Indonesian and Malaysian Malay are two standardised varieties of the Malay language, the former used officially in Indonesia (and in Timor Leste as a working language) and the latter in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. Both varieties are generally mutually intelligible, yet there are noticeable differences in spelling, grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary, as well as the predominant source of loanwords. The differences can range from those mutually unintelligible with one another, to those having a closer familial resemblance. 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. The regionalised and localised varieties of Malay can become a catalyst for intercultural conflict, especially in higher education.
Perception To non-native speakers the two varieties may seem identical, but to native speakers the differences are noticeable through both diction and accent. They affect the broadcasting industry with regard to foreign language subtitling, for example, in DVD movies and on cable TV. To reach a wider audience, both Indonesian and Malay subtitles are sometimes displayed in a movie, along with other language subtitles. Another example is Malaysian TV providing Malay subtitling on Indonesian sinetrons (TV dramas) aired in Malaysia and vice versa. An intelligibility test was done in 1998 by Asmah Haji Omar to Malaysian Malay linguistics students with Indonesian newspapers shows the odd, unintelligible and unusual items formed 30% of the totality.
The Malay language in Indonesia and Malaysia also differs in recognition, where in Malaysia it enjoys status as the national language (Malaysian Malay), while in Indonesia it is considered a regional language in Malay-speaking areas such as the eastern to southern coast of Sumatra and West Kalimantan. The term "Malay language" (Bahasa Melayu) in Indonesia and Malaysia invites different perceptions from its respective people. To Malaysians, the Malay language is generally understood as the national language of Malaysia being a precise appellation for the Malay variety used in the country. Between 1986 and 2007, the term Bahasa Melayu was used instead of Bahasa Malaysia, until the Bahasa Malaysia was reinstated, to instill a sense of belonging among Malaysians of all races, rather than just Malays.Bahasa Melayu becomes Bahasa Malaysia again, Lim Kit Siang, 6 June 2007 Therefore, there was no clear distinction between the use of the term Malay (Bahasa Melayu) and the national language of Malaysia (Bahasa Malaysia). In Brunei and Singapore, where Malay is also an official language, the language is known as Bahasa Melayu and in English as "Malay".Perambahan: A unique feature of Brunei Malay , Brunei Times, 4 August 2010
In Indonesia, however, there is a clear distinction between "Malay language" (bahasa Melayu) and "Indonesian" (bahasa Indonesia). Indonesian is the national language which serves as the unifying language of Indonesia; despite being a standardized form of Malay, it is not referred to with the term "Malay" in common parlance. The term "Malay" is usually reserved for the forms of Malay indigenous to the Malay ethnic group (the national standardized language of Malaysia and the non-standard idioms of Malay people, including those used by Malay Indonesians). Thus, "Malay" is considered a regional language (bahasa daerah) in Indonesia, enjoying the same status as Javanese, Sundanese, Buginese, Balinese, Biak language and others. Moreover, to some Indonesians, the term "Malay" is more often associated with Malaysia and the Malaysian variety of Malay.
In Malaysia, the terms "Indonesian Malay" and "Malaysian Malay" are sometimes used for Indonesian and Malay as spoken in Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Indonesian Malay" usually refers to the vernacular varieties of Malay spoken by the Malay peoples of Indonesia, that is, to Malay as a regional language in Sumatra, though it is rarely used. Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Melayu are used interchangeably in reference to Malay in Malaysia.
Malay was designated as a national language by the Singaporean government after independence from Britain in the 1960s to avoid friction with Singapore's Malay-speaking neighbours of Malaysia and Indonesia. It has a symbolic, rather than functional purpose. It is used in the national anthem "Majulah Singapura", in citations of Singaporean orders and decorations and in military commands. Singaporean Malay is officially written in the Latin-based Rumi script, though some Singaporean Malays also learn the Arabic-based Jawi script. Jawi is considered an ethnic script for use on Singaporean identity cards.
Orthography
Spelling Before the 20th century, Malay was written in a local modified form of the Arabic alphabet known as Jawi. During the 20th century, Malay written with Roman letters, known as Rumi, almost completely replaced Jawi in everyday life. The romanisations originally used in British Malaya (now part of Malaysia) and the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) reflected their history as British and Dutch colonial possessions respectively. In British Malaya, the romanisation of Malay, devised by Richard Wilkinson was influenced by English, whereas in the Dutch East Indies, the system devised by C. A. Van Ophuijsen was influenced by Dutch. As a result, in Indonesia, the vowel was formerly represented oe, as in Dutch, although the official spelling of this sound was changed to u in 1947 when the Republican Spelling System was used.
Similarly, until 1972, was represented in Malaysia as ch, whereas in Indonesia, it continued to follow Dutch and used tj. Hence the word for 'grandchild' used to be written as in Malaysia and in Indonesia, until a unified spelling system was introduced in 1972 (known in Indonesia as or the 'Perfected Spelling') which removed most differences between the two varieties: Malay ch and Indonesian tj became c: hence . Indonesia abandoned the spelling dj to conform to the j already in use in Malaysia, while the old Indonesian j for the semivowel was replaced with y as in Malaysia. Likewise, the velar fricative which occurs in many Arabic loanwords, which used to be written 'ch' in Indonesian, became kh in both languages. However, oe was retained in some proper names, such as the name of the former vice-president, Boediono or former minister Mohammad Roem. The ch and dj letter combinations are still encountered in names such as Achmad and Djojo (pronounced as Akhmad and Joyo respectively), although the post-1972 spelling is now favoured. +Indonesian-Malaysian Spelling ComparisonIPAIndonesian Old SpellingMalaysian Old SpellingIndonesian-Malaysian Post-1972 Spelling/ə/ěă, ĕe/e/eee/ɛ/ée/tʃ/tjchc/dˤ/dhd/dʒ/djjj/x/chkhkh/ɲ/njnyny/zˤ/dzz/ʃ/sjshsy/θ/ths/u/oeuu/j/jyy
Punctuation One notable difference in punctuation between the two languages is the use of different decimal marks; Indonesian, influenced by Dutch, uses the decimal comma,Istri Djoko Disebut Beli Rumah Rp 7,1 Miliar, Kompas, 14 June 2013 whereas Malay, influenced by English, uses the decimal point.58 IBO berpotensi jana RM1.9b, Utusan Melayu, 6 June 2013 Pronunciation
Pronunciation also tends to be very different, with East Malaysia, Standard Singapore, and Indonesia pronouncing words in a form called Bahasa Baku, where the words are pronounced as spelled. Moreover, enunciation tends to be clipped, staccato and faster than on the Malay Peninsula, which is spoken at a more languorous pace. Many vowels are pronounced (and were formerly spelt) differently in Peninsular Malaysia, Colloquial Singapore, and Riau Sumatra: is pronounced (and was spelt) , as , etc., and many final as tend to be pronounced as schwas; and are also allophones of and in closed final syllables in peninsular Malaysian, Colloquial Singaporean and Riau Sumatran varieties of Malay; These pronunciation rules is known as Johor-Riau pronunciation.
+Comparison of several standard pronunciations of Malay Example Standard Pronunciation Indonesian–Baku Johor–Riau (Piawai) Northern Peninsular⟨a⟩ in final open syllable ⟨kereta⟩ /a/ /ə/ /a/⟨i⟩ in final closed syllable with final ⟨n⟩ and ⟨ng⟩ ⟨kambing⟩ /i/ /e/ /i/⟨i⟩ in final closed syllable with other final consonants ⟨itik⟩ /i/ /e/ /e/⟨u⟩ in final closed syllable with final ⟨n⟩ and ⟨ng⟩ ⟨tahun⟩ /u/ /o/ /u/⟨u⟩ in final closed syllable with other final consonants ⟨lumpur⟩ /u/ /o/ /o/final ⟨r⟩ ⟨lumpur⟩ /r/ silent /r/
The names for Latin letters are also of different origins, Indonesian names are from Dutch, while Malaysian Malay names are from English (see Malay-Indonesian alphabet). WordIndonesian (Malaysian) Malay ABC April ATM A minor BCL BMW COD DNA E minor generasi ghaib (ms), gaib (id) HD HDMI HIV HRD idea (ms), ide (id) IMF Ireland (ms), Irlandia (id) ITB KCIC KLIA koir (ms), kor (id) Malaysia November protein RTM RCTI SCTV (TV network) SPRM spesies teknologi TVRI Ukraine (ms), Ukraina (id) UNHCR UTM vokal WFH WHO WWW xilem xilofon
Syllabification
WordIndonesian syllabification (Malaysian) Malay syllabification problem start weather
Vocabulary
Word derivation and compounds Indonesian and (Standard Malaysian) Malay have similar derivation and compounds rule. However, there is difference on quasi-past participle or participle-like adjective when attached to a noun or verb. (Standard Malaysian) Malay uses prefix ber- to denote such, while Indonesian uses prefix ter- to do so. Prefix ber- can denote several other meanings. +Difference in word derivation and compoundsEnglishIndonesian(Malaysian) MalayForestryilmu kehutananilmu perhutananregistered (having had one's name added to an official list or entered into a register)terdaftarberdaftarlocalsetempattempatanhonorableterhormatberhormatwritten (having been written)tertulisbertulis
Loanword source differences
Indonesian and Malaysian Malay both differ in the forms of loanwords used due to division of the Malay Archipelago by the Dutch and the British and their long-lasting colonial influences, as a consequence of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824: Indonesian absorbed primarily Dutch loanwords whereas Malaysian Malay absorbed primarily English words. Pronunciation of certain loanwords in Malaysian Malay follows English, while in Indonesian it follows Dutch, for example Malay "" (from English: television) and Indonesian "" (from Dutch: ); the "-syen" and "-si" also prevail in some other words, though "-si" has become more preferred in Malay of late like generasi and dimensi.
Malaysian Malay has also experienced significant conservative pushback as precedent entities that existed within the British sphere made efforts to create words that would fit naturally foreign ideas of governance and thought through a Malay-oriented context. The Pakatan Belajar Mengajar Pengetahuan Bahasa in Johore headed by Abdul Rahman Andak during the 19th century was especially important in introducing neologisms like pejabat ("office", cf. Indonesian kantor from ) and setiausaha ("secretary", cf. Indo sekretaris from ) into the Malay lexicon. For example, the word for 'post office' in Malaysia is "" (in Indonesia this means 'post officer'), whereas in Indonesia it is "".
There are also some Portuguese influences: in Indonesia, Christmas is known as "", whereas Malaysia uses both "Natal" and "", the latter derived from English. There are also instances where the Malaysian Malay version derives from English pronunciation while the Indonesian version takes its cue from Latin. The Latin preference of the (older) Indonesian intellectuals in these instances may be ascribed to the influence of their classical-oriented education when Gymnasium schools were established during the Dutch colonial period: compare Malaysian Malay , , , and with Indonesian , , , and .