Sarawak Malay
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| Sarawak Malay | |
|---|---|
| Bahasa Melayu Sarawak بهاس ملايو سراوق | |
| Native to | Malaysia |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
zlm-sar | |
| Glottolog | None |
Sarawak Malay (Standard Malay: Bahasa Melayu Sarawak or Bahasa Sarawak, Jawi: بهاس ملايو سراوق) is a Malayan language native to the State of Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a common language used by natives of Sarawak. This variant is related to Bruneian Malay, spoken in the districts of Limbang and Lawas (Sarawak) and Pontianak Malay, which is spoken in the neighbouring West Kalimantan province in Indonesia.[citation needed] It is more similar to Ibanic languages compared to Malay variants in Sumatra and the Malayan Peninsula, which makes it mutually unintelligible for Malay speakers outside of Sarawak and Borneo.[citation needed].
Vocabulary
Below is the differences between Standard Malay and Sarawakian Malay.
- pakai - pakei
- ayam - manuk
- tidak - si/sik
- ya - aok
Most of the words used in Sarawak Malay nowadays are influenced by many languages such as English. These are words that came from English that have been modified according to the local accent:
- Carpet - Kapet
- Punctured - Pancet
- Handphone- Henpon
- Motor- Moto
Dialects
There are also other dialects of Sarawakian which is known as Bahasa Laut (Sea Language) Most of the words that are spoken ended with the vowel o. E.g.:
| English | Bahasa Sarawak | Bahasa Laut |
|---|---|---|
| What | Nakpa | Nakpo |
| you | Kau/ Kitak | Au/ Itak |
| Like that | Kedak ya | Pia |
Word Formation
Word formation in Sarawak Malay is very different from Standard Malay/Malaysian language. In fact, most West Malaysian do not understand Sarawakian conversation. Sabahan is also different from Sarawak Malay. But, there is one similar word that has been used by both Sabahans and Sarawakians that is "Bah". It is used to stress a sentence. E.g.: Don't do like that- "Iboh polah kedak ya bah." It is similar usage of "lah" in Singlish and in West Malaysia. E.g.: Don't do like that 'lah'. Some Sarawakian Malay language have a similar pronunciation of ai as ei, as in some districts of Perak: serai > serei, kedai > kedei. Some Sarawakian Malay verbs have a have a final glottal stop after a vowel or in place of final /r/: kena > kenak, air > aik, beri > berik. like Aboriginal Malay languages in West Malaysia.
Many words in Sarawak Malay are being simplified from the original pronunciation and some are totally different. E.g.:
| English | Bahasa Malaysia | Bahasa Sarawak |
|---|---|---|
| Sweeping | Menyapu | Nyapu |
| Coconut | Kelapa | Nyior[1] |
| More | Lagi | lagik/ Agik/Gik |
| Road | Jalan Raya | Jeraya |
| Clever | Pandai | Pandei |
| Teach | Mengajar | Ngaja |
| Yes | Ya | aok |
| Cat | Kucing | Pusak |
| Dog | Anjing | Asuk |
| Chicken | Ayam | Manok |
| Knife | Pisau | ladin (Malay/Melanau) Dandin/ pisok |
Colloquial and contemporary usage
Contemporary usage of Bahasa Sarawak includes contemporary Malay words or incorporated from other languages, spoken by the urban speech community, which may not be familiar to the older generation. E.g.: SMS language. E.g.:
| English | Bahasa Sarawak | SMS Text |
|---|---|---|
| You | Kitak | ktk |
| me | Kamek | kmk |
| No | Sik | x |
| Message | Mesej | msg |
| Nothing | Sikda | xda |
References
- Daftar Kata DIALEK MELAYU SARAWAK Edisi Kedua (ISBN 9836263241)
- ^ In Indonesian Language: Kelapa means Coconut, Niyur means Coconut Tree.