nationalities domiciled in and around the Dutch port city of Batavia

(present-day Jakarta). He notes that the diverse national groups of soldiers such

as Amboinese, Bandanese, Javanese and others who arrived in the island to

perform military service, were in the main former residents of Batavia and did

not always come from the different geographic regions of the archipelago as

their names suggest.

He contends that ever since the founding of Batavia in 1619, a number of

such nationalities settled in the outskirts of Batavia and cites Dr.F.De Haanwho shows in his Oude Batavia (1922) that there were separate kampungs for

each of these nationalities headed by their own chieftains. He nevertheless

notes that assimilation between these various ethnic nationalities from the

archipelago which had settled in Batavia had already taken place before their

arrival in Sri Lanka and contends that one of the main factors which assisted

the residents of Batavia gain a distinct group identity was a simplified Malay

language alias Batavian Malay which they adopted as their main medium of

communication.

In this connection, he cites Viekke who in his Nusantara. A History of the

East Indian Archipelago (1945) has this to say: Gradually this heterogeneouspopulation developed into a new Indonesian national group, distinct from the

Sundanese of the west and the Javanese of the East Java and with a simplified

Malay language, the lingua franca of the archipelago as their native tongue. In

later times, this Malay pidgin that found its way to Sri Lanka with the early

Malay soldiers was considerably influenced by the local languages, especially

the Tamil spoken by the Moors, contends Hussainmiya.

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Among the phonological differences between Standard Malay and the

local variant are the dropping of the aspirate, the replacement of final dental

nasals by velar nasals as well as a few other irregular vowel changes.

De-aspiration is pronounced in Sri Lankan Malay

Cf. SLM. ati heart (SM. hati)

idongnose; (SM.hidung)

ijo green (SM.hijau)

utan forest (SM.hutan)

As is the replacement of dental nasals by velar nasals (which we shall here

represent by ngand not n in keeping with conventional practice)

Cf. SLM. ikangfish (SM.ikan)

jalangroad(SM.jalan)

cincingring (SM.cincin)

simpangto keep (SM.simpan)

Vowel changes include that ofu >o though this is quite irregular

Cf.SLM. bisolboil (SM.bisul)

lobanghole (SM.lubang)

sarongsarong (SM.sarung)

terongbrinjal (SM.terung)

Besides these one would find that local Malay has been subjected to aphereris

or dropping of an initial syllable

Cf. SLM.guna useful (SM.berguna)

nangis to cry (SM.menangis)

sukn pleasure (SM.kesukn)

ribu thousand (SM.seribu)

As for syntax, there exists significant differences between Sri Lankan

Malay and Standard Malay, a notable example being that whereas in Standard

Malay adjectives invariably follow the noun, in Sri Lankan Malay they precede

the noun.

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Cf. SLM.besarrumah

SM. rumahbesar

(A big house)

There are also a few other grammatical differences such as:

SLM.Amat nasi makan

SM.Amat makan nasi

(Amat eats rice)

and SLM.madu gula nang lebih manis

SM. madu lebih manis daripada gula

(Honey is sweeter than sugar) 1

Hussainmiya (1987) attributes the grammatical differences between

Standard and Local Malay to the influence of the Tamil spoken by the Moors.

There can be little doubt that social intercourse and intermarriage between the

Malays and their Moorish co-religionists has taken place since at least the late

Dutch or early British period, so that the impact of Sona Tamil on local Malay

is not difficult to comprehend. Indeed, so pervasive was this inflence that it

even affected the vocabulary of the Malays who adopted a few Tamil loans in

preference to their native Malay, among them kusni kitchen (SM.dapur),

mami aunt (SM.bibi), nondi lame (SM.pincang) and wauwal bat

(SM.kelawar). The influence of Sinhala grammar on local Malay also cannot

be ruled out, though its impact on the vocabulary of the local Malay languagehas been negligible.

Surprisingly, the upcountry Malays managed to retain the traditional Malay

practice of preceding the adjective with the noun as in Standard Malay until

fairly recent times. For instance, they would say daging gorengfried beef and

orang miskin a poor man instead ofgoreng daging and miskin orang as

expressed by Malay speakers in Slave Island 2. The reason these upcountry

Malays were able to preserve their language better is attributable to the fact that

they were more isolated than the rest and did not have as much contact with the

other ethnic groups as those who lived in Colombo3

.

1 The differences between Standard Malay and the local variant has been dealt with at length by

B.D.K.Saldin in his The Sri Lankan Malays and their Language (2001)

2 See The Sri Lankan Malay language and its future.B.D.K.Saldin.CDN.Jan.14.2004.

3 ibid.

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It however appears that the Malay language has been declining of late and

fears have been expressed that it is gradually dying out and being superseded

by Sinhala among the younger generation. The adoption of Sinhala has been

facilitated not only by education in the Sinhala vernacular, but also by constant

intermarriage and the cordial relations that have subsisted between the two

communities. A few Malays living in predominantly Moor areas like Kalpitiya

are however very conversant in Tamil, though they are still said to speak Malay

with their families. The Malays of Kinniyai who still retain their Malay

physical traits have however taken to speaking Tamil and no longer speak

Malay as their home language largely if not solely due to the influence of the

neighbouring Tamil-speaking Moor community.

It is today only in areas like Kandy, Badulla, Gampaha, Wattala, Ja-Ela,

Kirinda, Hambantota and Slave Island where sizeable concentrations of Malays

are found that the younger generation still speaks Malay. In other area it is

largely restricted to the older folk. This trend has however not gone unchecked.

Many are the Malay organizations that have joined in the struggle to preserve

their language, among them the Persatuan Melayu Sri Lanka (The Sri Lanka

Malay Association), Pertubuhan Melayu Bersatu Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka United

Malay Organisation) and the Konferansi Sri Lanka Melayu (Conference of Sri

Lankan Malays). Regional associations such as the Mabole Malay Association

(Persatuan Melayu Mabole) and the Kandy Malay Association (Perkumpulan

Melayu Di Kandi) have also made a significant contribution to the struggle.

However whether these efforts will meet with success yet remains to be seen.