Malay (language)

Malay
Bahasa Melayu بهاس ملايو‎
Native to	Indonesia (as Indonesian) Malaysia (as Malaysian) Singapore Brunei East Timor (as Indonesian) Thailand (as Bahasa Jawi) Cocos (Keeling) Islands (de jure) Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (as a trade language with Malaysia)
Native speakers	77 million (2007) Total: 200–250 million (2009)
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Nuclear MP Sunda-Sulawesi Malayo-Sumbawan Malayic Malayan Malay
Early forms	Old Malay Classical Malay
Standard forms	Indonesian Malaysian Brunei Malay
Writing system	Latin (Malay alphabet) Arabic script (Jawi alphabet) Thai alphabet (in Thailand) Historically Pallava alphabet, Kawi alphabet, Rencong alphabet
Signed forms	Manually Coded Malay Sistem Isyarat Bahasa Indonesia
Official status
Official language in	Indonesia (as Indonesian)  Malaysia  Brunei  Singapore  Cocos (Keeling) Islands (de jure) (territory of  Australia)
Recognised minority language in	Indonesia (Local Malay enjoys the status of a regional language in Sumatra apart from the national standard of Indonesian)
Regulated by	Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa; Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Institute of Language and Literature); Majlis Bahasa Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia (Brunei–Indonesia–Malaysia Language Council – MABBIM) (a trilateral joint-venture)
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ms
ISO 639-2	(B)  (T)
ISO 639-3	– inclusive code Individual codes: zlm – Malaysian Malay zsm – Standard Malaysian ind – Indonesian lrt – Larantuka Malay ? kxd – Brunei ? meo – Kedah Malay ? zmi – Minangkabau language dup – Duano’ ? jak – Jakun ? orn – Orang Kanaq ? ors – Orang Seletar ? tmw – Temuan ?
Glottolog	indo1326  (partial match)
Linguasphere	31-MFA-a
Indonesia   Malaysia   Singapore and Brunei, where Standard Malay is an official language   East Timor, where Indonesian is a working language   Southern Thailand and the Cocos Isl., where other varieties of Malay are spoken
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Latin (Malay alphabet)
Arabic script (Jawi alphabet)
Thai alphabet (in Thailand)

Malay (/məˈleɪ/;Malay: Bahasa Melayu) is a major language of the Austronesian family. It has an official status in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is spoken by 290 million people across the Strait of Malacca, including the coasts of the Malay Peninsula of Malaysia and the eastern coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, and has been established as a native language of part of western coastal Sarawak and West Kalimantan in Borneo. It is also used as a trading language in the southern Philippines, including the southern parts of the Zamboanga Peninsula, the Sulu Archipelago and the southern predominantly Muslim-inhabited municipalities of Bataraza and Balabac in Palawan.

As the Bahasa Kebangsaan or Bahasa Nasional (National Language) of several states, Standard Malay has various official names. In Singapore and Brunei it is called Bahasa Melayu (Malay language); in Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian language); and in Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) and is designated the Bahasa Persatuan/Pemersatu ("unifying language/lingua franca"). However, in areas of central to southern Sumatra where the language is indigenous, Indonesians refer to it as Bahasa Melayu and consider it one of their regional languages.