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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: LUP-MAL |
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MALAY LANGUAGE . AND LITERATURE The Malay language is a member of the Malayan section of the Malayo-Polynesian class of languages, but it is by no means a representative type of the section which has taken its name from it. The area over which it is spoken comprises the peninsula of Malacca with the adjacent islands (the Rhio-Lingga Archipelago), the greater part of the coast districts of Sumatra and Borneo, the seaports of Java, the Sunda and Banda Islands. It is the general medium of communication throughout the archipelago from Sumatra to the Philippine Islands, and it was so upwards of three hundred and fifty years ago when the Portuguese first appeared in those parts. There are no Malay manuscripts extant, no monumental records with inscriptions in Malay, dating from before the spreading of Islam in the archipelago, about the end of the 13th century. By some it has been argued from this fact that the Malays possessed no kind of writing prior to the introduction of the Arabic alphabet (W. Robinson, J. J. de Hollander) ; whereas others have maintained, with greater show of probability, that the Malays were in possession of an ancient alphabet, and that it was the same as the Rechang (Marsden, Friederich), as the Kawi (Van der Tuuk), or most like the Lampong (Kern)all of which alphabets, with the Battak, Bugi and Macassar, are ultimately traceable to the ancient Cambojan characters. With the Mahommedan conquest the Perso-Arabic alphabet was introduced among the Malays; it has continued ever since to be in use for literary, religious and business purposes. Where Javanese is the principal language, Malay is sometimes found written with Javanese characters; and in Palembang, in the Menangkabocountry of Middle Sumatra, the Rechang or Renchong characters are in general use, so called from the sharp
By the simplicity of its phonetic elements, the regularity of its grammatical structure, and the copiousness of its nautical vocabulary, the Malay language is singularly well fitted to be the lingua franca throughout the Indian archipelago. It possesses the five vowels a, i, it, e, o, both short and long, and one pure diphthong, au. Its consonants are k, g, ng, ch, j, n, t, d, n, p, b, m, y, r, w, s, h. Long vowels can only occur in open syllables. The only possible consonantal nexus in purely Malay words is that of a nasal and mute, a liquid and mute and vice versa, and a liquid and nasal. Final k and h are all but suppressed in the utterance. Purely Arabic letters are only used in Arabic words, a great number of which have been received into the Malay vocabulary. But the Arabic character is even less suited to Malay than to the other Eastern languages on which it has been foisted. As the short vowels are not marked, one would, in seeing, e.g. the word bntng, think first of bintang, a star; but the word might also mean a large scar, to throw down, to spread, rigid, mutilated, enceinte, a kind of cucumber, a redoubt. according as it is pronounced, bantang, banting, bentang, buntang, buntung, bunting, bonteng, benteng. Malay is essentially, with few exceptions, a dissyllabic language, and the syllabic accent
demonstrative
Talaing
auxiliary
The history of the Malays amply accounts for the number and variety of foreign ingredients in their language. Hindus appear to have settled in Sumatra and Java as early as the 4th century of our era, and to have continued to exercise sway over the native Costume, Weapons, etc. populations for many centuries. These received from them into their language a very large number of Sanskrit terms, from which we can infer the nature of the civilizing influence imparted by the Hindu rulers. Not only in words concerning commerce and agriculture, but also in terms connected with social, religious and administrative matters that influence is traceable in Malay. See W. E. Maxwell, Manual
The Malay language abounds in idiomatic expressions, which constitute the chief difficulty in its acquisition. It is sparing in thb use of personal pronouns, and prefers impersonal and elliptical diction. As it is rich in specific expressions for the various aspects of certain ideas, it is requisite to employ always the most appropriate term suited to the particular aspect. In Maxwell's Manual
Java and Lesser Java, by which the medieval Java and Sumatra were called, and it accordingly means the language spoken along the coasts of the two great islands. The Malays cannot, strictly speaking, be said to possess a literature, for none of their writings can boast any literary beauty or value. Llteratore. Their most characteristic literature is to be found, not in their writings, but in the folk-tales which are transmitted orally from generation to generation, and repeated by the wandering minstrels called by the people Peng-lipor Lara, i.e. " Soothers of Care." Some specimens of these are to be found in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Asiatic Society (Singapore). The collections of Malay Proberbs made by Klinkert, Maxwell and Clifford also give a good idea of the literary methods of the Malays. Their verse is of a very primitive description, and is chiefly used for purposes of love-making. There are numerous rhymed fairy tales, which are much liked by the people, but they are of no literary merit. The best Malay books are the Hikayat Hang Tuak, Bestamam and the Hikayat Abdullah. The latter is a diary of events kept during Sir Stamford Raffle's administration by his Malay scribe. AUTnoRITIES.Hugh Clifford, In Court and Kampong (London, 1897) ; Studies in Brown Humanity (London, 1898) ; In a Corner of Asia (London, 1899) ; Bush-whacking (London 1901) ; Clifford and Swettenham, Dictionary of the Malay Language, parts i. to v. AG. Taiping (Perak, 18941898); John Crawfurd, History of the Indian Archipelago (3 vols., Edinburgh, 182o); Grammar and Dictionary of the Malay Language (2 vols., London, 1852) ; A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries (London, 1856) ; Journal of the Indian Archipelago (12 vols., Singapore, 18471862); Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 83 Nos. (Singapore, 18781900) ; H. C. Klinkert, Nieuw Maleisch-Nederlandisch Woorden boek (Leiden, 1893) ; John Leyden, Malay Annals (London, 1821) ; William Marsden, The History of Sumatra (London, 1811); Malay Dictionary (London, 1824); Sir William Maxwell, A Manual of the Malay Language (London, 1888) ; T. J. Newbold, Political and Statistical Account of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca; W. W. Skeat, Malay Magic (London, 1900) ; Skeat and Blagden, Pagan
Wall
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