Learn the relationship between Indonesian and Malay
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Intro |
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| Michael: What is the relationship between Indonesian and Malay? |
| Blanca: And what are the differences? |
| Michael: At IndonesianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Consider the following situation. Sasha Lee is confused about the relationship between Indonesian and Malay. She asks a befriended teacher, Widi Wiryawan, |
| "Are Malay and Indonesian the same thing?" |
| Sasha Lee: Bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Indonesia itu sama nggak sih? |
| Dialogue |
| Sasha Lee: Bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Indonesia itu sama nggak sih? |
| Widi Wiryawan: Nggak terlalu. |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sasha Lee: Bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Indonesia itu sama nggak sih? |
| Michael: "Are Malay and Indonesian the same thing?" |
| Widi Wiryawan: Nggak terlalu. |
| Michael: "Not really." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In the conversation, we hear Sasha say, |
| Blanca: Bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Indonesia itu sama nggak sih? |
| Michael: which means, "Are Malay and Indonesian the same thing?" |
| Michael: Of course, there are similarities between the Malay and Indonesian languages, but there are several important differences as well. |
| Michael: To begin, a bit of background. As you probably know by now, Indonesian is a language spoken in the Southeast Asian country of Indonesia. Malay is an umbrella language spoken in Southeast Asia, including in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and parts of Thailand. Although Malay is spoken fluently in each of these places, regional languages are also prevalent, some of which are more similar to Malay than others. |
| Michael: So how different is Malay |
| Blanca: Bahasa Melayu |
| Michael: from Indonesian, or |
| Blanca: Bahasa Indonesia? |
| Michael: Many of the differences come down to phonological and vocabulary differences. For example, in the past, Malay used a "ch" sound where Indonesian would use "tj" so that, when talking about a grandchild, Malaysians would say |
| Blanca: chuchu |
| Michael: but Indonesians would say, |
| Blanca: tjoetjoe. |
| Michael: In 1972, a new consensus was reached and, from then forward, the same "chu" sound was represented simply with "c. " Therefore, "grandchild, " for example, would now be spelled "cucu. " |
| Michael: On a similar note, historically, Indonesians began to use "j" in place of "dj" in Indonesian and "y" in place of "j" in Malay. |
| Michael: Another important distinction to point out is the differences in vocabulary. |
| Michael: If we want to refer to a "bicycle." for example, we would say, |
| Blanca: sepeda |
| Michael: in Indonesian |
| Michael: but |
| Blanca: basikal |
| Michael: in Malay |
| Michael: In another example, in order to say "pharmacy" in Indonesian, |
| Michael: you would say |
| Blanca: apotek |
| Michael: but |
| Blanca: farmasi |
| Michael: in Malay. |
| Michael: As you can see, some of these words are based on foreign language loanwords. As a student of Indonesian, you're likely to encounter Malay frequently as well, so it's important to get familiar with each of them early on. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review the sample conversation. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after the native speaker focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Sasha says "Are Malay and Indonesian the same thing?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Blanca as Sasha: Bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Indonesia itu sama nggak sih? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Blanca as Sasha: Bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Indonesia itu sama nggak sih? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Blanca as Sasha: Bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Indonesia itu sama nggak sih? |
| Michael: And do you remember how the teacher answers "Not really"? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Blanca as Widi Wiryawan: Nggak terlalu. |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Blanca as Widi Wiryawan: Nggak terlalu. |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Blanca as Widi Wiryawan: Nggak terlalu. |
| Expansion |
| Michael: Although similar, it is important to be always cautious with the same word having different meanings in Malay and Indonesian. For example, |
| Blanca: budak, |
| Michael: meaning "boy" or "child." is a neutral word in Malay. But, in Indonesian, it means "slave." If you ask |
| Blanca: Berapa budak di rumah?, |
| Michael: a Malay speaker will understand "How many children do you have in your house?" But an Indonesian speaker will understand something completely different and misleading "How many slaves do you have in your house?" |
| Michael: Other relevant examples are the word |
| Blanca: percuma, |
| Michale: which in Malay means "free." but, in Indonesian, it means "useless," |
| Blanca: Pusing |
| Michale: means "turn around" in Malay and "headache" in Indonesian. |
| Blanca: Bisa |
| Michael: means "painful" in Malay and "able to" in Indonesian. |
| Blanca: Senang |
| Michael: mean "easy" in Malay and "happy" in Indonesian. And, lastly, |
| Blanca: pijat |
| Michael: means "bedbug" in Malay and "massage" in Indonesian. There are many more words with a different meaning in Malay and Indonesian so be aware of these possible differences in meaning. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Blanca: Dadah. |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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