View source for Malay language

{{Short description|Austronesian language}}
{{About|the language on which standard Indonesian and standard Malay are based|the standard Malay used in Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore also called "Malay"|Malaysian Malay|the vernacular varieties and dialects of Malay|Malayic languages}}{{Other uses|Malay (disambiguation){{!}}Malay}}{{redirect-distinguish|Bahasa Melayu|Malayalam}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Malay
| ethnicity        = {{ubl
  | [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malays]]
  | Various ethnic groups in [[Demographics_of_Brunei#Ethnic_groups|Brunei]], [[Ethnic groups in Indonesia|Indonesia]], [[Demographics_of_Malaysia#Ethnolinguistic_groups|Malaysia]] and [[Demographics_of_Singapore#Ethnic_groups|Singapore]]
  | (see also [[Malay world|Malayophones]])
  }}
| nativename       = {{lang|ms|Bahasa Melayu}}<br/><!--
                  -->{{lang|ms-Arab|بهاس ملايو}}
| states           = [[Brunei]], [[Christmas Island]], [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]], [[Timor-Leste]], [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[South Thailand]]
| speakers         = [[First language|L1]]: {{sigfig|82.285706|2}} million
| date             = 2004–2010
| ref              = e27
| speakers2        = Total (L1 and [[Second language|L2]]): 290 million (2009)<ref>{{cite web|last=Uli|first=Kozok|title=How many people speak Indonesian|url=http://ipll.manoa.hawaii.edu/indonesian/2012/03/10/how-many-people-speak-indonesian/|publisher=University of Hawaii at Manoa|access-date=20 October 2012|date=10 March 2012|quote=James T. Collins (''Bahasa Sanskerta dan Bahasa Melayu'', Jakarta: KPG 2009) gives a conservative estimate of approximately 200 million, and a maximum estimate of 250 million speakers of Malay (Collins 2009, p. 17).}}</ref>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Austronesian
| fam2             = [[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]]
| fam3             = [[Malayic languages|Malayic]]
| fam4             = 
| fam5             = 
| fam6             = 
| ancestor         = [[Old Malay]]
| ancestor2        = [[Classical Malay]]
| ancestor3        = [[Pre-Modern Malay]]
| stand1           = [[Malaysian Malay|Standard Malay]]
| stand2           = [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]<ref name=bc>{{cite book|author = Uri Tadmor |editor1= Yaron Matras |editor2=Jeanette Sakel |chapter= Grammatical borrowing in Indonesian |title= Grammatical Borrowing in Cross-Linguistic Perspective |date= 2008 |isbn = 978-3-11-019919-2 |publisher= Walter de Gruyter |page = 301 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Es4T018diPIC |language= en}}</ref>
| script           = {{ubl|[[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Malay orthography|Malay alphabet]])|[[Arabic script|Arabic]] ([[Jawi script]])<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/26/nation/22168989&sec=nation|title=Kedah MB defends use of Jawi on signboards|date=26 August 2008|newspaper=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029105406/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F8%2F26%2Fnation%2F22168989&sec=nation|archive-date=29 October 2012}}</ref>|[[Arabic script|Arabic]] ([[Pegon script]]) (In [[Indonesia]])<ref name="Kitabi">Dahlan, H. Abdullah  Zaini. Kitabati, Practical Methods for Learning to Read &amp; Write Pegon (Kitabati, Metode Praktis Belajar Membaca &amp; Menulis Pegon). Zaini Press. Accessed April 19, 2023. [https://ia903106.us.archive.org/22/items/etaoin/Kitabati.pdf https://ia903106.us.archive.org/22/items/etaoin/Kitabati.pdf].</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Estuningtiyas |first=Retna Dwi |date=2021-05-02 |title=Rijal Dakwah: KH. Abdullah Syafi'ie (1910-1985) |url=https://ejournalpegon.jaringansantri.com/index.php/INC/article/view/45 |journal=The International Journal of Pegon: Islam Nusantara Civilization |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=81–96 |doi=10.51925/inc.v5i01.45 |issn=2621-4946|doi-access=free }}</ref>|[[Thai script|Thai alphabet]] (in [[Thailand]])|[[International uniformity of braille alphabets#Grade 1 braille|Malay Braille]]<br/>
Historically [[Pallava script]], [[Kawi script]], [[Ulu scripts]], [[Rejang script]], [[Judeo-Malay|Hebrew script]]}}
| nation           = {{ubl
  | [[Brunei]]
  | [[Indonesia]] (as [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]])
  | [[Malaysia]]
  | [[Singapore]]
  | [[UNESCO]] (as [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]])<ref name="UNESCO">{{Cite news|url= https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000387388.locale=en|title=Recognition of Bahasa Indonesia as an official language of the General Conference of UNESCO
|access-date=2023-11-20|website=unesco.org / document no. 42 C/28|language=en}}</ref>
  }}
| minority         = {{ubl
  | [[East Timor]] (beside [[Dili Malay]], [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] used as a working language and a trade language with [[Indonesia]])<ref name="easttimorgovernment.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.easttimorgovernment.com/languages.htm|title=East Timor Languages|website=East Timor Government|access-date=30 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130633/http://easttimorgovernment.com/languages.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
  | [[Indonesia]] (beside the national standard of [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], [[Malay Indonesians#Language|Local Malay]] enjoys the status of a regional language in [[Sumatra]] and [[Kalimantan]])
  | [[Sri Lanka]] (as [[Sri Lankan Malay]])
  | [[Thailand]] (as [[Kelantan-Pattani Malay|Pattani Malay]], [[Kedah Malay|Syburi Malay]], and [[Bangkok Malay]])
}}
| agency           = {{ubl
  | [[Agency for Language Development and Cultivation]] in Indonesia
  | [[Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka|Institute of Language and Literature]] in Malaysia
  | [[Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei|Language and Literature Bureau]] in Brunei
  | Malay Language Council in Singapore
  | [[Majlis Bahasa Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia|MABBIM]] (a trilateral joint venture)
  }}
| iso1             = ms
| iso2b            = may
| iso2t            = msa
| iso3             = msa<!-- The rest of the codes under the [msa] macrolanguage are at [[Malayan languages]], [[Malay trade and creole languages]], [[Cocos Malay]] and [[Urak Lawoi' language]] -->
| lc1              = zlm
| ld1              = [[Malaysian Malay|Malay (individual language)]]
| lc2              = ind
| ld2              = [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]
| lc3              = zsm
| ld3              = [[Malaysian Malay|Standard Malay]]
| lc4              = abs
| ld4              = [[Ambon Malay]]
| lc5              = mbf
| ld5              = [[Baba Malay]]
| lc6              = pea
| ld6              = [[Malay trade and creole languages#Baba Indonesian|Baba Indonesian]]
| lc7              = mhp
| ld7              = [[Balinese Malay]]
| lc8              = bjn
| ld8              = [[Banjarese language|Banjarese]]
| lc9              = mfb
| ld9              = [[Bangka Malay|Bangka]]
| lc10             = btj
| ld10             = [[Bacan Malay|Bacan]]
| lc11             = bew
| ld11             = [[Betawi language|Betawi]]
| lc12             = bve
| ld12             = [[Berau Malay|Berau]]
| lc13             = kxd
| ld13             = [[Brunei Malay]]
| lc14             = ccm
| ld14             = [[Malay Chetty creole language|Chetty Malay]]
| lc15             = coa
| ld15             = [[Cocos Malay]]
| lc16             = liw
| ld16             = [[Col language|Col]]
| lc17             = goq
| ld17             = [[Gorap]]
| lc18             = hji
| ld18             = [[Haji language|Haji]]
| lc19             = jax
| ld19             = [[Jambi Malay]]
| lc20             = vkk
| ld20             = [[Kaur language|Kaur]]
| lc21             = meo
| ld21             = [[Kedah Malay]]
| lc22             = mfa
| ld22             = [[Kelantan-Pattani Malay]]
| lc23             = kvr
| ld23             = [[Kerinci language|Kerinci]]
| lc24             = mqg
| ld24             = [[Kutainese language|Kota Bangun Kutai]]
| lc25             = mkn
| ld25             = [[Kupang Malay]]
| lc26             = mfp
| ld26             = [[Makassar Malay]]
| lc27             = xmm
| ld27             = [[Manado Malay]]
| lc28             = min
| ld28             = [[Minangkabau language|Minangkabau]]
| lc29             = mui
| ld29             = [[Musi language|Musi]]
| lc30             = zmi
| ld30             = [[Negeri Sembilan Malay|Negeri Sembilan]]
| lc31             = max
| ld31             = [[North Moluccan Malay]]
| lc32             = pmy
| ld32             = [[Papuan Malay]]
| lc33             = pel
| ld33             = [[Pekal language|Pekal]]
| lc34             = msi
| ld34             = [[Sabah Malay]]
| lc35             = sci
| ld35             = [[Sri Lanka Malay language]]
| lc36             = pse
| ld36             = [[South Barisan Malay]]
| lc37             = vkt
| ld37             = [[Tenggarong Kutai Malay]]
| lingua           = 31-MFA-a
| sign             = [[Manually Coded Malay]]
| glotto           = nucl1806
| glottoname       = 
| glottorefname    = Nuclear Malayic
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|ms|baˈha.sa məˈla.ju|}}
| map              = Malay language Spoken Area Map v1.png
| mapcaption       = Areas where Malay is spoken:{{legend|#0000ff|Indonesia}}
{{legend|#00bc00|Malaysia}}
{{legend|#76f36b|Singapore and Brunei, where Standard Malay is an official language}}
{{legend|#88caff|East Timor, where [[Dili Malay]] is a Malay creole language and Indonesian is used as a working language}}
{{legend|#f7f36b|Southern Thailand and the Cocos Isl., where other varieties of Malay are spoken}}
| map2             = Malay varieties in Southeast Asia.png
| mapcaption2      = Varieties of Malay in Southeast Asia:
{{legend|#1e90ff|Malay language as the majority}}
{{legend|#87cefa|Malay language as the minority}}
{{legend striped|#b200ed|#e4a0f7|[[Malay trade and creole languages|Malay-based creole languages]]}}
}}

'''Malay''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|m|ə|ˈ|l|eɪ}} {{respell|mə|LAY}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|m|eɪ|l|eɪ}} {{respell|MAY|lay}};<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref><ref>{{cite EPD|18}}</ref> [[endonym]]: {{lang|ms|Bahasa Melayu}}, [[Jawi script]]: {{lang|ms-Arab|بهاس ملايو}}) is an [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian language]] spoken primarily by [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malays]] in several islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the [[Malay Peninsula]] on mainland Asia.<ref name=Lowenberg>{{cite book |page=146–79 |chapter=Malay in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore: Three Faces of a National Language  |first=Peter |last=Lowenberg|title=With Forked Tongues: What are National Languages Good For? |date=1988 |publisher=Karoma |isbn=978-0-89720-084-4 |location= Ann Arbor, MI |editor-first=Florian |editor-last=Coulmas |editor-link=Florian Coulmas }}</ref>  The language is an [[official language]] of [[Brunei]], [[Malaysia]], and [[Singapore]]. [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], a standardized variety of Malay,<ref name=bc>{{cite book|author = Uri Tadmor |editor1= Yaron Matras |editor2=Jeanette Sakel |chapter= Grammatical borrowing in Indonesian |title= Grammatical Borrowing in Cross-Linguistic Perspective |date= 2008 |isbn = 978-3-11-019919-2 |publisher= Walter de Gruyter |page = 301 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Es4T018diPIC |language= en}}</ref> is the official language of [[Indonesia]] and one of the working languages of [[Timor-Leste]]. Malay is also spoken as a regional language of [[Malays (ethnic group)|ethnic Malays]] in [[Malay Indonesians|Indonesia]] and the [[Thai Malays|southern part]] of [[Thailand]]. Altogether, it is spoken by 60 million people across [[Maritime Southeast Asia]].<ref>10 million in Malaysia as either "Malay" or "[[Malaysian language|Malaysian]]",<!-- cf. "Bahasa/istilah Malaysia" versus "Bahasa/istilah Indonesia", see "Telus, konflik dan legap istilah MABBIM: satu kajian morfosemantik" (Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin & Junaini Kasdan, 2007) - the Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu website (https://prpm.dbp.gov.my/Cari1?keyword=contoh&d=103448 - 404 at times) by Msian Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka is another example in action--> 5 million in Indonesia as "Malay" plus 260 million as "[[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]", etc.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Wardhana|first=Dian Eka Chandra|date=2021|title= Indonesian as the Language of ASEAN During the New Life Behavior Change 2021|url= http://ejournal.karinosseff.org/index.php/jswse/article/view/114|journal= Journal of Social Work and Science Education|volume= 1|issue= 3|pages= 266–280|doi=10.52690/jswse.v1i3.114|doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 |access-date=29 January 2021|doi-access= free}}</ref>

The language is [[pluricentric]] and a [[ISO 639 macrolanguage|macrolanguage]], i.e., a group of [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] speech varieties, or [[dialect continuum]], that have no traditional name in common, and which may be considered distinct languages by their speakers. Several varieties of it are standardized as the national language ({{lang|ms|bahasa kebangsaan}} or {{lang|ms|bahasa nasional}}) of several nation states with various official names: in Malaysia, it is designated as either {{lang|ms|Bahasa Melayu}} ("Malay language") or in some instances, {{lang|ms|Bahasa Malaysia}}<!-- vide Asmah (1992), pp. 403-4 --> ("Malaysian language");<ref name=":1" /> in Singapore and Brunei, it is called {{lang|ms|Bahasa Melayu}} ("Malay language") where it in the latter country refers to a formal standard variety set apart from its own [[Brunei Malay|vernacular dialect]];{{efn|also described as "Standard Brunei Malay"}}<ref>See:
*{{Cite journal |last=Clynes |first=Adrian |date=2001 |title=Brunei Malay: An Overview |journal=Occasional Papers in Language Studies |publisher=Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, Universiti Brunei Darussalam |volume=7 |pages=11–2}}
*{{Cite journal |last1=Clynes |first1=Adrian |last2=Deterding |first2=David |date=2011 |title=Standard Malay (Brunei) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44527038 |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=259–268 |doi=10.1017/S002510031100017X |jstor=44527038 |issn=0025-1003}}</ref> in Indonesia, an autonomous normative variety called {{lang|id|Bahasa Indonesia}} ("[[Indonesian language]]") is designated the {{lang|id|bahasa persatuan/pemersatu}} ("unifying language" or [[lingua franca]]) whereas the term "Malay" ({{lang|id|bahasa Melayu}}) refers to vernacular varieties of Malay [[Malay Indonesians|indigenous]] to areas of Central to Southern [[Sumatra]] and [[West Kalimantan]] as the ethnic languages of [[Malay Indonesians|Malay]] in Indonesia.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |author=Asmah Haji Omar |title=Malay as a pluricentric language Pluricentric Languages: Differing Norms in Different Nations |publisher=Mouton de Gruyte |year=1992 |isbn=3-11-012855-1 |editor-last=Clyne |editor-first=Michael J. |editor-link=Michael Clyne |location=Berlin & New York |pages=403–4 |chapter=Malay as a pluricentric language |author-link=Asmah Haji Omar}}</ref>{{efn|Since the standardized varieties of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore are structurally largely identical and mostly differ in lexicon and to a lesser degree in phonetic details, the umbrella terms "Malay/Indonesian"<ref name=Blust>{{cite book |last=Blust |first=Robert |title=The Austronesian Languages |edition=revised|publisher=Australian National University|year=2013|isbn=978-1-922185-07-5|hdl=1885/10191}}</ref> or "Malay-Indonesian"<ref>{{cite book |last=Tadmor |first=Uri |year=2009 |chapter=Malay-Indonesian |editor=Bernard Comrie |title=The World's Major Languages |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=Routledge |pages=791–818}}</ref> are often used in the linguistic literature when discussing the structure or history of the language.}}

[[Classical Malay]], also called Court Malay, was the literary standard of the pre-colonial [[Malacca Sultanate|Malacca]] and [[Johor Sultanate|Johor]] Sultanates and so the language is sometimes called Malacca, Johor or Riau Malay (or various combinations of those names) to distinguish it from the various other [[Malayic languages]]. According to ''[[Ethnologue]]'' 16, several of the Malayic varieties they currently list as separate languages, including the {{lang|ms|[[Orang Asli]]}} varieties of the [[Malay Peninsula]], are so closely related to [[standard Malay]] that they may prove to be dialects. There are also several [[Malay trade and creole languages]] (e.g. [[Ambonese Malay]]) based on a lingua franca derived from Classical Malay as well as [[Makassar Malay]], which appears to be a [[mixed language]].

==Origin==
Malay historical linguists agree on the likelihood of the Malayic homeland being in western [[Borneo]].<ref>{{harvp|Adelaar|2004}}</ref> A form known as Proto-Malayic was spoken in Borneo at least by 1000&nbsp;BCE, it has been argued to be the ancestral language of all subsequent [[Malayic languages]]. Its ancestor, [[Proto-Malayo-Polynesian]], a descendant of the [[Proto-Austronesian language]], began to break up by at least 2000&nbsp;BCE, possibly as a result of the southward expansion of [[Austronesian peoples]] into [[Maritime Southeast Asia]] from the island of [[Taiwan]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Andaya|first=Leonard Y.|date=2001|title=The Search for the 'Origins' of Melayu|url=http://sabrizain.org/malaya/library/search.pdf|journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies|language=en|volume=32|issue=3|pages=315–330|doi=10.1017/S0022463401000169|s2cid=62886471}}</ref>
<!-- Doesn't belong here, partly duplicates content found in the following sections and should be merged into them:

Through the penetration and proliferation of [[Sanskrit]] vocabulary and the influence of major [[Indian religions]], the Proto-Malayic evolved into a form known as the Old Malay language.

The oldest surviving specimen of Old Malay, the [[Kedukan Bukit inscription]], dating from the end of the 7th century CE, was found on the banks of the River Tatang, a tributary of the River Musi, [[South Sumatra]]. "[[Melayu Kingdom|Malayu]]" was the name of an old kingdom located in [[Jambi|Jambi Province]] in Eastern Sumatra.

The use of Malay as a ''[[lingua franca]]'' throughout the [[Malay Archipelago]] is linked to the rise of [[Muslims|Muslim]] kingdoms and the spread of [[Islam]], itself a consequence of growing regional trade. A literary language was established in [[Malacca Sultanate|Malacca]]. After the defeat of Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511, the literary center shifted to the [[Johor-Riau Sultanate]] and the literary language is therefore often called Johor-Riau Malay, though it is a continuation of Malacca Malay. When Johor was divided between [[British Malaya]] ([[Johor]]) and the [[Dutch East Indies]] ([[Riau]]), its language was accorded official status in both territories.

Indonesia pronounced "Riau" (Malacca–Johor) Malay its official language (''Bahasa Indonesia'') when it gained independence. Since 1928, nationalists and young people throughout the Indonesian archipelago had declared Malay to be Indonesia's only official language, as proclaimed in the ''[[Sumpah Pemuda]]'' "Youth Vow." Thus Indonesia was the first country to designate Malay as an official language.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Languages of Indonesia (Sumatra) |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=IDS}}</ref>

In Malaysia, the 1957 [[Constitution of Malaysia#Article 152|Article 152]] of the Federation adopted Johor (Malacca) Malay as the official language (''Bahasa Malaysia''). The name "Malaysia", in both language and country, emphasised that the nation consisted of more than just ethnic [[Malay people|Malays]]. In 1986 the official name was changed to ''Bahasa Melayu'', but in 2007 it was changed back.<ref>[http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/bm/news.php?id=294230 Penggunaan Istilah Bahasa Malaysia Dan Bukan Bahasa Melayu Muktamad, Kata Zainuddin]. BERNAMA, 5 November 2007</ref>

"Bahasa Melayu" was defined as Brunei's official language in the country's 1959 Constitution. It is also based on the Malaccan standard.

The Indonesian and Malaysian [[register (sociolinguistics)|register]]s of Malay are separated by some centuries of different vocabulary development (see [[Differences between Malaysian and Indonesian]]; cf. [[Serbo-Croatian]]). This is, in part, partly due to the influence of different colonial languages; [[Dutch language|Dutch]] in the case of Indonesia (see [[Dutch East Indies]]) and [[English language|English]] in the case of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, which were formerly under [[British Empire|British rule]]. However, Indonesia and Malaysia largely unified their previously divergent orthographies in 1972, and they along with Brunei have set up a joint commission to develop common scientific and technical vocabulary and otherwise co-operate to keep their standards convergent.

Some Malay [[dialect]]s, however, show only limited [[mutual intelligibility]] with the standard language; for example, [[Kelantan-Pattani Malay|Kelantanese]] or [[Sarawak Malay|Sarawakian]] pronunciation is difficult for many fellow Malaysians to understand, while [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] contains many words unfamiliar to speakers of Malaysian, some because of [[Javanese language|Javanese]], [[Sundanese language|Sundanese]] or other [[Languages of Indonesia|local language]] influence and some because of the independent development of [[Indonesian slang language|Indonesian slang]] and colloquial parlance.

The language spoken by the [[Peranakans|Peranakan]] (Straits Chinese, a hybrid of Chinese settlers from the [[Ming dynasty|Ming Dynasty]] and local Malays) is a unique [[patois]] of Malay and the [[Hokkien|Hokkien Chinese]], which is mostly spoken in the former [[Straits Settlements]] of [[Penang]] and [[Malacca]] in Malaysia and the Indonesian Archipelago. -->

==History==
{{Main|History of the Malay language}}
[[File:Srivijayan Expansion.gif|thumb|250px|Map of the expansion of the [[Srivijaya]] empire, beginning in [[Palembang]] in the 7th century, then extending to most of [[Sumatra]], then expanding to [[Bangka Belitung Islands|Bangka Belitung]], [[Riau Islands]], [[Malay Peninsula]], [[Singapore]], [[Java]], [[Thailand]], [[Cambodia]], South [[Vietnam]], [[Sarawak]], [[Brunei]], [[Sabah]], [[West Kalimantan]], and ended as the [[Melayu Kingdom]] in [[Jambi]] in the 13th century.]]

The history of the Malay language can be divided into five periods: Old Malay, the Transitional Period, Classical Malay, Late Modern Malay and Modern Malay. Old Malay is believed to be the actual ancestor of Classical Malay.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wurm |first1=Stephen |author-link1=Stephen Wurm |last2=Mühlhäusler |first2=Peter |author-link2=Peter Mühlhäusler |last3=Tryon |first3=Darrell T. |author-link3=Darrell T. Tryon |title=Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas: Vol I: Maps. Vol II: Texts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFW1BwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PR19 |year=1996 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-081972-4 |page=677}}</ref>

Old Malay was influenced by [[Sanskrit]], the ancient [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] of [[India]]. Sanskrit loan words can be found in Old Malay vocabulary. The earliest known stone inscription in the Old Malay language was found on the island of [[Sumatra]]. Written in the [[Pallava alphabet|Pallava variety]] of the [[Grantha alphabet]],<ref>{{cite web |date=15 September 2007 |title=Bahasa Melayu Kuno |url=http://www.bahasa-malaysia-simple-fun.com/bahasa-melayu-kuno.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226183127/http://www.bahasa-malaysia-simple-fun.com/bahasa-melayu-kuno.html |archive-date=26 December 2010 |access-date=22 December 2010 |publisher=Bahasa-malaysia-simple-fun.com |df=dmy-all}}</ref> it is dated 1 May 683. Known as the [[Kedukan Bukit inscription]], it was discovered by the [[Dutch people|Dutchman]] C. J. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, on the banks of the Tatang River, a tributary of the [[Musi River (Indonesia)|Musi River]], near [[Palembang]], in what is now [[South Sumatra]], [[Indonesia]]. The stone measures approximately {{convert|45 by 80|cm}}. For centuries, [[Srivijaya]], a maritime empire based on the island from the 7th to the 11th centuries, was responsible for the spread of Old Malay throughout the [[Malay Peninsula]] and the [[Malay Archipelago]] through its expansion and economic power. Old Malay served as the [[lingua franca]] of traders and was widely used in various ports and marketplaces across the region.<ref>[http://sea.lib.niu.edu/lang/malay.html Southeast Asia Digital Library: About Malay] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070616131617/http://sea.lib.niu.edu/lang/malay.html|date=16 June 2007}}</ref>

The Tanjung Tanah Law<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/bpnbkepri/undang-undang-tanjung-tanah-naskah-melayu-tertua-di-dunia/|title=Undang-Undang Tanjung Tanah: Naskah Melayu Tertua di Dunia|last=Surakhman|first=M. Ali|date=23 October 2017|website=kemdikbud.go.id|language=id}}</ref> was a 14th-century pre-Islamic legal text that was produced during the reign of [[Adityawarman]] (1345–1377) of the [[Melayu Kingdom]] (also known as Malayu or Dharmasraya Kingdom), a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that arose after the end of [[Srivijaya]]n rule in [[Sumatra]]. The laws were for the [[Minangkabau people]], who today still live in the highlands of Sumatra, [[Indonesia]].

The [[Terengganu Inscription Stone]] (Malay: {{Lang|ms|Batu Bersurat Terengganu}}; Jawi: {{lang|ms-Arab|باتو برسورت ترڠݢانو}}) is a granite stele bearing an inscription in [[Jawi script]], discovered in [[Terengganu]], on the east coast of the [[Malay Peninsula]] (in what is now [[Malaysia]]). It is considered the earliest evidence of Classical Malay. Dated approximately to 702 [[Anno Hegirae|AH]] (1303 [[Common Era|CE]]), it represents the oldest known evidence of Jawi writing in the [[Malay world]] and stands as one of the earliest testimonies to the advent of [[Islam]] as a [[state religion]] in the region. The inscription contains a proclamation issued by a ruler of Terengganu, referred to as ''Seri Paduka Tuan'', urging his subjects to uphold and propagate Islam, while outlining 10 basic [[Sharia|Sharia laws]] as guidance.

Classical Malay came into widespread use as the [[lingua franca]] of the region during the [[Malacca Sultanate]] era (1402–1511), a powerful maritime kingdom strategically located along the [[Strait of Malacca]] that became a hub of international trade and Islamic learning in the region. During this period, the Malay language developed rapidly under the influence of [[Islamic literature]], which brought about significant linguistic changes, including a massive infusion of [[Arabic]] vocabulary, as well as continued influence from [[Sanskrit]] and [[Tamil language|Tamil]]. This enriched form of the language came to be known as Classical Malay. It was during this time the language evolved into a form recognisable to speakers of modern Malay.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

After the [[Capture of Malacca (1511)|Capture of Malacca]] by the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] in 1511, marking the fall of the [[Malacca Sultanate]], the [[royal court]] re-established itself as the [[Johor Sultanate]]. The court continued to use Classical Malay as its literary and administrative language. Over time, this literary tradition became strongly associated with the territories under the sultanate, including the present-day [[Malaysia|Malaysian]] state of [[Johor]] and the [[Indonesia|Indonesian]] province of [[Riau Islands]]. As a result, many assumed that the spoken Malay of Johor and Riau was closely related to Classical Malay. However, while the [[literary language]] used in the region reflects the classical tradition, the local spoken dialects differ.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sneddon |first=James N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9UjLYD9jVEC&pg=PA70 |title=The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society |publisher=UNSW Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-86840-598-8 |page=70}}</ref> The fall of Malacca led to the dispersal of Malay literary centres, as many literati and scholars sought refuge in areas outside the immediate control of European colonial powers. As a result, new Malay literary works began to emerge from [[Aceh Sultanate|Aceh]], [[Java]], [[Sultanate of Gowa|Makassar]], the [[Maluku Islands|Moluccas]], [[Champa]], and other regions.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Adelaar |first=K. Alexander |date=1999 |title=Malay: A short history |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S025754340000095X/type/journal_article |journal=South Pacific Journal of Psychology |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=14–24 |doi=10.1017/S025754340000095X |issn=0257-5434|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Among the oldest surviving letters written in Malay are the letters from Sultan Abu Hayat of [[Sultanate of Ternate|Ternate]], in the [[Maluku Islands]] of present-day [[Indonesia]], dated around 1521–1522. The text is addressed to the king of [[Portuguese Empire|Portugal]], following contact with Portuguese explorer [[Francisco Serrão]].<ref name="sneddon" /> The letters show a sign of non-native usage, as the Ternateans used (and still use) the unrelated [[Ternate language]], a [[West Papuan languages|West Papuan language]], as their [[first language]]. Malay was used solely as a [[lingua franca]] for inter-ethnic communications.<ref name="sneddon">{{cite book|last=Sneddon|first=James N.|title=The Indonesian Language: Its History and Role in Modern Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9UjLYD9jVEC&pg=PA62|year=2003|publisher=UNSW Press|isbn=978-0-86840-598-8|page=62}}</ref>

The 19th century marked a period of strong [[Western world|Western]] political and commercial domination in the [[Malay Peninsula]] and the [[Malay Archipelago]]. The colonial demarcation brought by the [[Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824|1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty]] led to [[Dutch East India Company]] effectively colonising the [[Dutch East Indies|East Indies]] in the south, while the [[British Empire]] held several colonies and protectorates in the [[British Malaya|Malay peninsula]] and [[British Borneo|Borneo]] in the north. Both colonial powers used the Malay language as a tool of centralisation and modernisation. They made use of each other's scholarly publications in developing the standardised versions of the Malay language.<ref name=":2" /> The flourishing of pre-modern Malay literature in the 19th century led to the rise of intellectual movements among the locals and the emergence of new communities of Malay [[Linguistics|linguists]].

==Classification==
{{See also|Austronesian languages#Comparison charts}}
Malay is a member of the [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] family of languages, which includes languages from [[Southeast Asia]] and the [[Pacific Ocean]], with a smaller number in continental [[Asia]]. [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]], a geographic outlier spoken in [[Madagascar]] in the [[Indian Ocean]], is also a member of this language family. Although these languages are not necessarily mutually intelligible to any extent, their similarities are often quite apparent. In more conservative languages like Malay, many roots have come with relatively little change from their common ancestor, [[Proto-Austronesian language]]. There are many [[cognate]]s found in the languages' words for kinship, health, body parts and common animals. Numbers, especially, show remarkable similarities.

Within Austronesian, Malay is part of a cluster of numerous closely related [[variety (linguistics)|forms of speech]] known as the [[Malayic languages]], which were spread across Malaya and the Indonesian archipelago by Malay traders from Sumatra. There is disagreement as to which varieties of speech popularly called "Malay" should be considered dialects of this language, and which should be classified as distinct Malay languages. The [[vernacular]] of Brunei—[[Brunei Malay]]—for example, is not readily intelligible with the [[standard language]], and the same is true with some lects on the Malay Peninsula such as [[Kedah Malay]]. However, both Brunei and Kedah are quite close.<ref>''[[Ethnologue]]'' 16 classifies them as distinct languages, ISO3 ''kxd'' and ''meo'', but states that they "are so closely related that they may one day be included as dialects of Malay".</ref>

==Writing system==
{{Main|Malay alphabet}}
[[File:Kerinci MSS detail.jpg|thumb|The [[Rencong alphabet]], a native writing system found in central and [[South Sumatra]]. The text reads (Voorhoeve's spelling): "haku manangis ma / njaru ka'u ka'u di / saru tijada da / tang [hitu hadik sa]", which is translated by Voorhoeve as: "I am weeping, calling you; though called, you do not come" (hitu adik sa- is the rest of 4th line.]]
[[File:KedukanBukit001.jpg|thumb|upright=1.04|[[Kedukan Bukit Inscription]], using [[Pallava alphabet]], is the oldest surviving specimen of the [[Old Malay]] language in [[South Sumatra]], Indonesia.]]
Malay is now written using the [[Latin script]], known as ''Rumi'' in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore or ''Latin'' in Indonesia, although an [[Arabic script]] called ''Arab Melayu'' or [[Jawi alphabet|''Jawi'']] also exists. Latin script is official in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Malay uses [[Hindu-Arabic numerals]].
[[File:Final pages of the Taj al-Salatin, The Crown of Kings, a Malay mirror for princes.jpg|thumb|Final pages of the Taj al-Salatin, ''The Crown of Kings'', a Malay "[[Mirrors for princes|mirror for princes]]", copied by Muhammad bin Umar Syaikh Farid on 31 July 1824&nbsp;CE in [[Penang]] in Jawi script. [[British Library]]]]
''Rumi'' (Latin) and ''Jawi'' are co-official in [[Brunei]] only. Names of institutions and organisations have to use Jawi and Rumi (Latin) scripts. Jawi is used fully in schools, especially the religious school, ''sekolah agama'', which is compulsory during the afternoon for Muslim students aged from around 6–7 up to 12–14.

Efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve Jawi in Malaysia, and students taking Malay language examinations in Malaysia have the option of answering questions using Jawi.

The Latin script, however, is the most commonly used in Brunei and Malaysia, both for official and informal purposes.

Historically, Malay has been written using various scripts. Before the introduction of Arabic script in the Malay region, Malay was written using the [[Pallava script|Pallava]], [[Kawi script|Kawi]] and [[Rencong script|Rencong]] scripts; these scripts are no longer frequently used, but similar scripts such as the [[Cham alphabet]] are used by the [[Chams]] of [[Vietnam]] and [[Cambodia]]. Old Malay was written using Pallava and Kawi script, as evident from several inscription stones in the Malay region. Starting from the era of kingdom of Pasai and throughout the golden age of the Malacca Sultanate, ''Jawi'' gradually replaced these scripts as the most commonly used script in the Malay region. Starting from the 17th century, under [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and British influence, Jawi was gradually replaced by the [[Malay alphabet|Rumi]] script.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/malay.htm |title=Malay (Bahasa Melayu) |website=Omniglot |access-date=30 August 2008}}</ref>

== Extent of use ==
{{See also|Malay trade and creole languages|Pluricentric language}}
[[File:Malaysia Traffic-signs Warning-and-regulatory-signs-02.jpg|thumb|right|A Malay traffic sign in Malaysia]]
[[File:Sukarno hatta airport - Terminal - Jakarta - Indonesia.jpg|thumb|right|Indonesian road signs in [[Soekarno–Hatta International Airport]]. The blue sign reads "''Lajur Khusus Menurunkan Penumpang''" which means "Lane for dropping passengers only" and the small no-parking sign on the left reads "''Sampai Rambu Berikutnya''" which means "until next sign" in Indonesian.]]
Malay is spoken in [[Brunei]], [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Timor-Leste]], [[Singapore]] and southern [[Thailand]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Malay Can Be 'Language of ASEAN' |url=http://www.brudirect.com/index.php/2010102331853/Local-News/malay-can-be-language-of-asean.html |date=24 October 2010 |publisher=brudirect.com |access-date=22 December 2010}}</ref> [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] is the national language in Indonesia by Article 36 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, while "Malay" ({{lang|id|bahasa Melayu}}) has been recognised as the ethnic languages of [[Malay Indonesians|Malay]] in Indonesia alongside [[Malay trade and creole languages|Malay-based trade and creole languages]] and [[Languages of Indonesia|other ethnic languages]]. Malaysia and Singapore use a common standard Malay.<ref name="Introduction">{{Cite book
  | last = Salleh
  | first = Muhammad Haji
  | title = An introduction to modern Malaysian literature
  | publisher = Institut Terjemahan Negara Malaysia Berhad
  | year = 2008
  | location = Kuala Lumpur
  | pages = xvi
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QTKtgVCUZ48C
  | isbn = 978-983-068-307-2}}</ref> Brunei, in addition to Standard Malay, uses a distinct [[nonstandard dialect|vernacular dialect]] called [[Brunei Malay]]. In Timor-Leste, Indonesian is recognised by the constitution as one of two working languages (the other being [[English language|English]]), alongside the official languages of [[Tetum language|Tetum]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].<ref name="easttimorgovernment.com"/> The extent to which Malay is used in these countries varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Malay is the national language in Malaysia by [[Constitution of Malaysia#Article 152 – National Language and Other Languages|Article 152]] of the [[Constitution of Malaysia]], and became the sole official language in [[Peninsular Malaysia]] in 1968 and in [[East Malaysia]] gradually from 1974. [[English language|English]] continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in the superior courts. Other minority languages are also commonly used by the country's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to that in Malaysia. In the [[Philippines]], [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] is spoken by the overseas Indonesian community concentrated in [[Davao City]]. Functional phrases are taught to members of the [[Armed Forces of the Philippines]] as well as local students.

Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) exercises in the development of Malay as an international language as well as a language of science.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Omar |first=Asmah Haji |date=1971 |title=Standard Language and the Standardization of Malay |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30029277 |journal=Anthropological Linguistics |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=75–89 |jstor=30029277 |issn=0003-5483}}</ref> The [[VOA]] and [[BBC]] use Indonesian as one of their standard language for broadcasting.<ref>{{cite news |title=Voice of America Bahasa Indonesia |url=http://www.voaindonesia.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401034329/http://www.voaindonesia.com/ |archive-date=1 April 2012 |access-date=1 April 2012 |publisher=[[Voice of America]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Languages: News and Analysis in your Language |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/languages/index.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401025752/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/languages/index.shtml |archive-date=1 April 2012 |access-date=1 April 2012 |publisher=[[BBC World Service]]}}</ref> In [[Australia]], Indonesian is one of three Asian target languages, together with [[Japanese language|Japanese]] and [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]], taught in some schools as part of the [[Languages Other Than English]] programme.<ref name="APO">{{Cite report |url=http://apo.org.au/research/building-asia-literate-australia-australian-strategy-asian-language-proficiency |title=Building an Asia-literate Australia: an Australian strategy for Asian language proficiency |last1=Wesley |first1=Michael |date=10 June 2009 |publisher=Australian Policy Online |access-date=10 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702094230/http://apo.org.au/research/building-asia-literate-australia-australian-strategy-asian-language-proficiency |archive-date=2 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Indonesian has been taught in Australian schools and universities since the 1950s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Indonesian |url=http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/languages/indonesian |website=www.australiancurriculum.edu.au }}{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Indonesian has been recognised as an official language of the General Conference of UNESCO since 2023.<ref name="UNESCO" />

==Phonology==
{{main|Malay phonology}}
Malay, like most Austronesian languages, is not a [[tonal language]].

===Consonants===
The consonants of Malaysian<ref name="Clynes and Deterding 2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Clynes |first1=Adrian |last2=Deterding |first2=David |date=2011 |title=Standard Malay (Brunei) |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=259–268 |doi=10.1017/S002510031100017X |doi-access=free |df=dmy-all}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Karim |first1=Nik Safiah |url=https://anyflip.com/itckx/dubr/basic |title=Tatabahasa Dewan |last2=M. Onn |first2=Farid |last3=Haji Musa |first3=Hashim |last4=Mahmood |first4=Abdul Hamid |publisher=[[Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-983-62-9484-5 |edition=3 |location=Kuala Lumpur |pages=297–303 |language=ms}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hassan |first=Abdullah |title=The Morphology of Malay |publisher=University of Edinburgh |year=1972}}</ref> and also Indonesian<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Soderberg |first1=Craig D. |last2=Olson |first2=Kenneth S. |year=2008 |title=Indonesian |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |language=en |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=209–213 |doi=10.1017/S0025100308003320 |issn=1475-3502|doi-access=free }}</ref> are shown below. Non-native consonants that only occur in borrowed words, principally from Arabic, Dutch and English, are shown in brackets.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Malay consonant phonemes
! colspan=2| 
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Post-alveolar consonant|Post{{nbh}}alv.]]/<br/>[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan=2| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Stop consonant|Stop]]/<br/>[[Affricate]]
! <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}
| {{IPA link|k}}
| ({{IPA link|ʔ}})
|-
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Fricative]]
! <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| ({{IPA link|f}})
| {{IPA link|s}}
| ({{IPA link|ʃ}})
| ({{IPA link|x}})
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| ({{IPA link|v}})
| ({{IPA link|z}})
|
| ({{IPA link|ɣ}})
|
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Approximant]]
! <small>[[semivowel]]</small>
| {{IPA link|w}}
| 
| {{IPA link|j}}
|
| 
|-
! <small>[[Lateral consonant|lateral]]</small>
| 
| {{IPA link|l}}
|
|
| 
|-
! colspan=2| [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|}

'''Orthographic note''':
The sounds are represented orthographically by their symbols as above, except:

* {{IPAslink|ð}} is 'z', the same as the {{IPAslink|z}} sound (only occurs in Arabic loanwords originally containing the {{IPAslink|ð}} sound, but the writing is not distinguished from Arabic loanwords with {{IPAslink|z}} sound, and this sound must be learned separately by the speakers).
* {{IPAslink|ɲ}} is 'ny'; 'n' before 'c' and 'j'
* {{IPAslink|ŋ}} is 'ng'
* {{IPAslink|θ}} is represented as 's', the same as the {{IPAslink|s}} sound (only occurs in Arabic loanwords originally containing the {{IPAslink|θ}} sound, but the writing is not distinguished from Arabic loanwords with {{IPAslink|s}} sound, and this sound must be learned separately by the speakers). Previously (before 1972), this sound was written 'th' in Standard Malay (not Indonesian)
* the glottal stop {{IPAslink|ʔ}} is final 'k' or an apostrophe ' (although some words have this glottal stop in the middle, such as ''rakyat'')
* {{IPAslink|tʃ}} is 'c'
* {{IPAslink|dʒ}} is 'j'
* {{IPAslink|ʃ}} is 'sy'
* {{IPAslink|x}} is 'kh'
* {{IPAslink|j}} is 'y'
* {{IPAslink|q}} is 'k'

'''Loans from Arabic''':
* Phonemes which occur only in Arabic loans may be pronounced distinctly by speakers who know Arabic. Otherwise they tend to be replaced with native sounds.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Table of borrowed Arabic consonants
|-
! Distinct !! Assimilated !! Example
|-
| {{IPAslink|x}} || {{IPAslink|k}}, {{IPAslink|h}} || ''khabar, kabar'' "news"
|-
| {{IPAslink|ð}} || {{IPAslink|d}}, {{IPAslink|l}} || ''redha, rela'' "good will"
|-
| {{IPA|/zˤ/}} || {{IPAslink|l}}, {{IPAslink|z}} || ''lohor, zuhur'' "noon (prayer)"
|-
| {{IPAslink|ɣ}} || {{IPAslink|ɡ}}, {{IPAslink|r}} || ''ghaib, raib'' "hidden"
|-
| {{IPAslink|ʕ}} || {{IPAslink|ʔ}} || ''saat, sa'at'' "second (time)"
|-
|{{IPAslink|θ}}
|{{IPAslink|s}}
|{{lang|ms|Selasa}} "Tuesday"
|-
|{{IPAslink|q}}
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|{{lang|ms|makam}} "grave"
|}

===Vowels===
Malay originally had four vowels, but in many dialects today, including Standard Malay, it has six, with {{IPA|/i/}} split into {{IPA|/i, e/}} and {{IPA|/u/}} split into {{IPA|/u, o/}}.<ref name="Clynes and Deterding 2011" /> Many words are commonly pronounced variably, with either {{IPA|[i, u]}} or {{IPA|[e, o]}}, and relatively few words require a mid vowel {{IPA|[e, o]}}.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Table of vowel phonemes of Standard Malay
|-
! 
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}
| {{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPA link|a}}
| 
|}
'''Orthographic note''': both {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}} are written with {{angbr|e}}. Orthographic {{IPA|/e, o/}} are relatively rare, so the letter {{angbr|e}} usually represents {{IPA|/ə/}}. There are some homographs; for example, ''perang'' is used for both {{IPA|/pəraŋ/}} "war" and {{IPA|/peraŋ ~ piraŋ/}} "blond". (In Indonesia, "blond" is written as ''pirang'' instead of ''perang''.)

Some analyses regard {{IPA|/ai, au, oi/}} as diphthongs.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Susur galur bahasa Melayu |last=Asmah Haji |first=Omar |date=1985 |publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka |location=Kuala Lumpur}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ahmad|first1=Zaharani|title=Fonologi generatif: teori dan penerapan|date=1993|publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka|location=Kuala Lumpur}}</ref> However, {{IPA|[ai]}} and {{IPA|[au]}} can only occur in open syllables, such as ''cukai'' ("excise") and ''pulau'' ("island"). Words with a phonetic diphthong in a closed syllable, such as ''baik'' ("good") and ''laut'' ("sea"), are actually two syllables. An alternative analysis therefore treats the phonetic diphthongs {{IPA|[ai]}}, {{IPA|[au]}} and {{IPA|[oi]}} as a sequence of a monophthong plus an approximant: {{IPA|/aj/}}, {{IPA|/aw/}} and {{IPA|/oj/}} respectively.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clynes |first=Adrian |date=1997 |title=On the Proto-Austronesian "Diphthongs" |journal=Oceanic Linguistics |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=347–361 |doi=10.2307/3622989 |jstor=3622989}}</ref>

There is a rule of [[vowel harmony]]: the non-open vowels {{IPA|/i, e, u, o/}} in bisyllabic words must agree in height, so ''hidung'' ("nose") is allowed but *''hedung'' is not.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://sealang.net/archives/pl/pdf/PL-C119.pdf |title=Proto Malayic: the reconstruction of its phonology and parts of its lexicon and morphology |last=Adelaar |first=K. A. |date=1992 |publisher=Pacific Linguistics |isbn=0858834081 |location=Canberra |doi=10.15144/pl-c119 |oclc=26845189}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" 
|+Comparison of several standard pronunciations of Malay–Indonesian<ref>{{cite journal|last=Abu Bakar |first=Mukhlis |date=2019-12-18 |title=Sebutan Johor-Riau dan Sebutan Baku dalam Konteks Identiti Masyarakat Melayu Singapura |url=http://publisher.unimas.my/ojs/index.php/ILS/article/view/1521 |journal=Issues in Language Studies |volume=8 |issue=2 |doi=10.33736/ils.1521.2019 |s2cid=213343934 |issn=2180-2726|doi-access=free }}</ref>
!rowspan=2|
!rowspan=2 style=text-align:center | Example
!colspan=3 style=text-align:center | Standard Pronunciation
|-
!style=text-align:center | Indonesian–''Baku''
!style=text-align:center | ''Johor–Riau'' (''Piawai'')
!style=text-align:center | Northern Peninsular
|-
|⟨a⟩ in final open syllable 
|style=text-align:center | ⟨keret'''a'''⟩
|style=text-align:center | /a/
|style=text-align:center | /ə/
|style=text-align:center | /a/
|-
|⟨i⟩ in final closed syllable with final ⟨n⟩ and ⟨ng⟩ 
|style=text-align:center | ⟨kamb'''i'''ng⟩
|style=text-align:center | /i/
|style=text-align:center | /e/
|style=text-align:center | /i/
|-
|⟨i⟩ in final closed syllable with other final consonants 
|style=text-align:center | ⟨it'''i'''k⟩
|style=text-align:center | /i/
|style=text-align:center | /e/
|style=text-align:center | /e/
|-
|⟨u⟩ in final closed syllable with final ⟨n⟩ and ⟨ng⟩ 
|style=text-align:center | ⟨tah'''u'''n⟩
|style=text-align:center | /u/
|style=text-align:center | /o/
|style=text-align:center | /u/
|-
|⟨u⟩ in final closed syllable with other final consonants 
|style=text-align:center |  ⟨lump'''u'''r⟩
|style=text-align:center | /u/
|style=text-align:center | /o/
|style=text-align:center | /o/
|-
|final ⟨r⟩
|style=text-align:center | ⟨lumpu'''r'''⟩
|style=text-align:center | /r/
|style=text-align:center | silent
|style=text-align:center | /r/
|}

Study by Uri Tadmor which was published in 2003 shows that mutation of ⟨a⟩ in final open syllable is an areal feature. Specifically, it is an areal feature of Western Austronesia. Uri Tadmor classify those types into four groups as below.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Uri |first=Tadmor |date=2003 |others=CRCL, CRCL, And/Or The Author(S) |title=Final /a/ mutation: a borrowed areal feature in Western Austronesia |url=http://sealang.net/archives/pl/pdf/PL-550.15.pdf |journal=Issues in Austronesian Historical Phonology |language=en |publisher=Pacific Linguistics, The Australian National University |issue=PL-550 |pages=15–36 |doi=10.15144/PL-550.15 |access-date=2022-11-05 |via=sealang.net/CRCL}}</ref> 
{| class="wikitable"
|+Final /a/ mutation in Malay-Indonesian dialects and nearby Austronesian languages
!Types
!Phonemes
!"Malay" homeland
!Native languages area
|-
|[a] (origin)
|[a]
|[[Kedah]], [[Brunei]]
|Arekan (eg. [[Tenggerese dialect|Tengger]]), [[Sarawak]], [[Sabah]], [[Kalimantan]] (except Pontianak), [[East Indonesian Malay|East Indonesia]]
|-
|Raised
|[ə], [ɨ]
|[[Johor]], [[Pontianak]], [[Tanah Abang]] ([[Jakarta]])
|[[Bali]]
|-
|Rounded
|[o], [ɔ]
|[[Pattani province|Pattani]], [[Palembang]]
|[[Minangkabau language|Minangkabau]], Mataraman (eg. [[Yogyakarta]])
|-
|Fronted
|[ɛ], [e]
|[[Perak]], [[Jakarta]], [[Sambas Regency|Sambas]]
|
|}

==Grammar==
{{main|Malay grammar}}

Malay is an [[agglutinative language]], and new words are formed by three methods: attaching affixes onto a root word ([[affixation]]), formation of a [[compound word]] (composition), or repetition of words or portions of words ([[reduplication]]). Nouns and verbs may be basic roots, but frequently they are [[derivation (linguistics)|derived]] from other words by means of [[prefix]]es, [[suffix]]es and [[circumfix]]es.

Malay does not make use of [[grammatical gender]], and there are only a few words that use natural gender; the same word is used for 'he' and 'she' which is ''dia'' or for 'his' and 'her' which is ''dia punya''. There is no grammatical plural in Malay either; thus ''orang'' may mean either 'person' or 'people'. Verbs are not [[inflected language|inflected]] for person or number, and they are not marked for tense; tense is instead denoted by time adverbs (such as 'yesterday') or by other tense indicators, such as ''sudah'' 'already' and ''belum'' 'not yet'. On the other hand, there is a complex system of verb affixes to render nuances of meaning and to denote [[voice (grammar)|voice]] or intentional and accidental [[grammatical mood|moods]].

Malay does not have a [[grammatical subject]] in the sense that English does. In intransitive clauses, the noun comes before the verb. When there is both an [[agent (grammar)|agent]] and an [[object (grammar)|object]], these are separated by the verb (OVA or AVO), with the difference encoded in the voice of the verb. OVA, commonly but inaccurately called "passive", is the basic and most common word order.{{Citation needed|date=March 2012}}

==Vocabulary==
{{Main|List of loanwords in Malay|List of loanwords in Indonesian}}
{{Expand section|small=no|date=July 2019}}

The Malay language has many words borrowed from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] (in particular religious terms), [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], certain [[Sinitic languages]], [[Persian language|Persian]] (due to historical status of Malay Archipelago as a trading hub), and more recently, [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[English language|English]] (in particular many scientific and technological terms). [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] has inclination toward [[Sanskrit]] in formulation of new words due to extensive [[Javanese language|Javanese]] and [[Balinese language|Balinese]] speaking community, while Malaysian and Bruneian Malay prefer [[Arabic]] as source for neologism due to acceptance of Islamic Arabic practices.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Omar |first=Asmah Haji |author-link=Asmah Haji Omar |date=2008 |title=MABBIM and the development of Malay minimizing geopolitical divergences |url=https://eprints.um.edu.my/8631/ |journal=Malay/Indonesian as a Language of Knowledge and Practical Communication: Appraisal, Challenges and the Future |language=en |location=Leiden, The Netherlands}}</ref> Arabic in Indonesian tends to reside in (Islamic) religious sphere.<ref name=":3" /> The presence of Sanskritised neologism in Malaysian and Bruneian Malay is a result of "importation" from Indonesian.<ref name=":3" /> Terminology for various subjects such as administration, business, and law was derived from the languages of respective colonial master, those are Dutch for Indonesian and English for Malaysian and Bruneian Malay.<ref name=":3" /> Although the rule for scientific terms development is agreed, the result can be differ because of (1) the difference in traditional vocabulary (such as Dutch vs English and Sanskritic Javanese vs Arabised Malay) and (2) the loan-shift difference on semantics and grammatical feature choice.<ref name=":3" /> The divergence between Indonesian and "Standard" Malay are systemic in nature and, to a certain extent, contribute to the way the two sets of speakers understand and react to the world, and are more far reaching with a discernible cognitive gap than the difference between dialects.<ref name=":3" />  

==Varieties and related languages==
{{Main|Malayic languages|Malay trade and creole languages}}
[[File:Betawi.jpg|thumb|Mural of [[Mark 1]]:9-11 written in [[Betawi language]]]]

There is a group of closely related languages spoken by [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malays]] and related peoples across [[Brunei]], [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Southern Thailand]], [[Timor-Leste]], and the far southern parts of the [[Philippines]]. They have traditionally been classified as Malay, Para-Malay, and Aboriginal Malay, but this reflects geography and ethnicity rather than a proper linguistic classification. The Malayic languages are [[mutually intelligible]] to varying extents, though the distinction between language and dialect is unclear in many cases.

Para-Malay includes the Malayic languages of [[Sumatra]]. They are: [[Minangkabau language|Minangkabau]], [[Central Malay]] (Bengkulu), [[Pekal language|Pekal]], Talang Mamak, [[Musi language|Musi]] (Palembang), [[Negeri Sembilan Malay|Negeri Sembilan]] (Malaysia), and [[Duano language|Duano’]].<ref>''Ethnologue'' 16 also lists Col, Haji, Kaur, Kerinci, Kubu, Lubu'.</ref>

Aboriginal Malay are the Malayic languages spoken by the [[Orang Asli]] ([[Proto-Malay]]) in [[Peninsular Malaysia|Malaya]]. They are [[Jakun language|Jakun]], [[Orang Kanaq language|Orang Kanaq]], [[Orang Seletar language|Orang Seletar]], and [[Temuan language|Temuan]].{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

The other Malayic languages, included in neither of these groups, are associated with the expansion of the Malays across the archipelago. They include Riau-Johor Malay ([[Malaysian language|Malaysian]] and [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]), [[Kedah Malay]], [[Brunei Malay]], [[Berau Malay]], [[Bangka Malay]], [[Jambi Malay]], [[Kutai Malay]], [[Terengganu Malay]], Riau Malay, [[Orang Laut language|Loncong]], [[Pattani Malay]], [[Bacan Malay]], and [[Banjar language|Banjarese]]. [[Menterap language|Menterap]] may belong here.

There are also several [[Malay-based creole languages]], such as [[Betawi language|Betawi Malay]], [[Cocos Malay]], [[Makassar Malay]], [[Ambonese Malay]], [[Dili Malay]], [[Kupang Malay]], [[Manado Malay]], [[Papuan Malay]], [[Orang Pulo language|Thousand Islands Malay]], [[Larantuka Malay]], [[Alor Malay]], [[Balinese Malay]],[[Sri Lankan Malay]] and [[Sabah Malay]], which may be more or less distinct from standard (Malaccan) Malay.

Due to the early settlement of a [[Cape Malay]] community in [[Cape Town]], who are now known as [[Coloured]]s, numerous [[History of the Malay language#Classical Malay|Classical Malay]] words were brought into [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]].

===Usages===
{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Alamat lankapuri cover.png|upright=0.8|thumb|right|The [[Alamat Langkapuri]] from [[British Ceylon]] (present-day [[Sri Lanka]]). Initially published between 1869 and 1870 and written in [[Jawi script]], it is noted to be among the first Malay-language newspaper. The readership consist of the [[Sri Lankan Malays|Malay-diaspora in Ceylon]] as well as in the Malay archipelago.]]

The extent to which Malay and related Malayan languages are used in the countries where it is spoken varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Malay is the national language in Malaysia by [[Constitution of Malaysia#Article 152 – National Language and Other Languages|Article 152]] of the [[Constitution of Malaysia]], and became the sole official language in [[West Malaysia]] in 1968, and in [[East Malaysia]] gradually from 1974. [[English language|English]] continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in the superior courts. Other minority languages are also commonly used by the country's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to that of Malaysia.

In Singapore, Malay was historically the ''[[lingua franca]]'' among people of different nationalities. Although this has largely given way to English, Malay still retains the status of national language and the [[national anthem]], [[Majulah Singapura]], is entirely in Malay. In addition, parade commands in the military, police and civil defence are given only in Malay.

Most residents of the five southernmost provinces of [[Thailand]]—a region that, for the most part, used to be part of an ancient Malay kingdom called [[Pattani kingdom|Pattani]]—speak a dialect of Malay called [[Yawi language|Yawi]] (not to be confused with Jawi), which is similar to Kelantanese Malay, but the language has no official status or recognition.

Owing to earlier contact with the [[Philippines]], Malay words—such as ''dalam hati'' (sympathy), ''luwalhati'' (glory), ''tengah hari'' (midday), ''sedap'' (delicious)—have evolved and been integrated into [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] and other [[languages of the Philippines|Philippine languages]].

[[File:Youthpledge.jpg|thumb|The [[Youth Pledge]] was the result of the Second Youth Congress held in [[Batavia, Dutch East Indies|Batavia]] in October 1928. On the last pledge, there was an affirmation of Indonesian language as a ''unifying language'' throughout the archipelago.]]
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Nila speaking Indonesian.webm|thumb|[[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] speaker]]
By contrast, Indonesian has successfully become the ''lingua franca'' for its disparate islands and ethnic groups, in part because the colonial language, Dutch, is no longer commonly spoken. (In [[East Timor]], which was governed as a province of Indonesia from 1976 to 1999, Indonesian is widely spoken and recognized under its [[Constitution]] as a 'working language'.)
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Zairul speaking Malay.webm|thumb|[[Malaysian Malay|Malaysian]] speaker]]
Besides [[Indonesia language|Indonesian]], which developed from the Riau Malay dialect,<ref name="Melayu Online">{{cite web|url=http://melayuonline.com/ind/culture/dig/1349/bahasa-melayu-riau-dan-bahasa-nasional|title=Bahasa Melayu Riau dan Bahasa Nasional|publisher=Melayu Online|access-date=29 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122024301/http://melayuonline.com/ind/culture/dig/1349/bahasa-melayu-riau-dan-bahasa-nasional|archive-date=22 November 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> there are many Malay varieties spoken in Indonesia; they are divided into western and eastern groups. Western Malay dialects are predominantly spoken in [[Sumatra]] and [[Borneo]], which itself is divided into Bornean and Sumatran Malay; some of the most widely spoken Sumatran Malay dialects are [[Riau|Riau Malay]], [[Langkat]], [[Musi language|Palembang Malay]] and [[Jambi Malay]]. [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]], [[Kerinci people|Kerinci]] and [[Bengkulu]] are believed to be Sumatran Malay descendants. Meanwhile, the [[Jakarta]] dialect (known as [[Betawi language|Betawi]]) also belongs to the western Malay group.
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Senful speaking Malay.webm|thumb|A young man speaks Kedah Malay.]]
The eastern varieties, classified either as dialects or [[Malay trade and creole languages|creoles]], are spoken in the eastern part of the Malay or Nusantara archipelago and include [[Makassar Malay]], [[Manado Malay]], [[Ambonese Malay]], [[North Moluccan Malay]], [[Kupang Malay]], [[Dili Malay]], and [[Papuan Malay]].
 
The differences among both groups are quite observable. For example, the word ''kita'' means 'we, us' in western, but means 'I, me' in Manado, whereas 'we, us" in Manado is ''torang'' and Ambon ''katong'' (originally abbreviated from Malay ''kita orang'' 'we people'). Another difference is the lack of possessive pronouns (and suffixes) in eastern dialects. Manado uses the verb ''pe'' and Ambon ''pu'' (from Malay ''punya'' 'to have') to mark possession. So 'my name' and 'our house" are translated in western Malay as ''namaku'' and ''rumah kita'' but ''kita pe nama'' and ''torang pe rumah'' in Manado and ''beta pu nama'', ''katong pu rumah'' in Ambon dialect.

The pronunciation may vary in western dialects, especially the pronunciation of words ending in the vowel 'a'. For example, in some parts of Malaysia and in Singapore, ''kita'' (inclusive 'we, us, our') is pronounced as {{IPA|/kitə/}}, in Kelantan and Southern Thailand as {{IPA|/kitɔ/}}, in Riau as {{IPA|/kita/}}, in Palembang as {{IPA|/kito/}}, in Betawi and Perak as {{IPA|/kitɛ/}} and in Kedah and Perlis as /kitɑ/.

Batavian and eastern dialects are sometimes regarded as Malay creole, because the speakers are not ethnically Malay.

==Examples==

Despite that statement of "all Malay speakers should be able to understand either of the translations below, which differ mostly in their choice of wording," the divergence between Indonesian and "Standard" Malay are systemic in nature and, to a certain extent, contribute to the way the two sets of speakers understand and react to the world, and are more far reaching with a discernible cognitive gap than the difference between dialects.<ref name=":3" />   The words for 'article', ''pasal'' and ''perkara'', and for 'declaration', ''pernyataan'' and ''perisytiharan'', are specific to the Indonesian and Malaysian standards, respectively, but otherwise all the words are found in both (and even those words may be found with slightly different meanings).

{| class="wikitable" 
|+ Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]
! rowspan="2" |English
! colspan="2" |Malay–Indonesian<!--classification still correct, refer to Nothofer, Bernd (2009). "Malay". In Brown, Keith; Ogilvie, Sarah (eds.). Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World p. 678).-->
|-
! Indonesian<ref>Standard named as stated in:
{{Cite web|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/pages/Language.aspx?LangID=mli|access-date=17 March 2021|website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights}}</ref> 
!Standard "Malay"<ref>The other language standard aside from "Indonesian" is named simply as "Malay", as stated in:
{{Cite web|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Bahasa Melayu (Malay))|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/pages/Language.aspx?LangID=mli|website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights}}</ref>
|-
|'''Universal Declaration of Human Rights''' || '''Pernyataan Umum tentang Hak Asasi Manusia'''<br>(General Declaration about Human Rights) || '''Perisytiharan Hak Asasi Manusia Sejagat'''<br>(Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
|-
|'''Article 1'''||'''Pasal 1'''||'''Perkara 1''' 
|-
| rowspan="2" |All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
| ''Semua orang dilahirkan merdeka dan mempunyai martabat dan hak-hak yang sama. Mereka dikaruniai akal dan hati nurani dan hendaknya bergaul satu sama lain dalam semangat persaudaraan.'' 
| ''Semua manusia dilahirkan bebas dan sama rata dari segi maruah dan hak-hak. Mereka mempunyai pemikiran dan perasaan hati dan hendaklah bertindak di antara satu sama lain dengan semangat persaudaraan.'' 
|-
|(All human beings are born free and have the same dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should get along with each other in a spirit of brotherhood.)
|(All human beings are born free and are equal in dignity and rights. They have thoughts and feelings and should get along with a spirit of brotherhood.)
|}

==See also==
* [[Comparison of Standard Malay and Indonesian]]
* [[Indonesian language]]
* [[Jawi script]], an [[Arabic script|Arabic alphabet]] for Malay
* [[Languages of Indonesia]]
* [[List of English words of Malay origin]]
* [[Malajoe Batawi]]
* [[Malaysian English]], the English used formally in Malaysia
* [[Malaysian language]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|group=fn}}
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite journal |last=Adelaar |first=K. Alexander |date=2004 |title=Where does Malay come from? Twenty years of discussions about homeland, migrations and classifications |journal=[[Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde]] |volume=160 |issue=1 |pages=1–30 |doi=10.1163/22134379-90003733 |doi-access=free |jstor=27868100 |hdl=11343/122869 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal |last=B. |first=C. O. |date=1939 |title=Corrigenda and Addenda: A Chinese Vocabulary of Malacca Malay Words and Phrases Collected between A.D. 1403 and 1511 (?) |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London |volume=10 |issue=1 |jstor=607921 }}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Braginsky |editor-first=Vladimir |date=2013 |orig-year=First published 2002 |title=Classical Civilizations of South-East Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxwiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA366 |location=Oxford |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-84879-7}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Edwards |first1=E. D. |last2=Blagden |first2=C. O. |date=1931 |title=A Chinese Vocabulary of Malacca Malay Words and Phrases Collected between A. D. 1403 and 1511 (?) |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=715–749 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00093204 |jstor=607205 |s2cid=129174700 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Richard James |year=1901–1903 |title=A Malay-English Dictionary |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/g/genpub/AEG2034.0001.001?rgn=main;view=toc |location=Singapore |publisher=Kelly & Walsh }}

== External links ==
{{InterWiki|code=ms}}
{{InterWiki|code=id}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Malay phrasebook|Malay|a phrasebook}}
{{Wiktionary|Category:Malay language|Category:Malay derivations}}
* [[Wiktionary:Appendix:Malay Swadesh list|Swadesh list of Malay words]]
* [http://www.sealang.net/malay/dictionary.htm Digital version of Wilkinson's 1926 Malay-English Dictionary]
* [http://prpm.dbp.gov.my Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu], online Malay language database provided by the [[Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111224121004/http://bahasa.kemdiknas.go.id/kbbi/ Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia dalam jaringan] (Online Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language published by Pusat Bahasa, in Indonesian only)
* [http://www.dbp.gov.my Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka] (Institute of Language and Literature Malaysia, in Malay only)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100706054017/http://www.spellingsociety.org/journals/j11/malay.php The Malay Spelling Reform], Asmah Haji Omar, (Journal of the Simplified Spelling Society, 1989-2 pp.&nbsp;9–13 later designated J11)
* [http://www.ekamus.info Malay Chinese Dictionary]
* [https://archive.today/20140816074940/http://hablaa.com/english-malay/ Malay English Dictionary]
* [http://www.malaytranslate.com Malay English Translation]

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