Malaysian language
| Malaysian | |
|---|---|
|
Bahasa Malaysia بهاس مليسيا |
|
| Pronunciation | [baˈhasə malajˈsiə] |
| Native to | Malaysia |
|
Native speakers
|
Spoken by the vast majority of those in Malaysia, although most learn a local Malay dialect or other language first. |
|
Latin (Rumi) Arabic (Jawi) Malaysian Braille |
|
| Bahasa Malaysia Kod Tangan | |
| Official status | |
|
Official language in
|
 Malaysia
|
| Regulated by | Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (Institute of Language and Literature) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | stan1306 |
The Malaysian language (Malay: Bahasa Malaysia), or Standard Malay is the name regularly applied to the Malay language used in Malaysia. Constitutionally, however, the official language of Malaysia is Malay, but the government from time to time refers to it as Malaysian. Malaysian is a standardised register of the Johore-Riau dialect of Malay. It is spoken by much of the Malaysian population as a second language. It is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school.
Article 152 of the Federation designates Malay as the official language. Between 1986 and 2007, the official term Bahasa Malaysia was replaced by "Bahasa Melayu". Today, to recognise that Malaysia is composed of many ethnic groups (and not only the ethnic Malays), the term Bahasa Malaysia has once again become the government's preferred designation for the "Bahasa Kebangsaan" (National Language) and the "Bahasa Persatuan/Pemersatu" (unifying language/lingua franca). The language is sometimes simply referred to as Bahasa or BM.English continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in the superior courts.
The Malaysian language is normally written using a Latin alphabet called Rumi, though an Arabic alphabet called Jawi also exists. Rumi is official while efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve Jawi script and to revive its use in Malaysia. The Latin alphabet, however, is still the most commonly used script in Malaysia, both for official and informal purposes.
The Malaysian language has most of its words borrowed from Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, Persian, Portuguese, Dutch, certain Chinese dialects, Arabic and more recently, English (in particular many scientific and technological terms). Modern Malaysian is also heavily influenced by Indonesian, largely through the popularity of Indonesian dramas, soap operas, songs, and other music.
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