Za'ba
| Za’aba | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad 16 September 1895 Batu Kikir, Negeri Sembilan, Malaya (now Malaysia) |
| Died | 23 October 1973 (aged 78) |
| Other names | Za'aba or Za'ba |
| Organisation | Malay Language and Literary Congress |
| Movement | Malayan Academic Movement |
Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad (16 September 1895 – 23 October 1973) or better known by the moniker Za'aba, was a Malaysian writer and linguist. He modernised the Malay language with the publication of a series of grammar books entitled Pelita Bahasa in 1936 at the Sultan Idris Training College. The book contained guidelines in modernising the structure of the classical Malay language, transforming it into the Malay language that is in use today. The most important change was in syntax, from the classical passive form to the modern active form.
Zainal Abidin was born on 16 September 1895 in Kampung Bukit Kerdas, Batu Kikir, Jempol in the state of Negeri Sembilan; the eldest of three children. His mother, Intan Awaluddin (1877-1907) was of Minangkabau descent, while his father Ahmad Ibrahim (1862-1927) was a Buginese from a well-off family in the Riau Islands - the latter being the only literate person in the village. Zainal Abidin however learned to write and read by himself from the age of five, practising his writing on young banana leaves with a twig as the stylus. This caught the interest of his father, who decided to buy him a writing slate and some chalk. This further motivated Zainal's affinity for writing and helped tuned his writing skills later on.
Za'ba initially received his early education at a Malay school in Batu Kikir at the age of 12. His academic excellence allowed him to advance by two grades to Year 3. His father transferred him to a nearby school in Linggi in 1909, with hopes that his son would be become a ulama, where Zainal Abidin would learn the fields of Arabic language and Islamic jurispudence, among other things. He then continued his study at St. Paul's Institution, Seremban, becoming the first Malay to take and pass Senior Cambridge test in 1915.
...
Wikipedia