Gorontalo Malay


Gorontalo Malay, also known as Bahasa Indonesia Gorontalo or Mobisala Molayu in Gorontalo, is a Malay-based creole language spoken by the majority of the Gorontalo people in the northern part of Sulawesi, Indonesia, especially in the province of Gorontalo, as well as in Buol Regency, Central Sulawesi.
Linguistically, Gorontalo Malay is classified as a trade language and a Malay-based creole. It generally functions as a lingua franca in Gorontalo and its surrounding areas, including parts of the northern Gulf of Tomini, which are also inhabited by the Gorontaloan people.
The influence of Arabic is evident in Gorontalo Malay, with several Arabic words incorporated into the language, such as ana for the first-person singular pronoun and ente for the second-person singular pronoun.

History

Gorontalo Malay initially developed in the coastal regions of Gorontalo, particularly in port cities. It later absorbed influences from Arabic, Dutch, Ternate Malay, and primarily from Manado Malay, alongside Gorontaloan as the native language of its speakers.
The language also shares similarities in vocabulary and grammar with Ternate Malay, a feature common to other Eastern Indonesian Malay varieties. One key difference between Gorontalo Malay and other Eastern Indonesian Malay varieties is its distinct pronunciation intonation, heavily influenced by the Gorontalo language.

Phonology

In Gorontalo Malay, there are several verbs and nouns derived from Malay that undergo a change in the pronunciation of the vowel phoneme, influenced by the speech patterns of the Gorontalo language. The vowel sound in standard Malay changes to in Gorontalo Malay. For instance, bolajar, posawat, and moncuci reflect this phonetic shift. Additionally, the word Melayu 'Malay' is also pronounced as Molayu in Gorontalo Malay, further demonstrating this influence.

Grammar

Pronouns

Gorontalo Malay has pronouns or substitute words primarily based on Manadoic Malay languages.

Personal pronouns

There are several loanwords from foreign languages in the personal pronouns of Gorontalo Malay, particularly from Arabic.
PronounsGlosaGorontalo Malay
First person singularIana
First person pluralwetorang
Second person singularyouente
Second person pluralyou all/you guysngoni
Third person singularhe/shedia, de
Third person pluraltheydorang

Possessive pronouns

In Gorontalo Malay, the infix pe is used to indicate possession, similar to how -nya is used in standard Indonesian to denote ownership or possession. For example, in the phrase pe rumah, pe indicates that the house belongs to someone or is associated with them. This construction helps to express possessive relationships in the language.
GlosaMelayu Gorontalo
my bookana pe buku
your bookente pe buku
his/her bookdia pe buku, de pe buku
our booktorang pe buku
you guys' bookngoni pe buku
their bookdorang pe buku