Source: Day Translation
Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Melayu are similar and different languages at the same time. Both are standard languages under the bigger umbrella of the Malay language, which is used in Indonesia and Malaysia. Although generally mutually intelligible, the two languages have differences in the vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and spelling.
According to the latest data from Ethnologue, about 198.5 million people speak Bahasa Indonesia. Bahasa Melayu is spoken by 19.1 million people.
Malay language
The Malay language is part of the Austronesian language family. Malay is spoken in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. As a national language, which translates to Bahasa Nasional or Bahasa Kebangsaan, it has different official names depending on the region. Incidentally, Bahasa means ”language.”
In Brunei and Singapore, it is called Bahasa Melayu or the Malay language, while in Malaysia; it is termed as Bahasa Malaysia. Indonesians call their language Bahasa Indonesia. In Indonesia, it is the lingua franca (Permersatu) or the unifying language (Bahasa Persatuan). It can be confusing if you are not a local because on the southern and central areas of Sumatra in Indonesia, it is referred to as Bahasa Melayu and is considered as a regional language.
In the pre-colonial eras of the Johor and Malacca Sultanates, the literary standard was Standard Malay, which is also called Court Malay. Due to its use during those periods, the language is sometimes referred to as Riau Malay, Johor or Malacca Malay. The language spawned several varieties, spoken in various areas within the region.
Malay has several varieties, namely:
- Standard Court Malay (formal)
- Standard Malaysian
- Standard Indonesian (formal)
- Betawi
- Johor/Selangor/Singapore/Riau Archipelago Malay
- Bengkulu Malay
- Jambi Malay
- Palembang Malay
- Bangka Malay
- Belitung Malay
- Banjar
- Kedah Malay
- Baling Malay
- Terengganu Malay
- Kelantan-Pattani Malay
- Pahang Malay
- Perak Malay
- Penang Malay
- Brunei Malay
- Sarawak Malay
- Sabah Malay
- Pontianak Malay
- Makassar Malay
- Kutai Malay
- Minangkabau*
- Negeri Sembilan Malay*
- Rawa*
- Temuan**
Note: * – Para-Malay languages, ** Aboriginal Malay language
Distinctions
If you are not a native speaker, Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Melayu sound the same. In reality, there is noticeable difference in accent and diction that has an effect on subtitling movies and TV shows in other languages. Sometimes the subtitles in both languages as well as another foreign language are shown, which can be quite confusing to the viewer.
The Malay language differs in recognition in Malaysia and Indonesia. In Malaysia, Malay is the national language, while in Indonesia it is only a regional language spoken by Malay speakers in West Kalimantan and Sumatra’s east coast.
Formerly, Malay was called Bahasa Malaysia. However, in the years between 1986 and 2007, Bahasa Melayu replaced the traditional term to impart a sense of belonging among all races of Malays. Therefore, when you speak about Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Melayu, you refer to the same language. In Brunei, the English term they use is “Malay” for their official language – Bahasa Melayu. To make a distinction, Malaysians sometimes call the languages Malaysian Malay and Indonesian Malay.
The situation is different in Indonesia where Malay is only a regional language. This is one of the main differences between the two languages if you are in Indonesia. In this country, Malay is in the same level as other regional languages, like Balinese, Buginese, Sundanese, Bataknese and Javanese. Some Indonesians also associate the term Malay to the language and the country.
Written form
Malay used to be written using a form of Arabic alphabet –Jawi, that was locally modified. In the 20th century. Roman letters were used. They were called Rumi. The history of the evolution of the Malay written form can be seen in the romanizations used in the Dutch East Indies or Indonesia and in Malaya, which now belongs to Malaysia.
English influenced the romanization of Malay in Malaya. It was created by Richard Wilkinson. On the other hand, the romanization in Dutch East Indies, based on the creation of C.A. Van Ophuijsen had Dutch influences. Therefore in Indonesia, they used the Dutch vowel ”oe” before it was standardized into ”u.”
Other reflections of their history:
In Malaysia, they used ”ch” while in Indonesia, they used ”tj.” When they wrote the English term ”grandchild,” Malaysians wrote ”chuchu” and Indonesians wrote it as tjoetjoe. In 1972, the introduction of the unified spelling system made the consonant as ”c,” thus grandchild is now written as ”cucu” in Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia.
Indonesians replaced the consonant ”dj” with ”j” as in Malaysia, while the semivowel ”j” used in old Indonesia became ”y” in Malaysian. Both languages now use ”kh” instead of ”ch” for many of the words with Arabic origin. The verb ”oe” is retained and used in proper names such as Soeharto (Suharto) and Soekarno (Sukarno). Some names still used the ”dj” and ”ch” combinations such as Djojo (pronounced Joyo) and Achmad, which is pronounced with a ”kh” sound.
Various differences
ENGLISH | BAHASA INDONESIA | BAHASA MELAYU |
afternoon/evening | sore | petang |
because | karena | kerana |
bicycle | sepeda | basikal |
can | bisa | boleh |
cake | kue | kuih |
car | mobil | kereta |
cellphone | ponsel, telepon genggam | telefon bimbit |
child | adik | adik |
Christmas | Natal | Krismas |
cinema | bioskop | wayang gambar |
factory | pabrik | kilang |
man | tuan | pak/bapak |
money | uang | wang |
pharmacy | apotek | farmasi |
post office | kantor pos | pejabat pos |
room | kamar | bilik |
shop | toko | kedai |
speak | bicara | cakap |
television | televisi | televisyen |
ticket | karcis | tiket |
to need | membutuhkan | memerlukan |
try | coba | cuba |
when | kapan | bila |
woman | bu/ibu | puan |
younger man | saudari | saudari |
younger woman | saudara | saudara |
Their influences also indicate the source. For example, Indonesia, because of being under the Dutch for so long, uses decimal comma, just like what they use in Europe. Due to the influence of English, Malaysia uses the decimal point.
English | Modern Bahasa Indonesia | Traditional Indonesian |
accurate | akurat | tepat |
alliance | aliansi | sekutu |
conclusion | konklusi | kesimpulan |
contamination | kontaminasi | pencemaran |
opinion | opini | pendapat |
option | opsi | pilihan |
Copy and paste: 26/11/2020 :11 Rabiulakhir 1442H: 9.46 pm
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