Malay Language

The Malay language which belongs to the Austranesian or MalayoPolynesian 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 Malay settlers, 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 Haan who 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 heterogeneous population 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.

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) idong nose; (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 ng and not n in keeping with conventional practice) Cf. SLM. ikang fish (SM.ikan) jalang road (SM.jalan) cincing ring (SM.cincin) simpang to keep (SM.simpan) Vowel changes include that of u >o though this is quite irregular Cf.SLM. bisol boil (SM.bisul) lobang hole (SM.lubang) sarong sarong (SM.sarung) terong brinjal (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.

Cf. SLM.besar rumah SM. rumah besar (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 language has 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 goreng fried beef and orang miskin a poor man instead of goreng 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 Colombo 3.

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. ibid.

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.