Comparison of Indonesian and Standard Malay
Malaysian and Indonesian are two standardised varieties of the Malay language, used in Malaysia and Indonesia, respectively. 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 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. In order 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 aired in Malaysia, and vice versa.The Malay language in Indonesia and Malaysia also differs in recognition, where in Malaysia it enjoys status as the national language, while in Indonesia it is considered a regional language in Malay-speaking areas such as the eastern coast of Sumatra and West Kalimantan. The term "Malay language" 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, with Malaysian language 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 latter was reinstated, in order to instill a sense of belonging among Malaysians of all races, rather than just Malays. Therefore, there was no clear distinction between the use of the term Malay and the national language of Malaysia. In Brunei, where Malay is also an official language, the language is known as Bahasa Melayu and in English as "Malay".
In Indonesia, however, there is a clear distinction between "Malay language" and "Indonesian". 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. Thus, "Malay" is considered a regional language in Indonesia, enjoying the same status as e.g. Javanese, Sundanese, Buginese, Balinese, Batak languages 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 Malaysian 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.
Orthography
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 Malaya and the Dutch East Indies reflected their past history as British and Dutch colonial possessions respectively. In 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 in the English word 'moon' 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, the initial consonant of the English 'chin' 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 chuchu in Malaysia and tjoetjoe in Indonesia, until a unified spelling system was introduced in 1972 which removed most differences between the two varieties: Malay ch and Indonesian tj became c: hence cucu. Indonesia abandoned the spelling dj to conform to the j already in use in Malaysia, while the old Indonesian j for the semivowel at the beginning of the English 'young', 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, although the post-1972 spelling is now favoured.
One notable difference in punctuation between the two languages is the use of different decimal marks; Indonesian, influenced by Dutch, uses the decimal comma, whereas Malay, influenced by English, uses the decimal point.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation also tends to be very different, with East Malaysia, Brunei and East Indonesia pronouncing words in a form called Bahasa Baku, where the words are pronounced as spelled. and 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 differently in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Sumatra: tujuh is pronounced tujoh, pilih as pileh, etc., and many final a's tend to be pronounced as schwas; and are also allophones of and in closed final syllables in peninsular Malaysian, Singaporean and Sumatran varieties of Malay.Vocabulary
Vocabulary differences
Indonesian differs from Malaysian in the quantity of loanwords from Javanese, Dutch and other languages. For example, the word for 'post office' in Malaysia is "pejabat pos", whereas in Indonesia it is "kantor pos", from the Dutch word for office, kantoor. There are also some Portuguese influences: in Indonesia, Christmas is known as "Natal", whereas Malaysia uses "Krismas", derived from English. Pronunciation of certain loanwords in Standard Malay follows English, while in Indonesian it follows Dutch, for example Malay "televisyen" and Indonesian "televisi" ; the "-syen" and "-si" also prevail in some other words. There are also instances where the Malaysian version derives from English pronunciation while the Indonesian version takes its cue from Latin. The Latin preference of the 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 Malay kualiti, kuantiti, majoriti, minoriti and universiti with Indonesian kualitas, kuantitas, mayoritas, minoritas and universitas.Some words which are spelt the same in both languages may even carry entirely different meanings in the other language, potentially leading to humorous or embarrassing situations: while baja means "steel" in Indonesian, in Malaysian it means "fertiliser". Also, whereas the Indonesian word butuh means "require" or "need", in Malaysian, it is a vulgar slang term equivalent to "cunt/cock". Conversely, where the word "banci" seems innocuous enough in Malaysia, in Indonesia it is a derogatory term for "transvestite".
The relatively large share of Islamic loan words shared by Malaysian and Indonesian often poses no difficulty in comprehension and usage, although some forms may have developed a different meaning or have become obsolete either in Malaysian or in Indonesian, e.g. khidmat, wakil.
Vocabulary comparison
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K–L
M
N
O
P
Q–R
S
T
U
V
W
Y–Z
False friends
Besides vocabulary differences, there are also a number of false friends in both languages. As these words are in quite common use in either or both of the languages, misunderstandings can arise.| Word | Malaysian meaning | Indonesian meaning |
| acara | event |
|
| ahli |
| expert in a specific field |
| akta | act | act |
| awak | you | me / I, crew |
| baja | fertilizer | steel Malay: besi waja |
| banci | census | effeminate, transvestite homosexual |
| bandar | city | port |
| bangun | to develop/ wake up | to build / wake up |
| bapa | Father | specific to 'Father' in religious context our Father which art in Heaven = Bapa kami yang di surga Father in Indonesian is bapak |
| belanja | to treat, giving something for free | to shop. |
| berbagi | to give | to share |
| berbual | to chat | to tell a lie |
| bercinta | in love | to make love, have sexual intercourse |
| beredar | From the root word "edar" which can means; to oscillate, to leave, or to distribute | to oscillate, to distribute |
| berlaku | happen, occur | apply |
| biji | seed | seed, testicles |
| bila | when | if, when |
| bina | to build | to develop |
| bisa | venom | can/be able to , venom |
| bontot/buntut | buttock | tail |
| budak | kid Indonesian:anak or bocah | slave |
| butoh/butuh | male genitals, an offensive reference | need |
| cadangan | suggestion, opinion, proposal Indonesian:saran | reserve, spare |
| comel | cute, pretty | someone who can not keep a secret |
| daripada | A preposition that carries 5 meanings;
| than |
| detik | jiffy | second |
| doktor | doctor ; doctorate | doctorate In Indonesian, the equivalent for medical doctor is dokter |
| duduk | to sit, a place to live on | to sit, to occupy |
| electronic mail | enamel | |
| gampang | bastard from 'anak gampang' lit. easy child. | easy |
| getah | rubber, plant sap | plant sap |
| hemat | moral excellence | frugal, pennywise, save money or something e.g. electricity, gas or water usage |
| ibu negara | capital city | First Lady |
| ibu pejabat | head office | wife of an official |
| jabatan | department | position |
| jawatan | position | department |
| jemput | to invite, to pick up | to pick up |
| jeruk | pickles/preserved fruits or vegetables | orange |
| jimat | frugal, pennywise, save money or something e.g. electricity | amulet |
| kacak | handsome | ber-kacak pinggang The Malay equivalent is bercekak-pinggang, a phrase to mean that a person is being bossy |
| kadar | rate | content, level |
| kakak | elder sister | elder sibling |
| kakitangan | employee | subordinate |
| kapan | or kafan: Muslim burial shroud | when |
| karya | work of art | to work result of work Karya seni = work of art to create a piece of art. |
| kerajaan | government | kingdom |
| keranjang | 'bola keranjang' = basketball | basket |
| kereta | car | vehicle, carriage, cart |
| kesal | regret Indonesian:sesal | annoyed |
| khidmat | service Indonesian: layanan | fully concentrate |
| koneksi | 'konek' = dick | connection Malay: Sambungan |
| konfeksi | A soft solid made by incorporating a medicinal substance or substances with sugar, sirup, or honey | clothing industry, any fancy or luxurious women's clothes |
| kurun | century | a long |
| lucu | funny | funny, cute |
| mangsa | victim | prey |
| mengacau | to disturb, to stir Indonesian: mengaduk | to disturb |
| olahraga | athletics | sport |
| operasi | mathematic operational symbol, tactical operation | mathematic operational symbol, police operation, operation/surgery |
| pajak | to mortgage, pawn | tax |
| paket | packet | packet, package |
| pantas | speedily | appropriate, 'no wonder' |
| pantat | buttock, vagina/pussy | buttock |
| pegawai | high-rank officer/officials | officials |
| pelan | plan | slow |
| penyelenggaraan | maintenance | organizing |
| pejabat | office | high-rank officer/officials |
| pembangkang | opposition | rebel, insurgent |
| pemerintah | ruler | government |
| pengacara | master of ceremonies, host Indonesian: pembawa acara | lawyer |
| pengajian | studies Indonesian: pelajaran | mass recitation of Qur'an, teaching |
| penganjur | organizer | promoter |
| percuma | free of charge percuma can also mean free of charge in Indonesian, but its usage has become obsolete, replaced by cuma-cuma/gratis | useless, not needed |
| perhubungan | 1. connection 2. communication | 1. connection 2. transportation |
| petang | afternoon | evening |
| piawai | standard; correct bahasa piawai = standard language | expert; skillful |
| pijat | bugs | massage Javanese pijet |
| pohon | tree, to plea or to beg | tree |
| pokok | tree | essential, basic, main kebutuhan pokok = essential necessities |
| polis | police | policy |
| polisi | policy | police |
| punggung | buttock | back Malay: belakang |
| pupuk | to nurture | fertilizer |
| pusing | to go around a place, circular in motion, to spin/rotate Indonesian: putar | dizzy, confused, headache |
| putera | prince | hair |
| rayuan | appeal | flattery, seduction |
| saat | second | jiffy |
| sarjana | master's degree | bachelor's degree |
| sederhana | medium, normal | simple, easy |
| senang | easy | happy, relax |
| seronok | good, enjoyable | in nonstandard usage: "impolite", "pornography-related" gambar seronok = porn picture |
| sulit | confidential, difficult | difficult |
| tambang | fare Indonesian: tarif | mine, rope |
| tandas | toilet | to explain, to finish |
| wakil | representative | vice, representative |
Same words, same meaning, but different spelling
Syllabification
| Word | Malaysian syllabification | Indonesian syllabification |
| Starting | Mu la i | Mu lai |
| Weather | Cua ca | Cu a ca |
Influence from English
One of the most important aspect in differences between Malaysian and Indonesian is the degree of influence from English. Apart from being heavily influenced by the Dutch language, Indonesian language also adopted a significant number of English loanwords in its vocabulary, although English did not play significant role on the Indonesian language and in fact most of these vocabulary are of Dutch origin – Dutch and English share a similar Germanic origin, and Dutch has also borrowed from Latin, although to a lesser extent than English. There have been many changes in Indonesian as a result of its historical development. Words have been freely borrowed from English and only partly assimilated, in many cases, to the Indonesian patterns of structure.By the late 1970s, English words began pouring into the language, leading one commentator, writing in 1977, to refer to the "trend towards Indo-Saxonization", known in Indonesian as pengindosaksonan. Many loanwords from English sometimes fulfill no communicative need, expressing concepts adequately covered by existing words. Among the examples are: akurat instead of tepat, aliansi in the place of sekutu, eksis rather than wujud, kandidat as well as calon, konklusi instead of kesimpulan, kontaminasi in the place of pencemaran, opini rather than pendapat and opsi in the place of pilihan. Contrary to its Indonesian counterpart, Malay has shown a remarkable resilience, despite formerly being part of British Empire. However, these pengindosaksonan is not directly borrowed from English, but through their cognates in Dutch pronunciations as
Pedoman Umum Pembentukan Istilah is heavily influenced by Dutch pronunciation.
Some in Indonesia view this trend of excessive borrowings as "language dynamism", while some Malaysian linguists called it mass "language pollution", and lack of creativity in creating new terms.
Example
The original text in Indonesian:The same text rendered in Malaysian:
English translation:
Convergence of vocabulary
The rift of evolution between the two languages is based more on political nuance and the history of their formation than on cultural reasons. As a result, views regarding each other's languages differ amongst Malaysians and Indonesians. In Malaysia, the national language is Malaysian; in Indonesia, it is Indonesian. Malaysians tend to assert that Malaysian and Indonesian are merely different varieties of the same language, while Indonesians tend to treat them as separate – albeit closely related – languages. The result of this attitude is that the Indonesians feel little need to synchronize their language with Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, whereas the Malaysians are keener to coordinate the evolution of the language with the Indonesians. However, both parties have realized that communication benefits from mutually comprehensible and intelligible languages, which motivated efforts to synchronize the languages' development. The effort to synchronize both languages' evolution to increase their mutual intelligibility has been embarked by imposing standard rules of language. This process is headed by Pusat Bahasa on the Indonesian side and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka as its Malaysian counterpart. Authorities in both Brunei and Singapore generally abide by the Malaysian standard in disputes.Sample
The following texts are excerpts from the official translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Indonesian and Malay, along with the original declaration in English.- Indonesian text sample:
- Malay text sample:
- The original English version of the text: