1.The origins of language and the development of writing.
2.What is language?.
3.Malaysian Languages:Standard Malay:Origins,Ties with Indonesian Language,Borrowings,etc.
4.Malaysian languages:Malay dialects of Peninsular Malaysia,Sabah n S'wak.
6.Malaysian languages:other languages,pidgins and creole.
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Please give more examples of pidign and creoles?
ReplyDeletePeople living in southern Mesopotamia developed one of the earliest writing system in the world. The system was developed so that information could be recorded. The writing system began with pictures and signs drawn on clay tablets. The signs changed over many years.Cuneiform writing was used to record variety of information such as temple activities, business and trade. Cuneiform also used to write stories, myths and personal letters. Cuneiform script was used to write different languages in Mesopotamia. It was used to write both Sumerian and Akkadian.
ReplyDeletethe origin of language is divided into 2 categories : 1) the divine sources
ReplyDelete2) the natural sounds (there are four (4) invention hypothesis on this. eg. the 'ding-dong' hypothesis, the 'pooh'pooh', the 'bow-bow' and the 'ta-ta'.
P/s : there are too many hypothesis that i have not mentioned here..
TWO of the most common words in Malay language are Abang and Awang, which are unique as they were also used as honorary titles, which then become a mark of hereditary for some groups in Brunei Darussalam and Sarawak.
ReplyDeleteThe origin of the two words were discussed in a presentation by Dr Yabit Alas, Head of the Malay Language and Linguistics Department at the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, during the UBD-Untan Literature and Culture Seminar.
The working paper was entitled Sejarah Gelaran Awang dan Abang Dalam Konteks Brunei Darussalam dan Sarawak (The History of the Title Awang and Abang in the Context of Brunei Darussalam and Sarawak).
In Sarawak, Abang is a special title given to those who were descendants of the original Abang only. This is the same for the word Awang, which is used for those of Awang lineage.
These two titles, he said, actually originated from the palace, or were awarded to a king to accredit his duties or services. In addition, men who worked in the palace were known as Awang-Awang.
Dr Yakid cited a publication by Wilkinson (1903), which defined awang as a male youth, a nickname usually given to the first born, or to a male youth whose name is unknown. The same author defined abangas an older brother or cousin, a phrase which signifies close relationships, or a phrase referred to a husband.
In Brunei, the word awang functioned as a title or a signature of a male name. The word has the same meaning as Encik in Malaysia, Bapak in Indonesia or 'Mister' in English.
However, its usage is still limited in a formal situation or in writings.
In an informal situation, the word will only be uttered to someone younger or of the same age. It would be considered to be rude if it was uttered to someone older or of a higher position.
Meanwhile, the use of the word abang is no difference from those used in other places within the Malay world. It is taken to mean an older man, or a wife's name for her husband.
The Majapahit Empire used Jawa as their ruling language. Although the Malay language had been used as the main medium in the Malay archipelago, bit and pieces of this ruling language would dissipate into the people of the countries under its control at that time.
The historical relation between Brunei and Sarawak began for a long time, in which Sarawak was once under the ruling of Brunei. Due to the mobility of its people, it would influenced the language.
From the angle of language, it can be proven that abang is an original Malay word, while awang was a borrowed word from Jawa. Sarawak, had managed to maintain the word abang due to the influence of Brunei empire.
The word awang was said to be borrowed from Jawa, might be due to the relationship between the two empires, either from Jawa directly from other countries under the control of Majapahit.
Differences between Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia
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The differences between the two are comparable to the differences between British English and American English. Both are mutually intelligible, but with differences in spelling and vocabulary. Bahasa Indonesia differs from Bahasa Malaysia in having words of Javanese and Dutch origin. For example, the word for 'post office' in Bahasa Malaysia is "pejabat pos", whereas in Bahasa Indonesia it is "kantor pos", from the Dutch word for office, kantoor. The sound 'u' (as in 'moon') is represented in Bahasa Indonesia as 'oe', as in Dutch, hence the spelling of the name of first the President, Sukarno as Soekarno. Similarly, the sound 'ch' is represented in Bahasa Malaysia as 'c', whereas in Indonesian, it has until recently followed Dutch, and used 'tj', although this is less common. Hence the word for 'brand' or 'stamp' is written as cap in Bahasa Malaysia and tjap in Bahasa Indonesia. Pronunciation also tends to be very different, with East Malaysia and Indonesia speaking a dialect called Bahasa Baku, where the words are pronounced as spelt and enunciation tends to be clipped, staccato and faster than the Malay spoken in the Malay Peninsula which tends to pronounce the final 'a' in words as a schwa and is spoken at a more languorous pace. (Kepada (meaning: for) is pronounced in Baku as 'kepaDAH' and in Peninsula Malay as 'kePAde')
ENGLISH - BAHASA MALAYSIA -BAHASA INDONESIA
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March- Mac - Maret - from Dutch Maart
August -Ogos -Augustus - from Dutch
speak- bercakap -berbicara
shop -kedai -toko
ticket- tiket- karcis - from Dutch kaartje
pharmacy- farmasi -apotik - from Dutch apotheek
Monday -Isnin -Senin
restaurant- restoran -rumah makan - literally eating house
television -televisyen- televisi- from Dutch televisie
university- universiti -universitas - from Dutch universiteit
car -kereta- mobil
Loan Words
ReplyDeleteThe Malay language has many words borrowed from Arabic, Sanskrit, Portuguese and more recently, English:
bahasa - language (from Sanskrit)
buku - book (from English)
dunia - world (from Arabic)
gereja - church (from Portuguese igreja)
keju - cheese (from Portuguese queijo)
roti - bread (from Sanskrit)
sharia - Islamic law (from Arabic)
sistem - system (from English)
Loan words from Malay in English include 'sarong' 'orangutang' (from orang utan or 'wild man'), and amok (wild), as in 'to run amok'. The term 'bint' for a young woman, from binte (daughter of) was used by British soldiers in colonial Malaya, but is now obsolete. Malay has also heavily influenced the forms of colloquial English spoken in Singapore, (Singlish) and Malaysia (Manglish).
Malaysian Languages : Standard Malay
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The Malay language also known locally as Bahasa Melayu is the mother tongue of the Malay people who are native to the Malay peninsula, southern Thailand, Singapore and parts of Sumatra. It is the official language of Malaysia, and Brunei, and one of the four official languages of Singapore. It is also used as a working language in East Timor.
The official standard for Malay, as agreed upon by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, is Bahasa Riau, the language of the Riau Archipelago, long considered the birthplace of the Malay language.
In Malaysia, it is known as Bahasa Malaysia or Malaysian language, even though it is, in fact, Malay. Similarly, Indonesia adopted a form of Malay as its official language upon independence, naming it Bahasa Indonesia. In Singapore and Brunei it is known simply as Malay or Bahasa Melayu. The reason for adopting these terms is political rather than a reflection of linguistic distinctiveness, as Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia are in fact versions of the same language. An exception would be the dialect spoken in the Malaysian state of Kelantan, which has very difficult intelligibility with other forms of Malay. Javanese Malay tends to have a lot of words unique to it which will be unfamiliar to other speakers of Malay. The language spoken by the Peranakan (Straits Chinese, a hybrid of Chinese settlers from the Ming Dynasty and local Malays) is a unique patois of Malay and the Chinese Dialect of Hokkien, which is mostly spoken in the former Straits Settlements of Penang and Melaka. The use of this interesting language is dying out however, with the Peranakan now choosing to speak Hokkien or English.
Malay is an agglutinative language, meaning that the meaning of the word can be changed by adding the necessary prefixes or suffixes. Generally the root word tends to be a verb with quantitative prefixes added to nouns which are root words.
Pidginization
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A pidgin is a simple language that arises from contacts between people with different mother tongues, in situations where relatively uncomplicated ideas are being exchanged. The speech is generally slow and supported by mime and gesture; the vocabulary is basic and taken mostly from the language of the most important group of speakers; and the grammar has much in common with that typically used by native speakers talking to non-native speakers, or by mothers talking to young children.
A simplified pidgin can develop rapidly: if it proves useful, it becomes more complex, and hence flexible. If it becomes a mother tongue, it is expanded to fulfil all its speakers' needs. Such mother tongues are known as creoles. Developed pidgins are most likely to be found in multilingual communities, where they are invaluable as lingua francas. They can be found in Papua New Guinea, for example, where there are over 700 languages for an estimated population of five million, and in West Africa, where as many as one-fifth of the world's languages occur.
Pidgins have probably existed for millennia. Evidence suggests that pidginized versions of Latin evolved into the Romance languages, and there was certainly a medieval lingua franca in use during the Crusades. Pidgins with vocabularies from European languages developed extensively in the wake of European expansionism from the 15th century onward.
Each pidgin, like each language, is unique but they share some characteristics: word order is fixed; there is little or no inflection; negation usually involves a 'no' word in front of the verb; nouns and verbs are regular; the small vocabulary is used creatively; and speakers use local idioms, metaphors, and proverbs.
Very informative...what's happening in Malaysia?
ReplyDeleteMy two cents...
ReplyDeleteGiven the large number of borrowed words, could Malay possibly be a Pidgin language? Well, probably all language began as pidgins anyway. But Malay has also ‘given birth’ to various forms of pidgin malays or dialects eg; the Baba Nyonya community in Malaysia speak a type of Malay that is heavily influenced by the Fukinese Chinese and the Peranakan community is now considered a Creole community.
For example, the influence of the chinese community produced words like “gua” and “lu” to mean “me” and “you”. Many of the words in Baba-Malay are similar to Malay words such as “belakang” becomes “blakang” and “kereta” becomes “kreta”. The changes to the words are caused by conversion of Chinese phonology to Malay phonology.
Other dialects of Malay include the Malay spoken in Papua New Guinea, Batavian Malay (in area of Jakarta called Batavia) and Ambon Malay (used in Ambon Island, Indonesia and influenced by Dutch and Portuguese).
Finally, much is said about Malay language being copied from other language but other languages have also gained words from Malay words. For example; the type of garment called ‘sarong’ which is now accepted use in the english speaking fashion world
I was very excited when I got back from the screening of ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’. In the beginning, the main character, narrated by Brad Pitt, announced that he was born of a Creole mother. This was just the week after learning about Pidgins and Creoles. So I did some reading on the Creole of New Orleans… (from wikipedia)
ReplyDeleteA definition of Créole from the earliest history in New Orleans (circa 1718) is "a child born in the colony as opposed to France or Spain. (see Criollo)" The definition became more codified after the United States took control of the city and Louisiana in 1803. The Creoles at that time included the Spanish ruling class, who ruled from the mid-1700s until the early 1800s. French language and social customs were paramount even under Spanish rule. White or French Creoles (both of French and Spanish descent) were Roman Catholics. Whites of French/Spanish mixture identified themselves as French Créoles.
Créole chiefly remained an expression of parochial and colonial government use through both the French and Spanish régimes, a period in which Europeans of French and Spanish ancestry, born in the New World as opposed to Europe, were referred to as Créole (Logsdon). Simultaneously, the people of the colony forged a new local identity; however, it is clear that everyone referred to themselves as French Créole. Parisian French was the language of early New Orleans. Later it evolved to contain local phrases and slang terms. The white French Créoles spoke what became known as Colonial French, as it began to differ from French as used in France.
Enslaved blacks who were native-born also began to be referred to as Creole, to distinguish them from new African arrivals. Over time, the black Créoles and Africans created a French and West African hybrid language called Créole French or Louisiana Creole French. It was used in some circumstances by slaves, planters and free people of color alike. It is still spoken today in central Louisiana.