Languages in Malaysia

Malay Language

Originating in Sumatra, the Malay language, or Bahasa Melayu, is the national language of three countries; Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. In Malaysia, it is known as Bahasa Malaysia. This language is also spoken in Singapore and parts of Thailand. In Malaysia, all students at local schools are required to learn Malay.

Bahasa Malaysia also has words borrowed from Arabic, Sanskrit, Tamil, Persian, Portuguese, Dutch, and some Chinese dialects. There are also words borrowed from English, mainly for scientific and technological terms.

There are altogether ten dialects of Malay; Bahasa Malaysia, Kelantanese, Terengganuan, Kedahan, Sarawakian, Bajau, Negeri Sembilan Malay, Banjar, Bruneian and Indonesian.

Chinese Language

Mandarin is generally spoken by the Chinese in Malaysia, but Hokkien is the biggest Chinese dialect in the country, followed by Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, Fuzhou, Hainanese and Foochow.

Hokkien is mostly spoken in Penang, north of Perak and Kedah. Cantonese is widely spoken in Ipoh (in Perak) and Kuala Lumpur. Mandarin is popular in Johor and Foochow and Hakka in Sarawak and Sabah. In Sabah, some of the Chinese in Sandakan can speak Cantonese. Many Chinese can speak more than one Chinese dialect.

Indian Language

The majority of Indians in Malaysia are Tamils, and they speak Tamil. Other Indian languages in Malaysia are Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Punjabi and Gujarati. The new generation of Indians have started mixing Malay and English words with their respective dialects.

Some Indians can also speak Mandarin to help them with businesses, and many are choosing to send their children to Chinese educated schools to help them learn an extra language.

English Language

Fortunately for expats, English is widely spoken in Malaysia and English is actively known as a second language. It is easy to live in urban areas of Malaysia by only speaking the English language. Business in Malaysia is conducted in English and examinations are based on British English. Spoken English in Malaysia is heavily influenced with American English because of television influence.

Manglish

Manglish is English with influences from the Malay, Chinese and Indian language. It is a unique dialect of English in Malaysia.

For example, the use of ‘lah’, ‘meh’ are commonly used filler words and exclamations such as ‘cabut’ (escape) and ‘fuyoh’ (exclamation of amazement) are considered Manglish. The Malaysian Government strongly disapproves of the use of Manglish.

Bahasa Rojak

Bahasa Rojak which translates into mixed ‘languages,’ refers to the Malaysian way of mixing languages when speaking. For instance, a person will start off speaking Bahasa Malaysia, and branch out into English, with some Chinese and Indian language, or Manglish words thrown in. Example, “You memang gilar betul lar” – “You are really mad”, is a mix of English, Malay and Manglish.

The origin of Bahasa Rojak can be traced back to early Malacca years (1402) when traders from all over the world would converge in Malacca (Malacca was an international port for trading during the 15th century) and converse by using a mixture of words from different languages to sell and buy goods.

Peranakan Language

The language spoken by the Peranakans, Baba Malay, is a mixture of Bahasa Malaysia and Hokkien. Unfortunately, not many speak this language anymore. The older generations still maintain the use of this language, but the younger generation has replaced Baba Malay with English.

East Malaysian Languages

In addition to the languages discussed above, some people in East Malaysia speak Jaku Iban (Iban), Coastal Kadazan (Kadazan), Bajaw, Kelabit, Bidayuh and Kayan. These languages are considered Austronesian languages. With so many different languages in Malaysia, things can get a little confusing. Fortunately, English is widely spoken in Malaysia, and it’s very easy to live in this country by solely speaking that language.