Malay language

Malay (/məˈleɪ/;[7] Malay: Bahasa Melayu, Jawi: بهاس ملايو, Rejang: ꤷꥁꤼ ꤸꥍꤾꤿꥈ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines and Thailand. Altogether, it is spoken by 290 million people[8] (around 260 million people speak "Indonesian")[9] across Maritime Southeast Asia.

Quick facts: Malay, Pronunciation, Native to, Ethnici... ▼

Malay
Malay/Indonesian[1]
Bahasa Melayu بهاس ملايو‎ ꤷꥁꤼ ꤸꥍꤾꤿꥈ
Pronunciation	[ba.ha.sa mə.la.ju]
Native to	Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Thailand, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Ethnicity	Malays (see also Malayophones)
Speakers	L1 – 77 million (2007)[2] Total (L1 and L2): 200–290 million (2009)[3]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Malayo-Sumbawan (?) Malayic Malay
Early forms	Old Malay Classical Malay Pre-Modern Malay
Standard forms	Indonesian (as Bahasa Indonesia) Malaysian Malay (as Bahasa Melayu)[fn 1]
Writing system	Latin (Malay alphabet) Arabic (Jawi alphabet)[4] Arabic (Pegon script) (In Indonesia)[5] Thai alphabet (in Thailand) Malay Braille Historically Pallava script, Kawi script, Ulu scripts, Rejang script
Signed forms	Manually Coded Malay
Official status
Official language in	Brunei Indonesia (as Indonesian) Malaysia Singapore
Recognised minority language in	Indonesia (beside the national standard of Indonesian, Local Malay enjoys the status of a regional language in Sumatra and Kalimantan (Borneo)) East Timor (Indonesian used as a working language and a trade language with Indonesia)[6] Thailand (as Pattani Malay)
Regulated by	Language Development and Fostering Agency in Indonesia Institute of Language and Literature in Malaysia Language and Literature Bureau in Brunei Malay Language Council in Singapore Brunei–Indonesia–Malaysia Language Council – MABBIM (a trilateral joint venture)
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ms
ISO 639-2	may (B) msa (T)
ISO 639-3	msa – inclusive code Individual codes: zlm – Malay (individual language) kxd – Brunei Malay ind – Indonesian zsm – Standard Malay jax – Jambi Malay meo – Kedah Malay kvr – Kerinci xmm – Manado Malay min – Minangkabau mui – Musi zmi – Negeri Sembilan max – North Moluccan Malay mfa – Kelantan-Pattani Malay coa – Cocos Malay bjn – Banjarese bew – Betawi msi – Sabah Malay mqg – Kota Bangun Kutai Malay
Glottolog	indo1326  partial match
Linguasphere	31-MFA-a
areas where Malay-Indonesian is spoken:   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

As the bahasa kebangsaan or bahasa nasional ("national language") of several states, Standard Malay has various official names. In Malaysia, it is designated as either Bahasa Melayu Malaysia ("Malaysian Malay") or also Bahasa Melayu ("Malay language"). In Singapore and Brunei, it is called Bahasa Melayu ("Malay language"). In Indonesia, an autonomous normative variety called Bahasa Indonesia ("Indonesian language") is designated the bahasa persatuan/pemersatu ("unifying language" or lingua franca). Usage of the term "Malay" (bahasa Melayu) is restricted in Indonesia to refer to vernacular varieties of Malay indigenous to areas of Central to Southern Sumatra and West Kalimantan.[lower-alpha 1]

Malay, also called Court Malay, was the literary standard of the pre-colonial Malacca and Johor Sultanates and so the language is sometimes called Malacca, Johor or Riau Malay (or various combinations of those names) to distinguish it from the various other Malayic languages. According to Ethnologue 16, several of the Malayic varieties they currently list as separate languages, including the Orang Asli varieties of Peninsular Malay, are so closely related to standard Malay that they may prove to be dialects. There are also several Malay trade and creole languages based on a lingua franca derived from Classical Malay as well as Macassar Malay, which appears to be a mixed language.