Malay language

The Malay language is the national language of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, and the mother tongue of the Malay people who are native to the Malay peninsula, southern Thailand, Singapore and parts of Sumatra.

In Malaysia, it is known as Bahasa Malaysia or Malaysian, even though it is, in fact, merely Malay. Similarly, Indonesia adopted a form of Malay as its official language upon independence, naming it Bahasa Indonesia

The reason for adopting these terms is political rather than a reflection of linguistic distinctiveness. Except for the inclusion of several words of Javanese origin into the official Malay language of Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia are actually one language.

To understand better the difference between the two, compare to the difference between American English and Australian English. Both are English, but with minor differences.

The Malay language has many words borrowed from Arabic, Sanskrit and to a much lesser extent English.

Some simple words in Malay

• Selamat datang (Welcome)
• Terima kasih (Thank you)
• Selamat pagi (Good morning)
• Selamat tengah hari (Good afternoon)
• Selamat petang (Good evening)
• Selamat malam (Good night)
• Jumpa lagi (See you again)

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Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India.