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Baba Malay
Introduction
Also known as Peranakan Malay, Nonya Malay or Straits Chinese Malay. Baba Malay is a patois of colloquial Malay and Hokkien spoken by the descendents of Chinese who settled in the Straits settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore in the 17th to 19th centuries. Its zenith may be approximately dated as the period from 1880 to 1950, when there were Baba newspapers and periodicals, and Chinese and Western novels were translated into Baba Malay.
Baba Malay is a linguistic distinct entity and may be considered a dialect of Johor-Riau Malay (the language of the Malacca Sultans), but there has never existed a standardised form of the language. There is variation between the forms spoken in Malacca and Singapore, between families, and even between individuals. The Baba Malay spoken in Penang is closer to Hokkien than it is to Malay; that spoken in Malacca is considered the purest; and that spoken in Singapore is considered the most vulgar. Baba Malay is a spectrum or a continuum, with the women (called 'nonyas' and who were confined to the home) speaking the most extreme form, and the men (called 'babas' who engaged in business with the outside world) speaking a form mid-way between that spoken by the nonyas and Standard Malay.
Baba Malay is a dying language. In Singapore, government regulations introduced in 1980, stipulating that all ethnic Chinese must learn Mandarin as their second language, has all but killed the language. Most Peranakan families in Singapore now speak English at home, and most of the Singapore Peranakan who speak Baba Malay as their first language are now in their fifties or older. In Malaysia, the compulsory teaching of Standard Malay in schools has meant that Peranakans in Malacca now speak a Malay that has lost many of its distinctive characteristics. The Peranakans themselves see their language as defective or impure: they call it 'bazaar Malay' or even 'broken Malay'. Only in the past two decades have efforts been made to preserve the language.
I was brought up speaking English at home but learnt Baba Malay from my mother and grandmother.
The version of Baba Malay I present here is the Singapore dialect used by own family. My aim is to give a flavour of the language and I do not aim to be comprehensive. The lists give examples only and are not exhaustive.
Orthography
Many modern Baba Malay publications will use the modern spellings, but I have chosen to use a slightly amended version of the 1904 spelling standard (the rules laid down by a committee appointed by the Federated Malay States Government), because it more closely represents
the actual pronunciation of Baba Malay. The disadvantage of my decision is that I exaggerate the differences between Standard Malay (Bahasa Malaysia) and
Baba Malay. The reform of Standard Malay spelling that began in 1959 was politically motivated, with the aim of achieving unity with Indonesian Malay (Bahasa Indonesia). This had the unfortunate effect of making the written language inconsistent with the spoken language.
English equivalent International Phonetic Alphabet
a father a:
e father ə
é late (called e pepet, or taling) e:
i fee i:
o post o:
u loot u:
The accent (or pepet) on taling is always omitted except in textbooks and dictionaries, and you will never see it written even on road signs or newspapers: it is considered obvious. I use it here for the benefit of non-native Malay speakers. In older Baba Malay writings, e (the schwa vowel) is frequently omitted (so 'skali' instead of 'sekali'). In spoken Standard Malay, a is pronounced like ago or data (IPA ə) when it occurs at the end of a word. This is not a feature of Baba Malay.
The consonants ch b d f g h j l m n r s sh w y are like English.
The letters k, p and t are unaspirated.
k like scold, not like cold
p like spot, not like pot
t like stop, not like top
Aspirated k is spelled kh and pronounced like keep, aspirated p is spelled ph and pronounced like peep. Final k is in fact a glottal stop (IPA ʔ).
There are three phonemes used in Standard Malay to transliterate words of Arabic origin:
International Phonetic Alphabet
th like thick or thin, not like this or that θ
f like father f
z like adze dz
However, in spoken Malay, th often becomes s and f becomes p.
The apostrophe ' is used to indicate a glottal stop (IPA ʔ) when it occurs in the middle of words. An example from English is the tt in little when spoken in the Cockney dialect. I use the n suffix of IPA to indicate the nasalisation of vowels that is common in Hokkien.
Baba Malay has two endings (-air and -ay) that do not appear in Standard Malay. The pronunciation is simlar to two English diphthongs except they are pure vowels. I retain use these spellings for historical reasons:
International Phonetic Alphabet
air similar to air or pair ɛ:
ay similar pay or lay e:
Annoyingly, due to the 1970's reforms, Standard Malay now uses c to mean ch (like child) and sy to mean sh (like shoot). So 'sharikat' is now spelled 'syarikat', and 'chinta' is now spelled 'cinta' even though there has been no change in pronunciation.
As a rule stress is on the penultimate syllable.
Spelling differences
As I mentioned before, some of the differences between Baba Malay and Standard Malay are only due to spelling reform, and the pronunciation is actually identical.
In all cases, the Baba Malay spelling represents the way the word is actually pronounced by speakers of Baba Malay and of Standard Malay, but due to spelling reform, the written word has now changed so as to bring it into conformity with Indonesian Malay and no longer represents the pronunciation of native Malay speakers. Before the spelling reforms, these words were spelled identically in both languages:
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
air ayér water
encik inchék mister, sir
engkau angkau you (inf.)
itik iték duck (the animal)
balik balék to return
kuih kuéh cake or pastry
lebih lebéh more
nasib naséb fate
bakul bakol basket
daun daon leaf
pukul pukol to hit
telur telor egg
tidur tidor to sleep
Pronouns
Standard Malay has a wealth of pronouns reflecting a variety of social situations and the relative status of the speakers. Baba Malay uses a mixture of Hokkien pronouns and colloquial Malay pronouns, and this is probably the most immediate difference between the two languages.
Baba Malay Standard Malay
First person singular gua 我 aku (inf.)
saya (pol.)
Second person singular lu 汝 kamu (inf.)
engkau (inf.)
awak (inf.)
anda (pol.)
saudara (pol.)
Third person singular dia dia
ia
First person plural kita kita
(Includes the person you are speaking to)
First person plural kita kami
(Excludes the person you are speaking to)
Second person plural lu orang awak semua (inf.)
anda (pol.)
Third person plural dia orang/ dia orang (inf.)
diorang/ meréka (pol.)
jorang
Colloquialisms
Baba Malay makes heavy use of colloquial forms and the more polite forms found in Standard Malay will be incomprehensible to most Peranakans.
The following abbreviated forms are common to both Baba Malay and native speakers of Bahasa Melayu.
Standard Malay abbreviated meaning
dekat kat near; at
ini ni this
mahu mau/mo to want
sedikit sikit little (adj.)
tahu tau to know
tidak tak not
Baba Malay is strewn with colloquialism, some of which do not appear in standard dictionaries, but which are readily recognisable to native Malay speakers in Peninsular Malaysia.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
buang air besar bérak defaecate
buang air kecil kenching urinate
kecil kechik small
isteri bini wife
lihat nampak see
sehingga sampay until
suami laki husband
tandas jamban toilet
And some abbreviations are unique to Baba Malay, but are not consistently used. These abbreviations only appear in conversation but not in writing:
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
apa macam? amcham? how?
apa fasal? apasair? For what reason?
bawa pergi buakpi take to
buat apa? buatpa? Why do that?
pergi pi to go
punya nya/mya (indicates the genitive case)
tidak ada takda/ta'a do not have
tidak boleh takbleh/takleh cannot
tidak usah toksah do not; no need
Silent H
The letter 'h' occuring at the beginning, end, or in the middle of a word is frequently omitted.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
hantar antair send (v.)
hantu antu ghost
hari ari day
hidong idong nose
hitam itam black (adj.)
hujan ujan rain
Words are often run together: so dua hari (two days) becomes duari.
The tendency to omit 'h' ocurring in the middle of words is common to both colloquial and Baba Malay.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
baharu baru new
pelahan pelan slow
merdehéka merdéka freedom
sehaja saja only
tahun taon year
-K ending
Words that end with a vowel in Standard Malay are sometimes given a -k ending in Baba Malay.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
bali balék to return
bawa bawak/buak to carry
biji bijik seed
cari charék to search
nasi nasik rice
tahi taik excrement
-AY ending
The Malay terminal diphthong
ai becomes
ay in Baba Malay.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
cerai cheray crowded
pandai panday clever
sampai sampay arrive
-AIR ending
Words ending -al, -ar or -as are pronounced -air in Baba Malay. This is used inconsistently and is considered a particularly feminine traît. There are some words which become indistinguishable in Baba Malay, except when used in context.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
fasal pasair regarding
kapal kapair ship (n.)
keluar kulair go out
keras kerair hard
lapar lapair hungry
lepas lepair since
panas panair hot
pasar pasair market (n.)
seluar sulair trousers, pants
-O ending
Words ending -au change to -o in Baba Malay.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
hijau ijo green (adj.)
kacau kacho to disturb
limau lémo lemon; lime*
pisau piso knife
*limau originally referred to any citrus fruit (see Conservation of obsolescent words)
Other pronunciation differences
There are differences in the pronunciation of many common words that unfortunately defy classification:
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
ambil amek to take
banyak manyak plenty
bilik milék room
belum bulom not yet
kerja kréja work
mesti misti must
minta mintak to ask
muda munda young
muka mungka face (n.)
panggil panggay to call
perempuan perompuan woman
pergi pigi/pi to go
pijak pinjak to step on
punya mya (indicator of genitive case)
sedawa sendawa belch
sekali sair very
sekali sekali once; suddenly
sembilang semilang striped catfish (Plotosus lineatus)
semua suma all
sendiri seniri self (used to form the reflexive pronouns)
sepit sumpek chopsticks*
sunti sunting knobs on ginger
* It is strange that Baba Malay should use a Malay word in preference to a Chinese word for this quintessentially Chinese utensil.
Different meanings
There are some words that will trip up a native Malay speaker listening to a Baba Malay speaker. In particular, sekarang in Standard Malay means 'now', but in Baba Malay it means 'soon'.
Hokkien words
Baba Malay strips the tones from the Hokkien words that it borrows. Many Hokkien words are used interchangeably with their Malay synonyms. My grandmother will say Chinchai (Hok. for 'anything' or 'whatever') then use the word sebarang (Mal.) in her next sentence to mean exactly the same thing.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
bakhil kiam siap 減嗇 stingy, miserly
candu aphien 鴉片 opium
daun ketumbar hian sui 芫荽 coriander leaves
gala tékko 竹杆 bamboo pole
hari lahir sen jit 生日 birthday
jemput chian 請 invite (to a feast)
meja tok 桌 table
pingan baja pingan kauntit steel dish
sayur asin kiamchai 鹹菜 salted mustard leaves
sulah/gondol botak 無髮 bald
sebarang chinchai whatever
The most frequently used Hokkien words are of course the pronouns (described above). The remainder are frequently nouns to describe things of Chinese origin, or abstract concepts peculiar to Chinese culture and for which no equivalent Malay word exists.
Hokkien Baba Malay meaning
荷包 o pau knitted purse tied to a belt*
不孝 put hau unfilial
蓋盅 kamchéng ornamented covered ceramic pot
* Now more commonly encountered as the name for a dish of bean curd skins stuffed with chopped cucumber and pork
There are a number of Chinese words that have entered Standard Malay.
Standard Malay Chinese meaning
popiah 薄餠 spring roll (Hokkien)
cawan 茶碗 tea bowl, small bowl (Cantonese)
kway teow 粿條 flat rice noodles (Hokkien)
lobak 蘿蔔 chinese radish (Hokkien)
mi 麵 noodles (Hokkien)
mihun 米粉 rice vermicelli
tauhu 豆腐 soft bean curd
taukwa 豆乾 pressed bean curd
The Chinese expression 井底之蛙 'Frog at the bottom of a well', which means 'ignoramus' is translated to Malay, 'kodok dalam sekol'.
Days of the week
Baba Malay numbers the days of the week rather than using their Arabic names as in Standard Malay. So literally, 'Monday' is 'Day One' and 'Tuesday' is 'Day Two', etc. and 'Sunday' is 'Day Week' (cf. Chinese 星期一, 星期二, etc. and 星期天)
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
Hari Isnin Ari satu Monday
Hari Selasa Ari dua Tuesday
Hari Rabu Ari tiga Wednesday
Hari Khamis Ari empat Thursday
Hari Jumaat Ari lima Friday
Hari Sabtu Ari enam Saturday
Hari Ahad Ari minggu Sunday
Conservation of obsolescent words
Modern Standard Malay has borrowed (and continues to borrow) a great number of words from English and Arabic even where there already exists a word in Malay for the same thing. Baba Malay speakers have a tendency to use the older Malay forms.
Standard Malay Baba Malay meaning
ais ayér batu ice (n.)
arnab kuching belanda rabbit
orén lémo orange
pesawat kapair terbang aeroplane
polis mata-mata police
Lémo originally referred to any citrus fruit: so lémo manis is an orange; lémo nipis, lémo kasturi and lémo purut are different varieties of limes. Kapair terbang literally means 'flying ship'. Kuching belanda literally means 'Dutch cat'!
Unknown etymology
There are some words in Baba Malay that are simply of unknown provenance, with no Malay or Hokkien equivalents:
Baba Malay meaning
bedenting top class
Chinese syntax
The syntax of Baba Malay is more closely related to Chinese than to Malay.
If you want to say "his book". Chinese would say 他的書 and Baba Malay would likewaise say 'Dia mya buku' or 'Dia punya buku'; Standard Malay would say 'Buku dia' and eschews 'punya' as vulgar and unnecessary.
Construction of the passive
Verbs are made passive by use of the words kasi or kena, which correspond closely to modern Chinese 給 and 被 respectively. So:-
- English: The meat was eated by the dog
- Chinese: 肉被狗吃
- Standard Malay: Daging dimakan anjing
- Baba Malay: Daging kena anjing makan/Daging kasi anjing makan
- English: I was swindled by him
- Chinese: 我被他騙
- Baba Malay: Gua kena dia tipu
Kasi means 'to give', and
kena means 'to suffer'. Therefore,
kena implies that some harm has been done. In the first example given above, either word is correct, however, in the second example,
kena is more appropriate (although
kasi is not wrong). 'Daging kasi anjing makan' implies that it was intended that the meat was eaten by the dog, whereas 'daging kena anjing makan' implies that the meat was intended for some other purpose but that the dog got to it first.
PI to mean direction of travel
Baba Malay uses pi (abbreviated form of pigi 'to go') in preferences to Standard Malay ke. 'He goes to the market' in Standard Malay is Dia ke pasar, but Baba Malay says Dia pi pasair.
Abbreviations
adj.ective
cf. confer (Latin) compare
etc.etera (Latin)
Hok.kien
inf.ormal
Mal.ay
n.oun
pol.ite