Malay alphabet
Encyclopedia
The modern Malay alphabet (in Malaysia, Tulisan Rumi) consists of the 26 letters of the basic Latin alphabet without any diacritic
s. It is the more common of the two alphabets used today to write the Malay language
, the other being Jawi (a modified Arabic script). The Latin Malay alphabet is the official Malay script in Indonesia
(as Indonesian
), Malaysia (as Malaysian
) and Singapore
, while it is co-official with Jawi in Brunei
.
Historically, various scripts such as Pallava, Kawi and Rencong
scripts, were used to write Old Malay
, until they were replaced by Jawi with the introduction of Islam
. The arrival of Europe
an colonial powers brought the Latin alphabet to the Malay Archipelago
.
As the Malay-speaking countries were divided between two colonial administrations (the Dutch
and the British
), two major different spelling orthographies were developed in the Dutch East Indies
and British Malaya
respectively, influenced by the orthographies of their respective colonial tongues. The Soewandi Spelling System
(or the Republic Spelling System after independence), used in the Dutch East Indies and later in independent Indonesia until 1972, was based on the Dutch alphabet
. In 1972, as part of the effort of harmonizing spelling differences between the two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia each adopted a spelling reform
plan, called the Perfected Spelling System
(Ejaan yang Disempurnakan) in Indonesia and the Consolidated Latin Spelling System (Ejaan Rumi Bersama) in Malaysia. Although the representations of speech sounds are now largely identical in the Indonesian and Malaysian varieties, a number of minor spelling differences remain.
In addition, there are digraph
s that are not considered separate letters of the alphabet:
Diacritic
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
s. It is the more common of the two alphabets used today to write the Malay language
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, the other being Jawi (a modified Arabic script). The Latin Malay alphabet is the official Malay script in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
(as Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
), Malaysia (as Malaysian
Malaysian language
Malaysian or Standard Malay is the official language of Malaysia and a standardized form of the Malay language of the Austronesian family. It is over 80% cognate with Indonesian and is spoken natively by over 10 million people...
) and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, while it is co-official with Jawi in Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
.
Historically, various scripts such as Pallava, Kawi and Rencong
Rencong script
]Rencong script is a writing system used to write Malay in Sumatra . The script lasted until the 18th century which was before the Dutch colonised Indonesia. It was gradually replaced by the Jawi script, a slightly modified Arabic script.The Malay used Rencong or Rencang script, Kawi script and...
scripts, were used to write Old Malay
Old Malay
The Old Malay language, also called Classical Malay, is the ancestor of the modern Malay language, including Indonesian and Malaysian. It developed in the now Melayu Kingdom of Sumatra. It was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Kawi , and was grammatically quite similar to modern Malay.-Old...
, until they were replaced by Jawi with the introduction of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The arrival of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an colonial powers brought the Latin alphabet to the Malay Archipelago
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago refers to the archipelago between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. The name was derived from the anachronistic concept of a Malay race....
.
As the Malay-speaking countries were divided between two colonial administrations (the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), two major different spelling orthographies were developed in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
and British Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
respectively, influenced by the orthographies of their respective colonial tongues. The Soewandi Spelling System
Soewandi Spelling System
The Soewandi Spelling System was used for Indonesian spelling until 1972. It was based on the Dutch alphabet.- Table of SSS letters and their PSS equivalents :...
(or the Republic Spelling System after independence), used in the Dutch East Indies and later in independent Indonesia until 1972, was based on the Dutch alphabet
Dutch alphabet
The modern Dutch alphabet consists of the 26 letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet and is used for the Dutch language. Five letters are vowels and 21 letters are consonants.- History :...
. In 1972, as part of the effort of harmonizing spelling differences between the two countries, Indonesia and Malaysia each adopted a spelling reform
Spelling reform
Many languages have undergone spelling reform, where a deliberate, often officially sanctioned or mandated, change to spelling takes place. Proposals for such reform are also common....
plan, called the Perfected Spelling System
Perfected Spelling System
The Perfected Spelling System is the latest Indonesian spelling system which was released in 1972 to replace the Soewandi Spelling System.-Soewandi to EYD letter changes:-Foreign Loan Letters:...
(Ejaan yang Disempurnakan) in Indonesia and the Consolidated Latin Spelling System (Ejaan Rumi Bersama) in Malaysia. Although the representations of speech sounds are now largely identical in the Indonesian and Malaysian varieties, a number of minor spelling differences remain.
Letter names and pronunciations
| Letter | Name | IPA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | a | /a/ | a as in father |
| Bb | be | /b/ | be as in bed |
| Cc | ce | /tʃ/ | ce as in check |
| Dd | de | /d/ | de as in day |
| Ee | e | /e/ or /ə/ | e as in let |
| Ff | ef | /f/ | ef as in theft |
| Gg | ge | /ɡ/ | ge as in gain |
| Hh | ha | /h/ | ha as in harm |
| Ii | i | /ɪ/ | i as in enough |
| Jj | je | /dʒ/ | je as in jam |
| Kk | ka | /k/ | ka as in cuff |
| Ll | el | /l/ | el as in gel |
| Mm | em | /m/ | em as in tempo |
| Nn | en | /n/ | en as in end |
| Oo | o | /o/ | o as in owe |
| Pp | pe | /p/ | pe as in pain |
| ki | /q/ | ki as in kissl | |
| Rr | er | /r/ | er as in errand, but rolled Alveolar trill The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar trills is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is r. It is commonly called the rolled R, rolling R, or trilled R... |
| Ss | es | /s/ | es as in best |
| Tt | te | /t/ | te as in terrible |
| Uu | u | /u/ | u as in soon |
| Vv | ve | /v/ or /f/ | ve as in vegetable or fe as in feign |
| Ww | we | /w/ | we as in well |
| Xx | iks | /ks/ | iks as in wicks |
| Yy | ye | /j/ | ye as in yes |
| Zz | zet | /z/ | similar to zed |
In addition, there are digraph
Digraph (orthography)
A digraph or digram is a pair of characters used to write one phoneme or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined...
s that are not considered separate letters of the alphabet:
| Digraph | IPA |
|---|---|
| ai | /ai̯/ |
| au | /au̯/ |
| oi | /ui̯, oi̯/ |
| Digraph | IPA |
|---|---|
| kh | /x, h, k/ |
| ny | /ɲ/ |
| ng | /ŋ/ |
| sy | /ʃ, sj/ |