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MALAY

GRAMMAR
BY

R. O.
MALAY

WINSTEDT
CIVIL SERVICE

OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1913

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS


LONDON
EDINBURGH
GLASGOW
NEW YORK
TORONTO
MELBOURNE
BOMBAY

HUMPHREY MILFORD
PUBLISHER TO THE UXIVEESITV

pLSh
PREFACE
This grammar was commenced
a text-book for

.//
want of

supply the

to

second or higher examination in the

the

Malay language, prescribed

for ofTicials.

In English there are no books in print dealing with the


subject except Maxwell's

Malay Manual, which

is

not strictly

grammar, and Shellabear's Practical Malay Graviviar

(printed in Singapore),

book

will in

of print

which

hardly counts, and Marsden's, which so


excellent, but

it is

a century behind

among
far

modern

as

scholars

goes

it

grammars

Tendeloo, Spat, and van Ophuijsen;

is

research.

In Dutch there are several standard works, to which


a great debt, especially the

Out

interfere with those.

Crawfurd's Grammar, which

ai'e

This

elementary.

quite

is

no way supplant or

owe

of Gerth van Wijk,

but Dutch

is

an

in-

superable obstacle for the casual student of Malay in the


Peninsula.

too must ask forgiveness,

an unfamiliar language has led

if

the refraction of

me anywhere

to distort the

views of authorities I have quoted or criticized.

Arrangement

is

a difficult problem in Malay grammar.

Before the chapter on Affixation

it

is

desirable to deal with

the simple forms of such parts of speech as will recur in that

chapter as derivatives
the radical form

and

it

is

also important to deal with

of the verb and then without a break to

30085 Z

>:.*:-:'.':;;

preface

"^

.-.

Now

proceed to derivative verbal forms.

and

derivatives are substantival, verbal,

that

obtained on

have

that

to advance

opinions of

may

originally in the

minable

my

ward of a

and analyse

my

views

an

inter-

books of reference

found

an amusement

it

and subsequent acquaintance with the

modern comparative study has seemed

results of

of being

risk

formed

to all
I

to

theory.

found that

The

simple and
different

adjectival,

had unknowingly furbished up an old


drew between the function of the

distinction I

me

forms of the verb, though based on a very

premise,

fortunately

me on
Some-

several important points to give those views support.

times

the

moot point

tropical hospital during

from access

except a few Malay classics, which


to parse

At the

own.

all

have not hesitated

perhaps explain that

illness, cut off

Hence

adjectival.

terribly

the Malay verb simple and derivative,

egotistical, I

important

While considering

the arrangement in this book.


theories

the

viz.

that

would seem

me

(and he) derivatives


sense

to

underlie

in

put 'subjective

passive'

theory,

hands of many grammarians went so

that

which

far as to

deny

in

are

unthe

that the

simple verb could ever be active

count

I
I

it

an important point

have ventured to advance, that

this

grammar

the Sejarah

in
all

support of the theories


the examples quoted in

are extracts from the IMalay classics, notably

Mclayu and

the

Hikayai

Hang

Tiiah.

I give a short bibliography of the principal works con-

sulted.
after

References to chapter

some

hesitation, to

expert and interested

enough

Dutch grammars

have no

will

and page

it

was decided,

omit passim, since those


to

find

their

difficulty in

who

way about

are
in

turning to the

PREFACE
passage required, while for others

many and minute

references

are tiresome.

The

arrangement

suggested to

who has

me

ground-plan

or

originally by

most of

also read

Mr. R.

indebted to Mr. C. O. Blagden,

J.

member

work

this

was

Wilkinson, C.M.G.,

manuscript.

in

it

of

am

greatly

of the Council of the

Royal Asiatic Society, for ungrudging and invaluable assistance

many months

extended over
his research

work

scholarship.

Above

dam, who read


care, pointed

this

out

improvements;

in

if

Talaing

all,

is

Mr. Blagden and

book

for

my

me

to say so,

publishers with meticulous

inaccuracies,

upon

my

allow

(directly) a loss to IMalay

can only wish

trouble he lavished

will

must thank Dr. Fokker of Amster-

many

he

it

it

and suggested many


were better worth the

so generously.

brother Mr. E. O. Winstedt have

seen the book through the press.

CONTENTS
page

CHAP.

Bibliography
I.

IF.

Etymology

II

Phonetics

25

III.

Spelling

33

IV.

The Malay Word

51

V.

The Chief Parts


(a)

of Speech

Substantive

(b) Adjective
(c)

VI.
VII.

Verb

The System

of Affixation

Other Parts

of Speech

73

106

Pronoun
Numeral

123

(c)

Adverb

131

107

(d) Preposition
(e)

Conjunction

(f) Interjection

Notes on Syntax

140
148

164
166

(a)

Emphasis

167

(b)

Balance

i68

(c) Ellipsis

IX.

55
56
60

(b)

(a)

VIII.

65

Style

177

Appendix.

By R.

173

Notes on Malay Leti er-writing


Wilkinson, C.M.G.

J.

183

BIBLIOGRAPHY
OF PRINCIPAL WORKS CONSULTED

Etymology

I.

Kern

De Fidjitaal

Verslage7i en Mededeelingen der

',

Akade?m'e

lijken

va?i

Konink-

Wefenschappejt, Afd. Letterkunde,

Amsterdam, 1889.

Van der Tuuk

Outlines of a

Language (Second
Chi'tia, vol.

i,

Grammar

of the Malagasy

Series of Essays Rclaluig

to

Indo-

printed for the Straits Branch of the Ro}-al

Asiatic Society).

Brandstetter, R.

Die Beziehungen des Malagasy zum

MalaiischeUj Luzern, 1893.

Wurzel und Wort

in

den indonesischen Sprachen, 19 10.

Sprachvergleichendes Charakterbild eines indonesischen


Idiomes,

191

1.

Gemeinindonesisch und Urindonesisch, 191

1,

Das Verbum, 191 2.

Niemann

Tjam
Taal-,

Bijdrage tot de Kennis van de Verhouding van het


tot

de Talen van Indonesie [Bijdrageti

Land-

en

Volkenhinde

iol

de

van Ncderlandsch-Indie,

Leyden, 1891).

Skeat and Blagdek


vol.

ii.

Pagan Races of

the

Malay Peninsula,

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schmidt

'
:

Die Mon-Khmer-Volker, ein Bindeglied zvvischen

Volkern Zentralasiens und Austronesiens,' Archiv fur


Anthropologic, Neue Folge, Band v, Heft i und 2,
Braunschweig, 1906 (translated as

Khmer,
et

trait

d'union

de I'Austronesie

d' Extreme-Orient,

'

entre les

Les Peuples Mon-

in the Bulletin de I'^cole

tome

vii,

and

Frangaise

4).

Phonetics

II.

FoKKER, A. A.:

'

peuples de I'Asie centrale

INIalay Phonetics,

III.

Leiden, 1895 (in EngHsh).

Spelling

Evolution of Malay Spelling,' Journal of the


Shellabear
R. Asiatic Society, Straits Branch, No. xxxvi, 51-135.
'

Romanised Malay Spelling


Office,

IV.

Wijk,

F.

M.

S.

Government Printing

Kuala Lumpor, 1904.

Marsden, W.

Van

Grammar

A Grammar of the

Gerth

Druk, G. Kolff

Tendeloo, Dr. H.

Malayan Language, 1812.

Spraakleer der INIaleische Taal, Derde

&

Co., Batavia, 1909.

J.

E.

Maleische Grammatica,

vols..

Ley den, 1901,


Spat, C.: Maleische Taal, 2nd

Ophuijsen, Ch. a. van


1

ed.,

Breda, 1911.

Maleische

Spraakkunst,

Leiden,

9 10.

V,

Hikayat

Sri

Rama

Malay Texts

(early seventeenth-century IMS., Bodleian

Library, Oxford).

Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals, ed. Shellabear, Singapore,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

lo
Hika3'at

Hang Tuah,

parts,

ed.

Singapore,

Shellabear,

1908-10.
Bustanu's-salatin,

vols,,

ed.

R.

J.

Wilkinson, Singapore,

1900.

Awang Sulong Merah Muda,

a folk-tale, ed. A.

J.

Sturrock

and R. O. Winstedt, Singapore, 1907.


Hikayat Abdullah, Singapore.
Pelayaran Abdullah, Singapore.

Hikayat Indera Mengindera, Penang

VI.

R.

J.

Wilkinson:

(lith.) et alia.

Miscellaneous
Malay-English Dictionary,

vols.,

Singapore, 190 1-2.

R.

J.

Wilkinson:

An

Abridged Malay-English Dictionary

(Romanised), Kuala Lumpor, 1908.

CHAPTER

ETYMOLOGY
1.

Malay

the longue of the

Malay Peninsula, which

Straits Settlements of

Singapore, Malacca, and

is

embraces the

Penang; the Federated Malay

and Negri Sembilan

Pahang,

States, Perak,Selangor,

and

the states of Kedah, Kelantan,

Trengganu and Johore

and

Siamese protection Patani.

in

the extreme north under

also the tongue of the Riau

It is

West
Menangkabau

Archipelago, of the East Coast of Sumatra, and of the

Coast of Borneo.
as

Sundanese

is

It

is

as closely related to

akin to Javanese.

The language

belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian or Oceanic

or Austronesian family, as

has been termed

it

which covers an area from Formosa

Madagascar

New

and includes the languages of

to Easter Island,

the Philippines, the

to

variously,

Zealand, from

Malay Archipelago, Micronesia, Melanesia

excluding Papua, and Polynesia.

To

the easternmost

western

or

Indonesian branch

Tagalog Bisaya and Bontok

Menangkabau
Madurese

in

Sumatra

Balinese

Macassar and Bugis

known

the

belong Malay

in the Philippines
;

Sundanese,

Dayak

in the Celebes,

Batak and

Javanese,

dialects

the

Malagasy

of

and

Borneo

and many other

less-

tongues.

This big Malayo-Polynesian family


to

branch

To

belong the languages of Samoa, Tahiti, and Tonga.

it

has been attempted^

connect with a family of Austro-Asiatic languages spread T

over the south-east corner of Asia and embracing


of Central India

Khmer

or

Khasi of Assam

Cambojan

Hon

or

Munda

Taking and

&c, of Indo-China; Nicobarese; and in

ETYMOLOGY

the

Malay Peninsula Sakai and Semang.

was

first

and

Austria,

ultimate

now

is

generally accepted

establishes

it

between Malay

relationship

prehistoric

This connection

by Professor Schmidt of Modling, m^

definitely asserted

an

and the

languages of the aborigines in the Peninsula.

In a mere introductory chapter to a grammar on one


particular language, Malay,

summarize
fessors

it is

impossible to do

more than

the conclusions of philologists like Pro-

briefly

Kern, Brandstetter, Schmidt, Kuhn, Niemann, and

works may be found cited in the


8-10 ; referring especially to points
and
types of grammatical structure

other scholars, whose

bibliography on

concerning

pp.

INIalay

suggesting problems and


this particular

IMalay,

2.

become

difficulties

language.

which phonetically

grammar, comes

common

m,

Suffixes

(f)

Infixes in,

the

which

it

has

modern
body of

has developed,

This stratum reveals


b, p, k,

n and

{b)

well preserved,

Under

be handled in the

will

a stratum, out of

to Indonesia.

{a) Prefixes

is

morphologically.

simplified

system of affixation, which


this

by a study of

raised

t.

i.

m and

less

widely spread

and

r.

appears as a prefix of the verb and of the adjective.

Examples of the former are

makan

minum

and from the roots idar and

from

inum

drint:,

aleh the Javanese forms midar


sometimes occur in IMalay

salt,

masing
As a

masam

acid from

several from

asing

verbal formative,

revolve,

latter are

asam

point.

m alone or

cat,

move^ that

mengidar
masin salty from

a sour fruit,

masing-

apart.

and the

generally denote the active, though there


the

maleh

kan

literature in place of

and mengaleh. Instances of the


asin

from a root

compound forms
is

uncertainty on

In modern IMalay, even as a verbal formative


with infixes would appear to have, in a sense, an

ETYMOLOGY
adjectival or participial force

13

adding an agent to an

a verb to a subject (38 note;

It

47).

is

act,

quite possible

mentua, merlimau are abbrein


orang mentua, buah merlimau
the
Bodleian Sri Rama (early seventeenth century) rumah.

that substantival forms like

of

viations

merderma
b

is

occurs for ahnshouse.

an Indonesian prefix widely spread in the language

group and

is

from root

eli,

in the family,

form intransitive verbs,

said to

belah

to split

occurs like

In modern Malay

may

best be

addition,

e.g. beli hi{y

Less widely found

from elah.

as an adjectival prefix.

occurs mostly as be(r), a prefix that

it

described as denoting reflexivity,

and possession.

define the Indonesian

rather than to define

it

It

reciprocity,

would probably be

safer to

same general

functions

as having the

as a formative of active or intransitive

verbs.

Examples of its
Malay are pantul (also antul) caicse to rebound,
pengap (also ngap) to mal<e a pant, to pant; and to form a

serves everywhere as a causal prefix.

verbal use in

substantive,

pangkat

angkat

promotion, rank from

raise, he

Kern identifies it with the essential part of


apa something} In modern IMalay it figures as pe, pe + nasal,
Professor

raised.

pe + r (orl)(54-6).
k, which
tvhither

is

probably the preposition

and so

ka

a prefix

state into ivhich, is

signifying place

common

to the

Indonesian family and has a passive nuance, forming especially


verbal adjectives and abstract nouns.

with numerals and e.g. in kini

of lime.

forms

In modern Malay

many

abstract

now

57)

It

is

also

employed

as formative for adverbs

it

is

used with numerals;

nouns with the help of the

survives in a few stereotyped words to which

an and
may be added

suffix

kapit supporters of a bridegroom from apit press on

'

Mr. Blagden

tells

me

that in Talaing

pa =

to do, to viatic.

of Schmidt's synthesis, this seems worth recording.

either

In view

ETYMOLOGY

14
side

alah, kalah

be

kaleh /uni antil,


apong, kapong drif/.
seventeenth-century IMS. of Sri Ra7na
ivors/ed

aleh,

kantil, anting, kanting swaying;

passage in the early

in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, contains the verbal use, rare


in I\Ialay,

fakir miskin

semua-nya keanugerah ayapan

raja beggars and the religions poor 7vere

from

t a prefix corresponding to the


is

modern Malay

a formative of function clear and intelligible.

the

offood

all in receipt

the prince.

same nuances

different

in

Polynesian family.

In

Fiji

te(r) ( 52)
It

has even

languages of the

Malayo-

says Professor Kern,

',

'

words

thus formed differ from adjectives and passive verbs generally


in this respect, that they

But

itself.

imply a thing has become so of

appears to be used

it

also,

wish to mention or when they do not

whom

the thing has

form of the

that

come

into the state expressed

Kern

sees

which he suggests the same root as


Javanese tilem

in the

malam

this or

tunjok,r//(?w outright;

anggul

in

tiba

tiarap, tiada are other

may compare unjok

In Malay one

it

in rebah/^?//,

which he contrasts with

sleep,

night (cp. tilam mattress)

instances.

by

verb.'

sub-form ti has been detected.

arrive, for

and

when they do not


know the agent by

pitch {of a

(^c^i?/)

offer

with

with

tanggul

bob right np.

n.

The modern Malay

suffix formatives,

from labuh

to

an

suffix

one substantival as
loiver

58) conceals two old

in

labuhan anchorage

{anchor or curtain,

&jci);

the other

may be traced in words


sayuran the vegetable world

superlative or intensative, a use that


like

lautan ocean from laut

^^(7,

from sayur v egetable


i,

which

was once

still

survives as an intensative suffix for verbs (62)

also like

a substantival suffix,

corresponds to the Malay tuan

tui master in

Fiji

and the use may be seen in


the Malay pelangi rainbow from pelang stripe; rambuti

rough woollen

cloth

from

rambut

hair.

Like prefix k,

this

ETYMOLOGY
suffix i

was

originally a preposition.

15
It signified

place where

and corresponds to the modern INIalay di.


In Indonesian
tongues article and preposition are often identical and i was
also an Indonesian article.^
'

'

-in-

is

said to be a passive formative

and

is

found in the

Dayak kiuan ealeji from kan eai. It perhaps survives in the


Malay word binatang, but it has no grammatical significance
in Malay.
Cp. also senantan milk ivhile {of game cocks)
from santan coco-nut milk; chevLonut pope' s Jiose infoivl from
chonet projecting.
-m- occurs in several Indonesian languages in kuman.
from the root kan eat.
Professor Kern derives even the
Malay word tempat place from the old Javanese tepet
spacious, vast+\.h.\'i infix,

which he

summarizes

Austronesian tongues generally

expressing
fairly

use in

its

calls

manner, internal movement, happening

'

common

Malay as a crystallized
and repetition

in

the notion of duration

kunchup
plant

santan
7nilk.

It is

{of a flower),

yellow,

coco-nut milk

relic

as

It is

'.

and conveys

closing

kuning

Schmidt

a durative.

kemuning

kemunchup

sensitive

a yelloiv-wood

nyiur semantan a

tree

coco-nut producing

commonest with reduplicated forms

cherlang-

chemerlang radiant gilang-gemilang repeated glittering


gnroh-gemuroh prolonged roll of thunder; turun-temurun
continuous descent; tabur-temabur all sprinkled; silir;

semilir waving
-r-

and

-1-

to

andfro

duration,

are infixes,

crystallized forms, but

as can be

tali cord, tali-temali cordage.

common enough

no longer

in

Malay

in

So

far

living formatives.

judged from examples, they appear to denote


intensity,

plurality,

Like the other Indonesian

reciprocity,

confusion

and

articles a and ra, which are held to


and suffixes in such words as the Malay anu, bunga
from O.J. bvmg, ratu (Malay date) from ra + tu master, so too i has
been traced in Malay sigi from O. J. sig, tubi from tub, rugi from
^

survive as prefixes

rug.

ETYMOLOGY

They

kindred ideas.

are

employed mostly with reduplicated

Their derivatives are nouns and adjectives as well

forms.
as verbs

jubong, jerubong a

-r-.

stretch

of aivnhig over cargo

chonderong leanings [of the


heart)
kuping, keruping a scab gondong, gerondong
jongkah jagged, jerongkah
per?nanent szvelling. goitre
Jagged {of a monthfiil of teeth) kedut, kerdut ivrinkled;

chondong

leaning,

aslant,

kusut, kerusut entangled: sohxit fbre. ^eraibVLt fibrous


kas (old Javanese), keras hard kibas shake, keribas
;

shake thoroughly

kelip, kerlip tivinkle; kuit, keruit wag;

titek drop, teritek drop continually,


trip

up

kemut

blister

cut)

kembong

tingkah

conduct,

"^avi.^ the perineum

longed trembling

telingkah

k.edxit crun/pled,

geletar

tremble,

gigit

ii^flated,

kangkang

sirat, selirat mesh-rvork;

getar

{faster)

gaping {of a deep


bubble,

geremut

sendeng, serendeng heel right over.


biku zigzag, beliku a river bend kebak, kelebak

throb of a boil
-1-.

sadong, seradong

{normal) throb of the pulse,

kelembong
line

a-sir addle,

kelang-

keledut much crumpled;

gemetar and gementar) probite, geligit keep biting


gosok rub,
kupas peel, kelupas keep peeling

(also

gelosok keep rubbing


ketak, ketok rap, keletak, keletok keep rapping
search, selidek keep searching, search thoroughly
;

of conduct

sidek
siseh,

seliseh quarrel one with another.

These
degree

madu

single

may be

'

rival,

or

padu

thwarting, vexatious,

kalang

or

simple

iveld;

alang

palang

cross

galang roller,

Dr. Fokker

affixes

or

'

affixes

of the

first

adu contest,
cross,
malang

traced in a few sets of words like

tlnvarts

across,

(kayu palang cross-bar),


elok curve, pelok embrace,

seem to be nothing but shifted


words where the infixing conveys greater facility of
pronunciation.
So le and re interchanging with li and ri, are common
le-ng-kiang, re-ng-kiang rice-holder ri-mau {the roarer')
prefixes
tiger,
-em- will be identical with me and -in- or -ing- with i + ng,
^

remarks that

all

infixes

prefixes, found in

+ n.

ETYINFOLOGY
kelok
kelun
3.

n)

What

has

prefix

and

and an
"^

or

'

bay,

jelok deep-curved [of a

boivl),

spirals {0/ smoke)}

made

it

harder to solve the functions of

group

the restricted Indonesian

prefixes even in
prefix

telok

arc,

curve,
(suffix

17

infix frequently

combine

prefix of the second degree

The

formative.

crystallized

is

that a

form a compound

to

giving rise to a

'

new

functions of the obsolete

simple separate prefixes and infixes,

then supposed, are

is

it

obliterated.

In

INIalay

{a)

we

m + nasal
p + nasal

{b)

and

m+r

get
infix, 44, especially II.
infix, 54.

that

adjectives,

to

is

be seen as a

relic in

and

especially plant-names,

certain
for

nouns

example

in

merawan

and merapi where berawan


and berapi are the ordinary modern forms.
b + r,^ 49, which is said by Kern to be a fusion
the rare variants

mer

of adjectival
t

+ r,

and verbal b.

52.

P + r, 54-56.
1

In addition to the

'

simple

'

affixes

given above, there are a few

and another of the Indonesian languages, but


which in Malay, at any rate, need not trouble the grammarian. Two
may be mentioned. In Fiji there is d-, Javanese j-, Malay j- or ch-,
examples of which Kem detected in jebul (Malay chabul) rape from
bill a hole and jebur (Malay chebiir) plunge into water from the
onomatopoeic bur. Relics of such a formative are clear in such doublets
as tengok, jengok see; pijak, jijak (read; kangkang, jangkang
lotong, jelotong
abu, jabu (cp. debu, lebu) dtist
astraddle
belah split, chelah crevice
alit, palit, chalit smear
monkey
tegang, chekang taut kebek, sebek, chebek awry, s which in a
few Bugis words betokens reciprocity and reflexive action may be seen
in the Malay kepit, sepit pinch {one thing by another'); kilau, silau
others which occur in one

flash {flash after flash).


^

Real

From

'

compound

prefixes

'

are those given in

ajar are formed belajar, pelajaran

[With regard to the theory that the -ng and

43

(II).

taking the place of

r.

-r terminations of such


ETYMOLOGY

i8

This r
but

is

it

commonl}- wriilen

is

often omitted in

in all cases in literary

colloquial Malay.

Malay,

Dr. Fokker's

analysis gives a widespread but not universal practice.

genuine Malay stem ending in r and having another


than a never takes a prefix closed by

'

initial

bakar forms

r.'

layar forms belay ar, pelayaran; ehichir, bechichir-chicliiran; tengkar, betengkar.


Similarly,
JMalay stems with medial r and having another

tebakar; labur, pelabur

'

initial

than

From kirim we

a.'

beserta, pesertakan

get

bekirim

from serta,

from siram, besiram

from do-

from
tedorong
from peranjat, teperanjat
kerja, bekerja, pekerjaan; from permena, tepermenai.

rong,

'

Before a stem with

ferable

thus

initial

besisek

is

the prefix without r

better than

is

pre-

From

bersisek.'

ribu we

get mei'ibu, beribii not merribu, berribu


from
rangga, merangga from ragi, meragi from ragong,
teragong-ragong from rajok, perajok and so on.
In theKedah dialect to quote an example from the Peninsula,
;

is

(c)

this

never sounded at

all.

few crystallized survivals

dudok, sekedudok a
sengkarut interlaced;
long-snouted gavial

kendudok, sen-

like

plant; diri, sendiri,

sembelit

sembuang

kendiri

costiveness;

offering

self;

senjolong

sembulu

roughto be

prefixes as raeng-

and ber-, &c., are mere phonetic

noted that (i)

not supported by the results of the comparative study

it is

of the Indonesian languages

Kota Kapur

(2)

it is

in conflict

it

is

with the data of the

inscription (probably of the seventh century a.d.),

contains such forms as


to;

links,

parsumpahan

mangujari

curse,

and the

to

speak 7uith

like.

marjjahati

to do

which

harm

(See Part 67 of the Bijdragen

Land- en Volkenkiindc van N'cdertandsch-Indi'e.^) It is more


ng and r were originally separate formatives. C.O.B.'\
^ Dr. Fokker calls my attention to the fact that Kern considered any
he
prefix to the name of animal, plant, thing, &c., an indefinite article
suggests, rightly to my mind, that such a prefix may more probably be

tot de Taal-,

probable that

defined as a definite article, and instances

^ fish with p'otruding


a mata-mata.

(?j't'.r,

with which one

siakap, kakap name of


may compare kakap a spy,

ETYMOLOGY

19

gulong
buku, tembuku knoi
hewn
gulong a inillipide ivhich rolls up.
;

4. Finally IMalay has a

infixes

mistletoe

fishing),
5.

',

few instances of prefixation of


'

where a prefix

from root lap

teng-

compounded with
dalu, mendalu and bendalu, kemendalu

the third degree

two

up,

roll

gerlap

relap a flashing rope

Jlas/i,

to flash,

be

will

gemerlapan

Comparison of words even

{iised in

flashing.

in

alone

INIalay

below the above stratum a very old sjstem of

shows

suffixation,

which has not yet been unravelled.


(i) gigi tooth, gerigi, gerigis serrated, gigil, gigir chatter

(of teeth), enggil-berenggil serrated (of hills), ringgit tooth(2) iku zigzag, siku elhoiv, sigong rest on
biku zigzag pattern, bengkok, chengkok, chelengkok zigzag, tivisted. (3) kuku claiu, kokol cuired,
kokot claw-shaped, kokong, kerukut very claw-shap(d,

edged, milled.
elboius,

kukur
pinched

rasp, rasper.
ofl^,

(4)

ketip nip

kail fish with a hook, kais

To
to the

ketit a pinch,

pi)ich,

teeth.

(5)

kait hooking,

clutch, grab.

look for verbal or adjectival or other meaning referable

scheme of our own grammar were

how hard

it

Indonesian

to discover

is

aflfixes.

infixes of

It

kokol,

gigil, enggil,

and

getu, getil

hctivecn the

seems probable that words

kukur

exhibit

the province

to

Depending mainly, so

suffixes.

of comparative

Malay grammar.

philology rather than to that of


6.

like gigir,

what are the prefixes

Indonesian grammar cropping up as

But the question belongs

identities in

considering

futile

such import in the clearly defined

far as

grammar, Schmidt's

it

has been accepted, on

brilliant synthesis of

Austro-

nesian and Austro-Asiatic languages can appositely be recapitulated here.


(a)

The two

His arguments are as follows

families have

an absolute identity of phonetic

system.
B

ETYIMOLOGY

20
{d)

Both place the genitive

(c)

Both use

of the

inclusive

noun.

after the

and exclusive forms

for the

pronoun

person plural.

first

{d) There

is

The

absolute similarity in structure of words.

old view that Austronesian words were disyllabic had been

Pijnappel a quarter of a

Professor

dissolving for years.

century ago analysed words like keletek, keletak, keletok

may add belatek, jelatek

(and one

and belatok,

sparroiv

jelatok woodpecker) through ketek, ketak, ketok, down


to the

onomatopoeic monosyllables tik, tak, tok imitating


In English, Sir William Maxwell,

various notes in tapping.

Logan, ventured the suggestion, that

folloAving

tangkap

hand,

seize,

tongkat

tangan

in

walking-stick, there existed a

monosyllabic root (found in Sakai and Taking) teng hand.

Again scholars have shown

many

have
white,

ulu

that while Indonesian languages

langit

disyllables like

mata

head,

eye,

sky,

bulan

puteh

moon,

they have running through

group many monosyllabic roots

kan

eat,

all

the

tut wiiid (Malay

kentut break wind), num dritik, pas loose (Malay lepas),


tong hang {as in gantong), lit (Malay kulit) ri7td, peel.

And

critical

side has

study of Austro-Asiatic languages on the other

shown

that they contain disyllabic as well as

mono-

syllabic words.
ie)

Both

families exhibit

remarkable identity in

prefixes k, p,

infixes

m,

n, r,

suffixes

their

So they have

systems of affixation simple and compound.

n and

i.

And

so far as they can be defined, the functions of these affixes

both families are

in
1

In this context

Mr. R.

J.

similar.'

may be

Wilkinson

cited

some

representative of the Austro-Asiatic family,

possesses old Indonesian words not

and only to be paralleled


of the Archipelago.
in central

'

known

which

in

its

vocabulary

Malay to-day,

in Peninsular

in the vocabularies of languages in distant islands

Tlie introduction of an infix (n, 'n, en, or

Sakai makes the word substantival

twelve hours

by
language

interesting points discovered

in his study of central Sakai, a Peninsular

jis daylight,

on)

jenis a day,

pap fire-warmed, pSnap the thing warmed koh striking.


;

ETYIMOLOGY

2t

7.

Foreign loan-words.^

The

oldest foreign loan-words in Indonesian languages are

are found

Sanskrit, which

kenoh

club, striker;

chok/;W,

pre-eminently in Javanese, and


slab,

chenok prodder,

spike.

prefix

per turns the root into a verb or a passive root into an active root
dat die, perdat /'///; noyxg Journey, pernong to go; lot extinguished,
perlot to put out (a fire') bet sleep, perbet close the eye. These two
dat die, perendat
forms can be combined to form a verbal noun
murder; perenglot extinguisher; goi be married, pergoi zvcd,
perenggoi marriage. In certain cases the final letter of a Sakai word
changes to n, ng, or m. Sometimes this follows a law of euphonychip bird, chimklak
owing to the coincidence of two consonants
cherok long, cherong-sok longha'tvk
klak hawk, klang-blok roc
haired vampire.
But there are cases where the alteration cannot be
;

so explained

a house

rok

shows goi

to

vaa,i

person,

da>t,

uu

mam one person,

nar r'nguon two

married, 'nggoi (/)

be

married; bersop

to feed,

'mbersop

dok house, nvi d'ngnon


The conjugation of verbs
am married, en 'nggoi / am

darts.

(/) ain feeding.^

This system has

The euphonic nasal


bengkang-bengkok,

notable points of resemblance with the Indonesian.

reminds one of such Malay forms as selang-seli,

golang-golek.
There is one other peculiarity of (Southern) Sakai word formation that
paralleled in Indonesian idiom, for the building of polite and
is

common words.
Given a word in Javanese ',
Mr. Blagden in The Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, with
an open penultimate syllable (and a final syllable preferably open and

honorific doublets to

'

writes

'

generally ending in a), to turn

it

into a

Krama

syllables with a nasal (or the final one

or high form, close both

more

rarely with a

liquid),

the nasal which

modify the

initial

now closes

the penultimate and change the vowel of the final syllable (as

may

consonant of the

final syllable to suit

Mr. Blagden quotes from the Javanese


segantea ocean; sore, sonten
kalapa, karambil (cp. Malay gelambir) coco-nut. And he
evetiing
points out how it occurs in other Malayan languages without ceremonial
or specialized meaning
dara virgin (Malay), danten virgin, of
a rule e, or

it

be

a,

i,

or u).'

kira, kinten accounts; segara (Skt.),


;

hen (Sundanese) jalu male (Sundanese), jantan (Malay)


alu and antan, Malay variants iox pestle pemali and par; tang, Malay
variants for taboo.
Cp. piama, piantan due season, esp. for rice'
buffalo or

planting.

And

again,

how it occurs in the aboriginal dialects of the


nyang rt'i?^; puteh, pentol ay^zVi.' serigala,

Peninsula: asu*, anjing,

segala', seranggil Jackal


use, except that
1

without definite evidence of ceremonial

most big animals have honorific synonyms.

Taken from Mr. R.

J.

Wilkinson's Malay-English Dictionary.

;;
;

ETYMOLOGY

22

Malay, but also as

then in

Philippines,

The

Celebes, the

as the

far afield

and Madagascar.

borro\Ying includes not

only words for religious, moral, and intellectual ideas but

some

astronomical, mathematical and botanical terms, a court

number of everyday words.

vocabulary, and a large

few

examples only can be given here

agama

anggota limbs angangsa goose aniaya oppression


antara, I'e/rveen anugerah
atauf'r; bahagia blessing; bahaya danger; bahasa language; bakti
vurilorious sen'ice
bangsa race
benda filing bentara
heralel; beta servant; biasa accustomed; bijaksana ivise;
binasa ruin buta evil spirit budi intellect bumi earth
chahaya lustre, gloxv chakerawala the revolving vault of
heaven; cherana bo7vl; cheteria a kshatriya, icarrior
chinta love, regret; chintamani a certain kind 0/ snake
cl^^a vinegar diaksuia south; delima po?negranate; denda
a fine; derma ahns; dina poor; dosa sin; dM.^a grief
gaya conduct, ivalk gempita uproar genta bdl geta
divan; harga /'r/n
\\.ax\.a p7-operty
hasta cubit; jaga to
watch; jampi magic; jelma incarnation
jentera wheel;
jiwa life juta million karna because keranda three-plank
kosa
coffin; kerja ivork; kesunaba red; ketika time;
goad; kuasa might; kurnia gift; maha great; makota
cro7vn
manek bead mangga mango mangsa carrion
manteri rv's/f 7- manusia ; mara danger; vaasa tifne;
melati Jasmine merpati pigeon mulia illustrious mutiara pearl
nadi the pulse
nama name naraka hell

kara

religion

violence

alpa negligence

angkasa

heavens

^i,--//? ;

-gala nutmeg; -ga^a poor

-penjara prison

jper'k.ara affiair;

perkasa brave; -pertama first perwira warrior; puja


prayer; puieva princeling
pxitQvi princess
ra^a prince
rajawali eagle, hawk
rupa appearance saksi zcitness
;

sakti supernatural poxver;


ment; sem-puvna

pcf^fect

segera quickly; se'ksa punish-

semua

all;

sendi muscle; sen-

;;

ETYMOLOGY
jata wcapoji

upaya

singa

lion

surga heaven

tSnggala plough

rcsoiuxiS.

Arabic loan-words deal

and law

religion

are so

23

common

in

Among

arif wise

the commonest
akal ingenuity

kadar
shak douht

fikir think;
strong

sphere

the

of

many

conversation that they can be considered

Malay by adoption.

alam world
dunia world;
kuat
a grave

with

especially

but as Marsden maintained not so

are

adat custom

sebab

kubur

/^zcvr, ability;

cause

sujud

kneel in prayer.

few Persian words occur,

mainly

in

literature,

and

perhaps they came through a Hindustani channel

bandar

bedebah unlucky
darya sea diwau
court ofjustice
ganduro. corn jadah bastard; jam clock
kawin marry kenduri /east lashkar
juadah cakes
mohor die-mark nafiri trumpet nakhoda master
soldiery
of a ship nesan grave-stone pahlawan champion peri
astana palace
biadab discourtesy

seaport

sakar J/(;'(cr; sakhlat


termasa shoiv.

fairy;

Hindustani are jori buggy


glanders

biaperi merchant

tan

s^rban turban;

Ivoadcloth;

lagam

bit

ras

reins

sardi

stable.

Tamil supplies a small number of established loan-words


kapal steamer; katil bed; ketumbar coriander; kolam
pond; maligai A'Zf'fr; vci.QXir^Q\2iS. liridegroom xciwXVi carat
:

tandil

overseer

Chinese

tirai curtain.

loan-words

are

rare

and

apply

Chinese

to

things

kongsi a

{sec7'et)

upstairs floor; \vl

society

loki Chinese courtesan

you; pekong

y't^w

tanglong

Of Western languages Portuguese has

left

a great

of words describing articles of European culture

bangku
garfu fork

loteng

number

beledu jv/zv/ bola*^^//; bomba ///?-'//'


kebaya goivn lelong auction meja table

(^t'<;7/

/tzz/Ar//.

ETYMOLOGY

merinyu

snperinfendeni

peniti pin

rial dollar;

tuala

perada
sepatu

paderi

gold-leaf;

shoe\-

teratu

priest

torhire;

engsel hinge; duit


spade suit in cards
;

towel.

The commonest Dutch loan-words

tub

peluru huUei
renda lace
terucgko prison
;

pita ribbon

senapang

sopi gin

cent;

seturup syrup

rijle;

gelas glass

bom
;

are

pGlek.oX placard

ransum

sekopong

rations

tong

carriage shaft and landing-place;

botol

bottle

lampu

lamp.

CHAPTER

II

PHONETICS
8.

In studying the Malay language which has for the

vehicle of
to

its

remember

sounds.

expression an alien alphabet,


that a

language

it

is

necessary

built not of letters

is

but of

were too elaborate here to deal with sounds


But Malay
that they have no graphic symbol.

It

so elusive

words are composed of the following sounds represented by


letters.

Consonants.

9.

(a)

Guttural

glottal

class.

check or abrupt closing of a

stopping the breath.


'

or k, as in

It is

^yJ poke'

rendered confusingly by

there

need be no

difficulty, if

in A/i

a,

vowel made by

j, romanized

or

(and in a few cases

baik, eLAJ tilek and so

Arabic or

Roman

script,

remembered that final k,


Peninsular Malay never indicates
is

the glottal check.

It is

two similar vowels a ...

in

it

Amy, Ah

rather than an aspirate.

dbl)

e. g.

no matter how represented, in


any other sound than this of
like the

pokok

or fjSyi

symbol

Whatever the

on).

final

represented by

Isabel,

sounded

o ... o

[The Arabic a occurs


Malay words as a graphic prop

leher.

Ah

uncle; a semivowel

distinctly only

as in

between

rahang, bohong,

like alif at the

for a vowel,

beginning of

which

in Arabic

cannot stand as part of the syllable but must be accompanied

by a consonant;
as semivowels

and

e.g. for

w and y

and

except

when

they are used

i_L>j1 or u_L.*^Ji isap, ^1^1 orjlj*

to indicate the presence of the indeterminate

ulu

vowel

e,


PHONETICS

26

which there

for

are both used,

no Arabic symbol, an

is

sometimes

indififerenily

alif or 4

initial

emas,

;_,.*^l

^a

Its function as a semivowel


helai, i^^'A ov t^^-;^^ embus.
may be seen in the spellings ^^y tuhan a variant of ^jly

tuan,

liiji'

tuha,

oaU

pahit, where there

is

no aspirate sound

at all.]

as geese, gaunt, good, e.g. gigi,

gagah, gusi

never as in

germ.

k, usually represented by
tical

with

ng

in kiss, Kaffir,

and occasionally by>,

is

iden-

Koran.

as injiing, long, never as in tingle, sponging.

r not the English cerebral (or lingual) but the Scotch


guttural r, distinctly but not too emphatically enunciated.

In the south

differs in different parts of the Peninsula.

lingual, only

more

trilled

than in English

in the north

It
it

is

it is

guttural.
{b)

Palatal class.

as in mayor, ratepayer;

words

ny

exists

it

unexpressed between

like he ambles, shc-ass.

the equivalent of the

is

Spanish

consonant sound represented by


pinion, onion,
(c)

by gn

Dental

2.

or the individual

in neiv, nude,

by ni

in

in vignette.

class.

ch. nearly as in ehat, chisel, channel, but really

where the tongue stops and then

glides, while in

an

affricate,

English

it

is

produced by a mere glide of the tongue.


nearly as \n Jenny, jump, but like Malay ch. a dental, and

fricative,
j

not a palatal as in English.'


s a superdental as in sister or as in hiss rather than his.

a superdental as in plunder, binding, landing.

t a
tort,

hard superdental identical with the

initial

t in topple,

Tom.
See Dr. Fokker's edition of Beech's

Press, 1908).

Tidong Dialects

Clarenrlon

PHONETICS
n may
'

27

be compared with the superdental represented

English by the same sign when written before a


a

is

it

more

little

top of the tongue


1

distinctly

pronounced,

i.e.

in

tliough

more with the

'.

not quite identical with the English sound.

'

What

the

English write with the same sign seems very often to be a


superpalatal (lingual or cerebral),
at the

ward, the top pressed with

The Malay

of the palate.

consonant formed

not in

breadth against the roof

produced
write

1,

at the Joivcr part

of

when pronounced by

Elsewhere, Dr. Fokker compares

well-bred people.'
in hill-top

its full

1 is

Dutch

the palate like what the

i.e.

higher part of the palate with the tongue turned back-

with

it

/;///.

{d) Labial class.

w
in

(not expressed in the system of romanizing employed

grammar)

this

as in

coivard^ poivcr,

vowel unexpressed between words

sozvcr

the

like rue it or in a

semi-

word

like dual.

b
p

as in English

hoot, beau, tub.

as in English

pig, pup, paut.

as in English.

10. Vowels.
Broadly the vowels in Malay are

as in langit, api,

kayu, ratus.

e as in bela.
i

as in ingin.

o as

in

as in

e as in

gopoh.
kayu.
enam.

and these are the only vowel sounds which


in

the

body of

this

would make further


accents.

will

be distinguished

grammar, though a work on phonetics


distinctions

The problem

and mark them by means of

of definition

is

increased by the great

PHONETICS

28

Malay

differences in
least

dialects, of

which

for the Peninsula at

no exhaustive study has been made.

Dr. Fokker,

wrote primarily of pronunciation in West Borneo and

moreover,

first five

Long and

(a)

sahut, batu.
in

re

ivcck

tolak.
(b)

has since modified his views, distinguished

I believe,

each of the

in

in

szvfar

o as

like oo in n/oor

Short and char,

German

German Sinn
o

cup

ikat,

oleh,

in

or almost like

German

sing

Some

terus, takut, kapur, subur.

long clear a

would seem

syllables the vowel

by o and u,

It

is

fit

with the

easy to exaggerate

and jadi, padi, padam, chabut, are

not heard in the Peninsula.

fact leads to the

chebek,

as in

of these examples at any rate do not

{/)

as in

German
bohong, komeng, korek. u as
sering, betis.

pronunciation of the Peninsula.

and a

like

dumni or the French pronunciation of

Butter,

album

ce in

as in pillow, taroh, jatoh,

input: pulang, siku.

as

lot

as

/ in kitchen

to

Brett or shorter than ai in said: oleng,

i as in kitten,

ge'rattium,

e,

oleh, orang,

a as in canto or nearly
lenyap, kurap, lapis, banding, ganti. e

Gott or nearly as o in

{b)

bore

Short and toneless surd,

ejek.

in

a nearly equivalent

pipi, manis, tapis,

in some

the

beta, merah.

kurang, surut.

as in

ragut, jadi, chabut,

e as in padre or nearly like

bongkar, pohon.

in

Ah

as in

ca

like

ekur, perentah.

{c)

siram, kirim.

isap, kerap.

Ijccn:

vowels three variations of sound

dear,

who
who

is

Again, the distinction between


to

be merely that in unaccented

less definite

than in accented

and

blending of the sounds represented by

20

{e);

e.g.

this

and

gesel or gesil, ekor or ekur,

a blending never found in accented syllables.

Moreover,

elaborate as

to exhaust

all

it

is,

the sounds in

Fokker's analysis certainly

Malay

in bore but longer than

more open than

the

first

in pilloiv

that in beta.

in
;

fails

bodoh is closer than


merah has an e

and

PHONETICS

29

Diphthongs.

11.

German Kaiser

ai as in

or like / in lighi, but sometimes

shortened in unaccented syllables

approximates to ai in

till it

7?iaid.

au

ow

as

syllables

in cow,

till it

but sometimes shortened in unaccented

approximates to

ow

in

know.

12. In the Peninsula, there are great differences between

Riau-Johor and Kedah pronunciation and even between the


pronunciation of each separate state.

And

these differences

require exhaustive treatment, before the pronunciation of the

Moreover

Peninsular Malay can be profitably discussed.

such discussion would be beyond the scope of a grammar.

The

Peninsula

is

fortunate in that

'

the language of

Malacca

(Riau-Johor) played a prominent part in fixing the


BidXiKTos of the golderi age

roughly
13.

and

that

its

Koivrj

pronunciation

is

accord with classical spelling.

in

Foreign sounds.

Malays have attempted

in

Arabic and other foreign words

and they have incorporated Arabic

to imitate alien sounds,


letters

'

representing rare sounds in their alphabet, though they

have seldom conserved the right and original pronunciation.

These are

TM
Malays

as follows

th

Cj
into

as

in

//lifi,

an s sound

but

commonly corrupted by

thalatha pronounced

as selasa,

ithnain as isnain,

Hd ^
from the

a strong aspirate, but not distinguished by Malays


soft 4,

dropped out

except that unlike the soft aspirate,

in speUing, e.g.

it

is

never

huruf never uruf, hukum never

ukum.

KM
word

loc/i,

Bzai

a hard guttural like eh in German


commonly corrupted by Malays to

pronounced by Malays as dz,

or in the Scotch

k.

z, or j.

PPIONETICS

30

Za

j-=. English

by Malays

^=

Shm

z, e.g.

zaman.

pauh janggi

to j, e.g.

But
for

it is

often corrupted

pauh zanggi.

sh, but often corrupted to s.

Slid ^js a very strongly articulated s popularly

as an ordinary

throaty sound to the

this

and

This habit gives a

the four following letters very gutturally,

accompanying vowel, while leaving the

consonant practically

Dlad \^

pronounced

But educated Malays pronounce

s.

unaflfected.

a sort of aspirated

the combination dth.

d pronounced something

Educated IMalays pronounce

it

like

as a soft

th retha, kathi, but the ignorant as 1 rela. Sometimes it


is pronounced as d
feduli. Its common romanized form dl
:

7a

a strongly articulated palatal

Jtf

nounce
Tld

it

as ordinary

nounced by Malays

t,

the

Malay 1.

but Malays pro-

t.

a strongly articulated palatal

Jfl

d and

hadlir combines the Arabic

as in redla,

as

or

dh

but like dldd pro-

z,

lohor, dhohor.

9 a strong guttural commonly pronounced by Malays

'ain

In the middle of a word its presence is


alif: adat.
marked by doubling the vowel or by a pause maana,
ma'na, but not always, mana also being heard.

like

an

often

Ghain d pronounced by Malays

ghaib

as raib,

Fa L_j = f
pah am, arip.

Kdf J

mashghul
often

as

mashrul.
by

pronounced

a deep faucal k, but

Malays as ordinary k.

The

mind

e.g.

is

wrongly used (but

e. g. ^jJL!

laksa.

Accent.

The need
idea of

Malays as p,

commonly pronounced by

letter

not sounded as a j) in Sanskrit words,


14.

r with a burr: e.g.

like

its

that

to discuss accent tends to give

importance in Malay.
there is

It

is

an exaggerated

necessary to bear in

no strong accent on any

syllable

in a

PHONETICS
Malay word

words

that

perkataan, perbuatan,

like

aluran, kedengaran, di-katakan,

nounced

same

practically with the

Ordinarily

for

stress

Malay word,

in the

31

the

example, are pro-

on every
accent

syllable.

on the

falls

penultimate except that

when

(i)

penultimate

the

is

in

an open syllable and

rarely in a closed, then the accent falls

on the

last syllable,

enam, tengah;
(2)

when

syllabic

a derivative

built

is

namely, on the

up by

prefixes

from a mono-

sometimes remains on that

the accent

root,

last syllable

root,

(3) in the vocative, the stress

is

sometimes thrown on the

last syllable.

The

case of

words

The Arab

problem.

built

and

to indicate quantity,

up of

suffixes presents a special

system used the hiiruf saksi


in its application to

Malay

and

(S

treated

accent as the equivalent of quantity, putting the hicruf saksi

open

in accented

mark of accent

syllables.

l?^4 :^

jadikan from

early spelling has

.ila.

^J5^^>

ketahui from
jadi,

^:S

left

^X^^

per,^-j*-

tahu, and even ^^5lua.

sli'

kata-nya from uy^ kata,

except in the
{j\:S kuda-nya from ^S kuda, and so on
of the particles lah, tah, kah.
The Indonesian rule is
the accent falls

case
that

on the penultimate whether of simple or of

derivative words.

The

from Werndly down

on the same

this

chemburiian from

in the penultimate of derivatives

kataan from euO kata,

ehemburu,

The

rule

to

general opinion of Dutch scholars,

Tendeloo and Fokker, has

insisted

Two

notable

holding good of Malay.

exceptions, however, are von de Wall and Gerth van Wijk.

Only the

scientific

study of dialect throughout the Peninsula

and Archipelago could explain


to

differ.

common

fully

how

In the Peninsula I confess


with Europeans

who have

experts have
I

lived

come

had supposed
there a

in

quarter

PHONETICS

32

of a century that the Malay had generally gone back on the


old

But special observation for the


work has led me to revise my opinion,
think that while practically there is hardly any

Indonesian

purposes of

and

to

accent

at

all

rule.

this

in the

words

in question,

still

the INIalay does

perkataan, ingatan, kuda-nya, nama-nya, and


jadikan though the suffix kan has not this shifting influence when the stem ends in a consonant, and timbangkan, tambatkan will be correct.
say

CHAPTER

III

SPELLING

15.

The

following are the letters of the IMalayo-Arabic

alphabet with their


course, runs

from

other characters

tion

Letter.

left
;

equivalents.
left.

to

The
The form of

writing, of

the

letters

according to their position and their connection with

differs

the

Roman
right

some

letters

never connect with others to

of them, and therefore are found sometimes in isola-

both of these points are shown in the table.

34

Letter.

SPELLING

SPELLING

Letter.

35

SPELLING

36

In Malayo-Javanese works

as p.

found

and

in Sanskrit

in Javanese,

Malayo-Polynesian languages

now.

lajn alt/,

and not employed

exotic

letters, is

sometimes

So too

of the alphabet.

letter

is

*.

Besides the alphabet,

16.

Arabs

the

d
in

a combination of two

regarded as a separate

hamzah

it is

represents a palatal

though not elsewhere

certain

become almost

have borrowed from

I\Iala}'s

most of which

signs,

diacritical

These are

obsolete in their writing.

have

The vowel

points, in Arabic called harakal, in

Malay

haris or senjafa,

which represent short vowels and

when

followed by

and

(i)

^s,

1,

Fathah or

laris

become long

di-alas

vowels.

short

a or

= short

e or

if

followed by

alif long a.

Kasrah
by

or haris di-haivah -^

long e or

r<7,

haris di-hadapan

DIaminah or
followed by

wau

These vowel points have

Hamzah

* is

word
no sound except
For

(3)

found in Arabic

this

it

is

one

i8

or

if

being replaced

consonant

see 18

commencement

alif by

itself

of

having

serves to prolong

it

use of hamzah

Malay use

(</)).

at the

prop

The jazm -^ which shows

which
fresh

its

followed

o or u,

fallen into disuse,

that after a

vowel fathah

Malay.

= short

huruf saksi

or syllable with alif as a

the

if

long o or u.

against Arabic usage by


(2)

or

i.

is

not practised in

{i).

that the

consonant over

placed closes the syllable and does not begin a


for

example, placed over

signifies that the

word

is

kh

in

bakhshish

it

pronounced bakh-shish and not

bakheshish.
(4)

The tashdid-^

17.

extant,

From
it

is

see

18

[c).

the evidence of the earliest

clear that

there

was a

Malay manuscripts

fixed

standard for the

SPELLING
Malay

spelling of

in

37

Arabic characters,

very beginning

at the

many

of the seventeenth century, a standard obtaining in

Malayan Archipelago. The introduction of this foreign alphabet was a direct consequence of the
The earliest and most
conversion of INIalays to Islam.
important missionary centre was N. Sumatra, which strictly
different places in the

was not Malay

in speech,

though Malay was used

com-

for

MSS.
eja acheh

merce, literature, and religion; most of the old Malay

were written there and von de Wall alludes to


A system of spelling
style.

Achinese speUing as the original

adopted naturally would spread with

there

Moluccas, to

But

it

Malay settlements

in

possible that something

is

Borneo, the

of

Islam to the rest of Sumatra, the coasts

Java and

more

spread of

the

at

Malacca.

and

than repetition

imitation went to account for the uniformity of system.

Arabs had attempted

the

own system

to

make

would have been that in different parts

of the Archipelago there

would have been

different modifica-

tions of the Arabic spelling, and a variety of

Malay

would have been unavoidable. The uniformity


of the earliest

MSS. would

began

to write the INIalay

which the Arabs

language and which they

same as they

taught subsequently to the Malays, was the

own

themselves used in writing their


the

main they did attempt

The
{a)

to

language.'

Certainly in

apply Arabic principles.

notes of the early seventeenth-century system

The

use of voivcl points

on unusual words

at their

first

mention

in the

Bodleian Sri

Cp. Shellabeai's

'

at

is

Rama

fully

in a

work, so that

vowelled on

its first

but not subsequently.

Evolution of Malay Spelling

Branch, xxxvi. 75-135-

were

'

any rate they were used

occurrence

jiio Badanul, a proper name,

spellings

in the spelling

lead us therefore to expect that

the system of orthography according to


originally

If

Malay

of spelling to suit the peculiarities of the

language, the result

'

an adaptation of their

',

y.A'..-l. ,3'.,

Straits

SPELLING

38

The

{b)

which

idshdid

is

inserted to indicate that the letter over

placed, whether vowel or consonant,

is

it

uw, i as iy, s as ss, ng


buwat, jj duwa, Jj diyam,

twice, e.g.

cdIj

as

sj^ suddah,^I!j bessar,

galant or gallant')

and

is

kk

the double

it

jokkan, which

hardly existed at

k j

better^

i.e.

fellow,

represent any real phonetic


to

compare

^^^^is^ilij

pertun-

tempted

is

are often said to be in imitation of Javanese

and

double-letter forms

first

it

such words as

in

to exhibit a survival probably

the existence of two forms

the

double the consonant,

(One

doubling of the consonant.


with

to

not generally observed in Malay I\ISS.

not Arabic, nor does

is

on.

iya, iu-usiyang,

(J'l

follows a short vowel (as in our words

it

sounded

tengngah.

^k:i

But the use of the tashdid

when

is

ngng, and so

as

all in

of

due

to

but Javanese influence

Acheen, and

is

it

more probable

that

never represented anything but the mere glottal

check (9).)

The

[c)

omission of

(j^ kayu,

final

aku,

e)l

j and

J^^j' terlalu,

c:>.;i

pintii,

uj^J;-^

meribu, -yj bertemu, i-Jl api, oU jadi, ^L mati, d^


laki, ^.9 pergi, ^y bumi, e^U hati, JiC-. sa-kali, dj-suka,

y dua,

s^i

tuba.

Exceptions

(i)

final

Sanskrit

pei'kasa

vowel

is

inserted

puri
is

is

written sometimes

inserted

when

diphthong sounds au,

{d)

kera, \\ bela, lb depa,


f\jt

.ys

Sn'

Rama

the

but oftener i^.f and

represents a uniform long a, and

is

{J the

tupai,

required for the explana-

written \j6j.

(2) It

\S

when

In the Bodleian

foreign word.

tion of a

ai.

^S

kilau,

y^,

risau,

^y

helai.

The omission

of an\' S}'mbol to represent the indeter-

minate short vowel e unless the iashdid as used above


be taken as an illegitimate symbol.

{U)

can

SPELLING
The

(e)

omission of

1,

and

ij as

39
medial vowels in closed

syllables.

berat, ^.b belum,

cijyj

kambing, oXc^ ringgit,


Exceptions

When

(i)

may

1,

kitab

and

ttian,

_i^..

syllables

dan and

tumboh.

in

^_^j5.

is

retained (though

would not be closed.


^ys

pun.

an open syllable upon which

1^ are inserted in

Malay

usually the penultimate.

riias,

A^.-ft.^

sekedudok,

j:>^jS^

A-..5

Arabic of course one would get

in

monosyllables ^jb

the accent falls

^y

!u*)

orang,

not be followed), e.g. ^)kJ\ islam,

kitabu, fakiru, &c., and the

(/')

bimbang,

A.^_

the spelling of Arabic words

^^i.9 fakir, t_>Uj

The

c^^l

Arabic pronunciation

(2)

sebut,

c:*.*.*.

^c-\J

kepiting, UU.j telinga,

larangan, ^^cLj tambangan,

raja-raja, J^.J1 apa-bila, klLU

hulubalang.

Exceptions

A
JX^

few words

like dL

maka,

si

pada,,j dari, 5j siidah,

segala, in which the vowel

because

it

was short and had

[In certain derivative


suffixes,

1, .

and

little

jadikan,
nya.

:,Ji

Many

ili

tahu,

omitted

it.

words formed by the addition of

(j^^-4--^

,^*a.

chemburu,

ketahui, .>U jadi,

kuda, j\jS kuda-nya,

ui;0

^jj^-j***

^^--Ja-

kata, ^^U5 kata-

have thought that the accent does not now, in

the Peninsula at any rale,

on

on

ij are shifted to the penultimate of the derived

word: oi;l ingat, ^jAiA ingatan,

ehemburuan,

may have been

stress

fall

on

that syllable, but

the penultimate of the root word.

been suggested that

this shifting

still

remains

Consequently

it

has

arose from vicious analogy with

Javanese forms and phonetics, which seems improbable considering the small influence Java had in the north of
or that

it

Sumatra

might have arisen from vicious analogy with the

spell-

ing of jMalay roots, but that again seems very improbable.

SPELLING

40

As I have slated on p. 32, it is really due to the prevalence even


now of the old Indonesian system of accentuation (whereb}- the
accent

falls

on the penultimate of simple and

Of course

alike).

pronounced

time

at the

when

Malay was introduced than


{g) Reduplication
the Arabic cipher r

not so used in

its

it

the Arabic system of spelling

is

now.]

commonly

of words was

angka dua

words

derivative

may have been more

that accentuation

native tongue

after a
r

signified

raja-raja,

-.'^

by

word, a symbol
r

^^a

berkata-kata.

The modern

18.

differs

from the

Malay

spelling of

of three

script

in

Arabic characters

centuries ago

several

in

ways.
never uses vowel points except over words quoted

It

((?)

from the Arabic or over foreign and ambiguous words.


(//)

It

has dropped the iashdid.

(t)

It

employs

1,

and

as linals, even

when

vowels are neither long vowels nor diphthongs,

aku,

S\

j)!lj

terlalu,

^.ijii

pintu,

jadi, jl-e mati, ^^3 laki,

ijjiU.

\^:>

^^^

these final

y^

meribu,

kayu,

api,

dua, \y tua.

Exceptions

(1)
st)le
L_il
J.5

few stereotyped

c:*il

apa,

itu,
(jrl

^J^

ia,

ini,

(^.^

pada, ^j-u serta,

them

common words

^\jm suatu,

dia,
^J\*

^^S

preserve

\^Ji^ seperti,

the old
jl

ada,

kita, i^a. juga, Jj? pula,

mana,

^*

manusia most

of

finals in a.

(2)

The change

in the use of

is

not established, the old

practice of omission being followed or neglected arbitrarily

according to the
words.

will

of the writer in the spelling of most

SPELLING
{d)

I,

and

used more and more as medial vowels

ij are

in closed syllables

except again in the case of some common

stereotyped words like

ratus.

f^j^y

'

The

l^ji-o

The

minta,

1,

mulia, j-jI esok,


j and ^j, the huruf

to

Arabic alphabetical

LL.

use of these letters

saksi, as they are called,


theory.

41

is

opposed

should

syllable

two

consist of

letters

'must have

been a bold innovation

may have been

to

some

The

the

MSS.

introduction of a third,' started even in our earliest

innovation

extent countenanced by the disuse

of case-endings in Arabic words such as kitab, islam, &c.,

but

it

was certainly developed,

if

not introduced by European

must be remembered

influence.

It

printing of

Malay books has been

that until recently the

hands of

entirely in the

Europeans, especially in those of missionaries, and that the

The power

influence so exercised must have been great.

European

public instruction under

reckoned with. ...

done

may

It

of

direction has also to be

be predicted that

if

nothing

is

check existing tendencies the use of the huruf saksi

to

as English vowels will extend to

all

This solution

words.

of the present system would not be an unsatisfactory one.


It

would certainly make Malay spelling consistent and

At present,

among
among

and clerks trained on European

police

pundits proud of a

propound three
than

scientific

(i)

that

the

and

when
J

(^

fail

Arabic learning.

which pretend

to

lines

than

The

latter

be practical rather

even of their limited object

should be inserted in closed syllables, except

the vowel sounds of the two syllables are alike,

or the

syllables

theories,

but

little

easy.'

huruf saksi is commoner

the extended use of the

[j

c^i^)

should be inserted only in one of the two

bingong,^.^!y. butir, t_Lij^ kutip, p-y*^

kampong, cjsuJtanjong, i*^j bimbang:


ioAo dinding,

c.^y

case of tulang

io/ics

burong.

Apply

and tolong

and tunggul Irce-slump

either

/u//>

the

but ^i'tinggi,

theory

to the

tunggal

solitary

this

or

spelling

of

each

pair

SPELLING

42

must be

accented vowel,

The

theory

i.

e.

theory

employment of

the

J^y or else the well-established


huruf saksi

the

to

represent the

the penultimate, must be abandoned.

is artificial,

Another

(2)

and

identical, viz., AJji'

and convenient use of

arbitrary

and impracticable.

would revert

huruf saksi

for

to the

guidance

in

the

same system

that

determined the use of the voivd points in the seventeenth


century

namely, for the determination of vowel sound in

It has historical basis, but what are rare words ?


For the pundit, simple terms of husbandry for the peasant,

rare words.

and Arabic loan-words of

the Sanskrit

(3)

theory would

third

words

tinguish

would be

like

spelt alike.

literature.

employ huruf saksi

to dis-

tolong and tulang which otherwise


This might be a serviceable empirical

device, but strict scientific uniformity \vould entail encyclo-

paedic knowledge of every word in the language.

Modern

(t)

( 1 )

first

is

As

in

hamzah

spelling has adoptetl

MSS.,

in early

to indicate

*,

which

is

rare

Arabic a break between two vowels, of which the

a and the second begins with the

spiriius lenis, or in

when an a sound passes on to another vowel


only by means of a gentle aspirate
never marks a break
it

other words

between vowel and semivowel.


^ip

yil,

= kail

and so too
are

\\ith

a diphthong

lain

^^{3

conmionly written

c^^i sa-orang,

kekayaan,

jlS

For instance

As an

kai;

oX^^

lavit

sa-ikat,

keenam, ojb

^^ l^

ia itu,

kealatan, J^~SS

{j\^^

namai

be noted that when a word beginning with alif

(2)

=. ka'il

^y), though such words


without hamzah. j^i-^ sa-ekur,
and

by sa the alif of that word

j^-.)

JjIS^

hamzah

JjIS^ with

is

is

it

must

preceded

omitted.

alternative to (j, indicating the glottal check,

tirok, Jjb datokj

J-svil

inchek.

SPELLING

19

(a)

The

sa

following combinations of words are found

joined

is

And

so

the

too,

personal pronouns

ku

eJ

word

following

the

to

ka
((5) The prepositions di and
ka-rumah, sJcJj ditengah.
(c)

43

sa-ribu,

j-^h*

are similarly joined

unemphatic

short

forms

i.^jji

of

and j5^ kau, c:*^^^ ku-lihat,

the

IjLu.^

kau-bawa.

mu, Q nya

((/)

(and

ku

kau

and

a preceding word) are joined to the


also

daku, dikau and dia

oleh-mu,

{e)

bawah-nya,
dengan dikau.

The

particles lah,

jireceding word, sXiJl

akan and dengan.

after

diri-ku, lss^^

jX),?.i

(jA^^>.

dia, ^^a:^^

\\hen they belong to

word preceding them

kah, tab,

alang-kah,

pun

^-^.sl

^\^\

akan

are joined to the

apa-tah.

yang ii'iay be joined with the preceding or following


( /)
word, or with both.
Ar^^.j' orang yang, c^-sl^.::.*-) yang
terdapat, ^i\^skJ-j^\ orang

yang

di-dapati.

compound words
(;')
hulubalang.
apabila,
iJLU
J^sl
I'he

The

component

impossibility of formulating a logical system of spelling

shows the inadaptability of Arabic characters


of

are joined

parts of

for the expression

But the above general principles, such

Malay phonetics.

as they are, are better guides

than merely empirical rules

which are broken through and through by exceptions.

20.

Romanized Malay.

Two main systems


have been practised
(i)

The

letters in

old

of rendering

kh

Roman characters
the

Arabic

equivalents; the indeterminate vowel repre-

ancient and modern,


tj,

in

Dutch method of reproducing

Roman

sented generally by e (and

ch by

Malay

by ch).

according to Dutch spelling,

represented by oe,

y by

j, j

by dj,

SPELLING

44
(2)

The newer

phonetic system, which disregards the fact

language has been written in Arabic characters and

that the

seeks to reproduce the pronunciation of the educated Malay;


a system which has been followed with varying degrees of
failure

and success by amateur native-born Chinese, by early

voyagers, by the missionary press, by writers with an eye to

popular needs and by scholars aiming

The
Dutch

at scientific phonetics.

Dutch method has been abandoned even by the


favour of the later system, which alone demands

old
in

attention.

On

the general principle of the

modern system,

there

is

nothing to add to what Dr. Snouck Hurgronje has written.


'

purely

phonetic

must be bound

image of

its

system that

to

system,

one

phonetic

will

fulfil

serve

to

dialect

peculiarities.

practical

purposes,

scientific

and give a perfectly

The

true

semi-phonetic

requirements ought to give

So

the average pronunciation of educated genuine Malays.


the

of the

texts

most famous

golden age of IMalay


far

literary

productions

civilization (sixteenth

century

this

owing

image

is

so

at

that time.

very imperfect, especially for the vowels,

to the peculiar use of the Arabic alphabet;

that, the

a. d.),

from corruption, give us an

as they have not suffered

image of the average pronunciation of Malay

But

of the

pronunciation of Malay has suffered

and besides

many changes

during the centuries which have elapsed since the gradual

decay of Malay kingdoms.

As

political

lost their significance, dialects got

Malay

style

and orthography

and

literary centres

increasing influence

the spreading of

upon

Malay over

parts of the Archipelago widely distant from each other

without frequent intercourse, was


the

and

very disadvantageous to

conservation of the unity of the written language and

made many dialects develop almost to


Our own period with its rapid means

separate languages.

of communication

makes

the need of a certain uniformity in written

deeply

felt

than before.

We

Malay more

cannot content ourselves with

SPELLING

45

attempts to restore the orthographical principles


centuries ago, as (a)

which

alphabet

is

of three

we have to make use of the Roman


more suitable for expressing Malay

vocalism and more in accordance with actual requirements


of conversation than the Arabic
that time

very imperfectly

is

where changed a good

the pronunciation of

(3)

known

to us

[c)

So a mean

deal.

sought between two extremes.

has every-

it

will

have to be

The language

of Malacca

(Riau-Johor) having played a prominent part in fixing the


KOLVT]

StaAeKTos of the golden age, and so having

of civilized speech,
of

its

con-

left

what has remained of the old uniformity

siderable traces in

may be

sister dialects,

given more authority than most

but these

nevertheless have to be

last

The

taken very seriously imo account.

local diversity of

vocalism must keep us from marking too fine distinctions


of sound and from fixing in script nuances which in a considerable part of

To

put

[a)

How

this

the

is

represented

observed.'

Malay indeterminate

Some

marampas

Malaya are not

general principle into practice

seize

old

used a

writers

short

bassar

e,

The

besar.

press in Singapore wavered between omitting


'

or

''

grra/,

Crawfurd affected a barcharai divorced',

Marsden and older Dutch scholars


inserting

vowel to be

it

missionary

bsar

and

Swettenham, van Wijk and

b'sar, b'sar.

modern

continental scholars generally have preferred e

besar.

Now a

Malay nor

and e represent

to the foreigner

and e

its

sound neither

will

to

the

be confused with e

in

beta and besan.

Use no symbol and an agglomeration of consonants kbsaran results. Use or ' and
engkau becomes 'ngkau and keenam becomes k"nam

words

like

'

Obviously e best represents


write

than a dotted

its

sound and

is

no harder

or a French accent or the

to

German

diaeresis.
(<5)

How

are

^ ng

as in

^:> dengan,

asin^^.bnyamok, jib banyak

to

c^^i

q ny
The scientific

oi'ang, and

be written?

;;

SPELLING

46

especially the

Orientalist,

he

student of Sanskrit and Arabic,

of course shudder at anything but a scientific symbol

will

demand,

will

But the student of Malay

The

for instance,

great bulk of books

is

in

or

for

p.

and n

for

^.

rather a different position.

on Malay, whether

in the

Straits

Settlements or in the Netherlands Indies, have been printed

by

which have had no access to recondite

local presses,

Native

symbols.

Romanized JMalay abound;


way and can-

readers of

they have become used to the more slipshod


not

And

kindly to change.

take

the

wants

has to consider not only the

of Malay

student

of the native reader

who outThe system

but the practice of Dutch scholars of high repute

number

the Englishman by twenty to one.

adopted

b}-

the

Dutch Government

of the Netherlands Indies and by

Holland
is

for the large literature

Dutch scholars writing

in

not to be lightly regarded by other students.

is

It

desirable that there shall be uniformity as far as possible

and

it

is

futile for the

international

prejudice

scientific

solitary writer

on Malay

to

against the weight

system

pit

the

of past

and the current usage of two governments

for

Government of the Eederated


Malay States decided to follow the Dutch line of expediency
Considering that Malay is
against scientific perfection.
a living language of great vitality, area, and adaptability, read
and written in Romanized form by children in village schools,
by Straits-born Chinese, Tamils and Eurasians, by immia language moreover with
grants Asiatic and European

after careful consideration the


^

thousands of living Malays to guide one


considering

this,

the use of symbols

and perhaps not indispensable

'

letters

c and

^j,

in

pronunciation

certainly impracticable

to scholarship,

never represent divided sounds in


always the

is

ng and ny

Romanized Malay but

so that their use need lead to

See Roianiscd Malay Spelling, F.M.S. Govt. Press, Kuala Lumpur,

1904.

SPELLING
no

The Dutch Government,

difficulty.

ment, and most Dutch

convention and

this

Government

h and h

not by s and s
;

J by z

i by gh
vogue

by

double

exotic

by

s,

not by dz, dl and tl but

all

by

not by t and t

t,

(^ and

]b

and

(_^

Persian and Arabic words of established

by th.

language have

and are spoken

no

letters

Unusual

representing

letters

c and the hamzah both by an apostrophe

the IMalay

in

ciation

]o

to

and _ are both represented by h, not by

it

and

<::j

swayed the

of expediency has

regard

with

Arabic sounds,

dz

be employed in this work.

will

it

Govern-

the English

and English scholars have accepted

The same argument

(c)

47

literary

in

represent

longer

and

pronun-

lost their native

IMalay fashion, so that the Arabic


differences

sound.

in

words anyhow require know-

religious

ledge of Arabic on the part of Malay and European,


are to be pronounced at

them

all

and such readers

readily even in simplified

Roman

dress

they will otherwise observe the foreign spelling

khattu'l-istiwa.

minor importance.

The spelling
The symbol

senting a glottal check

is

for

it

IMalay

the

from

if

they

recognize

especially as

for example,

Arabic

k, but

it

of very

is

final

repre-

^_J

The q

matter.

difficult

of scientific scholarship represents

quderat, and distinguishes


represent the Malay final j

of exotic words

more

will

in

cijjJ.9

does not

Spat uses
as in (j,y, burok.
Malay convention ( i8 (f)) the hamzah and
The
prints buro' which has a strange hybrid appearance.
Dutch and English Government spelling uses k alike for e)

the

other

and J.

On

the whole, this

as logical as

is

seeing that the glottal check

now by

convention
j^iU',

ciUi'lj,

difficulty, if

or
it

is

j^ils.

by

and now by hamzah

\^

used for

remembered

word always stands


^

^ now

that

for the glottal

Dr. Tendeloo accepts

ng

any other method,

represented in the IMalay

is

for

final

at

the

check

but uses

need cause no

end of a Malay

j
n

elsewhere

for

in

SPELLING

48

word occurs only

which

The

{d)

uw

representing of ij and j by

Mr. Wilkinson

debatable.

is

point of view succinctly

w or a

y.

It

'

or iy and

has

'The popular

tuan and of iya as ia


commences with the
with a

and Arabic words

few Sanskrit

in

be easily recognized.

will

or

put the scholar's

spelling of

tuwan

as

suggests that the second syllable

spiritus Icnis

when

really

it

begins

gives an incorrect idea of the value of alif

by confusing the hamzated alif with the alif o^ prolongation.


It
is

is

also faulty for etymological study

the Javanese form of batu,

on the derivation of suwatu

suatu which

implies that

portion of ihe word.

is

for instance,

and the bearing of

fact

not suggested by the spelling

atu and not watu

the second

is

These points may seem

the confusion imported into

watu

this

Malay spelling

trivial;

in great

is

but

measure

due to the inadequate comprehension of the alphabet fostered

by the

belief that the spelling

tion to the

sound of a

literation of certain

tuan

Arabic

is

not a mere approxima-

word but

certain

letters.'

an exact trans-

is

The popular

spelling

has been followed by Mr. Wilkinson in his smaller dictionary,

and by the government committee.

And

it

can be defended

from the point of view of pure phonetics.


spelling derivatives

requirements
automatically

makes

of

No

system of

can be formed solely with an eye to the

etymology.

when one

the effort to say

calculated to suggest a

Phonetically,

slips

in

says tuan, unless one deliberately

tu'an

more

and the spelling

distinct

tuwan

is

sound than Malays

actually enunciate.

The most difficult problem of all is the choice of the


vowel, when the Malay sound lies between o and u,
between e and i. The F.M.S. Government, after considera{e)

Roman

tion of Peninsular dialects

Wilkinson's

and of the Dutch system, has

Ma Iay- English

Dictionary, vol.

ii.

p. 714.

SPELLING

4(j

accepted the following convention for

vowel in

iinal syllables

selection of the

tiie

ong not ung oh not uh ok not uk


on ul not ol up not op us not os
ut not ot u not o.
(i)

un

not

um

not

ur

om

not or

eh not ih ek not ik; ing not eng; im not em;


in not en; il not el; ip not ep; is not es; ir not er; it
(-')

not et

not e,

But

(3)

the

if

vowel

penultimate

e or o,

is

sound of o and

u and

that of

wise,

it

would suggest

u and

that

fact

is

not

not

that in the

dialect they

Consequently there

between o and e and between

final

question approach the

in

Kedah

e, while in the
i.

or

pohun, kotor not kotur, gesel not


donging, choket not chokit. 'The
Riau-Johor dialect the two vowels

the

u pohon
gesil, dongeng

should contain e or o in preference to

approach

a certain

is

aflinity

were the spelling other-

Riau pronunciation was

tlie

accepted for one half the word and the

Kedah pronunciation

for the rest.'

So much

21.

tion

The recommenda-

for general principles.

Government committee on the special case of


classes of word will also be observed in this grammar.

of the

certain

That committee decided


{a)

Foreign words

'

as follows

magistrate

shall J)c7ce the qualification in

their original
{!))

'
'

20

court

[e)

'

khattu'l-istiwa

supra be spelt as in

language.

Trisyllabic

words where the

separable by an h, U^w, ^l^w,

be written with

h between two

.,14),

first

two syllables are

and so on,

letters

shall

sahaya,

always

sahaja,

baharu.
(c)

In 'the case of words like

kemudian, demikian, and

arakian, which are often pronounced kemedian,deniekian,


and arekian, we are of oi)inion that there is sullicient variety
1651

SPELLING

50

form which

in local practice to justify the adoption of that

lends

itself

best to the explanation of the composition of a

word, especially as such a decision

will

and Dutch methods of Romanizing more

tend to bring British

harmony.

closely into

In the case of derivatives of combinations such as the

menyabelah
sufficient

from

there

word
is

no

reason for treating ordinary derivatives of sa as

words with

distinct

we consider

sa-belah,

distinct

spellings of their

recommend that the a of sa be


At
and not menyebelah),
'

retained'
the

same

(i.e.

own, and we

menyabelah

time,

a distinction

lo go out and
ka-luar outwards, though etymologically they are the same
and we recommend that where a derivative form has become

may be

fairly

drawn between the words keluar

specialized in use,
{d)

'

The

possible.

it

be written as a separate word.'

(such

should not be divided up.


particles

much as
menyakiti from sakit)

use of hyphens should be restricted as


Derivatives

may be

But prepositional

and other

separated by hyphens from the word to

which they are accretions

di'dalam-nya.'

as

thus sa-kali

pun, ka-rumah,

CHAPTER

IV

THE MALAY WORD

22.

The

INIalay

word may be

Simple.

I.

api//r, besar
II.

chekek

big,

Derivative,

e.

i.

built

tiga

strangle,

/hrte,

kurang

less.

up by

{a) affixation (chapter vi)

menchekek

berapiyzc/^y, terbesar very big,

ketiga
{b)

terkurang

third,

luuch

sir angling,

less.

reduplication ( 63)

api-api mangrove, besar-besar fairly great,


a 'yanking

'

noose,

tiga-tiga three

chechekek

kurang-kui'ang

together,

at the loivest.
III.

Compounded

( 65)

acquire a conventional

them taken
ehief,

ratus

where compounded the words

meaning

separately,

that

kayu-api

would not belong

firewood,

to

orang besar

chSkek kedadak violent strangling, vomiting, tigathree hundred, kurang akal stupid, rumah tangga

wi/e.

Of

course, not every simple

reduplication, and

word

compounding.

will

Some

undergo

some that are reduplicated


some always remain simple.

are not reduplicated;

compounded

23. Often the Malay

aftixation,

that take affixation

word cannot be assigned

are never

definitely

any one of our parts of speech. No hard and fast line


exists between the radical used as substantive and the radical
to


THE MALAY WORD

52

rumah besar a large


adjective,* for example
orang banyak
besar I'umah /he size of a house
many /oik, banyak orang ///<' nuviber offolk; orang pandai

used

as

house

pandai besi

a clever person,

beberapa

sometimes before, sometimes

semua,

segala

substantive

after the

yt'zc,

stand

all

in the

case they must be parsed as substantives, in the second

first

may

usage

Classical

adjectives.

as

sedikit

a blacksmith,

sakalian,

several,

tend to give a word

currency rather as substantive than adjective, or as adjective


than substantive, but often

we

it

cannot extinguish

its

essential

In the conversational prose of Munshi AbdulLih

versatility.

main ka-panas
menurut adat dan bodoh orang

constantly find such examples as pergi

go playing

in the heat;

folloiving the customs

and folly of men, where

would prefer panas and bodoh


but where the

clipped

usage

classical

to be parsed as adjectives,

popular phrase

of the

writer

caught the historical as well as the living genius

has

of the

language.
substantive

Similarly

distinguished

and verb are not always

rigidly

sapu tangan, a pocket-handkerchief ikat


to bind, ikat pinggang a waist-belt; kata a word or to speak
maka kata Sang Nila Utama semua-nya di-persembahkan ka-pada Permaisuri
maka kata Permaisuri
sapu

to ivipe,

'

Baik-lah
the

to

'

queen.

remarks of Sang Nila Utama are reported


And the queen remarks Very ivelV a dual

all the

'

kata to be found everywhere


Melayu, that model of classical Malay.

function of

a road,
a

to

chisel,

of words

to

travel;

carve;

jala casting-net,

kapak an

axe,

which without inflexion

to
to

the

in

So,

cast a
cleave,

may be

Sejarah

too,

net;

jalan^

pahat

are examples
substantive or

verb.
1

'

Probably adjectives neither derived nor foreign are at bolloiii words


is a quality, and su coming in time to denote the

denoting a subject, that

possession of that quality.'

Tendeloo.

THE
66

will

pronoun

how many

shows succinctly how one and the same

the table in 43
affix

are both noun and


and noun, adverb and
adverb and conjunction. And

are adverb

adverb and verb,

adjective,

will attach

to

several parts of

probably unscientific
are wont

53

show how many words

WORD

iAIALAY

to

do

in

words which

our

in

speech,

copula

grammar would be

that

it

is

we

concepts of our

required

is

so

derivatives as

its

accordance with the

No

own grammar.

differentiate

to

and

Malay,

in

subject words,

Malay may be subject or predicate words according


text and order.

in

to con-

penghulu-nya /lis chi^f; penghulu dia the chief is he


orang baik itu ilmt good man orang itu baik that man
;

is

good.

To sum

up.

Malay abounds

in

many such examples of

the

chameleon word as
(sakit itu terok /haf sickness

orang sakit
ia sakit he

a sick

is

severe

man

is sick.

rum ah dekat a neighbouring


dekat rum ah near to a house
dekat habis nearly done
ia dekat he is near.

house

/tengah hari mid-day


orang tengah umpire

[dalam rumah

interior

dalam
[dalam pekan

deep ivell

and

it is

potong tengah cut in halves


tengah tidur ivhilst sleeping.

telaga

/;/

0/ a house

the town.

unscientific even to attempt to classify

as subject words

At the same time,

and predicate words


this section

as Dr.

Malay words

Tendeloo

must not induce the idea

did.

that

THE MALAY WORD

54

Malay word cannot for


some one part of speech.

ordinarily a

defined as

24.

gender

all

practical purposes be

The Malay word undergoes no

whether

the

word

is

inflexion to denote

noun, adjective, pronoun or

numeral.

25.

The Malay word undergoes no

inflexion to denote

number.
26.

The Malay word

undergoes

no

declension

to

denote case.

27.

As

verb,

the

Malay word undergoes

inflexion

for

purposes which are often foreign to our ideas and require


special definition.

CHAPTER V
THE CHIEF PARTS OF SPEECH

THE NOUN

(A)

28. If the gender of person or animal needs to be defined,


'

then

the substantive

male and

perSmpuan

female

anak

and

the case of animals (or

in

|\

the case of persons,

in

jantan male and betina female


coarsely of persons)

by the words laki-laki

qualified

is

budak perempuan girl; ayam


jantan cock; ayam betina Jicn; patek menampun'-lah
beristerikan orang betina
patek hSndak menchari
orang perempuan I beg to be excused from wedding a 7nere
laki-laki a

hoy-:,

I want

female ;

la

search for a true ivoman.

29. The substantive whether simple or derivative stands

without inflexion for singular and plural, as has been said


]Marsden, indeed, opined that

above.
state,

'

the^noun in

its

simple

without any accompanying term to limit or extend

signification,

than

is

singular

more properly
or

that

to

order

in

its

be considered as plural
to

the

determining

its

number, the application of a term expressing singularity


1

'

The

absurdity of attributing difference of sex to things or to the

names of things not organized by nature

Marsden
Malay language
despite their animism. But there are a very few exceptions bah jantan
the male flood which is greater than bah bStina tlie female flood; busut
jantan attt-Jii/l kokot jantan, kokot betina tlie parts of a pintleremarks,

'

did not suggest

itself to

to reproduce their kind,'

the framers of the

'

rudder.
2

menampun = minta ampun

(Perak).

THE

r/y

is

CMIF.F

PARTS OF SPFECII

more commonly necessary than one of

indefinite plurality.

ada orang di-luar


f/nre are persons zvilhouf, the word orang requires no plural
sign, but on the contrary in the phrase ada sa-orang di-luar
Thus,

/here

example,

for

in

phrase

the

numeral of imity

a person ivithout, the

is

pensable.'

It

is

safer

on the evidence

indefinite rather than the plural

Number

therefore

is

(a)

by context.

(/y)

by reduplication

variety in

it,

indis-

that

the

expressed.

is

determined

to

is

say

to

form

an

with

plural

indefinite

63.

by the employment of words like banyak many,


sedikit few, semua, segala all, and of numerals and
(r)

their coefificients.

30. Without inflexion, the substantive can, and in con-

commonly

versation

alone

does, have

employed

case determined by context

brackets

in

are

Malay

in literary

pukul budak

heat a child

beri (ka-pada)

child;

(ka-) negeri return

emas

its

though the prepositions indicated

(to) one's

a cup ijnade) of gold

sapu (dengan) kain

baju budak

budak

ivipe

give

country

{lo)

Ihe coat

a child;

chawan

of a

pulang

(dari-pada)

jaga tidur aivah from sleep;


with a cloth di-timpah (oleh)
;

halilintar struck hy lightning

dudok

(di-)

rumah

sit in

datang (pada) hari esok come on the morrow.


Derivative nouns may be traced in the table in 4;,. and

ones house

are dealt with under chapter

(B)
31. It

may be

vi.

THE ADJECTIVE

noted that nouns denoting material and

nouns denoting place may be used as adjectives


batil

hamhoo

China

Chinese workmanship.

lantai buloh a floor of

perak
tenun Kelantan Kelantan
a boivl of silver

weaving

buatan

THE ADJECTIVE
The

may be

adjective

57

reduplicated not to denote the plural

but with the nuances described in 63.


Derivative adjectives are handled in chapter

The

syntax of the adjective

As

I.

as follows

adjective follows

the

attribute,

qualifies, the

is

demonstrative pronoun,

if

vi,

vide 43.

the substantive

used,

coming

it

after the

adjective.

rumah besar

size, orang berbaagsa itn


hulu-balang ternama itu tliat dis-

a house of some

Ihaf iveU-horn person,

tinguished captain.

As

(i)

II.
if

predicate,

the combination

besar

the house is large,

of the adjective from


tive

may come

it

its

Then,

+ adjective, rumah

only intonation distinguishes this use

But

use as attribute.

pronoun

or possessive

after the subject.

merely substantive

is

is

if

demonstra-

employed, then the pronoun

follows the substantive immediately and not as in

(I)

rumah-nya besar his house is targe rumah itu besar


is targe
rumah-nya itu besar that house of his
;

that house

is large.

(2)

More emphatically and


comes

predicate

first

the substantive follows

besar-lah

hamba

?nore

Melayu

7vell

frequently the

(often with the

rumah

born are

as

87) and

iSfiiC

itu large

gracious

adjective

emphatic lah,

is

is

termanis muka
berbangsa-lah raja

*L' ho7/se

jny face;

Malay princes.

Comparison of Adjectives

32.

change

The comparison
in

of adjectives

is

expressed not by

form of the adjective but by various methods of

circumlocution.
I.

Equality of degree.

This
((?)

is

denoted by

order and accent

pinang tinggi nyiur

tietel

palm

as tall as a coco-nut

THE CHIEF PARTS OF SPEECH

5M

palm

pasir-nya serong bentok

cuToed

like

sama or sa-, with or


dengan 7V///i conjoined.

{li)

or

taji the

aandy shore was

a cork's spur.

without words like seperti

like

So a he Iel palm is as fall as a coco-nul palm may be expressed


pinang nyiur sama tinggi-nya pinang sama (or sa-)
tinggi nyiur pinang sama (or sa-) tinggi dengan (or
seperti) nyiur. The ^\ ord of comparison sama or sa may
come not before the adjective Init before the thing with whicii
the subject is compared
pinang sa-nyiur tinggi-nya like
pinang seperti nyiur tinggi-nya.
The second half of the comparison, viz. the object with
;

which the subject

is

compared, must be expressed

pernah ada njriur sa-tinggi ini


in

Malay must be added as


II.

No

belum

never were coco-nuis so tall

these.

Comparative and Superlative.


real

distinction

is

made between

these two degrees.

Both can be expressed by


(a)

order, accent

and

antithesis

pinang nyiur. tinggi pinang a betel palm is taller than


a coco-nut palm; pinang nyiur pandan tinggi pinang ^^Z"
betel, coco-77ut,

(b)

and screw palms,

dari or better dari-pada

the betel palm is the tallest.


:

tinggi pinang dari-pada nyiur

the betel palm is taller


dari-pada pinang nyiur pandan, tinggi
pinang oy betel, coco-nut, and screrv palms, the betel palm is the
tallest: sa-orang manteri yang tua dari-pada manteri
sakalian ///( oldest of all thi viziers; jika dari-pada pihak
Melayu ia-lah alim on the Malay side he 7vas the most learned.
Moreover lo either of these two constructions, emphasis
can be given by the use of

than the coco-nut

ic) yang:
pinang nyiur, pinang yang tinggi or dari-pada
nyiur, pinang yang tinggi tin bdel palm is taller than the

THE ADJECTIVE

59

pinang nyiur pandan, pinang yang tinggi or


dari-pada pinang nyiur pandan, yang tinggi pinang
o/bc/el, coco-nu/, and scrav pahns, the hctd is the tallest.
coco-vut

(d)

intensive

kurang

adverbs

tess,

lebeh, lagi

?/iore,

terlalu, terlampau, amat, sangat, sa-kali Te/y.

pinang nyiur (yang) lebeh tinggi pinang; pinang


nyiur pandan, yang terlalu tinggi pinang. kebanyakan kaya dari-pada yang miskin there are ///on rich
than poor; jikalau terlampau dari-pada adat besarnya itu if it is bigger than ordinary kebanyakan tanah
;

yang

tinggi dari-pada tanah

rendah

more high

there is

land than low.


III.

The

where there

superlative absolute (as


is

may

comparison)

opposed

to the relative

be expressed by

{a) reduplication

tinggi-tinggi

pokok lembari

jimat-jimat di-negeri orang


land; kechil-kechil
is

very tall

is the

lejnbari tree

be very careful in a strange

anak rimau

although

it is

very tiny

it

a tiger cub.
{!))

sa + reduplication

dengan sa-besar-besar harap ivith the highest hopes


dengan sa-boleh-boleh-nya with the best endeavours.
(c)

the aforesaid intensives

often more than one

is

used

sa-orang puteri teramat sangat elok sa-kali a princess


of most exceedingly luautiful countenance.
{d)

by

middling,

main

710

few

phrases

bukan olah-olah

bukan kepalang

7iot

bukan

child's play.

medan-nya elok bukan kepalang the


fine; nyamok bukan main banyak-nya
numerous.

literally

without shilly-shallying;

field

was vny

///osquitocs

very

THE

Go

PARTS OF SPEECH

CFTIEF

THE VERB

(C)

Even

33.

derivative,

The

the voice of the

Malay

verb, simple as well as

has been a subject of controversy.

grammarians, Werndly, Marsden, Crawfurd,

earlier

Then

held that the verb in simple radical form was active.

de Hollander borrowed the

subjective-passive

theory

'

from the conclusions of Dutch


The subjective passive was alleged

scholars in

called,

is

'

grammar.

as

it

Javanese

be formed

to

by prefixing the unemphatic abbreviated forms of the personal

aku and engkau to the simple verb


engkau tutup rc^ shut, butku-tutup

aku tutup

pronouns

I shut,

by

kau-tutup hy you
out the subject as

It

is

is

The

'

mc

shui\

is

subjective passive points

expression were accidental

if its

a passive sense but


active or subjective

shut.

is

it

has

not a passive directly opposed to the

form as I was stain

is

opposed

/ stay.

to

only a passive form which expresses the accident as

a deed or result of the subject but not necessarily as done


to the object or

scholars

down

and saw

still

object.'

Favre and Dutch

Gerth van Wijk carried

this theory further

undergone by the

to

the subjective passive in

simple verb was found

shut the door,

engkau tutup pintu

Derivatives in

me

must be some
be urged that

is

contexts where the

by

Hassan was

by you -was shut the door.

44) form the active

sort of passive
it

all

Hassan tutup pintu


;

Against

a needless torturing of

so the simple verb


this

theory

may

it

grammar and

logic,

based on a misunderstanding of the peculiar functions of the

me

derivative.

simple root verb

Now

Tendeloo returned

on the whole,

it

is

true to say that the simple verb

does denote the active voice, but

many
1

exceptions, too

many

at

bottom there are too

cases where the verb simple and

At bottom the theory w.is an unskilful parody


in 38 and note, and overlooked the fact that

down
verb

to the older view that the

is active.

is

often active.

of the dicluvi

l.Tid

the simple radical

THE VERB

6i

can denote both active and passive

derivative

for

one

to

be

able to discern any fundamental logical conception or distinction of voice in the INIalay language.

One

voice.

the passive

Context determines

prefix will express generally the active, another

but with exceptions

( 46, 49, 52,

60

the simple verb will express generally the active

el

passim):

but with

exceptions

sorong

kereta sorong a push-car i {jvhuh is


batii belah a split roc/:, tiba-tiba
belah papan pada tiang kemunchak khemah lalu
s/iovi

io

shoved); belali

gugur

suddenly

andfill down

split,

io

hoard at the top of the

llie

angkat

to picl< up, to

adopt,

tent-pole teas split

anak angkat an

champak, buang throiv, discard, champak


buang j'aviliiis u'huh are east, sudah buang rupa-nya
kami bagai ikan di-luar belat discarded am /, // seems,
nice a fish rejected hy the trap
pukul to heat, kena pukul
incur heing healcn
dapat to get barang yang dapat
oleh-ku habis ku-makan whatever is obtained hy nu I
adopted child

/<?

eat up.

to

34.

The Malay language has been

said by van Ophuijsen

have no intransitive verbs, since according to him tran-

sitive

verbs can be conjugated in the

ist,

2nd, and 3rd persons,

kii-buat, kau-buat, di-buat, while words

datang

come,

dudok

sit,

jatoh

fall,

sliould call intransitive verbs, never

tidur

like
sleep,

pergi

go,

which we

appear in the conjugation

ku-pergi, kau-pergi, di-pergi, and therefore (he thinks)


are not verbs at

all.

But the forms ku-buat and kau-buat

are devised with the object of laying less stress

than the

full

forms

aku and engkau (which

on the agent

alone can be used

with words like pergi) and cannot properly be called conjugation

his

view of di

is

untenable and the whole question of

conjugation very doubtful indeed

( 37).

words

like

in the

di form, 40), are intransitive.

It is safe to

say that

pergi, &c., which can never be passive (or appear

THE CHIEF PARTS OF SPEECH

62

The Malay language no more


and

transitive

passive
i

as suffixes

shows the attempt

does between active and

it

remedy

to

akan and

want.

this

the difference between transitive and intransitive

not the same in Malay as

Words

distinguishes sharply between

than

the gradual adoption of the prepositions

Anyhow,
is

intransitive

in

is

it

European languages.

jalan (darat) fravirsc, Iravd {over land), ttiju


Malay are transitive and can be constructed in the

like

aim, in

passive as well as the active.

35, There

no

is

to

mark mood.

Iha/

1 may hair;

Malay verb

inflexion in the

'ku dengai' I luar; supaya 'ku dengar

mudah-mudahan 'ku dengar may I hear dengar

listen

dengar itu sedap to hear it is pleasant; orang dengar


pun suka one hearing it is pleased.

How

come

prefixes

far

mood

express

in

indirectly

a rudimentary

cussing the syntax of the verb

36. There

denote tense,

sahaya

no

is

i.e.

lari

and unconsciously

way may be seen

39

c,

in

to

dis-

d).

inflexion required in the

Malay verb

to

time relation.

/ run

esok sahaya

or a?n running;

lari

I will run or shall be running kalmarin sahaya


lari lately I ran or was running belum dapat khabar
sahaya lari U/ore the nezvs came I had run.

to-morrow

me

derivatives

are said generally

to

correspond

to

an

imperfect; te(r) derivative to a perfect; and the simple uninflected

verb to an aorist, though

confusing
indicating

from
ti/ne

the

use of these

such comparisons
terms

to

denote

are

tense

in other languages.

Maharaja pun bertempek serta melompat may

be

Maharaja shouting and leaping or there


was the Maharaja shouting and leaping or there will (or would)
he the Maharaja shouting and leaping, according to the
translated there is the

context.

To

no more than

say

me

derivatives denote the imperfect

means

that they denote a process or activity imperfect

THE VERB

63

sense that the activity or process

in the

happening

and

was, or will be

is,

similarly te(r) derivatives are perfect in the

sense that they denote acts or conditions which are or will be

or have been realized or perfected.

To

sekarang noiv
esok to-uiorroiv.
kemudian af/envareis or mau, hendak, akan, kelak (and
for Past time, telah, sudah,
in the colloquial nanti);
Such
habis for the Imperfect lagi, tengah, sedang.
words need not come next die verb they qualify but may
stand in the emphatic forefront of the sentence.
Such of
them as are adverbial may stand anywhere, kelak, sudah,
will

emphasize Present time/ a word

be used

words

to emphasize Future,

like

like

lagi often find their position of emphasis

To

denote the Imperative,

command
proper:
will

it

ada,

termed an auxiliary but

letter

this leads to

to

con-

a temporal word nor a copula.

neitlier

with the copula,

//;;',

you, Benelahara, must compose a

to be, exist, is often


it is

clause.

rather than

hendak ihe wish is, harus // is


choba
biar le/, silakan please,
hendak-lah Bendahara karang surat

ivere ivell,

ka-benua Siam
^

end of a

to be expressed,

is

balk

be employed,

fusion as

at the

when exhortation

rumah besar

itie

Iwuse

is big,

Malay dispenses
belum elok it is not

ada always emphasizes real existence, actual presence (whether


in present, past, or future time), anak-ku yang tiada ada tara-nya my
cliild who lias not tier peer in existence
ada sekarang kota-nya ditanah Binding t lie re exists cvoi now is fort at llie Bindings ada sabuah perahu datang dari negeri China tlicre is present a sliip come
from China ada sa-orang raja di-tanah Hindi tliere tived a prince
pulau itu sudah ada the island was in existence apain Ilindostan
bila sudah ada kayu di-bawa bapa-nya lu/ienever wood was iJierc
brought by his father; ada-nya // is so, sitch is tJie actual case; nyatalah ada-nya seperti warta itir liear/y it actually ivas as report said;
jangan engkau berchinta
ada-lah bunga
ada-lah the fact is
yang di-kehendaki isteri-mu itu bukan-nya bunga melur yang
sa-rupa ada dalam dunia ada-lah bunga melur berkembang sa-

perfect,

ti

kali itu

bertumboh di-kaki awan

the jasmine your bride desires


this wo/-/d
liorizon.

the trutli

is

is

be not grieved ;

for the truth

is

that

not jasmine like that luhich exists in

that jasmine which floivcrs but once,

grows on

the

THE

64

CHIEF^ PARTS OF SPEECH

hendak kedua kamu muafakat

Siam;

togelhcr

hvo uins/ /Ian

li'w

biah-lah abang jalan sa-orang hi mc your dda-

brother si/

mumbang

choba bertanam

alone;

out

and plant young green

coeo-nut seedlings

silakan

try

dudok

please be seated.

37. As there

there

is

Van
the

no conjugation

is

no conjugation

to

Ophuijsen, as has been

Malay verb

is

for

indicating

first

that they are

or tense, so too

and Spat consider

said,

that

conjugated, a view based on several idioms

The shortened forms ku, kaii

((z)

mood

denote person or number.

and second persons.

are said to be prefixes,

It

has been shown above

merely unobtrusive forms due to the avoidance

of egotism in the polite Malay.

Van Ophuijsen

(b)

that di (see 40)

further holds the quite untenable view

a shortened form of dia and marks con-

is

jugation in the third person.

This involves an unparalleled

contraction of dia; the use of dia,

more

usually accusative,

where the nominative ia would be expected and an inexplicable and redundant use of pronouns in the construction
;

+ simple

di(a)

verb

+ nya.

is alleged to exist in order.


One may
aku beliim sakit / am not yet siek, Lut never ku (or
aku) belum berikan, sahaya belum berikan, aku nanti
berikan, always belum 'ku (or aku or sahaya or any other

Further proof

{c)

write

proper or improper personal pronoun) berikan not yet have

I given) nanti aku berikan I


ever,

easily explained

is

ivill give.

This order, how-

by the usual syntax governing the

use of adverbs and the rule that the position for an emphatic

word

at the

is

beginning of the clause.

38. Syntax of the simple uninflected verb.

When
agent, or
solely

the verb
the

is

state

intended to denote not the activity of an

of a patiens, expressed or implied, but

the activity, act, fact, event, state

or condition as a

;;

THE VERB
phenomenon, then
This

65
form

the simple non-derivative

used.^

is

the fundamental rule governing the (non-colloquial,

is

107) proper use of the simple verb, to which other rules are

but corollaries.

This

may be

rule

No

(a)

attaches

prefix

spontaneous

words signifying

intransitive

to

kaseh, sayang, rindu

certain classified uses of

and simple

states of feeling

emu _/(('/

by

illustrated

the simple form of the verb

/o7't'

suka

acts

ytrl pleasure

harap

diam
bangun rise turun
naik ascend; masok enter;
deseend; terjuu leap doivn
be
cane
hendak jvish pergi go
ada
mau,
datang
kneel; tunduk sloop
arrive;
sujud
sampai
terebangyT;)';
/io/>e;

keep

silent

sa/ic/y

jatoh fall

tidur

sleep;

run

lari

tahu

kuenv;
;

In other words, one

used, the verb

is

may

say,

when

the simple form of the verb

is

and the noun or

the logical subject of the sentence

pronoun which our grammar would call subject is subordinate to it


when a derivative me form is employed, the noun or pronoun is subject

and the verb with the idea

Were

practicable,

it

arranged and

Mr. Blagden
its

'

Is

expresses

the

to

my

mind, ought to be

with a system

Royal Asiatic

by

suggested

Society, October,

not possible to conceive a language that should

it

parts ot speech (i.e. represent the mental relation of

ideas) in quite another

way

Why

the predicative part of the sentence

other

subordinate or adjectival.

is

accordance

in

Journal of

the

in

1908, p. 1204,

marshal

written

it

Malay grammar,

way about

What

should the verb necessarily


1

Could

it

(if

one

may

its

into

not just as well be the

conceive as possible

verbal idea, the action, process or

fall

is

the treatment of the

so style

it)

the

dynamic

element of the sentence, as the subject, making the words that we should
take as subject, object, &c., subordinate to

(which

in

tion that the action expressed


either be represented

involved

system

in
.

it,

while the real predicate

an affirmative sentence of this sort would be merely an affirma-

by a

by the verb-subject

is

an actuality) would

particle of affirmation or be already implicitly

the form of the verb-subject

itself.

seems quite conceivable, nay more,

To me

such a syntactical

I believe it to exist

some-

Take as an example the following Malay sentence


di-chium-nya dan di-tangis-nya oleh bonda-nya akan anak-nya
times as a

fact.

itu Ttiere-was-kissing-and-weeping-over-it by her

her child).
1554

(Jy

its

motJier over

THE CHIEF PARTS OF SPEECH

66

head; tiada

the

the prince s eyes;

jemu mata baginda there-was-iw-satiety-in


anjing kedua itu pun lari lalu tSrjun

ka-dalam sungai
hap

and a

as

for

the

the river;

into

hvo hounds

there ivas a rtish

orang jadi raja

muda

itu

bukan-nya mudah the post of crowji prince is no sinecure;


pintu kota pun roboh as for the gate down it fell; raja
muda pun suka melihat there -was joy in the crown pritice

at the sight.

The

significance of the simple radical form can be seen

by

studying the change produced in such words by the addition

of

affixes.

sangat rindu baginda akan anakanda great ivas the


of the prince^'or his son; burongpunggok merindukan bulan 7/!r the owl loves the moon tundok-lah tuan
puteri downcast eyes that was the princess's (perhaps unlove

orang menundokkan kepala/fi/^ bow

conscious) attitude;
their

birth

heads

there

homage

conscious

place

took

besar-lah
{b)

in

aku pun jadi-lah

7ny

Bukit Seguntang menjadi bandar

was Bukit Seguntang

became a large

toivn.

Verbs which would otherwise take prefixes under the

condition of the general rule omit them

jikalau tuanku hendak bergagah juga mendekati


anakda chunda, sahaja patek amok-lah if your highness
persist in efforts to approach your grandchild, then there ivill be

slaughter

done

by us

kah nakhoda kenal


be recognition

on

jikalau ada budak empat, ada-

jf the four children are present, ivill there

the captain's

mata-ny a tiada berasa


the falling

of

basoh tangan
ivater

is

part?; chuchur-lah ayer

was no

conscious process, Just

jikalau ringgit ini, seperti ayer

the dollars

(membasoh would

the point
is

tears

there

I mention

were wasted

zvashing-

which, one may add,


tuan pereksa 7 jvere ivell
by you pergi-lah memereksa

washing-water not water

used for ivashing); baik-lah

there should be e.xajnination

like

throw emphasis on ayer whereas

THE VERB
go yon

and conduct an examination

dua-belas pondok orang laut


situ

engaged

sea-folk

me)

ivere visible (to

t/irre

bawa utusan

in fishing

//

39. The use of


verb

especially

is

(a)
at the

There

di-

burong mem0/ the

itu boleh Batin

then can his mother's house be


stress

is it

on Batin

any one may

must be shown.

the simple non-derivative form of the

common

in certain types of sentence

Where the object is placed in the position of prominence


commencement of the clause and before the subject.^
no attempt

is

to

emphasize whether the

or condition was brought about by an agent

point

diam

the conscious spectator

pada ketika

no

is

show the house, the point

belat

ten or tivelve huts occupied by

was

tunjokkan rumah ibu-nya

there

sahaya lihat sa-puloh

membuat

ia-lah melihat

ivas he ivho

bird that brought the ?nessage

shotvn me, Batin

67

that the object has

is

titah patek junjong


obedience (but

been somehow

j/i?//r

act, fact,
;

affected.

royal coinmands meet with our

sakalian alam menjunjong titah

ivorld areyour servants)\

event

the emphatic

all the

apa kehendak-nya tiada pereksa

hamba datok his purpose has not been the subject of my


inquiry
mana bichara mamak Bendahara, itu-lah
;

kita turut your

counsel,

Bendahara, commands observance

ada sa-buah lading maka kita turun dengan beras


bekal there ivas a boat launched [by us) ivith provision
of

rice.

Under
pronoun

this
is

head

fall

the object

relative sentences

and

the emphasis

is

condition ascribed by the relative clause to


is

where the

on
its

relative

the attribute or
subject,

which

the logical subject of the whole.

yang kita lihat sa-malam itu this ivas last


demi tuhan yang aku sembah ini by
object of my ivorship.

ini-lah

night" s spectacle

God the
'

Or, in other words, the object

is

the logical siibject of the clause.


2

"

THE CHIEF PARTS OF SPEECH

68

Or

the

word emphasized need not necessarily be

may be what

but

in

our grammar

the object

would be some other

subordinate part of the sentence.

esok hari-lah kita panggil raja Melaka itu, tetekala


Laksamana beriwayat io-morroiv ivill
be the day for calling the Raja of ]\lalacca ami that ivill be the
time to bid the Laksamana tell his stories.

itu-lah kita suroh

In the case of direct and indirect

(b)

tions,

and not

contlition

towards
agent

commands,

prohibi-

and requests, where the reahzation of a certain

is

it

contemplated and where often no particular

in view.

is

act or

of an agent

the perhaps abortive activity

Contrast 48

(r).

segera engkau datang bawa anak-ku go fetch my child


lihat oleh-mu hal-ku ini behold viy state bawaquickly
;

lah oleh-mu^ beliong ini ka-Manjapahit let this axe be


to Manjapahit
hendak-lah engkau
hy you
Jn- ought

attitude to my ivill
jangan kamti tukarkan agama dengan dunia exchange
not your religion for ivorldliness a general maxim; Sultan
minta sandari ka-pada dayang-dayang the Sultan begged

turut wasiat-ku kt

propped up

to be

obedience be

he asked

an attack on

his

land;

Court damsels

the

suroh serang negeri-nya

your

it

were

zvell

baik-lah kita

our order

di-suroh-nya bunch

the

issue

for

mandate

zvas death?
1

This imperative form, which has puzzled some grammarians and


was probably designed to avoid confusion.

excited the contempt of otliers,

bawa kamu
is

might mean

/i/r/^

you

as well as

you

fetcli

oleh.

(lit.

got^

similarly used with the di construction or with the indicative radical

sa-kali ini dapat-lah. oleli kita

verb

lin'll

see tlie

There are two exceptions to

(i)

budak-budak

ini this (inte

capture of ttiese cliildren by us.

Where an

derivative form

affix
is

this section

has come to be invariably employed and the

crystallized, then even in

these imperatives such a

must be used bertitah baginda 'patek menari-lah pula,


kita heudak melihat ' iJie tdng ordered Do you dance, for I would
kata-uya ' segera-lah kita belayar ' said lie 'Let us quickly
see you

derivative

'

'

THE VERB
In the case of

(t )

actual result

69

where

final clauses

the

end

in view is

an

and not the employment of any particular agent,

then again the simple radical form of the verb

is

found

memohonkan anakanda baginda supaya kita rajakan


big your princely son for our ruler

U'c

baik-lah baginda

kita suroh panggil, kita dengar titah baginda

the

king

may be heard; jikalau


anak-ku hendak pergi bermain-main beri tahu ayahanda supaya boleh ayahanda kerahkan segala rayat
mengiringkan tuan ifyou wish to go and play, let me know
so that all your folloivers may attend you.
should be called so that his commands

Similarly in conditional

id)

the hypothesis

is

employment of

an

act, fact,

and concessive

clauses,

where

event or condition and not the

a particular agent or subject

aku hendak serahkan dia mengaji, maalim pun tiada


to school zcas ny desire, there ivas no
teacher
jikalau 'kau bunoh dia, bahwa negeri-mu
suppose his dispatch
;

binasa

suppose his death result from

means destruction

to your

country

your

orders, assuredly

it

lihat-lah kelak jikalau

aku langgarkan gajah-ku ini di-balairong raja


Melaka see if in the future there be not a shattering of the
tiada

palace ef the prince of I\lalacca by this elephant of mine (but

Pahang hendak melanggar balairong Melaka


pun di-persembahkan information icas laid that the

peri raja
itu

ketahui oleh-mu

sail';
don'i

be

It

Icnown by you; jaugan tertawa-lah

taiigti.

command denotes the activity of an agent and


me, then by analogy the verb it governs also takes that
prefix
baginda menyuroh memanggil anakda Raja Muda ihe
prince ordered tJtat tlie crown prince be called; akan yang menyurohkan
kami sakalian Batara Maojapahit menyurohkan merompak katanah Palembang lalu naik ka-Bukit Seguntang di-suroh-nya
rampas sa-kali the man ivtio gave us all our orders was the prince of
Manjapahit ; he it was who bade us go to Palembang and rob and tlience
ascend Mount Seguntang ; his order %vcis to take it by force.
(2)

Where

the verb of

takes the prefix


:

THE CHIEF PARTS OF SPEECH

70
prince of

Pahang

intended

to

attack the

Malacca palace

all

the emphasis being on the prince of Pahang).

40. The use of di before the radical form of the verb.


Not only is a passive sense inherent in the simple radical

verb and evocable at the requirement of the context, but


is

also evocable

di

that

only

is

by the prefixing of
the

locative

di.

it

seems certain

It

an idiomatic

preposition in

Compare a sentence like segala raja dalam


Imkuin-nya all rajas are under his rule with segala raja
context.

di-hukum-nya all rajas are ruled by him. Or take senbunga di-naung batu Jlowers in the shadow
of a rock, mati di-rahang buaya dead in the jaws

tences like

of a

where even

crocodile,

nya

di-lihat-nya

in his hearing
is

in

foreign idiom di retains

Then

character of preposition.

take

it

in his sight, seen hy him,

(where perhaps the verb

a genitive).

It is to

is

its

conjunction with

in

di-dengar-nya

passive,

and

nya

be remarked that di as a preposition

never refers to time but only to place, and that therefore


use as a prefix in no

way does

its

violence to the nature of the

]\Ialay verb.

me derivatives,

be(r) or middle derivatives never take di.

which are

'

adjectival

'

and attaching

the

act to

an

agent

denote process and activity and not state or condition, never


take di.

Nor

yet again

do te'r)

Moreover

derivatives.

unless their nature has been changed by the suffixes

di

is

or

kan,

superfluous and prefixed to none of the (intransitive)

verbs in 34, like pergi.

41.

The

use of di

is

governed by the same

rule as that

which governs the use of the simple form of the verb.

an idiomatic sub-form when the construction


person and there

The noun
act

is

is

is

It is

in the third

no emphasis on the agent.

or pronoun, denoting the subject by

done or condition experienced,

verb incidentally as

it

were and

whom

an

if

expressed, follows the

may

be said to be in the

THE VERB
genitive

or

the sentence

if it

oleh before

of

stands separate from the verb,

made

is

71
place in

its

and confusion avoided by the use

clear

it.

muka yang

di-benchi orang a hated face

musoh

sudah di-hambat-nya///(' cneniy had been chased by him ikan


yang tiada boleh di-tangkap iincatchable fish tiada
dapat di-katakan lagi indescribable; budak itu di-suroh
;

bunoh oleh. baginda/Z/c boy s execution was ordered by the king


oleh

will often

be pleonastic

itself

or introduce a pleonastic

noun or pronoun di-perbuat oleh segala utus


itu sa-buah peti kaeha there ivas made by the envoys a glass
case; oleh orang dalam negeri itu akan Raja Suran
itu di-bawa-nya by the folk in that country Raja Suran
use of the

ivas conducted by them.

The

42.

are notable
{a)

following illustrations of the general principle

The di

command,

construction will be used in

entreaty,

and prohibition instead of the simple form when the subject of


second verb

the

is

not the speaker but another and third

person or thing.

hamba minta anakanda di-kahwinkan /


may

daughter

be

married

titah

ask thai

my

baginda hendak-lah

di-

perbuat astana akan saudara kita


must

made a palace for our

be

negeri

let the

It will

relative

'

There

'

biar di-lihat-nya

land be seen by him.

naturally be often employed,

or prohibition

bade the prince

is

quite general

whenthe wish, command,

and not addressed

to

any one

in

particular.

jangan di-kenang yang hilang itu


memory; apabila ada chap sa-rupa
lah, jikalau tiada
like

this,

accept

it ;

jangan di-terima
otherwise

let

beri bermain jauh-jauh dont

far

aivay.

let

it

lei

ini,

not loss abide in

maka

ivhere there

be refused;

terimais

a seal

jangan

permission be given

to

di-

play

THE CHIEF PARTS OF SPEECH

72
{3)

The

construction

usual,

is

when

the

subject

is

not

expressed directly in that clause or part of the sentence

where the verb stands but precedes


sentences where two

word

the

verbs

follow

it,

the

i.

e.

in co-ordinate

same subject and

for the subject is not repeated before the

second

verb but stands remote, stress falling on the act and not

on the agent
raja Melaka pun berdiri di-tepi balairong itu menyambut adinda baginda di-bawa dudok bersama-sama
the

prince of Malacca stood at the edge 0/ the hall aitd received

hisyounger brother; {/he latter) ivas escorted to share his throne.

maharajabertempek serta melompat di-palu dengan


gada-nya ka-pada Sang
and

Hanuman

leapt ; a bloiv ivas struck with his

the

Maharaja shouted

mace at Sang

Hanuman

baginda pun naik-lah ka-atas maligai itu lalu dilihat-nya ada sa-orang puteri the prince mounted the toiver,
when

the spectacle

(f a princess met

his eyes.

CHAPTER

VI

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
43. (I) The following table will illustrate the Malay
modern system of affixation and show how difficult and improper it is to make strict divorce between parts of speech
:

I.

Simple prefixes

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

74

The

(II)

which
I.

following

Simple root verbs.

(3)

Stems lengthened by

(c)

Secondary stems formed by prefix pe(r).

II.

is

prefixed to a,

be(r) to

IV. te(r) to

V. di to
(III)

the

or improper suffix kan.

Secondary stems lengthened

me

III.

suffix i

e.g.

peristerikan.

I.

a, b of I.
a, b

a, b, c,

The

d of

b, c,

forms

useful

is

(a)

{d)

verb

table of the cominoner verbal

borrow substantially from Spat

of

I.

of

I.

my

following will be

paradigm

use of tense

terms

not

strictly

Malay

for the

explained below under the different forms.


applicable

to

avoid

Malay

grammar

The Verb
is

and

Active

The radical
expresses the

Passive'^

pe(r)
be(r)
forms a mid- forms
or die, denoting causa-

ine(ng)
denotes

te(r)

denotes

the realizphenomenon.
activity
ed act or
(The idiomatic process; a the reflexive, five
verbs
condition
di use comes kind of
reciprocal,
under thishead- finite par- &c. (Active- and an and forms
ingbut may best ticiple.
middle and impera- a (non-

be described as
only passive.)

(Usually

passive-

active.)

middle.)

me + nasal
44.

(I)

The

tive.

temporal)
perfect.

infix.

following are the rules for prefixing this

formative to a ground word

When the ground word begins with a nasal, or one of the


semivowels w, y or with r and 1, then me simply is prefixed
[a)

i.e.

in this derivative as

well as in

its

simple radical form.

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
ngada, mengada

hoasl

menyanyi

nyanyi,

naungi, menaungi shelter; makan,

75

memakan eat

j///;'

wakil,

mewakilkan^/y^/or^vr of aitorney to yakin, meyakinkan


rampas, merampas seize; lambong, melamlbong
;

assert

to surge.

When

{b)

me + ng
hela,

the

ground word begins with h,

menghela

mengiring/t?/^zf'

(c)

When

me + m

is

balut,

the

drag; ambil,

mengambil

is

k, g, then

take; iring,

earry uneler the arm

bite,

ground word begins with b and p, then

prefixed and

membalut

dropped':

is

7vra/>

palu,

memalu

When* the ground word begins with eh,

(d)

me + n

alif,

are dropped:

mengepit

kepit,

menggigit

gigit,

and ab/zw^

prefixed

is

prefixed and t

dropped

is

strike.
j,

d, or

t,

then

chari, menchari search jadi, menjadi become; dengar,


mendengar hear tarek, menarek drag.
(e) When the ground word begins with s, then me + ny is
;

prefixed

and the s dropped

suroh, menyuroli

These

(II)

order.

rules are fixed only in literary or

Riau-Johor

Malay, and even there with some few vaiiants and exceptions
e.g.

from dengar,

and

chinta,

menengar

menyukur

pohon, pimpin we

get

also

is

formed

and menyinta;

minta, mohon,

chukur

from

from pinta,

mimpin

as well as

meminta, memohon, memimpin.

45. This formative

(^7)
i

is

prefixed to

Verbs, whether ground words, or stems lengthened by

and kan, or secondary stems having the

But

this

does not apply to secondary stems commencing with the

prefix pe(r), e.g.


2

prefix pe(r), or

memperisterikan never memeristerikan.

Cp. Fokker's Malay

riionctics.

SYSTEIM OF AFFIXATION

76

lengthened secondary stems with prefix pe(r) and

kan

suffix i or

pukul, memukul heat; tangis, menangis zf^t^/' nanti,


menanti ivait lihat, melihat, melihati, melihatkan see
memperisterikan take to rvi/c.
;

(d)

Certain ground words that without the prefix are not

verbal

ikan ajis/i, vaengikanjis/ii/ig; burong 5ird, memburong


getah rubber, lime, menggetah liming [birds)

catching birds

awan

c/oud,

menepi
sea

mengawan

going along

merantau

vaengoil fishing
stone,

traversing

tvith

panah

a cast-net;

laut

meniti employing

titi bridge,

reach,

ascending into clouds

the edge

membatu

a hook

arroiv,

stream

aku

/,

stress

on

me,

throiving

shooting arroivs

jarum

batu
needle,

putehzt'/z/A',memuteh

becoming white; sa-berang over-stream,


ing a

kail a hook,

menjala

stone, petrifying

needle-like point;

tepi edge,

reaches;

cast-net,

memanah

becoming

menjarum shoot upto

jala

as

river

melaut traversing
a bridge rantau river
sea,

menyaberang cross-

mengaku

taking

on oneself,

acknoivledgiug.

46. Laying

activity,

me derivatives will generally

express the active voice, but there are exceptions, and the
prefix has not entirely extinguished the dual nature of the

root verb

baginda membawa teman the king was bringing a


folloiver
Pateh Kerma Wijaya pun sudah berlengkap
akan persembahan tujoh-puloh orang membawa-nya
Pateh Kerma Wijaya had prepared a present of seventy slaves
who were being brought by him segala cheteria pun datang
mengalu-ngalukan baginda all the ivarriors came welcoming
the prince
Raja Pahang pun hilir mengalu-ngalukan
oleh Raja Ahmad //2^7?(7/a of Pahang came down stream being
ivelcomed by Raja Ahmad; baik kita membacha hikayat
perang it were well ive read a tale of war sa-telah. 'ku
;

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

77

jawab maka oleh imam atau khatib pun membachakan


doa selamat as soon as I ansivercd, prayers for my safe/y
made by

'cverc

priests or readers.

47. As opposed to the simple ground form of the verb

which lays
in

tives

stress

me

on

the act, fact, event or condition, deriva-

always express the

direction, the

the tendency, the

activity,

movement towards an

or event and

act, fact

condition to which endeavour goes.

may

It

to

me

is

essentially

word denoting activity

or

movement

be said that the force of the prefix

adjectival (cp. 2), joining a

an agent o\ palmis expressed or implied

participial,

derivatives in

its

verbaP; and

same time often

at the

or rather perhaps

modern IMalay being mostly

and number from the substantive

finite as

deiiving person

finite participle if

such

can be conceived.
Instances of the use of the derivative as a

common

are

itu as soon as

telah Sri Bija 'di

Sri Bija 'di Raja

menugerahi persalin

ihe

finite participle

Raja memandang

saiu the

It

surat

baginda pun

iter;

king gave a gift 0/ raiment.

Its purely participial use, unless one include (a) below,

not very

common

marang

itu tiada

but

is

quite normal

membunoh

is

Laksamana me-

slashing, the

Laksamana did

not slay.

pulang dari
So, too, its employment as a verbal noun,
menchari makanan return from searching for food mudah
juga membunoh dia easy is the hilling of him mengambil
kayu api juga 'k.Qv'^Si-nja, getting firewood zvas his ivork.
;

48. The idiomatic employment of the

be learnt best from


((?)

cofne
'

It is

very

hendak

its

me

derivative

may

special usages.

common

after

desirous of;

such words as pergi^f,

boleh

he able,

pandai

datang

clever at,

Similarly be(r) derivatives are both verbal and adjectival, according

to onr idiom

split

evident to the Malay.

in

function evidently artificial and not real or

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

78

takut afraid
and so on.

hairan astonished

of,

dudok menangis sit


at seeing

iveeping

at,

tempat

place for,

hairan melihat astonished

terlalu-lah suka hati baginda

mendengar-nya

it
bolehlah sudah menu lis Koran had the skill for ivnting the
Koran tiada boleh hendak melalui dari-pada hukum
you must not be desirous of transgressing the law tiada boleh

very delighted ivas the heart of the prince at hearing

membunoh dengan tiada bertanya lacks power ofexecuting


zvithout requesting permission.

And so on, even in the imperative mood, pergi-lah membawa ayer utama jiwa menghidnpkan Sang Sambah
the ivater of Ife for restoring Sang Sambah
pergilah membuangkan Si Tuah go about the business 0/
banishing Si Tuah mari-lah kita melihat yang bernyalanyala sa-malam come and see ivhat ivas blazing last night;
kata Temenggong, ada pun di-tempat kayu Melaka
ini-lah membangunkan astana dan balairong said the

go and get

'

'

Temenggong 'At

the place

of

this emblica

tree this

is

the place

for building palace and hall'.

In co-ordinate sentences, the

{b)

opposed

to

what has been

laid

down

me
in

form
42

is

if),

employed

as

where the two

verbs denote one consecutive activity on the part of an agent

saudagar itu pun mengangkat tangan lalu menyem-

bah

the

merchant

Ifted his hands and did obeisance (ivith theju)


segera mengambil kapak membelah
;

Hang Tuah pun


kayu

itu

billet ivith

Hang Tuah

quickly picked up an

axe and

split the

it.

Similarly,

when

there

is

the

secutive activity between the

same connection of one conactions in a subordinate

and

principal sentence

telah baginda santap, lalu

of scent concluded
{c)

memakai bau-bauan

use

the royal repast.

In orders, entreaties, and prohibitions, where the injunc-


SYSTEIM OF AFFIXATION
tion

laid

is

Contrast

on

79

a definite person expressed or understood

39 (/>).
biar kita menghantarkan

anakanda

lei

us he your sou's

hendak-lah kamu kedua jangan mengubahkan


setia dan jangan kamu menyembah rajayang lainj/^w
Iwo, doiil you be men to break failh andfollow another prince
di-tangkapkan-nya baginda di-suroh-nya membawa
imam he ivas captured by the prince and ordered {personally)
Seri Pakrama Raja di-titahkan
to embrace the faith
baginda menjemput surat itu Sri Pakrama Raja ivas
couvoy

deputed

to receive the letter formally.

Where

[d]

and

act,

and the
titah

is

then the object

me

comes

object

the

sentence and emphasis

derivative

at

the

required to

repeated by

is

employed

beginning of the
equally on agent

fall

means of

Contrast

pronoun

(a).

39

tuan-ku sakalian alam menjunjong dia your

highness' s mandate

all the world proceeds

obey

to

it

baik-lah

Laksamana ini aku suroh pengawitan yang tujoh ribu


itu membunoh dia as for the Laksamana it were ivell I bid
those 7,000

warriors proceed

to

slay him.

be(r)

49.

It

has been said above that there

is

no sharp

dis-

tinction of voice in the verb simple or derivative.

That

distinction

be(r), as will be
voice, but this

depends on context and on arbitrary usage.


explained below, forms broadly a middle

middle even often has the same dual nature as

the simple verb and in

many

cases

may be

called active

middle and passive middle, bersiap preparing,


packing,

bergantong

hatiging,

according to the context.


clearly,

may be

active

berkemas
or passive

Sentences show such dual uses

baharu-lah Si Jebat beroleh lawan noiv only


ka-tangan 'ku

has febat got his peer; keris itu beroleh


the

dagger has got

rice

into

my hands; bertumbok heraspound/'ng

beras yang bertumbok pounded rice bergosok bau;

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

8o

bauan mh

kuda

scent on oneself;

itu tiada bergosok the

bertemu dengan orang 7?ieet ivith


telah bertemu balik all the property

horse has not been rubbed;

segala harta itu


was met again apabila ia lari bunoh oleh 'mu, apabila
ia bSrtahan, jangan sunggoh-sunggohi <<:'//;/ he runs, slay;
tvhen he halts, don t persist berapa di-tahani oleh Bendahara, tiada luau makhdum bertahan however much the
Bendahara sought to detain him, the Arab would not be detained.

folk

It is

not necessary to reiterate here what has been said

above generally of the inflexion of the

mood nor

that inflexion denotes neither

Examples

show be(r) derivatives


and future.

will

INIalay verb,

namely

tense.

in all

moods and

in all

tenses, past, present,

Tendeloo
tives

in

tried to discover that for the

stands to derivatives in
]\Ialay,

middle voice deriva-

pe(r) stand to those in be(r) as the simple verb

when he wants

me

but he had to admit that the

the middle voice, nearly always uses

a be(r) derivative whether he

is

speaking of a phenomenon

or of a process.

50. be(r) forms a middle voice,

midway between

'

The Greek middle

is

the active voice, in which the subject does

something to an object and the passive

in

which something

The subject is represented as acting


on himself berchukur shave oneself; 'for himself bersimpan pack up for oneself; mari-lah kita bersimpan
segala perkakas kita come let us pack up our belongings
is

done

to the subject.

or with reference to himself berpukul, bertumbok fight


and take bloivs
or for an object which belongs to himself :berbuat astana raja make a palace for one's prince. The
'

'

INIalay

prefix expresses the closely allied

and reciprocal

action, of repetition

to the original, of connection

ideas of reflexive

where something

is

added

between one person or thing and

another, and of possession by oneself.

It is to

be noted that

the derivatives need not bear one only of these meanings,

SYSTEM OF AFFIX A.TION


that

berkata,

f/ian

to

may mean

example,

for

man, speak

all together

Bi

/lave one's say, speak

according to context; tiada

Iberlawan not fightmg one another or not having a peer, peerless

bernyanyi
all together

singing one^s song, singing one

the division into classes

is

to another,

only an

singing

artificial

way

of viewing different aspects of the one central function.

The

prefix

attach nouns

such of

is

reflexive

and

and not necessarily

that in

parallel to the

me

system

and

It is to

various nuances

be
is

and me, as has been suggested,

according to our grammar are


Its

can

It

entity

Indonesian grammar the be system

has an adjectival or participial meaning, even

51.

an

derivatives correspond to adjectives.

its

remembered

tives

verbal.

adjectives as well as verbs to

may

when

its

deriva-

finite verbs.

be seen best under different

heads
(i) Reflexive.

berubah (muka) change

one's {countenance)

berdiri

raise

berbaring lay oneself down, lie doivn bergopoh


hurry oneself; berlutut drop on one's knees beradu compose
oneself to sleep; berpaling turn one's head aside; berhenti
stop oneself; berbangkit raise oneself rise
bersantap feed
oneself; bersiram bathe oneself; berpindah remove oneself;
berserabunyi conceal oneself; berjalan go on ones ivay,
travel
berbalik retrace ones course berpal tack {over one'
course),
sunggoh pun tidur tetapi ia beringat he slept
but he remembered himself; patek sudah berlengkap / have
oneself, rise

my equipment penjurit yang dua ratus itu


berbahagi tiga the two hundred robbers divided themselves

prepared

yang laki-laki berkabong lagi berchukur dan segala perempuan bertokong rambut diinto three parties;

kerat

the

men dressed themselves

in

mourning and shaved

their

heads and all the ivomen had their hair cut; berjalan seperti

tiada berjijak di-bumi travelling on


let

himself touch the groutid


1B54

his 'way as if he never

empat lima orang China

J-

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

82

tinggal ka-pada sahaya bertanam padi

there are four or


me and oceupy themselves iti rice
planting; ia berfikir sa-bentar lalu kata-nya he thought
to himself /or a moment and said.
This reflexive usage is confirmed by the employment of
the prefix in certain redundant constructions
bersiap or
bersiapkan diri prepare oneself; berdiam or berdiamkan

five

Chinamen

with

live

diri keep oneself silent.

Where

action

the

external (and

affects

body, per soil) then the prefix

dongkan

oneself viewed

expressed by diri, in

if

me may

diri shelter ones person

its

as something

primary sense of

be employed

melin-

memaling muka

turn

aside the face.

Comparison between me and be where they are prefixed


same root is fruitful. vciev&SB. feel {a thing), hGVB.so,

to the

feel

{oneself)

berasa

shelter another person

mendiri
don (a
thing),

erect

coat),

mabok fel

drunk

bernaung

or a thing,

menaung

shelter oneself;

memakai

a thing, berdiri hold oneself erect;

berpakai

dress oneself;

berpalit smear oneself;

berangkat

travel

object) in the

sim

(lit.

remove

memalit smear

(any-

mengangkat Ifl {an object),


oneself); menjemur dry {an

berjemur dry

Sometimes the

distinction has

oneself in the sun.

been nearly

lost, as in

the

passage quoted by van Ophuijsen from the Sejarah Melayu

Sultan Mansur Shah memberi titah pada Bendahara

menyuroh berbuat astana


maka orang Ungaran
berbuat astana besar dan orang Tunggal membuat
astana kechil, and so on, membuat and berbuat being
.

used indifferently throughout a long paragraph; but evenhere probably, a distinction should be marked in translation
Sultan

Mansur Shah commanded

the

Bejidahara

to

order a

made for himself; the men of Ungaran built him


his large palace and the men of Tutiggal built a small palace.
Certainly berbuat negeri means make oneself a settlevmit;

palace

to he

and berbuat jahat behave wickedly

(lit.

make

oneself zvicked)

;;

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
can never be changed into

83

membuat jahat yang berbuat


:

kebaktian ka-pada tuan-nya

ivho did his service to his lord.

Reciprocal

(2)

bergomol tvrestle
bertukar exchange

one ivith another

bersalin.

bergelut rival

another;

fight one another

berkait

interlock

berlaga

one another in ivrestling;

berantok

change {one garment') for

knock {one) against {another)

bergurau sport one with another; berjanji contract; berpinang plight oneself to another berkelahi fighting together
bersual, bertanya put one's gnestions to another bergadai
pawn {a thing for a consideration) berengkau nsi//g thou
;

'

'

in

conversation with another

berbaik on good terms


one's

denial to a person

another

bermohon

berchinta

one another

bertitah

take

Hang Tuah

love one another

bertidak making
one's commands to

issue

ones leave of another

Hang Tuah berhikayat

correspond.

tiada

ivith

bertulis

pelbagai cherita

his repertory of tales


raja Cbina
beras yang bertumbok the prince of China
rice ivhich had been pounded {betiveen pestle and

gave them

makan

did not eat

ada yang menjadi penchuri, ada yang bertikam some beca?ne thieves, others slabbers (lit. exchanging stabs

mortar)

ivith

peoples^

or

making themselves

slabbers, practising

as

slabbers).

This reciprocal usage also

expended

in a pleonastic

sendiri-nya

con-

zuaves beat one

berbisek sama sendiri whispering to


berbuat aniaya sama sendiri-nya oppress

against another
another

is

ombak berpalu

struction,

one
one

another.

may

Again, one

menaroh

against another

{of one person

to

me

contrast derivatives in

set {a thing) doivn,

menjual
another)

bertaroh

sell {a thing),

memegang

stake,

berjual

hold,

F 2

ivith

sell,

barter

berpegang

hold

menggosok
another menen-

{a person or thing) to oneself hold one another

rub {a thing), bergosok rub one thing

and be(r).

set one thitig

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

84

tang

front,

tangkap

bertentang

seize

bermohon

and

confronl

be seized

menangkap

memohon

ask for ones leave of another

ber-

seize,

ask for (a thing)

menyimpan

keep,

bersimpan Jiave in one's keeping. Compare saudara-nya


kedua pun datang berpelok berchium saudara-bersaudara bertangis-tangisan
embraced each

with

the other

two

the

relatives

came and

with the sentence

jniitual tears

bonda-nya pun memelok menchium anak-nya the


7nbraced

and

kissed her child

where

the child

is

mother

a passive

object.

Denoting

(3)

bertindeh
storey

berbaris row upon

susun

repetition or addition to

lying one on others

in layers;

by measure

roiv

berbanjar tier on

berlingkar

original.^

storey

berlapis/b/d? on fold
tier

berlipat fold upon fold

after another;

an

bertingkat

coiled, coil

upon

ber-

bergantang measure
berganti

upon

coil;

/;/

turn, one

berpusing

bergolek rolling {roll after roll)


berpanjang long, length upon length, lain dari-pada anjing
dua itu berpuloh anjing lain serta-nya besides these two

revolving {turn after turn')

dogs, tens

of dogs accompanied.

(4) Denoting connection.


berdua two together bersama

in

kampong, berhimpun

company with

assemble together

bersaeng

bertravel

berbichai'a, bermashuarat take counsel together


bertemu, berjumpa encounter berchampur 7!iix together;
berkahwin, bernikah many zvith bersanding sit together,
cf bride a)id groom at a ivedding tiga beranak I and my ttvo
children
berapa hoiu many in all bermain kekaseh
together

ovdiU^fondle another's darling.


(5) Possession.

berbini possessed of a
magic
*

berbulu

Most of the

adjectives.

hairy

wife,

married

berilmu possessed of
berbudi tactful

berguna useful

derivatives under this

and the next two heads are

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
berbangsa of good

birth

berperahu

85

(a) possessing

a boat,

a boat, in a boat; berkereta (a) possessed of a

(b) using

carriage, (b) riding in a carriage;

hersavong zvea ring a

cloth.

Berahma Guru berguru ilmu kesaktian Brahma Guru


zvas learning

(lit.

Here again

ivas possessed

derivatives in

of a teacher of) magic.

me and be(r)may be

contrasted

menyarong placing in a sheath bersarong ensheathed


menandok hutting ivith the horns bertandok horned
menganak sungai making a streamlet; beranak bear
;

(^possess)

a child of one's oivn.

(6) Prefixed to other derivatives be(r) has the

same nuances

as with the radical.

berlarian running

berluroh.an falling
one another

together
{in

berputusan

berterbanganyfy/;/^

numbers)

kerjaan

possessed of ivork

another

acquaintance

berkeliling encircling

from
bepe-

capable of being sundered {one

another); hev^'k.ivQ.ia. possessed of the thinkitig faculty

together

berpandangan facing
;

berkenal-kenalan making one


bersahut-sahutan speaking in turn
berkehendak/ewj^jj^^ ^a desire;
;

berkesudahan having an end, barang siapa yang memandang dia tiada berkesudahan puji-nya ivhoever saiv
him praised him tvithout end; berkeputusan endowed ivith
ability to be broken.

te(r)

52. This prefix has been held (properly of

its

primary

sense) to form the passive voice, though there are exceptions.

terchabut

extracted, able to he extracted or able to extract

bahu-nya terchabut his

mereka

itu

tiada terchabut
could extract

shoulder tvas pulled out

menchabut anak panah


it

batu

terangkat

pergi-lah

pun

lifted,

able to he lifted, able to lift

obeisance ivith ten fingers

kita berkuat-kuatan mengangkat


barang siapa tiada terangkat alah-lah ia

mari-lah
ini,

sa-orang

they zcent to extract the arroiv but not one

sembah terangkat jari sa-puloh


lifted

itu,

'

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

S6

come hi us use all our strength


cannot

lift

it

Mahmud Shah pun


Mahmud Shah was

to

tiada-lah

unable

to

man who

lift this rock, the

terjalan alle

ivorstcd;

is

to

travel;

terjalan

travel further

lagi

Sultan
Sultan

these examples

out of the classic Sejarah Melayu show that te(r) cannot be


described with absolute correctness as a passive formative.

53.

The

(i)

prefix te(r) denotes the perfected act, the

realized condition.^

kamus yang terpakai di-dalam segala negeri Melayu


Malay countries; orang
datang dengan keris sudah terhunus

a vocabulary of established use in all

mengamok

man came with naked dra'vn dagger

frenzied

the

itu

tiada terbawa oleh kita tinggal di-astana


not brought right aivay by us but

is

left in

keris itu

///(

dagger xvas

the palace

di-

dengar-nya oleh Hang Jebat suara Laksamana sayupsayup, maka Laksamana berseru-seru pula, maka
suara itu terdengar-lah ka-pada Hang Jebat the
Laksamana s voice 7vas heard faintly by Hang febat; the

Laksamana

kept calling

and

his voice then

Hang febat; terlupa-lah

was heard

distinctly

akan hal dunia berubah


he clean forgot the changing fortunes of this ivorld demi aku
terpandang bapa 'ku as soon as I caught sight of vy father.
by

ia

(2) It emphasizes not a process in

part but a result

and due not

absolutely

which an agent takes

complete,

to conscious activity

sometimes sudden

on the part of the subject

but to external compulsion or accident.

di-tikam lalu terdudok tiada dapat bangkit lagi were


and forced to collapse unable to rise; penchuri itu'
pun tersepak-lah pada tuboh Laksamana, kata-nya
'Sudah terjijak bangkai pula kaki chelaka ini' the

stabbed

thief stumbled against the

L^aksamanas person, ejaculating 'These

cursed feet of mine have trodden {accidentallf) on a corpse


1

The phrase tersebut-lah perkataan, common

tales,

comes under

this

in the

heading and means no7v the story

is.

exordium of

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

87

Hang Jebat tergelincliir kaki-nya dari atas talam itu


maka Hang Jebat pun tertelut hendak bangkit tiada
;

sempat Hmig Jebafs feet


flopped down on

his knees

Accordingly words

like terlupa_/or^^/;

tertawa laugh terlihat


;

sobbing denote not so


effort as states

slipped {aca'defifally)

and had no time

see

oji

teringat remember

tersedeh-sedeh

much

the tray ; he

to rise.

uncontrollable

states the result of conscious

come
suara-nya terdengar ka-pada Siti
reached Siti Deiva distinctly; sebab aku

induced by outside influences which

into a

man's head

Dewa

his voice

'

'.

the commission came into my


ada pun orang yang bijaksana itu apabila ia
masok ka-dalam taman itu, maka terlihat-lah ia kapada segala pohon buah-buahan itu, maka teringin-

teringat pesanan itu because


head]

lah ia

all the fruit-trees

of

the

garden arrest

the attrition

of

ikan udang
bernang-nang dan lompat-lompat seraya tertawa dan
berpantun fish and pratvns swam about and gave repeated
leaps while laughter overtook them and they sang verses to one
intelligent visitors

and a longing

overtakes them

another.

(3) Seeing that in denoting the perfected act, the derivative


in te(r) connotes ability to bring

about, te(r) has

it

come

to

be used to denote the possible (or more commonly with the


help of a negative, the impossible).

tiga kali ia hendak melangkah pintu itu tiada terlangkah juga thrice she ivished to cross the threshold but ivas
unable; sedang sa-buah perahu tiada terlawan oleh

kita

since

we

ivere unable to fight even one boat to the finish

aku tiada terlihat akan perbuatan-mu, geram rasa


hati-ku / cannot bear the sight of your behaviour ; it angers
me; usahkan ia terbelah, makin bertambah-tambah
keras tunggul itu so far from
stump of wood greiv harder.
This use may be seen clearly

being able to be split, the

in derivatives

from foreign

SYSTEINI

88

OF AFFIXATION
jawab answer

words, like the Arabic hisab reckon',

yat

sfory

hika-

tiada terhisab banyak-nya inmimcrahk; raja

tiada terjawab kata Eangga itu the prince could not


answer Rangga's argument; tiada terhikayatkan lagi

pun

impossible to relate to the end.


(4)

DenoLing completion beyond which one cannot go,

te(r) derivatives

connote the superlative

as intensatives.

In

this

connection te(r)

in

degree and serve

is

prefixed to nouns,

and adverbs, as well as verbs.


dari-pada segala kerja itu apa kerja yang terbaik
baik juga
of all those works ivhich is pre-eminently good ?
Hassan itu karna ia orang muda tetapi termanis
hamba sedikit Hassan is handsome on acconnt of his youth,
hulubalang besar lagi terhut I exceed a little in charm
nama a great captain and of high fame. Common examples
adjectives,

terkemtermashur greatly distinguished terastonished; terkadang very rarely


ter-

of this use of the prefix are the crystallized forms

bangy}///}' hloivn;

chengang

utterly

terlampaUjterlangsong surpassingly; tersangat very.


In the Federated Malay States Government Gazette, His
Excellency the High Commissioner is styled terutama preemitient, a Sultan maha mulia, a Raja ]\Iuda or Bendahara
teramat mulia, and rajas without office amat mulia.

lalu,

Derivatives in te(r) preceded by the

dapat

able

this section

to,

would appear

and not

to

that of (3) supra

siapa dapat terbilang ivho can

dapat terkatakan

boleh,

auxiliaries

have the meaning indicated in


:

completely count

tiada

impossible to relate to the end.

pe

54. This prefix occurs as pe, peng, peny, pern, pen,

and per on the same principles under which me undergoes


similar changes except that before 1 either pe or peng may
be used.

The

present absence of grammatical distinction between

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
these

two euphonic

or r,

links, nasal

89

borne out by such

is

perkhabaran,pemberitaan navs; pebuatan,


perbuatan, pembuatan 7nakc, construction; perburuan,
pemburuan giTinc; pemburu, perburu hunter; and by
words analogous in grammatical import like pelayaran
synonyms

as

voyaging; pelihatan or ^hn^ihaX^Xi sight, seeing

paan

asceticism

a paddle

(lit.

the

perta-

perekat gun (lit. the sticker) pengayoh


paddlcr)
pengaseh love-charm perindu
;

promoter of tender feelings.

The

connection, therefore, which

per and ber

traced between

between them being,


prefix

ber

in

that

one context,

the

some grammarians have

be

will

illusory

will in

there are

many

stems never take the prefix be(r)


in the hair;

langkahanyi9//'/7;(y

perlihatkan

the

It is to

be noted that

pe(r) derivatives of which the original simple

sunting -wearing
lute

the only link

another natuially take per

euphony's sake rather than peng.

for

same stems which take

pelontar missile
pelalau hindering;
:

pelampongy7(V^(7;;/

see

to

salute

per-

pe!^r)-

perlenteh

persembahkan

disso;

and

so on.

As may be seen from


prefix

We

will deal

55. In

the examples of

nouns and

forms

with

all

it

first

it

is

Indonesian languages

said to

and

in

numerals.

to

as a verbal formative.

pa

of causative and denominative verbs


old Javanese

use above, this

its

prefixed

also

or

and

pe
in

is

a formative

some, as

few languages of Sumatra,

form an imperative.

it

in
is

These usages are borne out

Malay.^

in

The causative and denominative ^ force of the prefix


may be seen in the following examples
memperbaiki cause to be repaired; menyuroh meng(I)

Note

pe+ nasal

occurs probably only once as a verbal formative

di-pengapakan from mengapa.


i.e. power to make verbs from noun and

i.e. in
^

adjective stems.

of affixation

syste:^!

90

himpunkan

rayat dan perbaiki kota bade


and have Ihe fort put in repair jikalau

segala

assemble all Ihe people

dapat baginda membunoh ular, baginda-lah kita


perfcuan if your highness can kill ihe serpent, then ive tvill
make your highness ruler) baik-lah kepala-ku percheraikan dengan badanku dari-pada hamba bercherai

dengan hamba punya tuan better have my head parted


from my body than that I be parted from my lord oleh.
baginda tiada di-pasong dan sangat di-permulia-nya
he prince did not imprison him, but had him held in high honour
mari kita suroh perbuat lang come let us get a kite juade
\

perhamba
riage;

to

ask

to be

minta pergunakan

to take to

wife;

by heart;

slave, to offer oneself in

to

perhambakan to

pertetapkan

(II) It is also fairly


tive.'

made a

to

make use
enslave;

of;

mar-

peristerikan

perhatikan

to

get

give fixity, security, &c.

common

as a formative of the impera-

perbuat-lah oleh engkau get

it

done

jangan

engkan peringankan ibadat-mu let not your service to God


be counted a light matter; penaik pelita turn up the lampwick (a Perak phrase); and the Bodleian Sri Rama has mari-

kamu dahulu dengan barang ada nemat


dalam negeri Birusaprua perjamu-lah kamu dahulu

lah perjamti

come you entertain me first with ivhatever dainties exist in

Birusaprua do you entertain me first.

its

pe

56. According to Kern, in origin

apa

of

so?}iething,

noun

penabur

and

derivatives,

e.g.

pemanis

something scattered, bullets

that hunts, hunter;

is

the essential part

this derivation is especially

apparent in

a thing-giving-chartn
;

pevtelan something

pemburu

something-

szuallo7i'ed ;

persalin

a change of raiment, a princely present,


Here Kern's derivation of the prefix from apa ( 56) is borne out by
apa as a modal word to soften the imperative the line of
devohition would be jangan apa(-lah) buat, jangan 'pa biiat, jangan
perbuat.
1

the use of

\
;

SVSTEIM OF AFFIXATION
Anyhow it
or thing

forms nouns '(and adjectives) denoting

and

person

(i)

expresses measures of time and space.

it

(2)

The stem words from which

the derivatives are built

substantive, adjective or verb;

may

91

if

may be

they are verbal, the derivative

be neuter, active or causal according to the stem, and in

a few cases passive.

few of these derivatives generally take another substantive

orang

before them, as confusion would otherwise result

pengail a fishervian

perahu pengail a fishing-boat.

Of a few the root is obsolete pengantin hridegroom


pemuras blunderbuss of others it bears an obsolete meaning,
e.g. lima now^-r formerly hand m penglima chieflain.
;

I.

Denoting person or thing

pemadat opium-smoker
from malas

from

madat

pemalas idler
XJqm^qx grumble

opium

petengkar^;7/Wi5/<';-from

idle;

ivasp from sengat sting; penyamun robber


samun rob pemburu hunter from buru ////;// pendiam a silent person from diam be silent; penyuroh, pe-

penyengat
from

suroh (lit.
pengaseh

one ordered) a messenger from

love-charm

{causing

penggali spade from gali dig

kayoh

lo

paddle

pemukul hammer
from

pimpin

to

sicl<ness

penyepit forceps

from sakit

use)

suroh

to

order

from kaseh

pengayoh
from

love

cutting grass

sepit

pi7ich

sicf;.

A^ote.

Sanskrit

penebas lalang a

the

knife for

a driver azcay of duchs

soother of cares;

Tliere are a few

pra

penghalau itek

penglipur lara a

transitive verb
;

a paddle from

Derivatives from a transitive verb sometimes retain

powers of a

pukul //// pemimpin a guide


penabur bullets (lit. thai which is
from tabur so7(j, scatter penyakit

from

guide

scattered, a passive

love)

batu pelotar

ayam

words where per is a corruption of tlie


perkasa valour perkara affair

permata kwels

perwira warrior; pevn&iaa, fittt {of tlie moon).

OF AFFIXATION

SYSTEI\I

92
stones

for

pelling

fowls

penyudah kaseh

fnialHy in love

that tvliich completes love).

(lit.

few are adjectival, always being preceded by a substan-

gong pelaung the gong of call chanang pemanggil


drum of summons peluru petunang a bullet pledged to
take effect from tunang betroth
kayu penuju a guiding-post.

tive

the

Denoting measures of time and space

2.

pemelok

the space a

man can

besar-nya tiga pemelok a


of a

7nan''s

the

embrace

of girth three

kayu

tiines the

space

pelangkah the length of a person's stride


length of a man ivith arms full stretch above

embrace

perunjong

encircle in his

tree

his head.

These

by sa.

derivatives are frequently prefixed

sa-per-

tanak nasi t/ie time a man takes to boil rice sa-penjulat


peluru meriam the distance a cannon-ball carries rambut
sa-pelempap panjang-nya her hair was only as long as a
?nans hand is broad; sa-peludah the ti?fie it takes man to spit;
;

sa-peninggal
the time

it

the time one leac'es a person

takes to eat

sa-perpisang

a plantain.

ke^

57. This prefix

is

now in Malay, and


semua-nya survives only in

of rare occurrence

except before numerals and

crystallized forms, so that both as a '"verb

formative

it

is

obsolete.

found before substantival,

is

roots

an

when

the root

word

active, passive, or neuter

of the verbal root.

See

and a substantive

denotes state or condition.

It

is

adjectival,

verbal, the derivative will have

nuance according

2 for the

to the nature

Indonesian prefix k.

('tok) ketampi {gaffer)-tvi?tnoiv-the-rice (active)

a mistress, one who


1

when

is

It

numeral and verbal

loved (passive)

kekaseh

kechundang

'

con-

agree with Dr. Fokker that phonetically this should be written


the following syllable contains e

terangan, &c.

ka
ketampi but kahendak, ka-

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
quest

ketua an

;
'

condition

ketiga
three

of

/;/

men

elder

the condition

the third

(ketahui from tahu

set, all.

of being knoivn

kesopani

a rudder

the

desire.

ketiga orang

itii all

kesemua-nya

in the condition

kehendaki from hendak

ketageh

kehendak

a craving

of being three

yang ketiga

kemudi

one ivho craves,

93

a complete

of knoiving or
desiring

di-

being respected.)

-an

58. This

suffix

is

Malay equivalent of

the

the Indonesian

and sometimes gave the ideas

-n, which formed substantives

of intensity, the superlative in degree and so on.

Accordingly -an forms substantives too (and

which

Malay and Indonesian grammar are

in

adjectives,

often

not

separated by any hard and fast line from substantives but

mainly by context)

number and

and

extent.

it

also forms substantives signifying

Its derivatives

when formed from

verbal root partake of the character of that root, and therefore

may

have a neuter, an active, an active and passive, or a

causal sense and

may sometimes

denote possibility

nuances not being derived from the


(i)

Substantival.

pangkalan
toran

these

suffix.

dirt

starting-place

from kotor dirty

hadap

fronting

rear.

There

stantival

is

buritan

no need

derivatives,

illustrated

under

Adjectival

larangan

the

all

from pangkal beginning

hadapan

ko-

position in front

from

stern, position behind

to multiply

from burit

examples of these sub-

as this function

of the suffix will be

heads.

derivatives

are

forbidden earth

larangan forbidden, taman


pilehan chosen, select lan;

goyangan
bantahan quarrelsome
plantain-tree
the
sivaying
sivaying, pliant, pisang goyangan
junjong supporting, pinang junjongan the betel-palm prop
sulongan tossing, main sulongan a game of pitch and toss
changan

counterfeit;

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

94

rautan cutting, smoothing, pisau rautan a trimming-knife.


These words may also be used as substantives.
Denoting

(2)

collectively plurality, extent, &c.:

lautan ocean from laut

sea

daratan a

stretch

of land {as

sawahan a stretch of riceperkakasan an outfit of tools


fields from sawah a r ice field
from perkakas tool) dagangan _/^r^2^ goods from dagang
foreign; manisan jzrif^/wifa/j from manis JzctY/; hukuman
opposed

to sea)

from darat /and

laws from

hukum

suratan writing

(Ar.) order, decree;

general from surat

letter

tanaman

in

tanam

from

plants

to plant.

Probably under

this

which are often said

head are
to

be classed certain words,

to

have got from the

likeness to that denoted by the root, since in


is

connoted, e.g.

rambutan

suffix the idea of

them too

a hairy fruit from

durian a thornyfruit from duri thorn.


Reduplication is employed in some cases

plurality

rambut hair

to strengthen the

buah-buahan fruits of
all kinds from "buaih fruit
bau-bauan all kinds ofperfumery
from bau smell; anak-anakan ///!/^/f/j- from anak child;
plural sense denoted by the suffix

orang-orangan images on

the pupil

the eye

of

from orang

person.
(3)

-an derivatives from verbal roots

(a)

Neuter,

aduan
for

orang aduan)

if) Active,

terusan channel from terus going through

a complaint from

sfea?nit2g

adu

complain

also (by abbreviation

complainant.

tutupan

pot from

lid

kukus

kukur scrape.
Passive,
hamparan

from tutup
to

steam;

to

shut;

kukuran

kukusan
a

coco-jiut

scraper from
{c)

out; kelian,

carpet from

hampar

to

spread

galian a mine from gali dig; jawatan under-

taking, profession from jawat (jabat) to grasp, hold; kumpulan a collection from kumpul collect; chagaran pledge
from chagar to mortgage; (orang) surohan a messenger

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
from suroh order

ku

pakaian

(d) Active

and

iveigh, consider

buatan

material

wear.

io
(

scales, (2) considera-

ikatan

shaer ikatan a

bond, (2) bound, joined,

bind;

timbangan

passive,

from timbang

tion

worn, keris pakaian-

clothes or

a dagger worn by me, froni pakai

set

(i) a binding,

of verses, from ikat

buatan baju

(i) craftsmanship, (2) material,

for a

coat ;

(3) capable

95

bukan

of accomplishment,

buatan.
{e)

ingatan a reminder, surat ingatan a

Causal,

reminding from ingat reme??iber

kenang
tance

to

remember

from sesal

kenangan

letter

a keepsake from

sesalan a cause of repen-

affectionately;

repent.

(f) Denoting possibility. {iLain) hsisahan a zvashing-suit


(kambing) perahan a milch goat
harapan reliable
bandingan/dvr, comparable: nyamok lurutan bukan-nya
tamparan mosquitoes so many that they cannot be slapped but
;

can be iviped

off.

pe

an

59. Theseaffixes form, mostly from verbal

nouns denoting

qualities

and

faculties

root,

and more

abstract

rarely

nouns

denoting (2) places, and (3) living things.

pelihatan, penglihatan y(z///y of

(i)

perasaan

seeing,

range of

pertapaan asceticism pemandangan vieiv; pengetahuan knowledge penengaran se?ise,


power of hearing
peringatan remembrance perjanjian
agreement
pelayaran voyaging peperangan ivarfare
vision

feeling

perjalanan journeying

himpunan

an assemblitig, a

ning, commencement

teaching,

instruction

charian

source

dan perdaraan

meeting

pembunohan
;

pelajaran

of livelihood
that

Aivang and Dara,

pergadohan

was

quarrelling

permulaan

teaching,

itu-lah asal

of

perbegin-

pengajaran
lear?iing
pen-

slaughter

the origin

the

perawangan
cojnmon names

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

96

(2) peraduan sleeping-chamber; pebean customs' house',


pelabuhan anchorage (balai) penghadapan a presence;

hall.

perempuan

(3)
affinity

zy^vwcz;/

perburuan game

peranakan

ke

60. These

adverbial,

affixes are

pertemuan

an
found with substantival, adjectival,

They denote

and verbal root words.

dition of persons,

;/a//V^

(Jinntcd).

things, events,

places.

state or

The

con-

derivatives

are substantives, adjectives, and sometimes verbal, predicating


a condition of the subject

and, even though their roots be

not verbal, some can signify cause or possibility or have

nuances both active and passive.

Denote

1.

state or condition:

kesenangan ease; kekayaan ivealth; kepandaian cleverness


kebodohan folly keelokan beauty kedatangan
arrival; kesedapan fl^(?//V?'c//j-;;f jj kelengkapan equipment;
keterangan evidence kebanyakan, kesangatan number
kejadian c/-^a//(? ketentuan (Ttv/a/^/y kesudahan ^;/(/;
kenaikan that zvhich is ?iiountcd, a mount, carriage, vessel;
kediaman a dwelling-place keinderaan a place where
keyangan heaven keputusan limit, a
Indra is, heaven
breaking (t^ sampai mana keputusan sungai ini how far
;

is

the place

zvhere this river

breaks off i^

denoting place often follow a word

assume an

adjectival character

like

these derivatives

tempat, when they

tempat kediaman, kuda

kenaikan, perahu kenaikan : and so tempat keadilan


or simply keadilan the seat of justice, Justice {the ruler of a
Menangkabau country) and orang keturunan or simply

keturunan
2.

ia

from

The

descendants.

derivatives

may

be verbal:

pun keturunan diBxi-^aididiVa,^d,-Xdut^ he too is descended


rajas bulan pun kesiangan the moon ivas eclipsed by
;

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

97

kematian-lah angin Ihe ivind died down segala gajah


ketakutan all the elephants ivere afraid; kenaikan itu
keayeran the boat was filled with water beberapa lama
Sri Tribuana kerajaan di-Singapura all the years Sri
2'ribiiana ruled at Singapore
orang Melaka kekeringan
seperti ikan jemur Malacca folk [fell into poverty) dried up
day;

itu

like fish

This usage has been extended (being

in the sun.

combined with

the construction found in such a sentence as

orang itu pun, mati anak-anak-nya as for those folk they


lost their children).
So we get dia keputusan wang
he has incurred loss of money sahaya kematian anak I have
lost a child; sahaya kekurangan ayer lam short of -water;
seperti orang buta yang kehilangan tongkat like a blind
man who has lost his staff.

have

In calling the derivative under

means no more than


sometimes

this

that the versatile

for predicate, as well as

section

verbal,

one

Malay word here stands

standing more usually for

substantive or attribute.

derived from

3. May haveacausal nuance


kemaluan the pudenda and

'hidi\VtQXi livelihood;

the ground word:

that ivhich causes sha?ne;

kebinasaan that which

ke-

causes destruction;

kerugian occasion of loss; chandu mendatangkan beberapa chelaka dan kebinasaan dan kerugian ivhat
fatalities and occasions of destruction and loss come from opium
k-e-papasin cause ofpoverty aniaya chelaka dan kepapaan
;

oppression, ill-doing,
4.

Some

and beggaring.

denote possibility

(orang) keharapan reliable


kedengaran audible; kelihatan visible; sebab
lidah itu kekenalan bukan-nya Inggeris one could tell
from their accent they ivere Jiot English.
(orang) keperehayaan,

(men);

5.

Some of these derivativeshave more than one

kerugian

(i) occasion

(i) pudenda, (2)

of loss, (2) actual

loss;

significance:

kemaluan

shame; kebinasaan (i) cause of

destruction

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

98
(2) destruction

kepapaan

(i) cause

of poverty, (2) poverty

kebSsaran (i) greatness, (2) mark of greatness, regalia;


kemuliaan (i) house, (2) mark of honour, ada suatu kemuliaan ka-pada raja it is a mark of honour for a prince;
kehinaan {i)loivliness, {2) an occasion of disgrace; kelihatan
(i)

is

seen,

kelapa
(2) can

kampongitu kelihatan penoh dengan pohon

the
see,

no lo7tger

compounds

see

itu tanah

zvcrc seen to be

full of coco-nut palms

mata-nya tiada kelihatan


;

yang kelihatan

{3) visible, can be seen, pasir

mana zvhat

is

the

lagi her eyes could

name of that country of which

the

sands can be seen ?

'kan, -kan
61.

of

its

'kan can only be termed an

evolution.

direction toivards

respect
I.

to,

akan

affix in

it

an

or towards a

object,

is

the later stage

the preposition denoting

In origin,

moment and so

ivith

concerning,

These three nuances may be seen

and away from


(a) Direction

in its use separate

the verb.

towards an object

jika ada kaseh tuan akan kakanda if there is love in


you toivards me di-chium di-pelok oleh baginda akan
;

menantu-nya

there vuas kissing aiid

directed towards his son-in-laiv,

braced his son-in-law

i.

embracing by

e. the

the prince

prince kissed and em-

di-chinehang-nya akan Sayid itu

he hacked at the Sayid.


(b)

Direction towards a

moment

menanti kan musoh datang

in time
zuait

for

the coining

of

the

enemy.
if)

Concerning

akan pendua-nya di-sungkap-nya as for his dagger it


temenggong tiada sedar akan hal
zvas loosened by him
;

itu the chief was unaware concerning

the matter.

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
The

II.

next stage

99

where there occur such dual forms as

is

sedar akan, sedarkan harap akan, harapkan


akan, rindukan khabar akan, khabarkan.
;

rindu

we

Finally

III.

As

((?)

a suffix

get the sufiix -kan.


it

retains a trace of

its

prepositional force

in so far as the indirect object, the object

which would be

akan immediately, if it were


employed, must follow the kan derivative immediately.
hantarkan sahaya wang setid [to) me money buatkan

governed by the preposition

dia

rumah

kasut

make {/or) him a house

leave

{V) It

and

me

{for)

chichit-ku /

ivill

tinggalkan sahaya
aku hendak sediakan

shoes;

make ready for my grandchildren.

forms causative and denominative verbs from nouns

adjectives.

raj akan
cover,

orang make

make a cover for

sarongkan (keris)

kandangkan make
account a sin
(c)

a ruler of a person

pinangkan

give a sheath

a pen for, pen

hesar^Sin enlarge

Finally, the suffix

selimutkan

propose marriage

to,

sheathe {a

haramkan make a
penohkan _;?//.

may always be used

to

dagger)
sin

of

with verbal stems

wherever in English we have a direct object, the only criterion


of

its

use being cadence or euphony.

buat or buatkan rumah f?iake a house; panggil or


panggilkan orang call a person pukul or pukulkan
budak beat a boy; kirim or kirimkan surat dispatch a
;

letter.

[This

suffix

occurs also with a few conjunctions; conveying

the nuances sometimes oi futurity or likelihood, sometimes of


concerning, with respect

to.

jangankan ayer hujan, ayer perigi pun kering


asalkan dapat provided

masakan

ia tiada

it

shall be got

datang

not to

had dried up

sabar-lah dahulu

touch the topic of rain-ivater, even the well-water

be patient ; is it likely he luill 710

co?ne?^

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

loo

-i

62. Stems ending

ai never take this

in i or

suffix.

With

kan are sometimes used interchangeably.


The form ke + stem + kan is never found, but ke + stem + i
is not uncommon
ke + tahu + i, ke + hendak + i.

other words

and

The number of stems taking the suffix i is fewer than the


number taking kan.
The suffix i is almost certainly the Indonesian locative
preposition

i.

Derived

(i)

from

locative

this

when the stem is verbal.


diami negeri inhabit a
astana so that I may ascend

kubur make
travel

When

coiiniry

the

suffix

place, especially

supaya aku naiki

into the palace

ulang-ulangi

mengelilingi kota
menghampiri pintu approach the door.

repeated visits to a tomb;

round a fort

(2)

preposition,

word denoting

frequently has for object a

the

ground word

is

noun or

adjective, then the

derivative transfers the thing or attribute denoted

by

it

to an

object.

susu viilk, susui suckle, hujan rain, hujani rain on


lembut soft, lembuti give softness to teman follower,
temani tofollow a person "kxidit force, kuati to apply force to
nama name, namai to give a na7ne to; kurnia, anugerah
;

(Skt.) gift,

kurniai, anugerahi

^{-psisi to fan {a person);

to

bestow upon

sama, sameness,

kipas afan,

menyamai

compare

baik good, membaiki to make good, to cause repair to


panas hot, panasi to heat, apply heat to. In this context the
suffix marks the verbal use of radicals which may be verb,
adverb, noun or adjective, carrying on as it were to the
object, just as in English when employed as verbs, words like
dream, jump, hit, look are carried on by the prepositions of, on,
ivith

'

'

at, to.

(3)

The

often loses

derivative having
its

special force

become

crystallized, the suffix

and becomes merely

intensative.


SYSTEM OF AFFIX mON

r.^

',

;: 'HI

(4) It forms mostly transitive verbs, but a few examples


sunggoh-sunggohi he determined,

of the intransitive occur,


persist;

There

(5)
built

melaxLti traverse

of

is

and

tke sea, voyage;

mvilai degin.

sometimes a distinction between derivatives

kan

proceeding from the

from the same root


functions

several

a distinction

of

the

original

prepositions,

hampiri orang approach a


cause a person

to

approach

person

hampirkan orang

cause an approach in respect of

(lit,

a person); merajai orang be


orang make a person prince.

merajakan

prince over people,

REDUPLICATION

63. There are three methods of reduplication in Malay

(2) Reduplication

of the

word with indeterminate e

(3) Reduplication

or

kekabu, gegasing,
Kedah dialect lelaki,

vowel'
the

in

of the ground word with changes

of consonants

dictionary provides a

consonant of the ground

first

for its

gegawar, beberapa (and


bebiri, pepuyu, &c.).
vocalization

whole of the ground word.

(i) Reduplication of the

number of

or

of which

of both,

of
the

crystallized examples,

64. Nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, numerals, pronouns,


all afford examples of words reduplicated in
But the second method forms almost always sub-

conjunctions

Malay.

stantives betokening things.

Broadly

reduplication

always

implies

indefiniteness

whether of number, or degree or contingency or time or


likeness. It is not used where a definite number is mentioned.

lima oxaxigfive men never lima orang-orang


two cheeks never
1

This,

it

kedua

kedua pipi

pipi-pipi.

has been alleged,

in the northern states of the

is

a Javanese form, but

Peninsula like Kedah.

it is

very

common

:;

icfz

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

For the sake of clearness,

it

usages superficially discrepant

will

be convenient to classify

and we may say

that redu-

plication expresses

lembu-lembu
of jncn, rumah-

{a) Indefinite plurality with variety implied

oxen of all kuids, orang-orang

all sorts

rumah

all kinds of houses,


(Sometimes the indefinite segala

mahkota segala

raja-raja

all qualifies these

croivn

the

all

of

forms

kinds

of

princes.)

Under

comes the reduplication in the names of


by going in flocks or shoals or having an
abnormal complement of legs and wings suggest plurality;
and also of things which by their nature suggest it. IMost of
this head,

animals, which

never occur in single

these

lumba-lumba
fiy

porpoise

biri-biri

tortoise

sheep

kala-kala

laba-Iaba spider

Also

reduplication

to

churan

scorpion

kisi-kisi

express

ivhite

ant;

butter-

kura-kura

trellisivork.

plurality,

or

repetition,

melompat-lompat keep
blazing
berchuchur-chu-

frequency and continuity in action


leaping

anai-anai

form:

kupu-kupu, rama-rama

bernyala-nyala keep
keep dropping
sepui-sepui

bloiuing continually

ganti-ganti one

after another, in turn

kili-kili (constantly

rotating) reel to a rod.

Reduplication denotes

(b)

scending degree

far far
a

aivay

pagi-pagi very early


beginning

de-

jauh-jauh

//;/)' tiny
budak-budak
kanak-kanak very young children
in the day, mula-mula at the very

keehil-kechil

small child

very

ascending and

indefinite

indefinite superlative, intensity

indah-indah

very ivonderful

lekas-lekas

7'ery

astonished;

terchengang-chengang very
va.evixgQVQ.va.dit-B.iocidjii look very closely at
lama-

kelamaan

after a very long while.

quickly;

Indefinite resemblance to the object denoted by the root

(c)

word

lari-lari run fast;

layang

fly,

layang-layang

kite

gunong

mountain.

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
gunong-gunong

ayam-ayam

roof of the inouih

orang-orang

ayam

a pyra?nidal design in arl\

watcr-foivl

langit heavens,

Jiorse;

103

kuda

langit-langit a

sky,

mata

the pupil

kuda-kuda

horse,

eye,

ceiling-cloth, the

mata-mata /cV/'ct?

of the eye; churi

foivl,

doihes-

orang man,

churi-churi

thieve,

buat do, buat-buat pretend; also of


hitam-hitam resembling black, blackish puteh-

privily {like a thief);

colours

puteh

whitish.

And

under

this

and conjunctions

head comes
:

mana

its

use with adverbs, pronouns,

mana-mana

ivhcre,

ivherevcr

apa ivhat, apa-apa ivhatcver; bila when, bila-bila ivhenever


kalau if, kalau-kalau ifperchance, (In Perak, the phrases
orang besar-besar and orang kaya-kaya apply to the eight
chiefs who are inferior to the four premier chiefs^ the orang
besar or orang kaya, so that the reduplication does not
;

indicate the superlative but rather


really 'great'

raja-raja

anak

and 'rich' superior

signifies a

more

As a

rule of syntax,

and

attribute,

anak

distant relationship to royalty than

different

different sorts

it

may

be noted that in the case of

only one of the words

but which of them that

anak

to the

Similarly

chiefs.

raja.)

subject

tuan

mere resemblance

is,

afiects the sense

reduplicated,

is

rumah tuan-

Europeans' houses,

rumah-rumah. tuan

of houses belonging

to

raja-raja the scion of rajas of juany houses

raja the various children of one raja


countries altogether different,

the

a particular European

anak-anak

negeri Iain-lain

negeri-negeri lain various

other

countries}

Dr. Fokker draws

my

things that seldom or never


redtiplicated
VieTtsiS

attention to the fact that

show

variety

(e. g.

words denoting

nasi, darah) are never

but words like those given above, or like

paper, for example, of which

many

pokok

different kinds exist, are.

tree,

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION

104

COMPOUND WORDS

65.

The meaning

by compounding

Malay word

of a

with another word.

it

often extended

is

Many

parts of speech

afford examples.

Substantive + substantive, a combination which admits

(i)

of further analysis,

The one

((?)

in

viz.

substantive belongs to the other,

case relation to

it

ayer lebah

hoiiey

i.e.

stands

kepala susu

ibu rumah inain hdlding of a house; anak panah


mata kaki anldc mata-hari sun mata kain
kaki langit horizon tukang besi blacksjm't/i
pattern
wayang kulit shadow-play with leather puppets nyiur
cream

arroiv

gading ivory-coloured coco-nut.


anak
{!)) The first substantive is added to the second
bini household, wife and children adek kakak relations
rumah tangga zvfe] ibu bapa parents; hamba sahaya
:

servants.
(c)

The

first

substantive and the second both denote the

person or thing indicated, the one generically, the other


specifically

orang Jaliudi a few man; negeri Perak

Per

ate;
burong enggang
gemala hikmat magic talisman.

a country

(2) Substantive

by

arbitrarj'

+ adjective,

the

the

hornhill bird-,

compound phrase acquiring

usage a significance different from what the two

words would ordinarily bear by juxtaposition.


kereta sombong mail train orang besar a
;

chief;

raja

XQXidSicrflzan prince;

pinang muda a procurer; sireh kuning

a dainty morsel,

a girl, a mistress

viz.

orang puteh European


(3) Substantive

besi berani magiiet

kuching pekak

a kind of trap.

+ verb.

guru tenun weaving inistress tukang masak


pisau chukur razor rumah pasong lock-up.
;

coot;;

(4) Adjective

mabok

+ substantive,

laut

sea-sick;

forming an adjective.

merah jambu

plum-coloured;

SYSTEM OF AFFIXATION
susah hati sad

masam

keras hati

ohsiinaic

105

bebal akal

(5) Adjective

+ adjective.

merah muda light red; merah tua dark


kuning cream-coloured; hitam manis broivn.
(6)

insane

muka^/z-'w.

Verb + noun, forming a

puteh

red;

substantive.

chochok sanggul hairpin; sepak va,^2t. football; ikat


pinggang bell korek api matches gunting babi a kind
;

of

trap.

(7)

Pronoun + verb.

yang di-pertuan
(colloquially

awat)

ruler (corrupted

yam

tuan)

apa

biiat

ivhy.

Pronoun + adverb.
apa bila when.

(8)

(9)

Compounding

of words in derivative forms also takes

place.

lantai sa-lari a floor on one plane


a

kitchen

membabi buta

adjunct;

niembusutjantanyt^;7fl: high

menganyam
negeri

gila

iveave

the

mad

menyusu

epileptic fit;

menganak sungai

decline to evening;

stitch

mendairah.

traverse a country s districts; berjual-beli barter;

bermaharaja Lela play


question

ant-hill

merembang petang

make a streamlet;

gajah

have an

and

jahat have

reply

the

Maharaja Lela

berlaki-biui

evil intentions;

bertandok panjang

in

married

bersual jawab
estate

berniat

berkain basah wear wet

be long-horned.

clothes;

CHAPTER

VII

OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH


(A)

66. Personal

One can
pronoun

PRONOUNS

Pronouns.

distinguish

in

^^lalay

pronoun proper,

(I) the

two classes of personal

(II) the

noun employed

in

place of a pronoun,
I.

and

The

personal pronouns proper, like the

adjective,

plural

though

in a few cases

and another

for the singular

They
ist

Malay noun

undergo no declension and can be singular or

one word may be preferred

for the plural.

are

person aku, kita, kami.

2nd person engkau,

kamu.

3rd person ia or dia.

As a pronominal
position

before

contracted

to

the

ku

proclitic

root

standing

of the

and engkau

in

an insignificant

transitive
to

kau.

verb

hai

aku

is

Ruwana

'kau katakan-lah yang kehendak hati-mu itu, 'ku


dengar tell, O Ravana, the desire of your heart, that one may
hear

it.

As pronominal enclitic without emphasis aku, engkau,


kamu, ia become 'ku, 'kau, 'nau, and nya respectively.

akan and dengan prepositions ending in


akan in the form of the verbal suffix kan, we
find aku commonly changed to daku, engkau sometimes
to dikau and ia always to dia.
In literature, afier

n, and

after

PRONOUNS
The

exact

significance

important to understand

aku /or we;

107

pronouns

of these

highly

is

it

the term used by

God

addressing man, by a

prince to a subject, master to servant, elders to younger folk,

and

among

relations familiarly

Used

themselves.

for

we

it

aku ketiga tve three


aku sakalian all of us. It corresponds to engkau yang
berkhabar itu bukan si aku si engkau my informant was
not one whom you could address in familiar terms.
kita ive, more common in the plural, except when spoken
word

often has a

to

denote plurality

by princes

for the royal 2vc.

Unlike kami,

kami

it

refers to the speaker

the persons addressed

tiada tahu

know

'.

'

It is

kita orang,
to

In the plural,

the

is

it

not arrogant.

includes the person addressed.

and

his parly,

sembah orang

men did

itu

obeisance saying

rather a self-important form

kamu

'

orang, dia orang)

'

and excludes

kami sakalian

Our party does not


kami orang (like
is

used sometimes

denote the plural use.

engkau you, an address to persons of no importance


except that aku and engkau are forms of address in prayer
It is common in literature and conversation.
to the deity.
pergi-lah engkau ketujoh
It may be singular or plural
bersaudara do you seven brothers go. In Perak, Kedah, and
in the RiauPenang hang is employed in conversation
;

Johor

States,

kau

is

preferred, as in literature.

"kam-Viyou, singular or plural.


alike in literature

ia
for
is

he, she,

they,

form
II.

and

is

common

ia becomes dia as the object, and also

emphasis as subject

commoner

It is just civil,

and conversation.

itu-lah dia that

than ia in conversation.

is

The

him.

dia too

genitive suffix

nya will be noticed under possessive pronouns.


The INIalay looks upon the personal pronoun

as a rude form of address.

Rather than employ

omit the subject altogether, or

if

it,

proper

he

will

he knows the rank and

status of the person addressed he will

employ some kind

of

PARTS OF SPEECH

io8

honorific, describing himself


tion.

Many

by some noun of

may be reckoned personal pronouns


table will

the

self-deprecia-

of these nouns are used so regularly that they

show

pronouns proper and improper

Persoji speaking

improper.

The

following

the degrees of respect expressed variously by

PRONOUNS

109

perhamba and di-perhamba.


China 'ya tuan-ku shah
manteri
sembah perdana
membicharakan tlie
di-perhamba-lah
alam yang

common.

occurs also as

It

'

Chinese Minister did obeisance^

Iyour slave will inquire.'


patek the usual address
selves to
officer

any

raja

of state

of

and even of

brother)

of

commoners speaking
for

zuorld,

of them-

Europeans.

by

or ive; used

first

person

and gentry

rajas
;

but chiefly

in letters,

and corre-

addressing equals or condescendingly to inferiors


as the usual term for the

the

rajas to a ruling prhice or high

but not proper

beta (Hind,

sovereign

'

sponding to sahabat hetayou vy friend.

(Cliff"ord says, that

on the East coast it is rude except for the raja writing to his
chiefs, and that in Pahang it was formerly an expression
forbidden except for the ruler.)

tuan,
in

the usual form of polite address

literally master, is

speaking to or of European men, Malay

men and women

and breeding (and all Malays have breeding),


descendants of the prophet and Hajis of either sex. A Malay
will say tuan hamba to chiefs and tuan patek to rajas.

of birth

tuan puteri
and
the

is

in titles is
title

the usual expression {qx princess in literature,

paduka tuan

found seri

(which in Perak

The form tuhan which

of the state mufti).

is

is

only

come now to be applied to the deity.


tuan + the pronominal suffix of the
tuan-ku
It has come to have a very restricted
first person, my lord.
use and is reserved now for address to the deity and to Malay

a variant spelling has


is

simply

In Perak,

sovereigns.

it

and the Bendahara, and

by important

tengku,
on both

of Pahang,^
1

used also to the Raja

sometimes arrogated

Riau the form of address to

tengku besar
In Perak,

it

is

is

the

title

rajas of full

of the

blood

Crown Prince

proper to rajas of secondary

In Negri Sembilan, rajas are styled

the old form

Muda

to themselves

rajas with a claim to those offices.

in

sides

may be
is

tun commonly occurring

tunku, a form which reminds of


in the

Sejarah Melayu,

no

PARTS OF SPEECH

commoner chief tengku manteri,


tengku temenggong and to the permaisuri or chief
commoner wife of the Sultan. In Shellabear's edition of the

importance, to the greatest

Hang
it is

Tuah, which was copied largely from Perak manuscripts,

applied to the Bendahara and his consort, but

be found

engku

Dutch

in

versions of the

work

occurs in the Sejarah Melayu.

it is

and neither

not to
it

nor

applied to Sayid,

It is

Sharif and Sharifah.

engku

in

Riau-Johor

proper form for rajas of

the

is

common

secondary rank, born generally of

In

mothers.

more important rajas (below the


three great officers, who are addressed as tuanku) and is so
used in Maxwell's rhapsodist version of Sri Rama.
Perak

applied to the

is

it

datok,

literally

commoner

grandfather,

but

chiefs,

is

is

of big hereditary

title

also used of smaller

any aged respectable person

and

headmen and of

specifically of grandfather or

grandmother.

enchek

has a history like our esquire.

to the descendants of chiefs,

it is

sex of any birth or position at

Specifically proper

applied to persons of either

all.

The commoner

wife of a

'chek puan, of a chief 'tok puan.


Other nouns so commonly employed as to deserve the
name of improper pronouns but of more or less local range

raja will be

are

teman

mate, equal) I, corresponding with

(lit.

forms rare in

literature

editions

of the

Hang Tuah and

affectionate talk

among

the people of Perak.

Dutch

kawan

friend,

humble forms
second

person

for

awak
the

in

mika

you,

and conversation, but occurring


familiar

and diri (both meaning

first

talking

in

in

and

body)

person, and also used for the


politely

to

inferiors,

silakan

bentara dua, kita menanti diri dari-pada tadi be seated,


you two officers, we have awaited you some while (cp. 68,
reflexive pronouns).

goa and

lu, Chinese words for

/ and

you, are adopted in

conversation with persons of that nationality.

PRONOUNS
mereka

III

itu and orang itu Ihose persons are

common

for

they in literature.

In addition to the above words,

III.

become

many

of which have

limited to pronominal purposes or at any rate are

commoner

noun

as that part of speech than in their original

form, there are furthermore several classes of nouns pressed


to

do the work of pronouns of the


These may be classified as

persons.
(i)

and

Words denoting

first,

second, and third

the relationship between the speaker

the person addressed.

Proper names,

(2)

and conventional.

real

(3) Titles of rank, age and profession.

Used by

the speaker of himself, the

words of the

last

two

of these classes are not usual and sound childish and assertive.

Used

persons,

all

in place of

three

pronouns of the second and third


are very

classes

common

as

modes

of

polite address.

datok, 'tok grandfather, ninek grandmother, ayah

(i)

bapa (vulgar) y^Z/zr/-, emak mother, anak child,


abang elder brother, kakak elder sister or rarely brother,
adek younger brother or sister, chuchu grandchild of

(polite),

either sex.

The
fiction,

relationship

may

not be actual but merely a polite

emak ka-mana

where are you going P would be a

proper form of address by persons of either

woman whose years deserved the appellation.


abang of the man and adek of the girl

sex

to

any

common
buah hati
sayang, abang tiada pergi lama good-bye, my
are

expressions for one another between lovers,

tinggal-lah

I do not go for long.


There are honorific forms ending in nda applicable

love, heart's darling,

persons of noble or distinguished birth or to persons


it

is

to

whom

desired to flatter and generally for politeness in letter-

writing,

nenda from nenek

ayahanda from ayah

PARTS OF SPEECH

112

kakanda from kakak adinda from


anakanda, ananda from anak
chuchunda,
chunda from chuchu senda from sahaya mamanda

bonda

from ibu

adek

from

mamak

tincle

word often used with deference by

(a

a prince to an aged minister)

occur in literature

inangda from inang

of these honorifics, only

bonda

nurse,

found

is

followed by a possessive pronoun.

The proper name

(2)
to

is

Hassan ka-mana ? ivhere are


Hassan) going ? Hassan sudah -pevgiBe [i.e. I/assan)

you{\.t.

Where

has gone.
of

of the person addressed or referred

very usually employed.

is

unknown,

Kulup

Perak

Melayu says
'

name

If

spoken to or spoken

of the person

Awang

proper names like

The

are hazarded in the case of boys.

that Q,vj^xx.g youth

It also gives the

virgin.
use.

the

common

one of his

or in

Sejarah

formerly corresponded to

dara

following apposite example of

serfs

came up from

its

the river reaches

wearing a fine pink coat, buttons., and a bright handkerchief,


then the Bendahara would say, '''Come up into the house, Awang!'

When
"
is

What isyour name?

he came up, the Bendahara would ask, "

(namamu
/ am

?)

"

Then

thefelloiv

one of your serfs

(sahaya ini

So-and-so, So-and-so ivas

father."

hamba datok), my na?ne

myfather, and

So-and-so

ivould say, "

(engkau anak

anu-kali)

si

7}iy

grand-

Then you are Sogo and sit below."

own serfs
West coast 'Long =

zvas his state that he could not recognize his

on account of their number.'

sulong

his respects, saying,

And the Bendahara

and-so's son

So great

would pay

firstborn

is

similarly

On

the

used

in

the

case

of

girls.

own name and prefer to be called'pa A.vfB,ng father of Aivang or 'mak 'Ngah mother of'Ngah
'pa Awang indeed
or whatever be the name of their child
has become a conventional mode of address like Awang.
Parents often drop their

(3) Besides

tuanku, tengku,

honorifics of rank, age,

engku,

datok, other

and profession are used

person addressed, or the person referred

to

to suit the

in

the

third

PRONOUNS
So we

person.

find

the relatives of big

wan

as a form of address to

commoner chiefs, 'chek pah

= sharifah)

descendants of the Prophet, 'yang in the South,

to female

and

wan,^ 'chek

113

mek

in the

North

to ladies of

good but not noble

birth,

penghulu or 'tok penghulu to minor headmen, 'chek


guru to a pundit, tuan kadli to a priest, 'wa (= tuwa old)
to old men, baba to a Straits-born Chinaman, tauki to a
Chinese employer of labour, nonya to a Chinese or Eurasian
married woman, nona to an unmarried Chinese girl.
Rhymesters frequently speak of themselves
as fakir

yang vaiskinyour poor

in the first

mendicant or

person

dagang yang

hino, your humble stranger.

In literature particularly very high-flown


are attached to princes

naturally never

titles

of address

for the first person,

mostly for the third, yang di-pertuan


yam-tuan //^, his Highness shah alam sovereign
world, aku di-panggil oleh shah alam / am sum-

seldom

for the second,

contracted

of the
moned by (him)

bawah
from

it

not the

the sovereign

dull lay homage

of

the

ivorld.

sembah ka-

in the dust is a correct usage, but

ka-bawah dull has been taken as a title (which is


case with ka-bawah kaus and ka-bawah cherpu
employed towards chiefs and Europeans
Other honorifics meaning your highness

beneath the feet phrases


^

and

superiors).

formed on analogy are dull yang di-pertuan,

shah alam

dust of our lord's feet and dull

of the sovereign of the

baginda

(Skt.

literally the

the dust at the feet

ivorld.

bahagia -f- nda)

is

common

term in the

third person for a great prince.

mana titah ka-bawah duli as your highness orders ya


tuanku shah alam
you my lord, sovereign of the ivorld',
payong naungan patek you my shade arid shelter are
;

examples of these usages

'

1554

In Negri Sembilan,

in the

wan

second person.

means

vaeicly grand/not her.

PARTS OF SPEECH

H4

Pronouns.

67. Possessive

and

All the personal pronouns proper

may

the

all

words used

noun and serve


for possessive pronouns, precisely as one noun placed after
another may do. kaki kuda a horses leg kaki sahaya,
kaki hamba my leg kaki tuan your leg isteri teman
as improper personal pronouns

follow a

viy wife.

The

abbreviated suffix forms ku,

speech kau), as for example

mu

(and sometimes in

rumah-ku my

house,

hidup-

xaviyour term of life, are employed, except when emphasis is


not on the object but on its possessor bukan baju dia
:

baju aku

who owns the coat, it is I.


Similarly ia and dia may be used, if emphasis falls on the
possessor
di-kenal-nya keris ia he recognized that the
dagger was his
siapa mengaseh dia who is his lover.
it is

not he

Ordinarily the proper form

The

uses of

nya may

(i) Following a

is

nya.

be summarized as follows

noun,

nificance that one IMalay

it has the same varied case signoun following another will have.

I'umah-nya his house, atas-nya its top, ubat-nya the medicine


for him, hala-nya the direction for him or of it.
dalam sungai may
(2) Often it makes for clearness,
mean in a river or the depth of a river; dalam-nya sungai
can only mean the depth of the river; an ak raja itu may
mean that princeling or the child of that raja, but anak-nya
raja itu only

the child

of that raja.

In these cases

it

lends

word following it. So, too,


oleh-nya mendengar khabar, itu-lah patek sakalian

the sense of a genitive to the

datang
come.

because {of) hearing the

And

baginda

under

this

head

fiezvs,

falls

therefore zve have all

the use

di-dengar-nya

of him, the prince, expanded from the


equally correct di-dengar baginda in the hearing of the
prince and sometimes into di-dengar-nya oleh baginda
it

in the hearing

was heard by him,

baginda.

the prince,

where the emphasis

falls

on

PRONOUNS
Moreover

if it

115

be true that the prefix

me

cannot

limit the

versatile utility of the verbal root, identical with this

is

nya

be that when

will

contrary to

its

said usually to be a direct object or in effect

and

in

siapa mengaseh-nya we

shall

construction similar to that in siapa


Just so, unless there

lover.

pronoun, we find ku,

mu
;

an accusative,

have a normal genitive

kaseh-nya who

is

her

exceptional emphasis on the

is

and nya

tion-c7/w-substantive forms,

atas-nya, oleh-nya

idiom

use in other contexts

after compound preposika-pada-mu, di-hadap-ku, di-

in all of

which cases the pronoun

is

in the genitive.
Its

use in the following emphasizes the word to which

it

is

muka-nya Sang Ranjuna thefaceof Sang Ranjuna;


pintu-nya peti itKx. the lid of the chest] pada esok harinya itu 07i the morrow of that day.
(3) Also nya is used merely to accentuate that antithesis
and balance which underlies the Malay sentence,
anak
sufiixed

kita ini sangat nakal-nya


naughtiness

this child

of ours, great is his


/'/
the king

oleh baginda di-dengar-nya by

was heard by him.

may be

Possession

indicated in several ways, notably by

yang empunya hikayat he


Demang Lobar Daun-lah yang per-

word empunya, punya.

the

whose story

it

is

tama punya bahasa 'yang di-pertuan' dan 'patek'


it ivas Demang Lebar Daun who first talked of ''yang di-perlembu punya susu sapi punya nama
tuan and pate/i
'

'

'

wild cozv gets the credit for the tame

the

dia
its

punya rumah

his house)

it is

milk.

cozv's

however, to form a possessive genitive (sahaya

punya

Another circumlocution
Finally antithesis

aku

baik

a fine horse.
is

expressed by

pong itu di-milek sahaya


itu baju

7nine,

bazaar slang, and reaches

nadir in connecting substantive and adjective, as in

punya kuda

Used,

that holding

marked by

that coat

is

my

repetition

coat.

(Ar.): kammy possession.

milek
is in
is

common,

baju

PARTS OF SPEECH

ri6

The Reflexive Pronoun.

68.

and reciprocity are denoted

Reflexivity

in

Malay by

the

be(r) derivatives often without, sometimes Mith, the help of

word diri body which

the

awak

like

is

really a

noun used

idiomatically.

diri + a possessive pronoun corresponds to our reflexive

pronouns
well

in self,

I destroy

membuang

In certain idioms

sahaya, diri

of security

hamba vy person

sendiri,

sa-orang diri

diri
diri

alone

di-

slay oneself;

one's leave.

kami

I of 7ny

he on your person

own mind; bunoh diri

one's

Derivatives in se (and ke)

(2)

pun pergi

ia

doa selamat atas

stands alone,

it

the blessings

dalam diri in
minta diri take

self,

diri-nya he went and destroyed himself

kakanda may

aku

membuang diri-ku iitvere

baik-lah aku

myself; 6Sxi-XQ.VL you yourselves

+ the

sendiri,

nasal infix are

more

usual.

sahaya sendiri

= (i)

I ?ny-

ozvn accord, or (3)

I alone,

seperti harta-

nya sendiri

as if it zvere his {her, their, your, viv or our


according to context) oiim property tanah sendiri my [our,
;

your,

being placed before


is

not clear,

nya

own land the personal pronoun always


the word sendiri if the context in itself

her or their)

his,

sendiri-nya of its

oivn accord;

sama

sendiri-

with one another.

69. Demonstrative Pronouns.

The
itu

demonstrative pronouns are

the, that, those

space, ini

the well-known, the distant

this, these,

in

lime and

the particular, the near in time

and

space.
(i)

They

follow the

word they

qualify

and follow

all

the

orang itu that man


orang besar yang
orang besar itu that great tnan
memerentah itu that great ruler, but orang itu besar
that man is of great size and itu orang besar that man
words,

if

any, denoting

its

attributes,

is

sreat.

PRONOUNS

117

They can qualify a preceding verb or clause as well as


patek datang ini / come noiv sa-telah itu after
perahu itu melanchar-lah berapa lamathat (was done)
nya belay ar itu the ship darted fonvanl and after some
(2)

a noun,

time on that voyage of hers.

They can

(3)

alone or

stand

with

itu dia that

a clause,
state

of

affairs

he; itu-Iah

is

ini-lah

yang kita

this is the spectacle zve saiv last night


is

ivhat that
(4)

is

itu-lah.

elok

lah,

hal-nya

predicate

that

is the

sa-malam

lihat

itu

elok-lah itu beautfill

that / that

is

Their various nuances of meaning

the foregoing instances

as

emphatic forefront of

generally but not necessarily in the

beautiful.

may

be seen from

and from the following

orang ini this man {here) negeri Perak ini this land of
Perak here empat lima bulan ini patek tiada memegang
keris this last four or five months I have not held a dagger.
;

orang itu

that mafi referred

Singapore yonder,

to,

Singapore

yonder man

the ivell-knoivn

Singapura itu
;

tetekala itu

at that {more or less) remote time.

Interrogative Pronouns.

70.

The

following words serve for interrogative pronouns:

apa what

.^

si-apa who.^ whose?

mana

ivhieh ? ivhere ?

apa is not purely an interrogative pronoun cf. 86.


As an interrogative apa is applied to things and the names
pokok apa itu what is that tree apa namaof things,
.^

nya pokok
article si

itu zvhat

and apa)

is

the

name of

tvho ? ivhose ?

is

that tree?

siapa

(the

applied to persons and

^xop^d^iXvuvhoisthat? anak siapa


the names of persons.
tertawa itu ivhose child laughed then ? siapa nam a orang
itu what is the tiame of that person ?

mana

bears often a certain locative character as an inter-

rogative pronoun,

pokok mana

itu which

is the

tree? or

PARTS OF SPEECH

ii8

literally ivhere is the tree

itu

may mean

a thing

is

mana

So

pokok yang mana

yang.

'ivhcre

is

pokok apa

whereas

refer to ?
is

that? or 7vhat sort of

thatfor a tree ? neither of which meanings involves

reference to place.

which

you

ivhat species of the tree

balai

is

frequently accompanied

ivhich

tree?

by

literally the tree

mana yang chondong

ivhere is the

hall thai has fallen aslant ?

All three of these

words can denote who, which, 7vhat out

of a number ? either standing alone or with antara,

apa (daripada) perkakas

antara, dari-pada.
out of these tools ?

siapa (antara)

kamu

pada

ini ivhich

7vhich ofyou,

mana

pokok itu, mana (pada) antara pokok itu, mana daripada pokok itu which of these trees ? Derivative forms are
berapa hoiv much? how many? mengapa why? definite
reason why ? kenapa ivhy ? betapa how? %vhy ? bagai-

mana

hoiv?

Examples of

their use are berapa harga-nya hoiv much


berapa umur-nya how old is he ? (also beberapa pun di-suroh panggil, tiada juga mau datang
is its

price ?

however much he was hidden and summoned, he would not come);

Ruwana ngapa engkau melakukan diri-mu demikian dan berapa lama-mu sekarang why,Ravana, doyou
conduct yourself thus and how long now have you done so ?
supaya aku ketahui betapa hal-nya that I may knoiv
{inore or less) what is his condition
also chukup lengkap
betapa adat raja-raja yang besar sufficient preparation
hai

{jnore or

less')

custom of great princes;

like the

menangkap landak

71.

The

in

what way

is the

bagai-mana

porcupine trapped ?

The Relative Pronoun.


substitute for a relative

idiomatic

word which

conjunction,

if

pronoun

in

Malay

is

yang, an

rather a particle or emphatic relative

such can be conceived.

translation, rendered

and so on.

is

It

may be

by who, which, whose, by

omitted in

that,

by

the,

PRONOUNS
(i)

yang

rig

word or clause which

serves to emphasize the

it

precedes and introduces

apabila

Laksamana

ka-pada kita when

the

mati,

yang

Laksamana

raja itu

is

mudah juga

dead, the raja willfall

dengan kuat yang mana hamba mem6the force with ivhich I may hold hi?n? pada
masa ini-lali tuan hamba hamil yang akan peroleh
anak yang amat bijaksana this time the important point
an easy victim

gang dia what

is

ah Old your pregnancy

is

that luhat you ivill get

point about him will be his ivisdom


'

relative conjunctions

this time

'

omit

two emphatic

and the idiomatic rendering would be

you are pregnant

atid

I may add you

ivill

bear a

hamba dengar
orang dari Goa

Similarly in such a sentence as

clever son.

ada hikayat Melayu di-bawa oleh


/ hear there is a Malay romance it was

Goa, the insertion of

Malay

a son and the

is

the

yang

would imply

one brought from

romance, ivhich ivas brought from

hear there

Goa

yang

is

that

has a

distinguishing individualizing sense.

Consonant with
introduced by
in

it

this

will

function of

occupy often

Malay composition,

yang,

the

word or clause

that position of

emphasis

the forefront of phrase or sentence.

yang behormat tuan Resident the respected Resident',


yang maha mulia Sultan Alaidin Shah his highness
Sultan Alaidin Shah. And in this case, sometimes yang
will be used redundantly,
yang kurnia baginda itu
semua-nya beta junjong-lah the present froju his highness
zve all

humbly

Naturally

accept.

yang

accompanies the
merely

to

will

be employed when an intensative word

attributive adjective,

emphasize but also

phrase following

it

is

its

function being not

adjectival, indicating that the

attribute

and not predicate.

Hang

Tuah yang amat bijaksana Hang Tuah noted for his


wisdom budi yang baik sangat ?nost excellent discretion.
;

(2) In itsbroadofficeof 'relativeconjunction'yangcan intro-

duce direct narration, often

after

ada pun and bahwa

( 99).

PARTS OF SPEECH

120

ada pun yang hamba datang ini di-titahkan oleh


Betara Guru lunv I have come here at the bidding of Siva
ada pun yang kita datang ini bukan kita hendak
bersuamikan Haja Melaka itu iiozv I have come here not
ivith Ihe desire of marrying the Raja of Malacca
bahwa
yang dunia ini tiada akan kekal noiv of a truth this world
is transitory; arti-nya yang arak itu ibu segala najis
;

the

meaning

(3)

is

yang

that drink

is the

cause of all filthiness.

stands always at the beginning of a clause, and

can be omitted without change of construction, leaving the

just as

clause to stand parenthetical and complete in itself


the relative

is

omitted

English sentences like

in

The king has

tvritten

and signed

A nd sent

a braid

it ivith

his

letter

hand ;

Sir Patrick Spence

it to

ivas ivalking on the sand.

or

/ ivant

to

know a

butcher paints.

sa-orang puteh yang 'ku kaseh akan dia a zchite man,


yes, I felt regardfor him; sarang lebah yang telah 'ku
menunggu akan dia a bee's nest, one I had watched over ;

pesaka pada segala waris-mu yang tiada engkau


kaseli ka-pada-nya pada masa hidup-mu an inheritance
/ mean the very relatives you felt dislike
to all your relatives
for in your lifetime
tersebut-lah perkataan sa-orang
raja yang terlalu amat besar kerajaan-nya the story is

told

of a prince, very large

In

all

ivas his kingdom.

these cases the relative

translation.

And

in

jMalay

pronoun can be avoided

yang may

removed, without violence being done

to

be and

is

in

often-

grammar (though

with a change in the meaning cp. (I) supra), as for example

bertemu dengan orang menchari


{who)

ivere

searching

surat itu pulang-lah


letter

zvent to their

segala

itu meet with

all the people (zvho)

homes;

the people

orang menghantarkan

memegang

were conveying

the

keris-nya sudah

PRONOUNS
terhunus
his

dagger

121

holding his dagger {ivhich) tvas drawn,

/'/

i.e.

holding

ivas draivn.

yang is omitted frequently after words denoting place and


time
tempat place, negeri land, bekas ti'ace of, ruin of,
waktu, masa time, sahaya bertanya dari hal tempat
keluar emas xXw. I inquired about Ihe place the gold camefrom.
:

(4)

yang

occurs often wiiliout an antecedent

then being not relative but emphatic


is

and

sometimes with other

said to correspond

its

function

in this context,

it

definite articles.

empunya is used for the owner, tiada di-keempunya suara it was not knoivn ivho ivas the
ozvner of the voice oleh yang empunya kedai by the shopkeeper; kata yang empunya hikayat says the author of the
So yang

tahui yang

apa guna-nya yang chelaka di-hidupi

Similarly

tale.

what

is the

use

bertemu dengan
ive

can meet

alive P boleh-lah kita


tunggul) yang kita chari itu

of the knave being kept

ivith

(scilicet

the object

of our quest

(sc. the trce-stuDip)

mari-lah kita melihat yang bernyala-nyala sa-malam


come let us see ivhat zuas afire last nigh! yang buta datang
;

berpimpin
(5)

yang

the blind
will

came guided.

not

serve

like

our

relative

introduce a clause containing a fresh topic

must be the subject of a

.pronoun

to

a fresh topic

fresh co-ordinate sentence.

ada pun akan baginda itu tahu akan diri-nya akan


beroleh anak; maka anak baginda itu-lah menjadi
raja di-Bukit Seguntang; dari-pada anak chuchu
baginda itu-lah kelak menjadi raja besar-besar akhir

zaman

noiv the king

become prince at

knew he luould

beget a son tvho should

Mount Segtmtang and

be great princes till the

end of time

ihe

ivhose children should

Malay idiom disallows

these relative pronouns.

72. Indefinite

Pronouns.

orang any person, some persons,


di-anak orang the tail of his ye

people,

ekur mata-nya

ivas on people's daughters

PARTS OF SPEECH

122

ada suatu anak orang there was a daughter of certam


orang berkhabar people say sa-orang kata bagini
sa-orang kata bagitu one man says this, another that tiada

people

sa-orang terlindong lagi there ivas no one in hidi7Jg any


more; sa-orang sa-orang berganti-ganti one person after
another in turn,

suatu

may apply to things as orang


datang suatu hal there comes some event.

any, a certain, one

to persons,

apa can

give a sense of doubt and iiidefiniteness to an

It is generally reduplicated
kalau jangan
apa-apa gondala-nya provided there is no accident of any
tidak apa it is no matter, it is nothiitg
kind, but not always
so too, apa-tah and even apa-lah : hai adinda
definite
apa-lah bichara kita akan anakaij.da ini sister mine, have
we any plan at allfor this child of ours.
barang so?}ie, ajiy (also a noun = chattels and a modal

expression.

word), unlike nouns, adjectives or pronouns, stands before the

word

it

qualifies

and

so

has

been

compared with

an

barang sedikit an indefinite small


quantity
barang orang, barang siapa a7jy one you like
barang
barang bila ivhenever
barang apa anything
suroh urut badan barang empat lima
kali perhaps
hari prescribed massage for some four or five days; barang
yang terlintang di-tikam-nya ivhoever ivas in his path
was stabbed barang apa ketiadaan belanja ambil-lah
pada hamba 'whatever money is lacking take from me
bukan-nya besi sa-barang besi it ivas not steel of any
pedeh-nya asap itu bukan barangcommon sort
barang the smarting caused by the smoke ivas not any ordinary
indefinite

numeral,

smarting

(i.e.

was something

extraordiyiary).

masing-masing each (singly) is used of persons. It can


stand alone masing-masing dengan ragam-nya each ivith
:

temperament peculiar

to

himself

tiap-tiap each, every,

is

used of things as well as persons

and does not stand alone but

qualifies a substantive,

tiap-

PRONOUNS
tiap hari every day

123

pada tiap-tiap suatu rantai

a! every

Singh' chain.

semua

sakalian,

number

in

which

all,

serve to express an indefinitely large

case, they

do not stand

after the

word

they quaHfy as they do in their adjectival use, but before

barang and

like

lantek

mati-lah

tiap-tiap.

kuman kena

sakalian alam limpah darah-nya

caught in a trap for big game, and

it

pe-

the louse died

all the zvorld zvas flooded

ivith his gore.

(B)
73. Cardinal

I.

Numbers.

satu

dua

enam

3 tiga

tujoh

delapan
sembilan

(also sa-,

empat

lima

retiini) is

eleven to nineteen

added

to the

above to form the

11 sa-belas

12

suatu and esa)

belas (=balas

numbers

NUMERALS

dua-belas

16

enam-belas

17 tujoh-belas

13 tiga-belas

18 delapan-belas

14 empat-belas

19 sembilan-belas

15 lima-belas

puloh added
ten

for

example

to the first

10 sa-puloh

60 enam-puloli

20 dua-puloh

70 tujoh-puloh
90 sembilan-puloh

30 tiga-puloh

To

nine cardinals forms multiples of

form intermediate numbers above twenty, the units follow

these last multiple-of-ten derivatives, e.g.

enam

21

66 enam-puloh

33 tiga-puloh tiga

77 tujoh-puloh tujoh
84 delapan-puloh empat

45 empat-puloh lima

93 sembilan-puloh tiga

dua-puloh satu
27 dua-puloh tujoh

PARTS OF SPEECH

124

The

hundreds are formed by adding ratus to the

nine units

first

100 sa-ratus

loi sa-ratus satu

300 tiga-ratus

322 tiga-ratus dua-puloh

900 sembilan-ratus

850 delapan-ratus lima-puloh

The

thousands by adding ribu

dua

4501 empat-ribu lima-ratus satu

1000 sa-ribu

3000 tiga-ribu

The

lens

of thousands by adding laksa or puloh ribu

70,000 tujoh laksa or tujoh-puloh ribu

The

hujidreds 0/ thousands by keti

500,000 lima keti (or lima-ratus ribu)


Millions by juta

9,000,000 sembilan juta (or sembilan-ratus laksa)


II.

kurang

(i)

numbers

less,

subtracting

is

often used to express

closely approaching the multiples of ten

9 kurang satu sa-puloh


97 kurang tiga sa-ratus
998 sa-ribu kurang dua
(2)

likur

is

used in

the units preceding

it

to

literature

for

20 especially

in dates,

form intermediate numbers


29 sembilan likur

21 sa-likur

(3) In literature in certain expressions, for instance,

times with

kurang,

yang esa

the form esa

is

used for

otie.

some-

Tuhan

the one only God


sa-puloh kurang esa nitie.
An
old
literary
form
of
delapan is dua-lapan. di(4)
bunoh-nya dengan tangan-nya sendiri sa-ribu empat;

ratus dua-lapan-puloh orang jin


his oivn

(5)

below

hand 1480

For the use of tengah


76.

ifrit there ivere slain by

evil spirits.

to express multiples

of five see

NUMERALS
The Arabic

74.

125

employed by Malays are

ciphers

0123456789

Thus 19

will

Rarely the

be

18000

i^

r,

..

of the Arabic alphabet are employed as

letters

ciphers with the following values


1

.54

L_j

ciJ

400

500

30

200

]a

900

40

^7

(^ 300

60

They

100

^3

56

80

k__s

will

(_^

10

stand generally after the substantive they

suatu, satu which stands oftenest before

the unemphatic form sa.

in

1000

()0

U 50

Syntax of the Cardinal Numbers.

qualify, except

and

75.

(i)

(^

^jo

20

]o

^3
^ 600

700

800

t^

But,

if

emphasis

falls

it

on

the numeral, then the other cardinals will stand before the

substantive and suatu, satu after

it

that

is,

both

in the

perbuatkan aku jambatan


jambatan perak satu 7)iake me one bridge of

reverse of the usual order e.g.

emas

satu,

gold and one 0/ silver.


(2)

No

conjunctions are employed to join or divide them

1911 sa-ribu sembilan-ratus sa-belas; 5 or 6 lima

enam
puloh
(3)

15 tr 16

a day or

lima enam belas


sa-hari dua.

40 or 50

empat lima

tivo

They express

dates

pada dua-puloh hari bulan Jumad al-akhir ia-itu


pada dua-belas hari bulan October on the tweniieih day
0/ Juinad-al-akhir, Ihat is on the tzvel/th day of October; satelah datang ka-pada tujoh hari, maka baginda pun

PARTS OF SPEECH

126

berangkat-lah

as soon as

(But for first

set out.

it

came

pertama

seventh day, the prince

to the

sometimes found;

is

pertama bulan Muharram ini-lah

the first

o;;

pada

day of the

month of Muharram.^
(4) Reduplicated, the cardinals signify:

suatu-suatu
severally;

one by

\\x<sx2^-\\vsi2i

penchuri

otie,

one after afiother ;

all five o\ five

of [us]

one by one,

empat-empat

lari allfour thieves ran.

The

bahagi dua divide


selang
suatu every second; bongkok berlipat tiga belakangnya her back bent in three curves Laksaraana berjalan
dua berbudak the Laksamana set out ivith his page sahaya
tiga beranak / and my tivo children dua laki isteri the
couple, husband and wife (where one would expect kedua)
saudara dua kali pupu a cousin twice removed; dengan
(5)

in

two;

following idioms are notable

lat tiga rnissing three,

i.e.

every fourth

sa-ribu kemuliaan

zuith countless ?narks of honour


pekerjaan-nya hendakmenyambut dull yang di-pertuan,
suatu lagi hendak menyambut paduka adinda itu
gerangan his business was to ivelcome his higlmess, and

further

(lit.

one ?nore) perhaps to welcome the princess.

76. Fractions.

suku, sa-suku
share

and

tiga

suku

one-quarter

three-quarters

suku bahagian a quarter


lima kurang suku four

three-quarters.

tengah, sa-tengah a
half a cubit; sa-tengah
midday.

half, one-half;

jam

The word tengah

half
is

att

sa-tengah hasta

hour; tengah hari

employed

also to subtract

tengah tiga z\;


tengah lima ratus
tengah tiga puloh 2^x10= 25
tengah tujoh ribu 6^ x 1000 = 6500.
4^ X 100 = 450
It is used, too, to express an indefinite number some, mereka
itu sa-tengah kafir, sa-tengah Islam half the people were
infidels, and half of the Mohammedan faith) sa-tengah difrom the

digit

it

precedes a ^ of

i,
;

e.g.

NUMERALS

127

biinoh dan sa-tengah lari dan sa-tengah di-tawan-nya


some 7vcre killed, some look flight and some were taken prisoners.
sa-paro

{/(JV.) is

sometimes found, generally expressing an

number,

indefinite

fi/ty cents

(lit.

sa-belah ringgit

half a

is

a rare phrase for

dollar).

Other fractions are made from the cardinal numbers by

means of

bsl-^qvU^q, one- third ; tiga per-

the prefix per.

lima three-fifths tujoh perpuloh seven-tenths. The suffix


an is found occasionally with these derivatives sa-pertigaan
;

a third.

The

use of derivatives

to express

fractions

avoided

is

generally by idiomatic circumlocution, often with bahagi,

di-bahagi tiga, dua bahagi akan Laksamana, sa-bahagi akan orang yang empunya harta

bahagian.

a division of the property was made, two-thirds of


the

Laksamana, one-third

to

the oivner

it

allotted to

Temenggong me-

mileh orang-nya, di-dalam tiga-ribu itu dua-ratus


juga di-bawa-nya the Temenggong took a picked body of
men, one-fiftecnih of his force of three thousand.

Without

bahagian = tivo-thirds
lima
bahagian = five-si.xths sembilan bahagian nine-tcnlhs,
and so on tiga bahagian jiwa-nya sudah hilang he was

dua

explanation

further

three-quarters dead.

^11. ke

derivatives.

Ordinals are formed from the cardinals by prefixing


( 2

and 57) and by putting

formed,

satu

yang

yang kedua the second; yang keenam-puloh


yang ketiga-ratus sembilan-belas

the sixty-first;

the three
literature

hundred and nineteenth.

kesa

is

Very

rarely

The

follows the

yang ke

phrase

word

and mainly

in

found iox first, but almost always the word

pertama from the Sanskrit is employed.


The syntax of these derivative numerals
(i)

ke

before the derivative so

it

qualifies,

.,

is

simple.

used adjectivally, always

bab yang ketiga

the third

PARTS OF SPEECH

128
chapter

fasal

yang kelima

yang ketiga bab,


(2)

the

paragraph

fifth

never

&c.

Without yang, these ke derivatives may precede the

noun they

qualify

kedua pipi
laki isteri the

when they denote a

both cheeks
couple,

complete

kedua mata

husband and

ivife

set, all.

both eyes

kedua

ketiga anak-nya

of his (whereas tiga anak-nya = three of


But these derivatives will follow and not

all three children

children^

his

precede personal pronouns or nouns standing for personal

sabaya ketiga / and tivo companions.


The stem may be reduplicated kelima-lima all five.

pronouns

(3) In the complete sets

which these derivatives denote, the

person or thing qualified by the numeral

included

is

Hang Tuab kelima bersaudara Hang Tuah


four

brothers

baginda keempat isteri-nya

and

his

and

the prince

his three zvivcs.

(4)

If the

ke

for the

noun

derivative does not precede the

-nya

follow the pronoun) immediately, then

sake of clearness and antithesis

akan penjurit empat-pulob


keempat-pulob-nya mati as for

added

is

(or

to

it

itu jika kita

bunob

the forty bravadoes, if

we

slay them, the ivholc forty of them ivill be dead afid done ivith

sa-telab sampai tujob hari kedelapan-nya as soon as


seven days

had

had passed and

the eighth

the

period

clause

these

which completed

arrived.

(5)

Standing alone

derivatives

denote

at

firstly,

the beginning
secondly,

of a

thirdly,

&c.

di-surob

baginda bampir dari antara orang itu enam orang,


pertama Bendabara, kedua Kadli, ketiga Paduka
Tuan, keempat Pengbulu Bendabari, kelima Temenggong, keenam Laksamana the prince called six
officers to his presence, firstly the

thirdly the

Bendahara, secondly

Paduka Tuan, fourthly

fifthly the Temenggojig, sixthly the

the

the Kali,

Keeper of the Treasury,

Laksamana.

NUMERALS
78. hev
It

129

derivatives.

how

has been seen

collective

by reduplicating the cardinal

numbers may be expressed

75) and by the

ke

derivatives.

Furthermore they may be expressed by prefixing ber


cardinals

except

that

ber

is

of course

nor used with sa, suatu, satu.

neither

Like derivatives

to the

required
in

ke, so

too these precede substantives, but follow personal pronouns

berpuloh-puloh oraug
sahaya bertiga we three together.

proper and improper:


people

scores

of

79. Miscellaneous.

suatu one, as in pada suatu masa once upon a time;


suatu alamat a certain sign banyak juany, sedikit few,
lebeh more, kurang less, masing-masing each, tiap-tiap
;

segala,

every,

semua all, have

been called indefinite numerals,

because unlike adjectives they precede the word they qualify.

ganda

-fold; kali,

kian

times, are

words used

in multipli-

ganda untong-nya he got one hundred per


dua kali tinggi dari-pada kota itu tvoice as
cent, profit
high as the fort.
The following words denote addition, viz.
himpun, kumpul (literally collect together'), jumlah (Ar.)
lagi as in tujoh lagi dua jadi sembilan seven with two
added makes ni?ie; lebeh, e.g. dua lebeh dua-pertiga two and
two-thirds ; subtraction is denoted by ambil, tolak, potong
lipat

cation,

division

by bahagi

80.

Numeral

?>iultiply

by pukul, tharab

(Ar.).

coeflacients.

Qualifying words that denote material objects, the numerals


are generally accompanied by class words or coefficients,

many

cases descriptive

of

some obvious

quality'

in

of the

material object; and corresponding to the English head in


three

head of cattle.

batang
bentok

of

The

following

is

trees, poles, spears, teeth,

of rings.

list

of the

commoner:

PARTS OF SPEECH

13

bidang

of ividihs of

cloth,

matting, sails, a man's chest,

rice-fields,

biji of eyes, eggs, small stones, coco-nuts, caskets, chairs,

bilah of daggers and

buah

knives,

o^fruits, countries, islands, lakes, ships, houses,

butir oi

coco-nuts, grain, Javels,

charek of scraps o{ paper, and linen,


ekur of ajiimals^ birds, insects, and contemptuously
helai, 'lai of leaves, hair,

cloth,

of men,

paper,

kaj ang of palm-leaf coverings,

kaki

of insects, of umbrellas, of long-stemmed flowers,

kampoh
kayu

of

keping

oi pieces oafish (terubok)

roe,

cloth,

of blocks of timber,

ttietal,

and hunches of bread,

meat,

kuntum

o{flowers,

laboh of hanging

{curtains, necklace, &c.),

lapis o^folds of cloud or

cloth,

laras oi gun-barrels,

mata

of {edges of) knives,

orang oi persons,
patah of words,
peranggu of sets of betel-boxes, buttons,
perdu oi trees,
pintu or tangga of houses,
potong of slices of meat and bread,

puchok of guns,
rawan and utas

rumpun

of

nets,

of grasses, bamboos, sugar-canes,

sikat of a layer

tandan

letters, needles,

in a

**-

bunch of bananas,

of a bunch of bananas,

tangkai of flowers,
urat of thread.

The numeral always stands immediately before its coAnd before a coefficient sa is used instead of

efficient.

NUMERALS
suatu.

The

131

syntax of numeral-f/-coefficient

with that of the cardinal standing alone

is

identical

{a) sa-fw-coefficient stands before the substantive


[i)

other cardinals-^r/zw-coefficient stand after

[c)

but,

laid

down

if

emphasis

and

in {a)

it

on the numeral the above order

falls

(^) is reversed.

Instances are

anak-ku tiga
anak-ku sa-orang my
one and only son
tiga orang anak-ku three persons, i.e. my
sons
and sa-orang budak hanyut berpegang pada sakeping papan a child afloat clinging to a plank, where the
sa-orang anak-ku

orang my

one (or

^7)

sons, they are three

son cf mine;

but

numeral-t7/w-coeflicient merely has ihe force of an indefinite


article.

Used with words denoting measures of length, time and


no coefficient so that the following
must be distinguished sa-ringgit one dollar (of price), sabuah ringgit a dollar piece sa-kaki a foot {in length), sabuah kaki a foot (of a pedestal) sa-pinggan a plateful,
sa-biji pinggan a plate
sa-jam one hour, sa-biji jam
value, the cardinals take

a ivatch.

ADVERBS

(C)
81.

Even

in

languages

less elliptic

and

elastic

than Malay

adverbs can hardly be termed essential to speech.

mostly express

in a short

They

and convenient manner what might

be stated quite as explicitly

if

cumbrously by gesture accent

tuan ada is the master here} pada


pagi ini tuan sudah jalan ka (-kebun-nya itu) this
morning he has gone to {his estate), boleh hantarkan dia
surat dengan segera can you convey him a letter tvith dispatch? minta maaf-lah / beg to be excused: substitute
adverbs and we get the shorter but not more explicit
and circumlocution,

PARTS OF SPEECH

132

He

sentences,

So even on

the analogy of other languages

nouns

which

in

convey Jujn

No.

prising to find, as

Malay

Can you

has jusi gone yonder.

quickly ?

letter

Marsden pointed

out,

'

not sur-

is

it

few instances

in

derivation from verbs, adjectives, or

their

not more or less apparent.'

is

few examples of words which have acquired a more or

less fixed

and usual adverbial use

will suflice

(a) Also nouns.

siang daylight;

bawah

the

depth

deep ;

by daylight

malam

deeply ;

in

atas

by

7iight ;

below (adj. and adv.);

bottom;

above,

the top ;

?iight',

dalam
and many

so too

others.
(b) Also adjectives.

dekat

near^ adj. prep. adv.

wide apart ; seldom

can be used adverbially;


t^gdh-fix fir?fily,

walk

is

list

benar

true, truly

otiose, since

jarang

most adjectives

tarek kuat pull hard, pasang


look closely, jalan chepat

pandang tepat

quickly.

(c)

Also verbs.

h.ohis finish ; utterly,

approach;

duplicated verbal root

turut

hsdek return

Very common

nearly.

berganti-ganti

hampir

; behind;

is

the
in

form ber +

turn

to

re-

berturut-

repeatedly.

(d) Also conjufictions.

Especially close

the

is

conjunctions, so that

it

connection between adverbs and

has been debated whether words like

hanya, melainkan, sedang, makin, tengah, lagi


be reckoned as the one or the other

shall

the fact being really that

they are employed as both of these parts of speech.

82. Foreign loan-words.

Many Malay
segera quickly

adverbs are loan-words from foreign sources

sahaja

especially are Sanskrit

ojily

saat

neschaya certainly istimewa

in a

moment

is

Arabic.

ADVERBS

Formation of Adverbs.

83.

In addition to root forms

(I)

esok

yet,

lama

to-morroiv,

ke-mudi-an

time,

By

(a)

By

{p)

at

Ihe

sa-kian

secretly

^f//}'

tiba-tiba

kurang-kurang

at

the

(0/ rain).

the prefix sa.

sa-belah on one
so

much;

situ (sa-itu)

side

sa-kali at once

sa-benar

sa-lalu ahvays

thus;

sini

(=

truly

sa-ini)

there.

By sa + reduplication

sa-hari-hari daily
kali

iioi

fixed

get

sambil (= sa-ambil)

kira-kira approxifuately

churi-churi

rintek-rintek

least;

{c)

we

reduplication of the root, especially of adjectival

hari-hari daily

suddenly

belum

very,

Furthermore adverbs are formed from different parts

(II)

here

amat

{0/ Ume),

thereafter.

of speech by several devices

roots,

like

lofig

derivatives like terlalu very,

same

133

of the root.

sa-lama-lama /or

ever

sa-kali-

ever.

By sa + the root + nya.


sa-benar-nya truly sa-sunggoh-nya
kuat-nya ivith all vigour; sa-boleh-nya
ability
sa-harus-nya necessarily.
(d)

///

all reality

to the best

sa-

0/ one's

{e)

By sa + reduplication + nya.

sa-lama-lama-nyay(>r
very best 0/ one's

{/) By

ever

sa-boleh-boleh-nya

to the

ability.

the suffix

an

in a

taimba.'h&n/i/rther?nore

few crystallized forms

mudah-mudahan perhaps; may

it be.

{g) Isolated

forms

perlahan-lahan

are

sloivly

lama-(ber)kelamaan at last]
pertama-tama (from Skt. pra-

thama) firstly.
(III)

words,

Some adverbs are formed by juxtaposition of two


barang kali perhaps
barang kala whenever
;

PARTS OF SPEECH

134

bagai

man a

itu therefore
is

///'?(';

mana

of no use;

macham mana (colloquial) /^^rt;; sebab

karna apa, apa

kala

fasal ivhy

ta'usah dont,

(IV) Adverbial phrases are formed by the

dengan

preposition

dengan

The

84.

Malay adverbs

classification of

degree,

time,

place,

help of the

dengan murahan cheaply


dengan gopoh-nya quickly.

iviih

adil-nyay>/j//r

it

ivhcn.

and

affirmation

This

difference in their syntax.

as adverbs of

marks no
marked by their

negation

latter

is

classification as
I.

Adverbs qualifying numerals, adjectives andotheradverbs


Adverbs qualifying verbs.

II.

I.

To

kurang

the

class belong mostly adverbs of degree like

first

less;

lebeh

viore;

amat, sangat, terlalu, ter-

lampau, sa-kali very bagini so, in this ivise bagitu so,


in that wise; sedangyW/; dekat, hampir w^rrr/j'
barang
about, more or less
belaka entirely sa-kian so far bukan
;

not;

makin

Of

these

kurang, lebeh,

terlalu,

dekat, hampir, barang, sa-kian,


bagini,
qualify;

the more.

sedang, belum,

bukan

and generally

bagitu and amat stand before the word they


others after it.
kurang dua tiga-puloh rial

lebeh chantek more pretty kambing


amat sangat chantek v\v^2L-nj2ia goat surpassingly,
exceedingly beautiful; bagitu cherdek so clever; sedang
masak y>/.y/ ripe; sedang bagitu gila juga even so, one is
distraught; hampir mati nearly dead; kami ini lagi

twenty-eight dollars

terlalu

muda-muda belaka we
demikian

that

after

sa-belah sini

in

this

are

still young, all

of us

sa-teliah

barang ka-mana any zvhither


direction
sa-kian lama all this
;

while.

Many

of these (sedang, bagini, bagitu,

belum) belong

also to the next class.

bukan, makin,

ADVERBS

13J

Adverbs qualifying verbs have no fixed place

II.

in

the

sentence, beyond that they usually but not always precede


the

Their

verb.

depends

position

on

emphasis

the

desired.

sekarang sudah sampai

Raja Suran

has nozv arrived',

segera melompat Raja Suran

leapt quickly

mau

tiada

undur lagi did not wish to retreatfurther Raja dan Ratu


Melayu lagi di-hadap oleh segala pegawai all the officers
;

were still in the presence of the Raja and the Javafiese chief;
baginda belum lagi keluar tengah dudok di-balai the
prince had 7iot yet gone forth and still sat in the hall\ tengah
baginda berfikir itu ivhile still the prince thought over it to
himself; gigi kami semua-nya habis tanggal our teeth
have all of them entirely dropped out; sangat tahu or tahu

sangat know

thoroughly.

85. The following points require notice

Of

adverbs of place sini denotes

speaker

is

addressed
strative

situ

is

some one

denotes the place

in the third person,

else

All adverbs of place, sini, situ,


beloiv,

distant,

sa-belah. on this

balek

bchifui,

sana and

dalam

side,

inside,

where

mana

them; because they are not

may be

adverbs

sa-berang across
ka and dari

really

7vhere,

atas above, jauh

have the locative prepositions di,

water,

may

prefixed to

adverbs but substantives.

qualified

by the demonstrative

sekarang ini 7iow sa-kali ini this time


this ivhile
demikian itu thus, in that way

pronouns ini, itu.

sa-lama ini

there,

is.

bawah

Many

where the

the place there, where the person

and sana, compounded of an obsolete demon-

form

strictly

here, the place

all

telah. itu aftenvards, after that.

Different negatives and prohibitives have to be distinguished.

bukan,

it

has been said, implies the copula

be used where

kaya

that

man

it

is

is

understood.

not rich

to

be

and should

But then orang itu tidak

orang itu kaya tidak

is

that

PARTS OF SPEECH

136
matt rich or

orang itu kaya

he not P

is

that ruan

Really tidak simply denies;

imply the copula.

word

the

tidak

be affirmed;

should

stated

which

to

tidak dia jahat or dia tidak jahat


jahat tidak

is

something

is

Surely

ivicked ?

else;

who

not he but some one else

it is

sentence,

he

is

not wicked; dia

dia bukan jahat he is


bukan dia (yang) jahat
wicked dia jahat bukan

he wicked or not ? But

wicked but he

710 1

he

is

the

qualifies

attached in the sentence.

is

it

not

of what has been

only denies but implies that the reverse

bukan

rich also

is

bukan

is

reverse

the

is

not true,

tidak-kah

bukan-kah benar
is it not true ? (/ have heard it is true).
The following
transpositions show the force of bukan
bukan sengaja beta ka-mari it is not offree-will but by
compulsion I have come; sengaja bukan beta ka-mari
offree-will not I but others would have come; sengaja beta
bukan ka-mari of free-will I should have journeyed not here
benar

is

it

not true ? (/

dofi't

know)

but elsewhere,

bukan
to

sometimes has the pronominal

suffix

negeri ini bukan-nya negeri besar

it.

the reverse

of a large country

bukan-nya

nya

attached

this country is

ia tiada

tahu

his is the r averse of igiiorance.

tidak, tiada or

and

use.

ta'

ada, ta'

t'

comnion

not,

no are identical in meaning

in conversation

usah dont;

occurs in a few phrases

dapat tidak, ta' dapat


tiada certainly ?jiust ta' boleh tidak or ta' boleh tiada
77iust ivithout fail;
tidak apa or tiada apa never 7nind:
ta'

in literature,

ta'

akan musoh
itu

7itTer

itu tiada apa-lah ia tiga

buah perahu

mi7td that the enemy have three boats yo7ider.

Where

emphasis on presence or existence tiada should be


preferred, but where that emphasis is great a redundant use
there

is

is

often found

sa-orang pun tiada ada

ther6 zvas no one

present.

Direct negatives, like the direct affirmative i&yes, are looked

upon as too emphatic

to

be

polite.

ADVERBS

137

ada-kah kamu dengar


tuan sir (or enchek,
(3) dengar or dengar-lah

&c.),

(5) least politely by

Similarly no will be conveyed by

you hear ? may be answered


(2) ada / am {hearing),
hearing, (4) sahaya / {do), and
do

(i)

io,

yes.

belum notyel mana boleh how

is it possible?',

not;

and

rarely

and rudely by tidak

entah / hiow

no.

jangan dahulu don't yet,


is needless, ta' payah
usah
don't trouble to, ta' apa never inind. Prohibitives may be used
even when prohibition is only indirect or implied, anak
kita baik kita beri atau jangan is it ivell we give otir child
or better that we don't?; jaga jangan ia masok ^//<?;7/ that
he do not enter,
jangan is the negative proper in final
A very strong positive command is exclauses, 98 (y).
pressed by jangan tidak or jangan tiada jangan tiada
chuchu-ku pergi berguru ka-pada-nya go my grandchild
Prohibitives are

and the

jangan

do not,

politer evasions ta'

/'/

withoutfail

pernah

to his lessons.

ever

is

employed with negatives or

never;

nya

ia

belum pernah

all the time ht

juga, jua

is

never yet.

often

it

its

and

but he

is

ada-

antithesis

and balance

exact rendering being dependent on

may be

untranslated.

left

orang itu sakit juga he was


is sick

have you ever gone ?

word marking the

dear to the Malay,


the context

possible,

is

has been old he has fiever bidden us work

kah pernah pergi

he

in interrogative

tidak pernah
beberapa sudah lamamenjadi tua tiada pernah ia menyuroh bekerja

sentences where a negative reply

not very sick

he comes or he does not

sick

ia

want

and

he

is

sick still or

datang juga
to

others come

come but he does come

hari ini juga oti this day and not on another day; sama
juga alike this and that; kalau mau pergi boleh juga
if you xvant to go, you can go dengan mudah juga ia
mengangkut // is not easy but with ease he lifts it apa juga
maksud-nya ia datang he has a reason, hut what is his
reason for coming ? di-pandang dari hadapan terlalu
;

PARTS OF SPEECH

138

dan dari belakang rendah juga in front il is


and behind on the contrary loiv bunga harum

tinggi

very high

itu ada juga duri-nya the flower may be sweet but

it

has

thorns.

pula fulfils a similar function


pula^w/ k7iow andyet you as/:.

sudah tahu bertanya

86. There are certain modal words and phrases which

affect the sense

of a sentence fundamentally, changing

it

from

a statement of fact to the expression of a wish or a doubt or


inquiry; for instance

gerangan, kira-nya, apa-lah, bafikir di-dalam hati-nya

masa(-kan), remak.

rang,

tempat raja-raja gerangan

ini thinking in his heart, ?nay

sudah mati, masakan


hidup pula he is dead and is it /ike/y he wilt come to life ?;
jika ada Laksamana, masakan Si Jebat boleh perbuat
derhaka demikian if the Laksa?nafia were here, is it likely
Si Jebat ivould play the traitor in this fashion remak mati
this

perhaps

be

a prince's palace;

di-tanah Pasai

better to die in

nya,

kira-nya,

apa-lah

Pasai.

apa, apa-lah, kira-

barang,

barang kira-nya,

mudah-mudahan, muga-muga

soften

prohibition into the expression of a wish,

kata

command
isteri

or

datok

Bendahara Datang ibu Hang Tuah mari apa-lah


bermain-main pada kita said the zvifc of the Bendahara
Here comes the mother of Hang Tuah ; please come and play
ivith us
jangan apa-lah anak-ku tekebur dan ria pray
'

'

'

'

dotit be arrogant

hati

and proud

kami sakalian dengan

pray do

jangan apa di-perbinasa


titah yang demikian itu

not break our hearts witJi such a mandate.

87. There are certain particles, the enclitics lah, kah,


and tah, and also pun, all of which emphasize just the
word they follow, which is the emphatic word in the clause.

Naturally that word, whether subject or predicate,

may

often

occupy the important forefront of the sentence, but not


necessarily.

ADVERBS

139

hamba-lah raja segala manusia

//

?'s

I who am

pn'?ice

0/ all 7)1 orla Is chunda baginda Raja Suran-lah kerajaan


Ihe King's g?'andson Raja Suran it zvas who became rider
;

rata-lah segala
burgled

everywhere houses were

segala hutan belantara habis-lah menjadi

padang

rumah keehurian

Ihi

ivhole forest absolutely all

0/ it became open plain;

baginda pun terlalu-lah kaseh akan Hang Tuah


prince felt the very greatest affection

for Hang Tuah

the

'tok

bidan tujoh-lah pergi sembahkan it ivas the seven viidzvives zuho ivent and informed the prince
sang api pun bermaharaja-lela-lah Mr. Fire played the Maharaja Lela.
;

kah

the

is

sentence

particle

being

of interrogation

distinguished

from

the

interrogative

the

affirmative

by intonation

(especially in conversation) merely

also

often

by the

presence of an interrogative pronoun or adverb, also by the


use of modal words
frequently by

kah

like

masakan, gerangan, and

suffixed to the

word on which the

very

interro-

Thus is he alive ? may be ia hidup ia


hidup gerangan and hidup-kah ia or ia hidup-kah.
anak jin atau peri-kah tuan hamba ini is it child of spirit
or of fairy that you are ? engkau-kah nama Malim Dewa
is it you who are named Malim Deiva ? alang-kah tinggi
orang itu is it of slight height that the fellow is? kah is
suffixed even to interrogative words
apa-kah hajat kamari ivhat is it that has broughtyou hither ?

gation lays stress.

tah an
is

enclitic signifying surprise as well as interrogation

suffixed

only

to

interrogative

siapa-tah lagi lain dari-pada

pronouns

and

adverbs.

Laksamana yang akan

dapat kita surohkan who in the world else besides the


Laksamana is there whom 7ve can commission ? apa-tah
bichara kita zvhat in the ivorld plan is there for us ? manatah dapat ivherc in the ivorld can it be got ?
pun marks balance and antithesis, as may be seen by a
study of the idiomatic usages that replace copulative, adversative, alternative, proportional

and conditional conjunctions.

PARTS

I40

Analogous with

that

back the word

refers

is

SPEECH

-OF

mark

use to

its

mention

its

Adam

sa-kali persetua nabi

a previous clause,

when

repetition,

and balances

qualifies

it

it

in

alaihi

maka
al-salam berjalan-jalan pada waktu suboh
tetekala itu nabi Adam alaihi al-salam pun bertemu
dengan Ruwana bertapa itu ovce the prophet Adam on
;

And

whotJi be peace ivas ivalkifig hi the early moriiing.

Adam

the aforesaid prophet

Often

doing penance.

may

be translated

7Homent
that

siapa

on

be peace

then

met with Ravatia

emphasizes merely a single word and

it

sekarang pun

even, too.

pun

whom

even now, this

any one at

atty one eve7i,

all

pun

itu

too.

Sometimes these

merely balance one another and

particles

preserve antithesis between the parts of the clause,

piala

pun di-peridarkan orang-lah cups ivere handed round by


servants
maka Ruwana pun di-turunkan-lah ka-pada
;

bukit itu Ravana

ivas

(D)

made

to

descend on the mountain.

PREPOSITIONS

88. (i) There are three locative prepositions

di

ka

?>/,

to,

at,

denoting place whither

dL'ax\fro7n,

(2)

denoting place whence.

These are often prefixed

example di-mana where ?

to

adverbs of place, as for

ka-mana

whence ? also to words denoting place

kang
bottom

back.,
;

e. g.

denoting place where

rear,

dalam

di-atas

dari-atas from

atop,

atop.

luar

interior,

on the top

But

it is

ivhithcr
like

of,

to

.^

dari-mana

atas the

top,

the outside,

ka-atas

bela-

bawah

up, to the top

be noted that these

of

last

words are often used alone as prepositions and some especially,


seldom take di even if in literature ka and dari are commonly
so, masok ka-dalam goa enter inside a
keluar dari dalam laut issue from the depths of the
but dudok dalam (or di-dalam) negeri dwell in a land.

prefixed to them
cave,
sea,

PREPOSITIONS
The

(3)

adjectives,

and

placing of these

is

to this

correct, but never

land,

di-suatu, ka-suatu, dari suatu negeri,

pada {infra).
The one exception

to

Hassan or dari Hassan from

to this rule

the case of dari, which


{a) locative,

north

{b) temporal,

itu after that;

from

this larid are

Such constructions are avoided by the use of

Hassan.

to

ka-

in this land,

dari negeri ini from

nor yet again ka-Hassan

south

before

words other than those denoting

di-negeri ini

not permissible,

negeri ini

prepositions

numerals and nouns denoting persons, animals

things, in short before

place,

locative

141

boyhood

is

that there

is

latitude in

may be

dari daksina datang ka-paksina from


turun dari kapal alightfrom a ship.

dari 6.dJa.u\xi from ofyore, kemudian dari


patek dari keehil pergi ka-Manjapahit

I went

to

Manjapahit.

anak dari jin a descenda^it of spirits


(f)
sa-orang dari anak China one of the Chinese.
{d) denote comparison
indah khabar dari rupa report
denote origin

is fairer
{e)

than reality.

denote concerning

dari sebab itu from that cause

dari hal itu touching that

business.

If the idea of motion toivards

but

ka must

singgah

ka

will

visit,

be used.

however remote

With words

datang come

to

like

exists,

sampai

not di

arrive

the choice between di

depend on the context, but ka

is

at,

and

generally preferred.

bermain ka-padang went


to play
kita sambut ka-Tuban-

lalu berjalan ka-darat lalu

and visited the fields


lah we will greet at Tuban, we will go to Tuban and greet;
pergi-lah aku tinggal ka-dalam kota / ivent and lived at
the fort jika hendak menchuri ka-dalam astana raja
ashore

ifyou

ivill

make burglarious entry

malam sekarang patek

into the palace

ka-pada

sendiri berkawal when

it

comes

I myself ivill keep guard; datang-Iah ka-pada tahunyangka-hadapan^c^w;/ to the year which is {for) coming.
to

night

PARTS OF SPEECH

142

pada

89.

invariably suffixed to

is

mu

euphony, before ku,

for

place of di and

ka and

dari,

and

it

if

only

lakes the

generally in elegant

dari before words other than those denoting place,

style to
i.e.

suffixed to

is

ka and

and nya

before numerals, adjectives, pronouns and nouns denoting

animate beings, concrete things, time and so on.


before the pronominal suffixes a few examples

Of

its

use

will serve.

beri ka-pada-nya give


take

from

to him;
ambil dari-pada-ku
bapa ka-pada-mu your father.
Of the

vie;

broader use, the following are instances.


that

ka-pada

and

time,

and

that

dari-pada while

dari {supra)

like those of

It will

ka can

unlike the locative

inclines to

its

be observed

indicate possession

uses can be classified

be used

in

metaphorical

rather than purely locative contexts.

ka-pada
coming

to

datang ka-pada suatu goa


layangkan surat ka-pada saka-

(i) Place whither,

a certain cave

lian negeri sendiug

letters

to

all

lands

benua Keling ka-pada saudara kita

mengutus ka-

sending an embassy

to

Southern India

to

datang ka-pada hari itu ivhen it came


(2) Temporal,
the day.
(N.B. Abdullah writes sampai ka-hari khamis

////

Thursday but

(3) Possessive,

pun

to

our relations.

not to be imitated.)

it is

hamba ka-pada tuanjw/r

tiada ka-pada

aku

j-te'^;

suatu

there is not one belonging to me.

fro7n a certain orchard;

dari-pada suatu dusun


turun dari-pada wazir descend

frojn the

sihat dari-pada gering recovered

dari-pada

from

office

(i) Place whence,

of

vizier

sickness.

dari-pada zaman dahulu from


(2) Temporal,
kemudian dari-pada puji-pujian after co?nplif)ienis.
(3)
cloth

Denoting

of gold;

origin, material,
pakaian dari-pada emas
gambar di-buat dari-pada kapur masak

a picture juade of chalk

laki

yore

dan perempuan

beribu-ribu mati dari-pada lakithousands dead both of men and women.

PREPOSITIONS
(4)

143

dari-pada sangat kaseh oivijig


dari-pada fasal itu on account of that.

Denoting cause,

great affection

(5) Comparative,

sa-laku ini

so that

to

supayabangatraati dari-pada hidup

I may

quickly die rather than live in this

menang dari-pada aku conquer {over) me memerentahkan dari-pada segala makhlok rule over all

fashion

creatures.

When

pada may stand


ka-pada and dari-pada as the case may be.
terdengar pada raja // came to the prince's ears terlalu
kaseh sayang pada raja muda very affectionate toivards
the heir apparent; kemudian pada itu after that', pada
the context precludes confusion

alone for

segala raja indera sa-orang

pun

tiada

menyamai dia

pada and
ka-pada is ordinarily employed where purpose is denoted.
bab pada menyatakan a chapter for explaining; anjing
baik pada menghambat a hound good at the chase terlalu
bijaksana pada hal memanah itu very expert at archery.
In honorific addresses to is expressed not by ka-pada but
all the princes

of

of fairyland none tvas his peer,

not

ka-bawah duli (tuanku) beneath the dust ofyour highness'


ka-bawah kaus (or cherpu) twa,ia.beneath your honour's
shoes. When ka-bawah duli is mistaken for a title { 66 II),
we find persembahkan pada ka-bawah duli lay in the
by

feet;

dust ofyour feet.

pada

stands alone for di in the following uses

(i) Locative.

Under

this

head di and

times be used interchangeably,

rumah pay
tepi jalan
principle,

visits to

sit

or at a house

by the wayside.

can some-

dudok

or

di- (or

pada
pada)

But consonant with the general

di implies physical station in a place and

metaphorical station not on


locality or

pada

singgah di-rumah

the

spot

particular

grade or medium, dia orang

but

pada
in

mulia pada benua

Keling he is renozvned in Southern India


di-lihat-nya
bangkai penggawa pada suatu pintu berpuloh-puloh
;

PARTS OF SPEECH

144

orang mati

he

saw

at

otie

gak

the bodies

of scores of

officers

Laksamana dan pada buntut-

dead; di-kepala gajah

nya Hang Jebat on the elephant's head the Laksamana and


masing-masing pada taraf-nya
at its tail Hang Jebat
pada suatu riwayat in one version of the
each in rank
story
pada bichara patek in 7ny opinion berfikir pada
hati-nya thinking in his iniyid; pada bahasa Arab Omar
nama-nya />/ Arabic his name is Omar.
pada hari ahad on Sunday, pada
(2) Temporal,
akhir-nya finally pada tetekala menjadi raja muda
at the time he became heir apparent
pada sa-kali ini on this
occasion
di-dalam pada itu meanwhile.
;

less

90.

akan

is

a preposition, very

common in
kan

Abbreviated to

so in conversation.

a verbal suffix (61).

It

signifies

literature

it

approach

to,

but

has become
toivards,

to,

touching, concernifig.

dudok mengadap akan seteru facing towards the foe


di-ikutkan-nya akan kijang itu he followed after the deer
menguehap shukur akan Allah utter thanks to God\
\

terkenang akan adinda yearning toivards her murka


akan patek ajigry xvith 7ne; akan kain dan emas ini
akan penolong hamba-lah akan Laksamana as for this
cloth atid gold which are my contribution towards giving help
akan bichara patek as for my opitiion
to the Laksamana
akan tuan sudah berchampur dunia akan sekarang
ini siapa dap at menentang mata tuan as for your converse xvith earth ivho is there at the present time who canfaceyou
;

.''

akan

denotes

the patiens

as

opposed

to

oleh which

denotes the agent.

Denoting approach
takes

the

place

yang akan datang


chukup it will not be
what

future time

to

of an

it is

adverbial and often

auxiliary forming
that

zvhich

enough

will be his fortwie ?

is

toward]

future

tense

tiada akan

betapa akan bahagia-nya

PREPOSITIONS
oleh

91.

by, ly reason of.

the agent or subject.

beroleh

Its original

Other uses are

getting.

41)

145
with verbs,

sense

is

still

to

denotes

it

be seen

in

ibu bapa oleh hamba


place of the more common
:

my parents a rare use taking the


pada oleh sebab itu oti account of that reason oleh
yang demikian itu on account of those circumstances', oleh
apa maka bagitu why so? oleh itu-lah kita hendak
;

jaga baik-baik for thai reason we must


oleh as a conjunction, see 98 (e).
92.

close

dengan

with,

is

a very

companionship, close

relation

common

relation

For

careful.

be

preposition denoting

in time,

and manner or condition closely

close

allied to

causal

some

act

or circumstance.
{a)

the

datang penglima itu dengan segala sakai-nya

chief came along ivith all his followers

bagai

kuku

dengan isi-nya as close as nail and quick serta dengan,


bersama dengan along with dengan sa-orang diri by
bergadoh quarrel ivith
beperang fight with
oneself
berkaseh be in love with; bernikah, berkahwin marry,
;

and other

verbal

derivatives

in

be(r) denoting reciprocal

bulu mata
dengan bulu kening sudah bertemu eyelashes had met
bersahabat dengan raja friendly with a
with eyebroivs
prince berbichara-lah dengan kapitan kapal discussing
relation

are

followed

by

this

preposition

with all the ships' captains.


{b)

Temporal,

dengan

sa-saat itu juga di-talak ba-

ginda at that very moment the king divorced her; dengan tiada
berapa lama-nya in a short while; dengan tiga hari
habis-lah pekerjaanitu in three days the work was finished.
{c)

dekat dengan rumah near


bertentang dengan ^s.oVd. facing the fort.

Proximity of place,

the house

to

potong dengan pisau cut


suatu kaki standing on
dengan
with a knife; berdiri
(literally by means of) one leg; belajar dengan bahasa
{d)

Instrument and means,

PARTS OF SPEECH

146

Keling

learfi

through the medium of the Tamil language

mata dengan intan assess the value of bright eyes


beli dengan harga yang mahal buy at a
in diamonds
beranak dengan isteri-nya got a child by
high price
his ivife;
dengan titah tuanku by royal co?7imand;
dengan berkat tinggi tuan by the blessing of your luck;
dengan takdir Allah by the will of God.
masing-masing dengan ragam-nya each
{e) Manner,
with different temperament; datang serta dengan lelahnya came in a tired state dengan segera quickly sembah
dengan tangis-nya did obeisance in tears mati dengan
nama yang baik dead ivith fair fame jikalau patek
mati ridla-lah dengan pekerjaan shah alam / am cotitent
to die even, in your highnesses service
dengan mudah-nya
juga Pahang itu alah it was with ease Pahang was
nilai

conquered.

dengan

in

conjunction with a negative means

tiada dengan seperti-nya improperly

lihat-lah

ivithout.

Benda-

hara tiada dengan pereksa-nya membunoh Laksamana


see how the Bendahara ivithout
inquiry executes the Laksamatia who is without fault dengan
tiada boleh tidak ivithout fail; tiada boleh membunoh
dengan tiada bertanya may not slay without asking leave.
tiada dengan dosa-nya

(f) In oaths

by.

dengan karna Allah

nama nabi Muhammad


dengan

in the

as a copulative conjunction, see 98 {a).

93. In addition to the

several

by God; dengan
name of the Prophet. For

above

prepositions, there

indeterminate

characteristically

words

that

are

among

other functions serve as prepositions.

demi.
one

after

demi Allah
another;

inspected the blades one by one.

dekat, hampir
peti itu the king

demi sa-orang
demi sa-bilah he

by God; sa-orang

di-lihat

near,
slept

sa-bilah

And

see 98 (/").

baginda pun tidur hampir


near the chest.
Both dekat and

PREPOSITIONS

147

hampir are also adverbs, so that we find dekat dengan,


hampir dengan, hampir ka-pada for near.
Similarly hingga and sampai up to, uniil may stand alone
or

ka-pada and pada. hingga lutut up to


jangan lagi berputusan hingga hari kiamat

before

knees;

further severance

there be no

day of Judgement

the

till

the
let

dari

dahulu sampai sekarang //t?/// be/ore till now; hingga


sampai kesudahan up till the ejid; hingga pada masa
sekarang until the present tijne; umur sampai ka-pada
dua-belas tahun having reached twelve years of age.
datang is used for tmtil in the phrase datang sekarang till
now di-sebut orang datang sekarang ini Patani it is
:

called

Patani doivn

bagi
seen

the

in

to the

present time.

an idiomatic expression, the use of which may be

is

sentences

ada bagi-nya sa-orang anak

laki-laki there was belonging

hamba pakaian hanya


one suit

nasihat bagi kanak-kanak advice

segala puji-pujian bagi Allah

94.

Among

as conjunctions,

antara between
/(?)

karna

word,

is

tiada bagi

him a boy;

to

sa-helai there belongs

words used
a

is

fair

sama

me

otily

children

God.

all praise to

as prepositions, as

among words

sprinkling of foreign loan-words.

similarity, similar (in

because are Sanskrit

used for because

to
to

and sebab

karna Allah

of.

bazaar Malay

cause,

in

an Arabic

God's name;

sebab mulut badan binasa // is because of the mouth the


body is destroyed.
Perhaps karna and sebab even in such
contexts remain substantives, and the
the last sentence

may be

the

mouth

literal

is the

rendering

of

cause of the bodys

destruction.

in

the

required,

and

Malay idiom when


vice versa.

mentiju make for


not

without

95. Finally constructions

found

Words

ganti

take

followed by prepositions.

in
like

preposition are

mengadap

the place

In
2

the

ours a preposition

many

is

confront;

of are ordinarily
phrases,

there

is

PARTS OF SPEECH

148

signify case,
naik gunong
turun gunong descendfrom a mountain
keluar padang issue from a plain dudok tanah sit on the
ground; tinggal rumah stay at home
menyembah kaki

nothing

but

context to

the

ascaid a inoiintahi

do obeisance at the feet;

bijak berchakap

penoh sampahyf/AY/

clever at conversation

with rubbish;

pandai menari

clever at daJicifis'.

(E)

CONJUNCTIONS

96. Considering the genius of the IMalay language,

it

is

not surprising to find


I.

its

That conjunctions can hardly be held necessary

literature or
II.

either in

conversation.

That more properly most of

belong
III.

its

the words so

employed

to other parts of speech.

That a great number are of foreign

origin.

I. The Malay equivalent for the conjunction is antithesis,


marked by the balanced juxtaposition of word and clause.
So there are omitted conjunctions of all kinds:

{a) Copulative.

hamba sahay a

ikan udang fish and


serfs and servants
tepok tari clap and dance; pergi balek go and
return; tua muda old a?id young; ka-sini 'k.di-SB.na, hither
and thither; beristeri beranak, beranak berchuchu
wedding and getting children, by children getting grandchildren
makin sangat ia lari jatoh bangun songsang balik lari juga the more he ran, falling ami getting up,
;

praiv?is;

sprawling headlong but starting


omission

will

to

ru7i

again.

And

this

be maintained between contrasted words, though

conjunctions unite in the same clause words that are not


contrasted: lembu kambing dan biri-biri itek ayam
pun murah belaka cows, goats and sheep, ducks, chicken

CONJUNCTIONS
were

all cheap.

Sometimes

the

149

antithesis

be between

will

a simple and a literary, or a native and a foreign synonym.

saudara (Ski.) daging (Malay) nlalions; hairan (Ar.)


terehengang amazed gagah perkasa (Skt.) valianl and
strong
selamat (Ar.) sempurna (Skt.) safety and security
kaum (Ar.) keluarga (Skt.) friends and family kelam
kabut dark and dim budi (Skt.) bahasa (Skt.) manners.
turun-lah angin ribut tofan dan hujan petir kilat
;

halilintar
i.e.

sabong-menyabong

tempest, ivith rain

illustrates

doivn came ivind

and thunder flash and

words and between synonyms.

(N. B.

under the general principle of

antithesis,

also omitted

storm,

where simultaneity

is

does not come

It

but the copula

the

year

or in phrases like di-pelok Ai-oh-xuxa-nja, hugged

is

denoted, as for instance in

tahun sa-ribu sembilan ratus sa-belas

dates,

191

and

of lightning
the omission of the copula both between contrasted
crackle

and

kissed.)

{b) Adversative.

di-tikam-nya tiada kena he 7vas stabbed at {but) not hit;


bercherai kaseh bertalak tididik. parted {but) not divorced;
hendak hinggap tidak berkaki tvanting to alight {but)
lacking cIgzvs
raja Siak membunoh orang tiada memberi tahu the raja of Siak was executing people {but) not
;

informing {Malacca).
Alternative.

{c)

dua
{or)

tiga hari

unwilling

tzvo {or) three

days

mau

ta'

mau

ivilling

pelenteh itu mati, patek tiada tahu

whether the blackguard

is

alive or dead,

I do

not knoiv

tentu baik jahat-nya, hidup mati-lah


ivhether his fortune be

good or

ill,

//

is

tiada

uncertain

ivhether he be alive or dead.

{d) Final.

bawa mari penjurit


I ?/iay see him.

itu,

'ku lihat bring

hither the robber

{that)
{e)

'

That

'

of indirect narration.

kedengaran ka-Malaka raja Siak membunoh orang

PARTS OF SPEECH

I50
7ietvs

came

of Siah ivas executing

]\falacca {/ha/) the raja

to

people.

{/) Conditional.
datang orang budak
layang, 'ku taaya came a

membeli layangkttes, I asked him.

hendak
boy

buy rny

to

(g) Causal.

datang 'ku

I came

ini

hendak membunoh engkau


I ivould

because

>io7v is

the reason

slay you.

Temporal.

(//)

ka-pada masa itu Laksamana Hang Nadim diJohor menengar Sultan Abdul-j alii mangkat, ia balek
;

Ha fig

at that time the Laksa?nana

A\idim ivas

Johor, but

in

ivhen he heard of the demise of Sultan Abdul-jalil he returned;

pun naik

pasar pun hampir akan ramai, penjurit itu


ka-atas kedai-kedai itu when
mounted

people, the robbers

the inarket ivas nearly full

many conjunctive

Antithesis, as will be seen below, pervades

idioms, and

baik, bukan
entah, baik
entah
maka, or
pun, pun
lah, maka

or particle,

bukan, pun

adverb marking the

emphatic

by an

by the repetition of a word

often accentuated

is

of

the stalls.

alternative

or

the

consequence.
II.

either

words used

Almost

all

other

parts

in

Malay

as conjunctions are

of speech pressed into

service or

that

perhaps actually become conjunctions by adaptation.


junctions

or phrases contracted.'
(rt)

fev/ instances will serve.

like;

to.'k.Vit

fear ; for fear

-^

that.

Also verbs.

telah

did,

pass ; then
(c)

Con-

Also nouns.

'bi^^^x sort, species ;


(b)

'

wrote INIarsden, 'were originally nouns or verbs

',

was

; after

sampai

arrive

jadi
;

up

it

happens

therefore

lalu

to, until.

Also adjectives and adverbs.

lagi more ; and:


even though

baharu

sedang medium;
new, newly

not

just,
till

midway,

then.

whilst,

CONJUNCTIONS

151

Also prepositions.

{(/)

dalam

inside, in ;

while

oleh

Ity ;

because

demi

[one^

after {another); as soon as.

III.

number

great

of words used as conjunctions are

borrowed from foreign sources.


Sanskrit are seperti /r(?/^r appearance,

atau

but;

tetekala

or;

sementara

tvhile, before

time,

supaya

like.

because

asal provided that

meski

example,

like,

as if\ tetapi

karna

y^r, because;

in order that

umpama

Arabic are (wa-)Iakin a7id yet, but

example,
;

when;

although,

walau

Portuguese

is

sebab
misal for
agar so that,

even

if;
;

Hindustani.

These

nouns,

foreign

like

and so on, are


Malay equivalent or some

adjectives

frequently explained by the nearest

known foreign synonym placed alongside them


dengan akan tetapi oleh karna oleh. sebab
karna sebab jika lau agar supaya. Many of them
better

serta

like

Malay words have been forced

into the service of con-

junctions, though primarily they are other parts of speech.


find several uses of serta.
ada banyak serta 'ku
/ have many companions; pergi-lah dengan sa-puloh
orang hulubalang serta-nya ivent with ten captains accompanying him burong nuri dan tiong serta ha.yB,n parrots
and mynahs accompanied by parakeets
bunga melur terlalu banyak serta berbagai rupa-nya jasmine flowers
very matiy in number and of various sorts
ia pun lalu
bangun serta berdebar hati-nya he then rose ivith beating
heart; serta todak melompat lekat jungur-nya pada
batang pisang itu as soon as the fish leapt, their snouts stuck
in the banajia stems, karna and s6bab are nouns,prepositions,
and conjunctions.

Thus we

97.

Like adverbs, some conjunctions are formed by the

prefix sa.

after

sa-belum

sa-hingga

before

///////

sa-Iagi as long as

sa-bagai, sa-rupa,

sa-telah

sa-umpama

PARTS OF SPEECH

152

samp ai

like,

to several

//;////;

sambil

z'/;//.r/

'kan

is

found suffixed

words used as conjunclions, does not

affect

them

as parts of speech, but merely adds an idea of remoteness

and unlikelihood

to the root ( 6i).

The Malay conjunction may

98.

and

illustrated

into

which

be conveniently arranged

under the broader of the conventional classes

this part of

speech

is

ordinarily divided.

{a) Copulative.

dan and; lebai dan

imam dan

haji,

and readers;

pilgrims, priests

khatib ciders and


ka-negeri Pahang dan

Terengganu dan Kelantan Patani dan Singgora to the


of Pahang and Trengganu a7id Kelanta^i, Patani
and Singgora. The use of this copula is influenced by the

countries

Malay fondness

for balance,

the sound

sentence being studied rather than any

and the

fall

strict rule

of the

of order.

Tun Jebat dan Tun


Tun Lekir dan Tun Lekiu Tun Jebat Tun
Kasturi Tun Lekir Tun Lekiu
Tun Jebat dan Tun
Kasturi dan Tun Lekir dan Tun Lekiu
Tun Jebat
Tun Kasturi Tun Lekir dan Tun Lekiu. Its use
So

in

Hafig Ttiah occur variously

Kasturi,

between

last

and penultimate words

is,

unlike ours, unusual,

word is polysyllabic and balances the sentence


bayan nuri tiong dan kakatua itu the parakeets, parrots,
?nynahs and the cockatoos. It is not used to connect sentences.
dengan. suatu batu terlalu besar dengan tingginya a rock very large and high turun-lah ribut tofan
unless the last

kilat halilintar

dengan hujan-nya

ca}ne tempest, lightning,

sampai-lah ka-tengah arongan dengan


beberapa melalui kuala negeri arrived at mid-chaniiel
and passed many estuaries.

thunder and rain

serta implies close or simultaneous connection.


lagi

is

employed

especially

between adjectives

as

also

tuan hamba pahlawan lagi


budiman dan lagi pun anak raja besar serta bang-

are

serta and dengan.

CONJUNCTIONS
sawan

153

div loj-d is a ivarrior, moreover benevolent, moreover the

ia orang gagah dan


perkasa dan penjurit agong lagi sakti he is a mighty
man and valiant and a ivarrior not only great but possessed 0/
seion

of great and noble ancestry

magic powers

ia

hamba Allah he
servants of

pun

terlalu adil lagi

mengaseh segala

exceeding Just, moreover pitiful toivards the

is

God; terlalu jerneh lagi dengan sejok-nya


terlalu baik paras-nya

very clear, moreover cold besides;

dengan adil-nya

serta

murah

very handso?ne and

moreover gracious.

thereivith just,

leheh.=plus and

dua-pertiga

lagi

is

used with numerals:

lebeh

tiga

3.

sambil denotes simultaneity of action


berbangkit
sambil berdiri serta menyebut nama Allah dan menguchap selamat got up and stood therewith invoking the
name of Allah and calling dotvn a blessing; sambil menyelam sambil minum diving and drinking simultaneously..
:

lalu

denotes

keluar did

action

transitional

obeisance

Some idiomadc

and

menyembah

lalu

theii zvent out.

usages that are copulative require notice.

bukan .... bukan neither .... nor bukan ikan udang


pun bukan neit/ier fish nor even praivn. pun
pun
berkelahi pun tiada, berdamai pun tiada tve are not
Also ada yang melihat dari
friends and tve are notfoes.
balek pintu, ada yang menengok dari kisi-kisi, ada
yang menengok dari tingkap, ada yang menyingkap
atap, ada yang memasokkan dinding, ada yang
memanjat dinding some stared from behind the doors, some
;

looked through

some pushed up

the

some climbed them.

the

windows,

some bored holes in

the ivalls,

trellis-ivork,

the thatching,

some through

For numerals

firstly, secondly,

&c.,

see

77 (5).
{b) Adversative.
but.
banyak
bonda-nya there

tetapi
lain

lagi

anak Laksamana tetapi

ivere

7nany other children

of

the

PARTS OF SPEECH

154

melainkan and hanya

I.ahsatnana hut bv another motJur.


difter

from tetapi, being used where a negative precedes or

implied however remotely before them,

melainkan berani sahaja

berilmu

tiada

penjurit

warriors possessed

art but ouly bravery

fio

is

Melayu
Malay

the

tiada ia menger-

jakan suatu pekerjaan melainkan dengan mashuarat


dengan chuchu-nya he utidertook nothing without consultation with his grandchildren
berapa batang kisi-kisi
yang di-kehendaki melainkan putus // did not matter
hoiv many strips of trellis 'were desired, they were broken
jikalau ada pelandok puteh melainkan tempat itu
baik if there is a white mouse-deer, the spot cannot be but good.
semua-nya ada hanya datok Bendahara dan Temenggong juga yang tiada all ivere present except the Daio
Bendahara and Temenggo7ig
ada pun yang kita harap
hanya-lah Laksamana akan membawa anak kita
;

kedua

itu there

is

no one ivhom we trust

Laksamana

children except the

hanya yang

terdiri

ground except

the Ter/ienggong.

The

following idioms are notable

di-chari oleh baginda, itu


were not met
itu

ivith

bring our two

segala orang habis lari

Temenggong juga

tiada juga bertemu search

to

pun

zvas

no one stood their

tiada bertemu or

made by

the king, but they

jikalau besar dosa-nya di-bunoh,

pun jikalau berlaku ka-pada hukum shara

crime

is

great,

them be

let

slain, but only if it is

if their

lauful according

to our religion;
hanya-lah ilmu orang bertapa dan
kesaktian juga yang tinggal ka-pada aku lagi, di-

dalam pada itu pun lamun anak-ku berkehendak


akan dia 'ku beri juga / know nothing more except the arts
of

the ascetic

desire them,
{c)

and

magician ; 7iotwithstanding

the

if you

that,

I will teach you.

Alternative.

atau

or,

atau

jika ada gajah

atau

either

or,

whether

or.

yang baik atau kuda yang baik pinta

CONJUNCTIONS
'mu

oleh

if there

is

155

a fine elephanl or a

horse, ask

fi?ie

for

ada-kah adek beroleh anak atau tidak do you


possess children or not ? tiada ketahuan lagi khabar-nya
atau sampai-kah atau tiada sampai-kah atau masok
hutan di-makan binatang-kah no neivs can he got yet,
lliem

whether he arrived or did not arrive, or entering the jungle

was devoured by
atau whether
.

baik
baik, baik
baik di-lepas atau tiada, kita

beasts,

ivild
.

or.

balek juga ivhether released or not, zve zvill return nevertheless;


empat baik lima pun baik, tiada 'ku indahkan whether
four or five, I do not

The

care.

following idioms are

mau-kah tidak

common

aku-kah 'pa
or not
bendul ? engkau-kah 'pa si bendul am I oldfathersit-at-the-door, or is it you ? pereksa sudah-kali ia sampai
inquire whether he has arrived
entah 'kan ia entah 'kan
alah, tiada
tidak / do not know whether it be true or false
alah pun, kita kembali ivhether ivorsted or not worsted, 7i'e
do

you ivant

it

.^

si

will return.
(d) Explanatory.

Several idioms are

common,

misal-nya,

umpama-nya

amat bijak
memanah, umpama-nya membelah kayu dapat ia
dengan panah an expert archer, for instance he could split
a stick ivith an arrow; jikalau datang dua pekerjaan,

for example; arti-ny a

that is to say.

terlalu

dengan pekerjaan dunia


namely your duty to God andyour

ya'ni pekerjaan Allah


duties are be/ore you,

sa-orang
negeri Turkestan one more prince and

the ivorld;

raja lagi, ia-itu-lah

if tivo

duly

to

kerajaan di-

that zvas the one zvho

reigned in Turkestan.
(e)

Causal.

karna are most


tiga hari tiada di-tegur oleh tiada
commonly used,
mau kembali ka-Pasai three days he zvas not greeted because
he zvould not return to Pasai; sukachita sebab peroleh
oleh, sebab, karna, oleh sebab, oleh

PARTS OF SPEECH

156

the dagger;
karna
engkau sudah di-bunoh oleh Bendahara, sebab itulah maka aku hair an because you have been slain by Ihe
Bendahara, that is the reason of my astonishment; dengan
karna Manjapahit itu negeri besar because JSlanjapahit is

keris itu happy because he possessed

a great kingdom.

Other idioms occur

Laksamana
Laksamana

is the

tiada

berani

ia

and

the

that

is

the reason

bapa tiri-nya

Hang

Jebat

the

of Hang Jebat'

itu tiada, itu-lah

knozvledge of his step-father's absence

dari-pada ia hamba Melayu


derhaka, demikian-lah laku-nya because he
Malay ser7'ant opposed to treachery, he acts thus.

cause of his daring

mau

a loyal

is

itu tiada, itu-lah berani

absent

di-lihat-nya

courage;

maka

is

Laksamana

orang bijaksana, jadi tiada mabok the


and therefore he did not beco7ne drunk.

itu

Laksamana was

clever

{f) Temporal.
bila, apa-bila

as often

as.

when

apa-bila

bila mana ivhenever; barang bila


memberi surat pada raja-raja,

chap ini-lah di-chapkan


a prince,

this is the

(Cp. the use of

stamp

tempat

dudok dalam astana


the palace',

to

ivhenever

where)

is

dispatch a letter

tetekala

to

ivhen.

terkenangkan tetekala

remembering

the time ivhen he sat in

kita suroh adang tetekala ia ka-sungai

hade intercept him ivhen he went


Whilst

you

be impressed,

down

to

ive

the river.

variously expressed

dalam berkata-kata

itu while the conversation was going


permaisuri pun berpaling seraya berselubang the
princess turned aside, whilst drawing her veil.
tengah
baginda berfikir itu while the king debated in his rnind.
sedang baginda bernegeri di-Pasai, dewasa itu-lah
datang Raja Dewa Sayid while the prince was at Pasai,
that was the time Raja Deiva Sayid came,
baik juga tuan
berangkat samentara ada musim lagi
were well you
on

/'/

set out

while the weather

lasts.

CONJUNCTIONS
sa-lama, sa-lagi as long
long asyour slave

lives,

sa-lagi

as.

sa-peninggal

/'//

157

ada hayat patek

as

/he interim, since, after.

sa-peninggal ayah kita menyaberang, maka datang


dua orang after our father crossed the river, tiuo nun came.
demi as soon as (cp. serta, 96 III), demi di-lihat oleh
baginda as soon as the prince sazv. baharu 7iot till then.
sudah itu, baharu di-lekat dian dengan api not till
sa-telah, sudah after, telah
after that ivas the candle lit.
beberapa lama-nya di-laut sampai-lah ka-Malaka
after they had been some ivhile
sa-belum, or belum before,

datang coming
(g)

at sea, they reached JSIalacca.

belum

di-panggil, sudah

before sununoned.

Compaialive.

sa-akan-akan, sa-olah-olah, seperti, sa-bagai, saumpama lih, as if. mimpi sa-olah-olah datang ka-

pada-nya melaikat a dream as if an angel appeared to


bunyi peluru seperti kumbang kena jolok

him

the bullets

buzzed

like beetles

buzz when prodded zvith a

stick.

{h) Proportional.

makin

makin, bertambah

kian the more


the more,
kechurian the more guard is
.

bertambah, kian

makin berkawal makin


kept, the

more

thefts there are;

dudok, makin baik feel-nya the


longer he lived, the better his conduct sedang .... istime wa,
lagi .... istimewa since
usahkan,
so much the more
jangankan so far from, sedang gajah liar lagi dapat
berapa lama-nya

ia

kita jerat, ini

konon gajah jinak

even a wild elephant

we

sedang orang
demikian, istimewa pula orang baik-nya

can snare, how much more

jahat lagi

this

tame beast;

berapa lagi seeijig that a knave acts so, how much more a good
man usahkan gemala hikamat itu sedangkan nyawa
badan patek lagi sudah terserah ka-bawah duli not
merely that magic stone but my very life is placed at your
highness' s service
usahkan ia turun, lagi bertambah
suka ria-nya so far from descending he waxed in mirth;
;

PARTS OF SPEECH

158

usahkan baik, sa-orang pun jadi-lah so long as he is


man ivill do; jangankan sa-bahara emas, tiga
bahara pun kita beri so far from giving one iveighl 0/ gold,
we will bestow three; jangankan berkurang makin
sangat galak-nya orang menchuri so far from abating
jangankan sa-orang jikalau empattheft increased;
puloh orang sa-kali pun mengamok itu, tiada aku
indahkan so far from one madman frightening me forty are

good, one

powerless

There

to

do

so.

many

are

idiomatic

sin,

don't slay

to

bagaimana pun
however great his

beberapa pun di-suroh panggil,


datang hozvever often summoned, he refused

him

mau

tiada juga

phrases,

kamu bunoh

besar dosa-nya, jangan


;

come.
(/)

Conditional and concessive.

jika, jikalau,

kalau

if,

although, in case

kalau-kalau

for fear that, jikalau tuan mati dahulu,


nantikan sahaya di-pintu sorga if you die first, await me
if,

in

at

the

case,

gate

of Iicaven

jikalau

jangan engkau ajarkan

anak-mu

sa-kali

pun

though your very

oum child, do not


punish him
tiada kami sebutkan semua-nya, kalau
jemu orang mendengar dia / do not fuention eveiythitig in
case people may tire at hearing it; mari-lah kita iutai
kalau-kalau orang bertanya cotne let us spy if perchance
there are folk cooking rice
arak ini kalau-kalau engkau
buboh rachun minum-lah engkau dahulu do you taste
this spirit first in case you have put poison into it.
asal,
asalkan, sukat provided that, if asal hidup bertemu
juga we shall meet if ive live; mati pun patek suka juga,
asalkan jangan bercherai dengan adinda / care not for
;

death, provided

I am

not divorcedfrom you.

sukat

supposirig,

negeri Melaka itu sukat binasa puas hati-ku if


if.
Malacca is destroyed, I shall be satisfied, lamun provided if.

ka-dalam laut api sa-kali pun patek ikut juga lamun


mau kakanda membawa patek even into a sea of fire

CONJUNCTIONS

159

/ tvoidd foUoiv, ifyou tvishcd to take tnc tiga bahara emas


pun kita beri, lamun segera sudah-nya three lumps of
gold will I give, provided the work be soon finished, meski
pun sampai ka-Pahang, sahaya ikut juga even if it be as
;

far as Pahang, still I ivillfollow.


There are idiomatic usages,

memberi

sebab kakanda tiada

tahu, takut kelak adinda

I did

beri pergi

ta'

the

you was for fear you should not let me go.


hendak pun kakanda lawan, neschaya banyak mati
suppose I wanted to fight, assuredly many would lose their lives.
baginda pun menitahkan biduanda pergi melihat
reason

not

tell

sunggoh-kah seperti khabar itu


go and

see

the prince bade

an

official

budak empat itu


anak dewa-dewa juga

tf it ivas correct as reported,

sunggoh pun manusia seperti


granted

the

childre7i

offairies.

four children are mortal,

they resemble the

still

{j) Final.

supaya, agar, agar supaya in order that; supaya


jangan lest, cheritrai oleh ayahanda supaya sedap
rasa hati hamba continue the story, father, so that my heart
may be glad; baik-lah aku chari tempat yang jauh
dari

keyangan

ini,

aku buangkan anakanda

itu

supaya ia jangan boleh kembali // were well I cast away


my child in a place far from fairy-land, so that he may be
unable

An

to return.

example of a form of circumlocution

(X-)

duli

datang itu

yang

di-

'That.'

mengatakan

yang

akan

peri

even hikayat the story are employed

INIany idiomatic usages are current,

hal

ia

is

pekerjaan-nya hendak menyambut


pertuan he ca?ne to greet his lord.

babwa and ada pun. tiada sah-kah yang maha


mulia hendak kurnia nam a akan patek is there fiot
yang hamba
proof that your highness will ennoble me ?
membuangkan orang kaya itu bahwa sa-kali-kali
also

PARTS OF SPEECH

i6o

hamba mau

/ had not the slightest zvish that I should


berhikayatkan akan perbuatan Seri
Betara dan Pati Gajah Ma da hendak membunoh
Laksamana itu relating of Sri Betara and moreover of how
di-cheritraPati Gajah Mada 7vould slay the Laksamana
kan akan hal ahual ia hendak di-bunoh oleh Laksa-

tiada

banish the chief,

mana

of the matter of his murder intended

the story ivas told

Laksamana kedengaran pada Batara Majapahit


mengatakan Raja Champa datang nezvs came to the Batara
of Majapahit announcing that the Raja of Champa ivas coming
kamu suratkan segala hikayat kita masok ka-da1am laut itu do you ivrite the whole story that ive entered the

by the

sea.

99. Punctuation words.

Written Malay has certain punctuation words or words

which serve

to

commencement of story, of
and to mark the balance of clauses.

introduce the

paragraph, and of sentence;

These words are not found


be omitted in translating

in

Malay conversation, and may

INIalay

composition into a foreign

language.

(i)

story

is

introduced by sa-bermula.

story begins; sa-kali

kesah
(2)

next;

(Ar.) the story

again

all

the

al-

fresh topic or

paragraph

sahadan (=:saha

moreover

bermula

persetua (Skt.) once upon a time;


all of them followed by maka.
is

Skt.

followed by

be opened by hata

will

+ dan),

kalakian, arakian

maka.

{Note.

sahadan

is

maharaja Ruwana karar-lah dengan adil-nya sahadan


dengan murahan Maharaja Ravana was established with
and ivith graciousness; terlalu luas huma-nya
justice
sahadan terlalu jadi padi-nya the jield ivas very large and
sometimes used

in old literature for the copula

ami:

the crop bountiful^

topic will be continued or restarted

sa-bagai lagi

tambahan pula

dan

by sahadan lagi
lagi.

'

CONJUNCTIONS
(3) Sentences

i6i

introduced by several phrases,

are

pun, which commences

narration

or a parenthetical

ada
ex-

dengar-lah
jikalau adinda

planatory clause in the course of narration,

kakanda bercherita
'Ada pun nama negeri kita Astana Pura

adinda

oleh

tiada tahu,

Negara

hear me

'

tell

the story

my

sister,

if you do not htoiv.

name of my country is Astana Pura Negara


baginda berjalan-lah masok hutan, maka sampai-lah
'

Noiv

the

ada pun luas sungai itu tiga ribu


berhenti di-bawah pohon the

ka-tepi sungai.

maka baginda

depa.

and arrived at the banJi of a


river was three thousand

prince travelled into the forest

now
fathoms
river

breadth

the

of

the

atid the king halted under a tree,

(also

bahwa

the story is

bahwa sa-sunggoh-nya, bahwa

sometimes with ada pun, but

sa-nya) corresponds
belongs rather to the grand

it

and often commences a strong positive assertion or


kita dengar
a statement founded on positive knowledge,
style,

khabar bahwa raja Melaka sekarang sudah beristeri


we hear positive news

that the raja of JSIalacca has noiv ivedded ;

maka Laksamana pun


datang

tahu-lah

bahwa penjurit

itu

LaJisamana had sure launvJedge of the sivashconung ya tuanku bahwa raja Melaka telah

the

luclcler's

datang ka-Tuban your

highness, yes, assuredly the raja of

demi Allah dan rasul


Allah bahwa aku tiada mau bertikam dengan engkau
by God and the Apostle of God, of a truth I do not wish to
fight ivith thee hai Tun Kasturi bahwa sa-nya engkaulah hamba-ku yang bersetiawan Tun Kasturi, assuredly
Malacca has arrived

at

Tuhan

you arc a faithful servant

ada-lah, see

II.

to

me.

{iiote^.

maka.

(4)
I.

36

is

written after the words in (i)

marks

the

temporal

causal,

and
or

(2) above.

other

antithetical

connection between clauses and parts of sentence.

belum habis

ia

berkata-kata

itu,

maka

di-lompat

PARTS OF SPEECH

i62

Hanuman before the convcrsaiioji was finished^


Smig Ha7tu7nan leapt aivay sa-lama anak-ku tiada itu,
xaaka negeri Melaka haru-hara so long as my son has
oleh Sang

Malacea has

bee7i absent,

when

day

the

maka hari pun


pun masok mengadap

been in confusion

maka saudagar

siang-lah,

itu

merchant entered

broke, the

the presence.

into

cheh 'ku sangka berani Seri Bija 'di raja itu, maka
aku naik perahu-nya Bah I it was because I thought Sri
Bija 'di Raja was brave, that I came aboard this ship manatah diri berkawal, maka saudagar ini kena kechurian
;

where in

the

world did you

maka
reason

itu

keep your ivatch, that this

merchant

apa sebab-nya maka tuan hamba


mengapa
reason that you have come ?
is the
itu
zvhat
dari-atas
kuda
Laksamana turun
barang kala ular
that the Laksamana dismounts ?

had his goods stolen ?


ka-mari what is the

menghembuskan

nafas,

yang empat lima pemelok

maka
itu

segala pohon kayu


pun habis terbunoh

whenever the serpent snorted forth his breath, then all the

four or

trees

kalau-kalau

jive armfuls in girth are utterly dead,

mata-ku bekas tidur gerangan, maka salah pemandangan-ku/^v'/w/j my eyes are sleepy that I cannot see properly]
sa-telah hari hendak malam, maka raja Melaka pun
bermohon kembali ka-astana, maka Patih pun bermohon kembali ka-rumah-nya ivhen flightfell, the raja of
Malacca

took his leave

took his leave


III.

It

narrative,

and

and

retired to the palace,

and Patih

retired to his house,

connects

principal

sentences

in

rapid

staccato

maka

marking each separate event of the whole,

dengan sa-saat itu juga, maka Betara Kala menjadilah katak maka ia pun hendak lari maka di-lihat
diri-nya telah menjadi katak; maka lalu terlompatlompat, maka serta berbunyi geruk-geruk at that very
;

instant Betara
his

Kala became a frog ; he ivanied

to

changed form, straightivay made leap after

same time croaking,

maka

j-un,

leap,

isteri-nya hamil-lah

noticed

at the

maka

CONJUNCTIONS

maka permaisuri pun beranak-

genap-lah bulan;
lah

his wife became pregnant, her tirne came, she bore a child.

IV.

163

It

conjoins subordinate clauses, see

100.

The

The Conjunction

ifi/ra.

of Co-ordinate Clauses.

conjunction of co-ordinate clauses, whether principal

or subordinate,

is

effected by the use of the

same punctuation

or other emphatic word or conjunction in the ensuing clause


or clauses as in the

first.

akan berkuda maka baginda


memakai, maka bergosok bau-bauan, maka pergi-lah
baginda berkuda 7vhen raja Zainal would ride, he dressed
apa-bila raja Zainal

and

scented himself

and

tvent off riding

maka

struction in III above,

this

is

the con-

tetekala hampir-lah fajar

maka segala binatang belum keluar menehari makanan-nya, maka baginda itu pun keluar dari astana
when dawn was nigh and the beasts had not yet gone forth
in quest offood, [theii) the prince went forth from the palace
maka jikalau ia tiada bayar utang maka ia hendak
berlayar, hendak-lah tegahkan if he has not paid his
debt and he ivanfs to sail, he must be restraified.
mari kita
suroh chari sa-orang penjurit kita suroh churi kain
baju Laksamana itu maka kita tarohkan kain bajunya itu di-dalam astana, maka kita kata Laksamana
;

itu

bermukah

come,

let

us bid a sivashbuckler be sought,

bid him steal the Laksa7nana's coat


the palace, then let us say the

then

Laksamana

is

let

party

Hang Tuah

jika sa-suatu bichara jika

let

us

us put the coat in

an

intrigue.

tiada

masok

to

berbiehara, tiada-lah putus bichara itu if there arose


any discussion and Hang Tuah did not take part in it, it could
not be decided; adat hulubalang Melayu tiada dapat
berguraukan keris-nya itu di-hadapan majlis jikalau
sudah terhunus keris-nya jikalau tiada mati, luka
it ivas a custom of Malay ivarriors that no 07ie could play ivith
their daggers

no one was

informal company

killed, at

if daggers were drazvn and

any rate some one would


L 2

be ivounded; sa-

PARTS OF SPEECH

i64

telah Maharaja Baladewa dan Maharaja Sali melihat


Betara Indera datang, sa-telah bertemu, maka ia pun
menyembah whai Maharaja Baladcva and Maharaja Sali
saw Betara Indra coming and met him, they did obeisance.
This juxtaposition of clauses

is,

the fundamental structure of the

(P)

101.

inferior,

interjections proper are

interjection addressed

by a superior

to

an

such as king to subject, chiefs to soldiers, elders

hai kanak-kanak ho

to youths,

wah

Malay sentence.

INTEBJECTIONS

The commonest

I.

hai a vocative

of course, just in accord with

exclamation

an

datok di-samun

there,

you

boys.

wah datok kain

of surprise,

orangzf/^j'/ chief your coat has been stolen)


,

wah apa pula mula-nya maka hidong 'Pa Awang


pechah ivell, I never I
wahai hey there, oh,

hoiv did your


alas

get broken ?

ftose

ambohi an exclamation of astonishment common in the


ambohi emak hullo ! ivell, I never !
adoh or more emphatically adohai oh t alas! adoh
sakit 'mak Awang alas ! how it hurts mother = wife).
cheh (Jav. chis) bah, Jie. cheh si chelaka ini bah, the
:

form

knave.

ya

(Ar.) a vocative interjection of respect,

mine;

hara

ya.

God,

Bendahara.

Others are nyah,

yonder

would
II.

ya Allah ya

O Apostle of God ya adinda O love of


tvihsia-^vi O your highiiess
ya mamak Benda-

rasul Allah

chus

recall a

The

silence !

nu

jum

be off;

chup

the exclamation of a player wAiO

nah

take

it

away;

move.

following words

may be used

and as other parts of speech


sayang, kasehan what a

pity !

merachun may I be poisoned {if I lie)


chelaka accursed

luck !

alike as interjections

INTERJECTIONS
tobat

(Ar.) never

haram

(Ar.)

/lo

agam

an

ivere

(t'l

165

offe^ice

against religion

had

I done it).
chekek kedadak, muntah kedarah

or

darah an imprecation implying may you

a violent death.

III.

Common

invocations to Allah are

demi Allah / call God

die

muntahkan

to zvitness.

insha' Allah God wilhng.

alhamdu

lillah praise God.

God a mercy.
wa'Uahu a'lam God hiowelh best.
astaghflru'llah

IV. There are interjectional vocabularies


(a)

Of commands

to dogs,

buffaloes

kus

dik
;

to ducks,

kur

calls to frighten,

to cats,

heh

doh
nah to

to animals, e. g. calls to approach,


to chicken,

bok

'ching

to ducks,

to cats,

siuh

lo chicken,

to buffaloes.

(b) Of words imitating sounds


bap the sound of a fall,
bak bok of a slap, sar sir sur various hissing sounds, chir
chur of frizzling and frying, ching of jingling, chak of a
smack of the lips, chit of the twitter of birds, gap gup of
;

dull

heavy

falls,

das of

a shot.

CHAPTER

VIII

NOTES ON SYNTAX

102.

The

INIalay

language

is

characterized not so

much

by syntax as by idiom, which has been handled already under

the various parts of speech.


'

notes
I.

may

'

few pages on the principal

of construction in the Malay sentence will suffice.

There

is

no copula

Malay, so that the simple sentence

in

consist of two words,

i.

noun

e.

pronoun, adjective, verb, or adverb

pronoun) + noun or

(or

Ali penghulu

AU

[is)

aku penghulu / {ani) chief; aku dia 1 {am) he;


Ali sakit Ali {is) sick
aku sakit / {am) sick Ali jatoh
Alifalls; belum ketika not yet {is) it time.

chief;

II.

The normal

order

memukul aku Ali


subject + object + verb
fellow

I am

subject

is

itself

beating

found.

heating, never

Ali

me.

Ali
is

+ verb +

on

object

to the

Never

is

the

Ali

verb.

the

aku pukul=^//'

order
is

the

beating me.

Malay sentence is a very subtle matter,


may be seen by transposing words and marking the result,
But order

III.

as

is

object simply stringing

direct

in the

anak orang itu mati the child of those people is dead; orang
itu anak-nya mati those people have lost their child by death
mati-lah anak orang itu death has overtaken the child of
those people
orang itu, mati anak-nya those people have
;

suffered loss by death

The
{a)

chief points

their child's.

aimed

Emphasis.

(b)

Balance.

{c)

Brevity or

ellipsis.

at are

NOTES ON SYNTAX
(a)

167

Emphasis

103. I. A principle of Malay construction is that emphasis


on the first of two words
it will denote subject not

falls

rumah besar a large house, besar rumah the size

attribute,

of a house; itu raja

baginda

Ihe

ihai is

a raja, rajaituMa/n{/a; tidur

of a prince, baginda tidur the prince


ayer ihe source of a stream, ayer mata tears
sleep

mata
anak lidah uvuia, lidah anak a child's tongue.
II. A common artifice is to bring any word it is

sleeps

desired to

emphasize as near as possible to the front of the clause (and


often to attach to

it

The word

the emphatic particle lah).

may be
(a) Subject.

ini-lah

dahulu kala larangan raja Melayu

these in

former days were the privileges of Malay pri7ices bagindalah yang pertama raeletakkan kekuningan larangaa
this prince it was who first made yellow a royal privileged
;

colour.

Object.

{h)

bunch // ivere him we had better kill


mengapa aku engkau ikat ivhy is it me you bind; pada
siapa baik aku minta tolong from whom were it ivell
I ask help.
baik-lah ia kita

Predicate.

(c)

terlalu cherdek segala rang


are

all

these

Malacca

men

Melaka

ini very shretvd

patah-lah perang orang

Singapura broken ifi battle zvere the 77ien of Singapore


Melaka-Iah nama negeri ini Malacca shall be the name of
this country,
menchari kakak Galoh rata-lah sudah
tanah Jawa searching for Galoh ive have been all over fava.
id) Any subordinate part of the sentence like an adverb of
time, a qualifying noun or adjective, an auxiliary verb upon
;

which

it is

desired to lay stress.

lagi-kah orang di-darat

ada-lah tetap hati kita now

still folk
is

our

a-shore P

tni?id

made up

sekarang
;

terlalu

NOTES ON SYNTAX

i68

banyak ia beroleh rampasan very great was the spoil he


budak itu terlalu besar akal-nya that child's ciaumig
is very great; Sang Ranjuna terlalu amat marah-nya
Sang Rattjiina's anger zvas very great; Laksamana pada
masa itu tiada-lah dua banding-nya the Laksamana at
segala senjata kita suatu pun
that time had not his peer
bunoh
akan
dia of all our iveapons not one can
boleh
tiada

got

slay

him

tiada dapat ia bertahan unable zvas he

to etidure;

pada siang hari-nya di-dirikan orang kota itu, serta


malam. burok day saiv the erection of the fort and night
its

mill.

Sometimes

{e)

clumsy

this

principle

involves what

us seems

to

repetition.

oleh si-penyadap itu di-titekkan-nya ayer kanji


dy that toddy-dealer gruel zvas poured

ka-mulut budak itu

by him into the boy's mouth.


Similarly a clause will be brought forward to the fore-

III.

part of a sentence.

mana

tuan hamba, itu-lah hamba ikut


zvill I folloiv
ada pun yang
membinasakan Langkapuri ini kera dan manusia the
ivhatever

bichara

you

advise

that

destroyers of Lafigkapuri were apes a?id men


mana yang
tiada dapat di-kerjakan oleh segala raja-raja ia-lah
;

konon hendak mengadakan


to do,

(b)

zvhat never raja has been able

he forsooth zvill accomplish.

104. Balance

is

simple sentence with

sentence with

its

an elementary principle
its

caused

be blamed

to

emphasis.

the

Malay

complex

frequent disdain of conjunctive words.

much

it

in

lack of a copula, and of the

has brought

redundancies,

Balance

when

discredit
for

really

it

on

INIalay

literary

tedious repetition

makes

for

style

and

lucidity

It

and

trailing

and

for

;
:

NOTES ON SYNTAX
germ may be sought

Its

chantek 'Long
often

hari

'/(?;/^ (/.v)//Y//y;

balance

tlie

in the

is

pun malam-lah

form and

penghulu dia

simplest sentences, such as

169

itvL

stress of the

he {is) a chief;

dm ihat {is)

he.

And

accentuated by antithetical particles

day {grew) dark.

of the favourite double phrase

kaum

the

It lies at

bottom

champur baur 7)iix {and)


{and) kin
tempek sorak

keluarga hiih
kechil besar great {and) small; tua
muda young {a?id) old tuak dan arak wine and spirits
merampas dan merebut rob and snatch; di-tikam-nya
dan di-bunoh-nya they ivere stabbed and they ivere killed.
mingle

cheer

{and) shout;

It

may

be detected in the

fall

and shape of such sentences as

orang mati kena peluru batang leher-nya a man dead


from a bullet in the neck; baginda berputera sa-orang
laki-laki terlalu elok paras-ny a the prince had a son one
child a boy
very handsome in feature; mari-lah anak-ku
dudok dekat ayahanda di-sini hither, my child, sit near
your another here. From such beginnings antithesis has come
to be a distinct literary device
often bound up with the
|

principle that the emphatic word, whether subject or object,

must be

at the

near

verb.

its

So we

beginning of a clause and yet

may need

to

be

find repetition of

The subject,
baginda tersenyum titah baginda the prince smiled,
said the prince
tuan puteri itu pun makin sangat ia
menangis that princess, the 7nore bitterly she ivept; ada pun
bapa-ku itu besar-lah ia di-dalam Melaka noiv juy
father, he grew up in Malacca; karna Laksamana itu
sa-lama ia dudok di-gunong itu tiada ia tidur dan
((/)

makan

because the

Laksamana

so long as he stayed on the

eat; tersebut-lah perkataan pulau Langkapuri itu sa-lama peninggal perang


Seri Rama dan Hanuman, jadi sunyi-lah pulau itu

viountain, he did not sleep

the story is

told

of

atid

the island

of Langkapuri,

after the zvar

NOTES ON SYNTAX

170

Rama and Hanmnaji

of Sri

had

solitaiy

ceased,

was

that

island.
(V)

The words

for

'

all

'.

segala raja-raja sakalian

segala yang

memandang

every prince.,

dia itu

all

of

thevi

pun sakalian-nya

belas dan hanchur luloh rasa hati-nya

all beholders,

and broken and crushed were their


hearts
kata Maharisi akan segala peri hal ahwal itu,
sakalian-nya di-katakan-nya ka-pada Dasarata Maharaja the sayi?igs of Maharishi about all the viatter were all
every one of them, fell pity ;
;

said

to

Dasarata Maharaja.

The verb.
titah baginda ka-pada anak murid baginda raja
Chendera empat orang itu, titah-nya noiv the king
(<:)

ordered the king's son raja Chendera and his three brothers,

anak
sembah-nya now
he ordered]

raja
the

keempat

itu

pun menyembah,

four young princes did

obeisance, their

obeisance ivas.

(d)

and

word

refers

in

a following clause, which has

back to a preceding clause.

This

is

occurred
especially

common in the case of the demonstrative itu and of maka.


But it may be seen also in paragraphs of which the following
is a common type,
maka Bendahara pun menyembah
lalu keluar berlengkap dan mengerahkan segala
pegawai dan pertuanan akan menyambut surat itu
maka pegawai dan pertuanan itu pun berjalan-lah
menyambut surat dan bingkisan itu the Bendahara did
obeisance

and went

out to prepare,

hench?7ien to receive the letter.


setforth to receive that letter

(^)

and summoned

all officers

A nd all the officers arid


and

and

henchnen

offering.

Also we find opposition between subject and object.

Laksamana pun bermohon-lah kelima-nya ka-pada


Sang Pertala Nala
took leave

the

Laksamana and

of Sang Pertala Nala ; supaya

his

four

brothers

aku beri gan-

NOTES ON SYNTAX
jaran banyak akan engkau

that

I may

171

give a large reivard

Rangga dan Barat Ketika menSngar


kata Laksamana demikian itu, maka Hangga dan
Barat Ketika memandang pada Laksamana as soon as
you; sa-telah

to

Rangga and Barat Ketika heard that speech of the Laksamana,


then Rangga and Barat Ketika stared at the Laksamana.
becomes a literary artifice, at times
draw a line down the balanced
clauses of a paragraph and see the halves, which are thus

{/)

Finally antithesis

exaggerated

till it

distinguished,

ada pun

is

possible to

make

pada

sense in themselves.

yang hina

bichara

ini,

patek,
tiada patek indahkan

atau dua ribu pun,


mudah juga pada patek

jikalau orang berani

berhadapan

akan orang penakut

membuat di-dalam diam-

jikalau ada sa-ribu

mengembari

dia,

nya,

mengembari
In

the opinion

banyak budi bichara hendak mengenai dia.

akan

itu-lah sukar patek


dia,

ofyour

who

slave,

if there are a thousand,

your

is loivly,

aye, or tivo

slave heeds not

easily

your

thousand men,
slave

ca?i

match

them

who fight face

^provided they are brave men,


as for cowards,

hard

it

is

for your

workers

and much

slave to

match them,

to

In that example, the


in the following, both

first

to face ;

in secret,

plotting

is

needed

encompass them.

column taken alone makes sense


practically coherent and

columns are

sufficient in themselves.

apa-bila datang sa-orang

melayu
demikian

belari

sifat-nya

hendak mengembari engkau


Melayu itu

NOTES ON SYNTAX

172

maka

kamu kepong-

jangan beri engkau lepas-

ketujoh-puloh ini

kan
bunoh juga akan Melayu

oleh

kan
turut

itu

barang di-mana pergi-nya


bunoh beri mati
besar-lah ganjaran-mu,

ikut juga oleh-mu


jikalau

Melayu

di-anugerahi

itu

mati

oleh

Seri

Betara.
W/ien there

co?nes

Malay

ifhe will match himself against

you,

running,
thus

and

thus

surround him

his presence

is

the seventy

of

that

Malay ;

him not getfree,

let

you
him

pursue,

slay

wheresoever he goes ;

doyoufolloiv him ;

kill

him dead

if he

dies,

great shall be your reward,

the gift

wahai adek-ku
nyawa beradukan apakah ini ?
anakanda sudah mengidari hutan

tuan adinda-ku
tuan merapatkan apa-kah

jiwa-ku belum juga sedar

bangun-lah tuan
anakanda sudah hilang
di-pangkuan,
Alas,

my

love,

what
Our

is it

you

child

ini?

sudah mepadang
nyawa-ku belum juga
bangun
putera

waiiders

sedar-lah

the

nyawa

putera nin sudah raip dimata.


'"

darling I

zvhat
in

nin

langsi

my
embrace.

of Sri Betara.

is it

"

-^

you hug ?

our son wails in the fields

forest.

Andyou, my life,

kneiv

it

not

you,

my

souVs

love,

awakened,
Arise,

my

7?iis tress;

awake, fuy darling.

had

7iot

NOTES ON SYNTAX
Our

child

is

lost

from your

our

vanished

has

our son

lap,

173

from

sight.

These passages are taken from prose classics, the Hang


Tuah and the romance Indra I\Iengindra but when we meet
such exaggerated cases, we may remember that all Malay
;

literature

is

chanted aloud by Malays.

ELLIPSIS

{c)

105. The part

foreshadowed

ellipsis

plays in

Malay syntax has been


remarks on case 30,

lo a small extent in the

and on the conjunction

96.

however,

It is carried,

further in the structure of the sentence.

much

has been well

It

said
Little hoy ;

Licked his

box ofpaints
toy ;

Malay who,

would be verbose

to a

and not

would cut

for effect,

joined the saints

it

in his

own

natural idiom

shorter

Small boy ; box paints;


Licked toy
I.

The

subject

may

; joitied saints.

be omitted

(a) In a principal clause, if suggested

by a preceding word.

akan nama baginda, Sang Pertala Dewa as for the


prince s name, {it) was Sang Pertala Dewa
akan pesan
paduka ayahanda, suroh patek segera kembali as for
my royalfather s instructions, (he) ordered me to return speedily;
;

titah

baginda suroh masok sa-kali


you enter.

the royal

mandate was

{the prince) bids


{b)

word

In one of two co-ordinate clauses,

if

suggested by a

in the other,

lalu gementar segala sendi Betara Brahma matanya kelam-lah lalu pengsan all the limbs of Betara
Brahma trembled, his eyes gretv di?n and (he) fell faint dipalu oleh Sang Sambah kena rusok-nya lalu mati
;

NOTES ON SYNTAX

174

Sang Samhah in his side {he) fell dead kelima-nya


berraohon-lah
lalu berjalan ; dua hari berjalan,
pun
ihe
ivhole five took leave and started on
sampai-lah
maka
journeyed two days, (Jhey) arrived;
had
journey
{they)
after
the
;
struck by

di-belah-nya pagar rumah Laksamana itu lalu masok


ka-bawah rumah. the/efice round the Laksamana s house was
mau beta
split by them and {they) entered beneath the house
;

nenek, minta ka-mari I ivant him, grannie, {you) ask hiin


di-pertimba orang, tiada tertimba ayer
to come here;
lagi {the water) was bailed out, but the water could not be bailed
more.

In a principal clause,

{c)

if

suggested in a subordinate, or

vice versa.

telah baginda masok ka-dalam astana, lalu bertitah


ka-pada permaisuri as soon as the prince entered the palace,
jangankan ia hampir
{he) sfraightivay ordered the princess
ka-pada patek, memandang lekat pun tiada so far zvas
he from approaching me, {he) did not even fix his gaze tipon
me; jikalau lain dari-pada baginda, neschaya tiada
mau kembali if it ivere another person and not the prince,
hai anak-ku jangan
assuredly {he) zvould not return
makan pada hidangan di-bawah itu, karna sudah
beroleh martebat dari-pada paduka betara cat not, my
;

son, at the lower table, because

{you) have been ennobled by

the

prince.

Even though

{d)

the reference

is

indirect,

and not

to the

grammatical subject,

orang Pasai jikalau bersurat, tiada dapat tiada dialeh-nya as for the men of Pasai, if {one) takes {them) a
letter, the letter ivill certainly be misread; segala orang yang
beremas, jikalau tiada di-anugerahi raja, tiada boleh
di-pakai as for
the prince's leave

all people luho possessed gold oriiaments, unless

were obtained,

{the

gold ornaments) could not

be

worn jikalau tiada di-lihat-nya aku pergi, tentu kena


rotan if he did not see me go, assuredly (/) was beaten.
;

NOTES ON SYNTAX
[e)

The

in the

subject

may

also be omitted

sentence to suggest

when

175
there

no word

is

it.

(i) In conversation, if the circumstances leave

no doubt as

to the subject.

sudah habis, jangan dudok kalau tidak, pergi


buat if {such mid such a work you knotv of) u finished, dont
(j'ou) sil doivn ; if {the zvork) is not {firiished), {you) go and
;

do

{it).

(2) In literature, under

above, even

suggest

it,

there

if

is

enumerated

the circumstances

all

no word

actually in the sentence to

but the context leaves no doubt.

jikalau menjunjong dull, dahulu kepala bentara


if {folk) pay
herald;

hofiiage,

precedence

the first in

Kedah makan

raja

court

the

is

makan

telah sudah

datang sireh dan bau-bauan the raja of Kedah dined.


... As soon as {he) had dined, betel and scettt ivere
brought;
titah baginda apa sebab-nya maka Bendahara mati? Maka sembah Tun Indera Segera
Sebab makan rachun tuanku the prince asked Why
Tun Indra Segera replied Because
did the Bendahara die ?
{he) ate poison, your highness
sa-lama bercherai muda
bangsawan bagai bakat di-tumpu harus so long as
'

'

'

'

divorced froJH that noble maid, (/) have

eddy of the

remark

(3) If the

in the

drift in the

beeii like

tide.

mind of

is

general,

and no

jimat-jimat di-negeri orang


provided {one)

{one)

must

biar lambat asal selamat

strange land;

subject

special

is

the speaker.

let

wary

be

iti

{one) be slow,

is safe.

The object may be omitted.


jangan bunch do7it slay {him, her, or //, as circumstances
make clear) sahut orang Emas-nya hilang.* maka
kata Bendahara Biar aku ganti ^folk cried, Their gold
11.

'

'

is

lost.'

Said

the

Bendahara,

'

'

Let me replace

{it)

'

rang leboh kita tiada betul, baik juga tuanku

seka-

mem-

NOTES ON SYNTAX

176

betuli no7v our road


straighten

{it)

maka

tajam-nya

not siraigh!,

is

it itk're

well your highness

apa nama senjata bulat-bulat

membunoh

ia

round missiles? and tvhere

ivhat

is the

their sharpness

is

mana

ini ?

name of these

that they slay

{folk)?
III.

The

omitted,

if

verb (and both subject or object

and

verb)

may be

the context explains.

hendak ka-mana tvhither azvay ? hai budak-budak


mau-kah memandang emas ? maka sahut anak buahnya mau datok Boys, do you ivant to see some gold ? And
'

'

'

his childre7i answered,

'

jangan lama dont {be)


itu

(scihcet

go)

to

time

the

all

(We) 7vant

long

done ; if it

is

a large,

The whole

umpan

ive

kita

ia di-Pasai

menyuroh

order {an envoy

jikalau kerja kechil, tiada buat

context to supply

the

Pasai

orang miengutus) ka-Pasai

Pasai;

grandfather';

it),

berapa lama-nya

he {stayed) at

kerja besar, berapa lagi tf


IV,

see

{to

still less

a small work,

is

in

is

not

left for

the

it

omitted and

well-known proverbial sayings.

sa-ekur kail sa-bentok

days labour may

to

jikalau

it be done).

may be

of a clause

especially

it

{will

be wasted owing

one bait

to its loss)

and a hook {and


;

hujan emas
// may

di-negeri orang, hujan lembing di-negeri kita


rain gold in a foreign land
is better).

and

spears at home {but home

CHAPTER

IX

STYLE

106. There

Malay as

in

is

will

The

no such great difference of vocabulary

correspond to low and high (or

krama)

(bahasa dalam), the conversation


of gentry (bahasa halus or bahasa bangsawan), the talk

Javanese.

court style

dagang, bahasa kachauan or


Malay
pedants represent no mysterious or radical types, but summarize broadly differences which may be found in any
of the

bazaar (bahasa

bahasa pasar)

these various styles as defined by

language between the vocabularies of the practised

and

man

the

vocabulary

of

of

and

breeding

commerce and

Misconception in

this

matter

the
is

so

slang

polyglot

mean

of

common

litterateur

the

education,

that

it

streets.

will

be

useful to point out the notes of these several styles.

107. Bazaar Malay.

dia punya baik his


sahaya punya dekat in my
or
possession, kaseh sama sahaya give to ?ne from Indians
like the employment of ada (an emphatic word denoting
existence) as a mere copula,
kalau tuan ada suka if you
are liking or like bagi naik and kaseh naik make to go
up for naikkan: idioms which are alien to Malay, ugly,
(a) It accepts foreign idioms like

goodness from the Chinese;

superfluous and inorganic.


(3)

perverts

It

good Malay words

modelled on foreign idiom,


quantity

is

will, shall
10B4

used for very

bilang count

mau
is

to

banyak

vuish serves for

used for

corrupt meanings

much, an adverb of

tell,

inform

an auxiliary

dekat mar

;;

STYLE

178

and sama

like for io

alike,

mari

coming

here as a verb

here.

introduces foreign words correct

It

(f)

foreigner,

Chinese lu

to a

Malay

{d) It introduces

tuala (Portuguese)

in

or

the

katil (Tamil)

bed,

to

words

foreign

like

setori (English)

towel,

addressing a

men of its own race


tabek to a Sultan or Raja.

and applies them

konsebecome

tale, lie,

bikin make some of them long since


part of the language as names for foreign things which have
come to stay; others perhaps doomed to die out and never to

tSbel

constable,

become

classical.

For the

(<?)

benefit of the foreigner,

form of the verb rather than


(_/) So, too,

employs the root

it

derivatives.

synonym in
potong ctit for

place of the

uses the simplest

it

rich vocabulary of the

mince, lop, fell

its

jatoh

race

for /all o^

slice,

man, a house,

a.

pukul

for hit

rumah

for house, hut, lean-to, palace, or rice-shantj/

pechah

whether with cane,

broken plates in place of

It

or whip

fist,

pinggan

tembikar shard; semua

sakalian, segala and so on.

for all in place of

{g)

stick, stone,

divide,

trees, fruit;

employs many slang expressions:

radak, chekek, lantak, parap

for eat

gasak, rodok,

gasak, bongkar,

kibar, kabong, chabut, tuas, chachak, telungkup run

pusing cheat lichin stony broke berkeredak in a pickle


kapal sapu roue'; kenchang swell, dapper galak lascivious
bagi give it any one, beat kelam kabut surprised, confused.
;

'

{h) It

'

uses coarse words:

mampus die, croak


membuta sleep, and a
'

'

hetina female, jantan

of persons as well

number

male,

as of animals

of coarse terms in sexual

matters.

will

108. Of the characteristics of the bazaar


be met only

a foreigner, or

if

if

town, {g) and {h)

the

Malay

is

style (a) to

talking purposely

(/)

down

to

he himself be the half-caste of a seaport

will

be heard,

also, in the

ruder talk of the

STYLE
real

Malay, which

fond too of abbreviations and ejaculatory

is

awat

monosyllables like

179

apa buat (Singapore)

for

hang

(Perak) 'gi (Patani) for pergi go\

tvhy

pi'

engkauj'(?;

for

for hendak wish, will; ta' for tidak 7io\ 'ku for
engku your highness jum (Perak) be off; and of pro-

'nak

way

vincialisms, which have not found their

sahaya-ma, kita-ma

all

0/

us,

example, and the Perak forms lanjar

for

sampang

wiih,

sempat

for

between Malays of

talk

for

abound

will

employ many words of minute significance

It will

husbandry,

industries,

and domestic

Perak,

all in

langsongy^^rMAgain, idiomatic

able to do.

classes

all

into literature,

kamu-ma you

life

in

among

talking

ellipse.

in woodcraft,

themselves with no pretence to fine phraseology peasants


unconsciously affect a nice precision in words, so that

sepak

like the following are in daily use.

lists

kick ivilh the side

terajang kick ivith


of the foot; tendang kick zvith the toes
the heel,
bungkus tie in a bundle
balut tie in a ivrapper
;

berkas

tie,

potong

cut ;

of recalcitrant

belah

inoiv

beard;

parang

tebas

clear scrub

away
away

angkat

ambin

to

raut

sabre,

cut,

cleave;

r^ntas cut a

carry,

Ift

up

carry on the back;

trim

tehang

angkut

(e. g.

a
;

cut hair or

fell big jungle;

trace or track,

bawa

tetak notch

chukur

spears.

chinehang
pang-

a fine point

cut in two crosswise

tuai reap, cut rice-grain

kerat

ranchong cut to
panchong prune, lop pedang
decapitate

sever,

pencil)

or

antlers

like

cut in two, split lengthwise

cut in small pieces, mince

gal

articles

ambil

car/y

and
bebat

carry, lift up

bring, fetch

carry in the girdle; bibit carry in the hand; jinjing carry in


the fingers

carry

i?i

dukong carry on
kandong

a wrapper

pikul carty on

the hip

kendong, gendong
womb

carry in a sack or in the

tatang carry on the palms


tanggong carry, support a heavy burden julang carry with
arm upraised kepit carry pressed under arm kelek carry
the shoulder

loosely

the

under artn

end of a

stick

galas carry slung over

kandar

carry on both

the shoulder or

ejids

of a

o?i

stick over

STYLE

i8o
the shoulder

junjong earry

on the head

usong

carry in

Utter.

Malay (bahasa

109. Polite

It

((?)

especially

is

careful

halus).

in

linguistic ability, if

he

simple point ( 66).

this

uses respectful words for the great events of

It

(i^)

on

personal

of

knowledge of the

little

language can earn a cheap fame for


takes trouble

choice

the

Even a European with

pronouns.

life

bersalin change oneself instead of the blunt beranak bear


children

perempuan

isteri (Skt.) instead of bini or

suami (Skt.) instead of lakiyi?;- husband


pulang ka-rahmatu 'llah (Ar.) for die.
%vife\

To

(f)

employs

degree

greater

affixes with

the

-kan and

{d) It

uses,

or

talk,

it

also,

be(r), and

though in a

less

-i.

of course, a larger general vocabulary and

many Arabic

adopts

me,

for

mati

perhaps than peasant

verbs, especially

te(r) (and in a few words pe(r) too)

degree

words,

when

and

talking of religion

literature.

110.

Court Malay.

This exactly resembles the

polite style, except that

it

uses

patek (Skt.)
/; tuanku, engku, tGTa.gk.Vi your highness',

a score of special words, proper only to a raja,

your

slave for

putera

(Skt.) scion for child;

semayam

reside (literally sit

berangkat (instead of berjalan)


santap ^<7/; gering j/V,^ mangkat

enthroned)-,

bathe;
die

titah command, order

(Ar.) countenance

111.

sembah. do obeisance to
junjong dull obey a royal order.
;

siram

wajah

Literary Malay.

(a) It avoids abbreviations of

colloquial Malay, e. g.

phrases

travel;

be borne aloft;

( 85).

it

words such

employs

ta' for

as

is

usual in

tidak only

in a

all

few

STYLE
[It)

been

avoids provincialisms, the literary standard having

It

of old Malacca, and being

generally as Riau-Johor Malay.

employs the whole system of

It

[d)

affixation.

employs certain modal words and

It

words (86,
{/)

the golden age

fixed in

known now
{c)

i8i

'punctuation'

89),

employs conjunctions and builds sentences more

It

complex than occur

in conversation.

{/) It carries the principle of balance and antithesis to an


extreme ( 104).
{g) Its vocabulary

and contains a number of

large,

is

and Arabic words

Sanskrit

and

'

of flowery metaphors, which

are found only in literature.

segara
vehicle

clouds

oceafi

bahagia good fortune

kendaraan

steed,

rupawan beautiful sentosa tranquillity mega


merdu soft, sweet pekerti character perwara

warrior

angkasa

asmara

/tfj'i'

bahtera

vfolQ, firjnament

aneka

kinds

asa hope

h\t\ female slave

ewi'i?/;

derma

heavens

sokma

sentiasa always;

al/us;

chakera-

sarwa (now corrupted seru) all; perkasa valiant;


saksama inquiry papa poverty anugerah, kurnia gift

soul;

{from

superior

pahala^r?/;/

From

to

inferior')

suaka

arwah

hebat

ihtiar choice

mankind;

bahar

terrible

ibarat

paksi bird

baka eternal batal


fuad heart; haiwan
;

parallel, analogous case

isharat sign

kadamy^f?/;

khayal

sea

feel conduct;

ijtihad zeal

{ter) jali bright

borrowed such words as azim august


soul

futile; fajiB, perishable


creatures

refuge are a few examples from Sanskrit.

the Arabic are

aflat health

puteri princess

trance;

istiadat custom

'k.a.dar ability;

khuatir

khalayak

consciousness;

layak

proper; IdiZaX pleasant; lazim. fiecessary; makhluk////W(7;///y;

martebat rank

mustaed
^

ready

The

masaalah
pdrlu

thesis

obligatory.

spelling of these foreign

muslihat stratagem
Persian, loo, has

words follows the Malay.

inti

o-

STYLE

82

duced, for example,


excellent

biadab

ocean, river;

lance

bahaduri
discourtesy

diwan

juadah

cakes

court
;

gallant
;

jahan

lashkar

bahari

the

soldiery

bena

darya
world; jogan state

piala

stances of flowery metaphor are the Sanskrit


for girl or boy;

noble

biaperi merchant

goblet.

In-

Is^esovcidi, flower

bunga di-peraduan sudah layu

the floiver

of the bed-chamber has faded; meaning _yM/;" bride is dead;


and bunga di-sering kumbang the floiver at which the
bee

has sucked for a maid deflowered: these occur in piose

romance, and

many

others

may be

garnered.

APPENDIX
NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING
By R.

The Heading {Kepala

I.

Near

Wilkinson, C.M.G.

J.

the middle of the blank space at the top of the sheet

on which a Malay

letter

is

written

such as kaubil-hakk (the saying

kamar

Surai).

(the sun

and the moon).

learn from Malays


signifies

why

they can only say that

things at the top of a

letter.

in the expression used

and

the formula

is

that the writer

It

formula

this

a short Arabic formula

is

the truth) or shaj}isu wa'l-

is

it

usually impossible to

is
is

used or what

But there

in

really

significance both

is

on

position

its

it

the custom to write such

is

the page.

written in the centre of the paper,

it

and the addressee are of equal rank and

respond as equals.

If

it is

If

signifies

cor-

written slightly to the right,

it

implies that the writer of the letter claims a higher position

than the person he

is

the

that the writer

left it signifies

a superior.

addressing.

The formula

If the
is

itself also

formula

an

is

slightly to

inferior addressing

varies

the

words used

as a heading to a letter to a great prince will not be the


as those used in the heading of a letter to

The

principal headings are

2i

same

penghulu.

O Commander

of the Faithful.

former times, was the correct heading to a letter


addressed to a powerful ruling prince by a subject. It is out of date at

This expression,

present.

in


APPENDIX

i84

The Saying

is

rulers to the

Governor and

And

Truth

the

Appropriate when two rulers correspond

common on

letters

the Writing

is

most sincere

variant or continuation of the preceding heading.

Another variant

similar circumstances.

from native

vice versa.

O God

is

It is

al-mttstahakk

O Muhammad

'

used under
the truth.'

sometimes used when native princes correspond, but is,


of course, inapplicable to correspondence between a Christian governor
and a Moslem prince.
This heading

is

O
This expression

light

of the Sun and of the Moon.

a quasi-compliment meaning

is

but not with the true light of religion


raja

when addressing an

'

infidel

O
This formula
Officers

is

very

'

'.

It is

'

shining brilliantly

used often by a Malay

potentate.

Merciful Pardoner.

common on

by penghulus, and

to

letters or petitions

addressed to District

Heads of Departments generally by

their

The 'Merciful Pardoner' is, of course, God (described


His attributes), and the Head of Department is reminded of

subordinates.

by one of

this divine attribute

hope that he

in

the

Unlocker of Hearts.

will

be indulgent to the

petitioner.

This (rare) formula

is

appropriate to petitions asking for inquiry into

some matter. Here, again, the ruler or administrator


duty as the representative of a divine power from
'

are hid'.

is

reminded of his
no secrets

whom

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING


i_)

O
This

(rare)

some

sort.

formula

^b

Judge of Wishes.

appropriate to petitions containing a request of

is

Here, again, we have an appeal to a divine attribute.

Ocean

This (rare) formula


for information

is

(of information) to Inquirers.

appropriate to letters asking a superior authority

on some point.

O
A

UJJ

185

Lord of Loveliness.

purely complimentary formula based on a divine attribute and used as

a suggestion that the virtues of the

addressed have

official

made a deep

impression on the mind of his correspondent.

O
Used as a heading

Precious One.

to letters to a teacher, or to a

Syed or Kathi, or any

religious dignitary of high rank.

This formula

is

used in a letter to a father or mother.

O
The heading

ri/^^
Honoured One.

Belauded Power.

to a letter to an elder brother.

i\^\ ij^

O
The proper heading
to a wife.

Blossom of

my

Heart.

of a letter to a sister of about one's

own age

or

APPENDIX

86

O
This formula

really a

is

Comfort of

addressed to a younger
girl of

any

sort.

sister,

Eyes.
to letters

to a favourite daughter, or to a beloved

The heading j^
Ya n^riCl-ain

a love-letter.

my

term of endearment used as a heading


n/iriil-'dshikin

(light of

my

eyes)

may
is

also be used over

another formula of

the same sort.

Absolute Truth.
Used when addressing any one

in

whom

one has perfect confidence.

God's Ocean of Knowledge.


This heading

is

placed above letters to very learned men.

;u4iji

The Decree
A

heading to a

letter

heading to a

letter of

heading to

is

j>.>ij

jXii

from the AU-Powerful.

announcing a death.

God

is

with the Submissive.

condolence.

God's Will be Done.


letters expressive of the writer's resignation to misfortune.

II.

Malay

ptijian or

'

The
letter

'

CoiMPLiMENTs

'

{Puji-pujian).

begins with what are

compliments

',

known

as the puji-

but these compliments are really

only a formula indicating the names and relative positions of


the writer

and the person addressed.

We may

divide the

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING


formula

into

nine

parts

essential

187

and discuss each part

separately

This Letter

From me

May

it be

By God

conveyed

(or

Man)

To
You

Who live
At X
Amen.
This Letter.

1.

The

panded.

This

following

IVarkatti 'l-ikhlas

wa

is

expression

is

usually

much

an extreme case of expansion

ex:

tuhfatu l-ajnas yang teiMt daripadajuadti'z''

zakiah ya-itii hati yang puteh /agi hating dan jirneh

yang tiada

inenaroh shak dan loaham di-dalam-nya serla tiada monarch lupa

dan lalai sa-k^tika jua pun


matahari dan bulan ;
meaning

sa-lagi

ada p^iidaran chakeraivala

varied gift, issues from a pure heart, from


and transparent candour that can harbour no suspicion
or mistrust and that knows no neglect or forgetfulness
not even for one
instantso long as the firmament revolves and the sun and the moon
'

This sincere

letter, this

feelings of a limpid

pursue their courses.'

The

full

formula would only be used when a prince of the

very highest rank addresses another prince of the very highest


rank.

In extreme cases, when a great ruler addresses a very

minor

official

suffice.

Sultan addressing a Governor should use very nearly the

full

formula

mere bahwa

ini sural

would

addressing a District Officer he should use a short

formula such as bahwa ini-lah sural lulus dan ikhlas serla


kaseh sayang.

would
2.

in

Malay

From

me.

The

himself very shortly.


is

chief (other than a ruling prince)

such a case use a longer formula.


writer of the letter
If

he emphasizes

should describe

his title in

any way

an assertion of superiority over the person addressed.

it

If

he depreciates himself by adding some such expression as

APPENDIX

88

yang

hina

an admission of extreme

it is

of kita (we) for beta (I)

is

except in the East Coast States where beta

The

address

such cases

The

is

ihe. pitjt'-pujtan

usually given

is

use

is

not used.

the exact terms to be used in

be found further on

will

following

The

inferiority.

a strong assertion of superiority

in section (7)

'

who

live

'.

a typical lengthy specimen of this part of

Ya-itu da tang daripada beta, Raja JMuda X., wakihCs-Sultan,

Nigeri Perak, dariir-ridzwan, bersemayam di-Bukit Chaiidan,


Seri Andalan.

The

following

is

humble

variant

Ya-itu datang daripada beta, Datok P.,

yang

a da

pada

tnasa ini

di-dalani dae7-ah Negeri Rciiibati.


3.

or

May

it

be conveyed.

man of royal

a letter to a ruler

If the letter is

blood the expression for

'

convey

'

In ordinary cases, sampaika?i should be used.


(see next paragraph) are separately treated

amatory

is

waslkan.

Love-letters

except for these

effusions, this part of the puji-pujian should

be either

Barang

barang di-waslkati or barang di-sainpaikan.

di-

taslimkan may, however, be used as a polite equivalent of

barang di-sampaikan.
4.

By God (or Man).

a letter

is

The

importance and character of

suggested by the means of conveyance.

a very great dignitary

is

of hope that the Almighty will cause


safely.

But,

importance,

it

if
is

letter to

it

to reach

its

destination

is

addressed to a person of no

sufficient to

express the hope that the post

the letter

office will help the letter along.

convention

accompanied by a pious expression

insists that

In the case of love

the conveyance of love-letters

affairs,
is

the

special duty of certain birds, notably the bayan or parakeet

{palaeoniis longicauda), the explanation being that these birds,

being possessed of power of speech, are mentioned in old

romances as the bearers of messages from a lover to his lass.


The expression for convey in such cases is, therefore,
'

layangkan or even bayankan.

'

'

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING

189

further distinction

is

;;

conveyed by the expression used

to describe the Almighty.

If the term

used

is

some long

expression such as Tuhaji, viaJikul-hinnan zval-jnarinan, the


very formal and

letter is

But

if

suited for dispatch to a ruler.

is

a simple expression like Allah taala

letter is

is

employed the

considered more familiar.

Another

is drawn by expressions meaning


vmdah-mudahan and kira-nya (or apa-lah
These expressions suggest a reduced im-

distinction, again,

'perhaps', such as

jua hra-nya).
portance for the

The

letter.

following gives a

of expressions in a descending

list

scale of formality

Barang di-waslkan Tuhan maliku'l-hianan wa'1-mannan


Barang di-sampaikan Allah ar-rahman ar-rahim
(t) Barang di-sampaikan Tuhan rabbu'l-alamin;
{d) Barang di-sampaikan Tuhan sera sakalian alam
(^) Barang di-sampaikan Allah subhana wa taala
(_/) Barang di-sampaikan Allah azza wa jalla;
ig) Barang di-sampaikan AU.ah taala
(A) Barang di-sampaikan Allah
(?) Mudah-mudahan barang di-sampaikan Allah
(7) Apa-lah jua kira-nya datang;
Minta tolong enchek-enchek dan tuan-tuan yang berjumpa surat
(/<)
(fl)

{b)

ini

sampaikan.
5.

This very simple preposition may be expressed

To.

various ways according to the respect that a letter


to suggest.

Only a man of princely rank has the

addressing himself to the

people address the

'

'

face

presence

is

in

intended

privilege of

{wajak) of royalty. Ordinary

'

'

(Jiadzrat)

of royalty, while

very humble subjects address the dust beneath a prince's


foot (ka-baivah didi).
royalty.

All these expressions are confined to

In addressing a

or hadzrat

or

commoner

ka-hawah

duli;

superior) lay his petition before the

use the word majlis, not hadzrat.


a

man

of

little

he
'

man cannot use wajah


may (if addressing a

presence

',

but he should

Only when addressing

importance should the simple preposition

{kapada) be used.

'

to

;;

APPENDIX

I90

Further gradations are expressed by the use of the Arabic


preposition ala for the

Malay kapada, and

with adjectives the expressions


'

the noble face

or

'

'

'

face

also

or

'

the majestic presence

The

'.

are examples of this portion of the piiji-pujian

Ala xvajahW l-kariimC sh-sharifzi' I-

(a)

'

To

the majestic, noble, and

by qualifying

presence

'

'

e. g.,

following

ali ;

exalted countenance of

This expression might be used

in a letter

.'

from one reigning

prince to another reigning prince.

Ala ivajahiCl-karitmi l-kamal


To the majestic and illustrious face of
This expression
might be used by a prince of the royal house addressing his

{b)

'

'

sovereign,
(c)

Ka-hadapan
'

seri

wajah

Before the princely face of

This expression might be

.'

used by a Sultan to a non-reigning prince.


{d)

Ka-bawah hadzratiC l-tnasraf


*

Down

This form of

before the presence of his highness.'

address would be used by a chief (not of princely rank) writing


to his sovereign.
(^)

Ka-bawah

hadzrat, or ka-hadzrat.

These are
(_/)

'

ceremonial variants of id).

To

.'

To

a very high

such as a Resident.

Ka-hadapan
'

majlis,

In the field before the presence of


official

(^)

less

Ka-hadapan medan

majlis,

the presence of

To

.'

an

official

such as a Magistrate

or District Officer.
{h)

Kapada.
'

6.

ways.

To

You.

Only used

.'

The

to persons of

person addressed

prince writing

position.

described in several

is

to another prince will

respectful terms of relationship

adinda, anakanda

no

according

such

often use

as ayahanda, kakanda,

to the relative age of the parlies.

Writing to Europeans of rank terms of friendship are used


in place of those of relationship

paduka sahabat
'

beta,

The word terhampar

and sahabat
('laid

down

seri

paduka sahabat

beta.

before

',

used before this and the following expressions.

'

Strictly,

the

submitted to')

beta,
first

may

be

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING

191

of these three expressions ought to be confined to the very


a District Officer or Magistrate

highest European officers;

would be paduka sahabat

good

position

sahabat

On

beta.

man

or a

of

ktta

if

is

used

is

Malays of low rank when writing


relationship

unofficial

European of
would be

status

official

little

the East Coast kita

on the West Coast

beta;

and an

beta,

used in place of
inferiors

to

only.

to each other use terms of

In other cases, they use the

they are intimate.

expression sahabat sahaya.

The following complimentary

attributes should also be used:

Yang terutama : to the Governor


Yang muha-mulia : to a Sultan
Yang teramat mulia : to a Regent, Raja Muda,
:

independent chief

Yang berhormat:
Yang mulia: to
official

Who

7.

to a

Datok of Jelebu

like the

Resident-General or Resident

Malay

chief or

European

of high

rank.

live.

This

portion of the 'compliment'

expression in which most mistakes are made.

member

or semi-

of a royal house and even a District Officer

described in letters and petitions as

a throne of

sovereignty

This

takhta kerajaati).

'

is

sitting in state

{bersemayam

'

di-atas

the

often

upon

sniggasana

an obvious error and

is

is

non-reigning

is

often

explained as mere oriental exaggeration, whereas, as a matter


of

fact,

it

to use.

simply due to ignorance of the correct term

is

ruling prince does theoretically

a royal throne',

an administrator,

ihsan,

'

at all

may be

said to

but he cannot be said to do

he be said to

'

He

upon

better expression

melakulian tadbiru'l-

is

it

'

'

sit

in state

'

'

non-

[bersemayam),

on a throne of royalty

possess a throne of sovereignty

takhta kerajaan) or
'.

events

munificently carrying on the Government.'

reigning prince

ment

in state

sit

and may use the expression bersemayam

di-atas singgasana takhta kerajaan.


for

'

'

',

nor can

{f/iempimyai'

munificently to administer the Govern-

may, however, be said

to

'

possess regal dignity

and importance

{viempimya'i daidai kerajaan dan kebesarati).

'

may

District Officer

on

ficently carrying

in state

nor as

',

'

presiding
'exists

or

'

istirahat

'

'

muni-

but not as

'

sitting

is

bermakavi or bertnastautin,
residing

An honoured

'.

dan khairul-afiat, or ada dengan

iaala.

'

'.

The

officially

unofficial

and health and prosperity' (ada dengati

less dignified expression

Allah

',

possessing a throne of sovereignty

officially

peace

in

hyperbolically be described as

the administration

expression

correct

APPENDIX

192

is

the simple

kesejahteraati-Tiyd).

ada di-dalam pelihara

person of no importance

simply 'exists'

{ada\

To

summarize

{a)

The proper

descriptions for a reigning Prince are

Yang bcrsemayam di-atas singgasana takJita kerajaan ;


Yang viHakiikan tadbiru'l-ihsan ;
and (less dignified) yang mhnpunya'i takhta kerajaan dan
kebesaran.
[5)

The

best descriptions of a non-reigning Raja are

Yang mempunyai daulat kerajaan dan kebesaran

Yang bersemayam.
(c)

of a Governor

Yang melakukan tadbini l-ihsan


Yang memerentah.

{d) of a Resident

Yang melakukan tadbini l-ihsati ;


Yang mempunyai pangkat Resident.
{e)

of a District Officer

Yang bermakam ;
Yang bermastautin ;
Yang melakukan jalan berhaseh-kasehan ;
Yang mempunyai jawalan pegawaijajahan

{/) of an

official,

generally

Yang berpangkat (name of office)


Yang bih-jawatan (name of office).
;

"*"

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER- WRITING


{g) of an unofficial of standing
Va/i^ at/a dengaii sekat dan khairiCl-\iJiat
Yang ada dengan kemtiliaan ;

193

'ang ada dingan kesejahteraan

Yang ada dengan kcsempornaan ;


Yang ada dengan s^lamat
Yang ada di-dalani pclihara Allah
of a person of no importance

{Ji)

taala.

Yang ada.
It

must, of course, be always borne in mind that a man,

speaking of himself, would describe his

office

by a simpler

expression than he would use to describe the same office

when held by

the person he

writing

is

Furthermore, in

to.

writing to superiors, certain complimentary attributes

put into the compliments

8.

bijak-

&c.

sivia,

lives

may be

t.%.yang mtdia^yang arif

At

X.

The name of the

often the

is

subject

place at which the addressee

Perak

of honorifics.

is

daru'r-

Kedah is daru'l-aman, Selangor is darii l-ihsati,


Acheen is dam' s-salam these titles are conventional, but,
where no conventional name exists, an honorific can be
rtdzivati,

invented such as negeri yatig

august
It is

common

names
abode

to

is

or balduU-aadzam, 'the

another such expression.

also for Sultans to give special high-sounding

the

little

thus, Bukit

viiilia

Daru' sh-shahadah

city'.

hamlets in which

Chandan

they take up their

called Seri Andalan.

is

These

honorifics are, of course, only used where the writer or the

person addressed
9.

Amen.

is

It is

man

of very high rank.

usual in letters between

Moslems of high

up the puji-pujimi with some pious expression,


sometimes the actual word a7nin and sometimes a longer

position to end

expression

When

like

writing

salam Allah
to

Europeans

taala or hafudz Allah


this

expression

is

taala.

altered

to

dengan sejahtera-nya or dengan selamat-nya or some similar


expression of which examples will be given in the
letters
1554

'.

'

specimen

APPENDIX

194
III.

The Closing Words

At the close of a
effect that

'

there

to our friend'.

usual to put a few words to the

is

it

no more

to say except to send greetings

This formula should be expanded somewhat

when addressing

The

letter

is

of a Letter.

a superior

following are examples

{a) to a Sultan

Tiada apa-apn yang lam hanya-lah di-harapkan seri

paduka sahabat
mudahan kekal

bela dalain sihat

di-atas takhta

dan

mudah-

'ajial,

kerajaati

sa-lama-

lavia-nya.
{b)

to a Chief:

Tiada apa-apa yang


panjang.
(<:)

to

laifi

melainkati di-harap umiir

Tainat.

an equal
Demikiati-ldh di-maahimkan hanya iva' s-salam.

The

IV.

The
the

address on a

first

letter

Address.

only differs from the

ptiji-piijian in

This

item of the nine that have been discussed.

item should be alamat sural instead of ivarkatu'l-ikhlas, &c.

The

following

is

an example

Alamat suiat baratig

hadapan viajlis sahabat


itnatt, adanya.

V.

The

seal or

margin of the

more

'

The

chop

'

Allah stibhana

beta, titan X.,

wa

di-dalam negeri

taala ka-

darul-

Y.,

Signature, Seal, &c.

on a

letter to the

letter is usually

imprinted on the

right-hand side of the writer and

or less parallel with the opening sentences of the

pliments.

The

signature

date, the place of writing,


(for

di-sat?tpatkan

is

written under the seal.

and sometimes the

Malays usually employed

would be written

professional

in a short sentence

writer's

com-

The
name

letter-writers)

below the

letter

e. g.

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING

195

lersnrat (or terlull's or iertnaklttb or tennadzkur) di-Taipeng,

pada 22 hari-bidan dzu'l-kaedah, sannah 1305.


In the lower corner of a letter addressed to a

groups of

man

of rank,

of the alphabet are occasionally written,

letters

to wit:

These two groups are conventional and complimentary.


In formal correspondence between equals the expressions
^^15J1 (c4-^^

oi*

(y^\

are written in place of these letter-

groups.

VI.

The

Petitions.

rules hitherto given do not apply altogether to petitions.

Malay peasant addressing


Ajnpun iuan ku,
telapakan Siri

his prince

would write

ampun, t^rsembah ka-bawah duH lebu


Paduka yang maha-viulia yang-di-pcrtuan yaiig

bt'i-ibti-ribu

bersiinayam di-atas takhta singgasana kerajaan di-dalain negeri

A'.,

darn'l-iman, ada-nya.

petitioner of higher

would

rank would not

was a man of some

that he

literary taste

and consequently of some standing

Ampun

tuan-kii beribii-ribn

in the

words

tone but
to

show

and refinement,

world

ampun, yarfcCal-kitab ala hadzrat all-karim paduka scri Sultan A. ash-sharif

masraf ditii tuan-kit saidii


as-saiyid nmulana yang berscinayam

di-atas

kerajaan di-dalam haldii l-aadzain negeri

The

alter the

indicate his position by using Arabic

A'.,

singgasana takhta

danil-ihsan.

address on a petition simply prefixes alamal sural to

the puji-piijian

thus,

alamal sural ampun luan-ku, beribu-rihu

ampun, &c.

VIL
The puji-pujian

or

'

Love-Letters.

compliments ', with

terms of respect, sincerity and

their conventional

affection, are

only preliminary

to the important matter contained in an ordinary business

APPENDIX

196

In a love-letter, however, they are the very gist of the

letter.

may

communication, and

from the beginning

whole of the

constitute the

to the end.

The

epistle

ordinary rules of

Malay

correspondence have, therefore, to be modified in such cases,

and these modifications have been the subject of a good deal


of study on the part of native writers or theorists on the
subject.

Conventionally, a Malay love-letter

not a prosaic matter

is

of paper and ink, but a message or token borne on the

wings of a bird from lover

This theory

to lover.

be

will

remembered that native girls are


secluded and are not allowed to communicate directly with
the outer world, so that in Malay romance a lover usually
entrusts his message to a bird gifted with the power of speech

understood, when

or else sends
flower or a

it

is

by means of a suggestive token such as a

it

Convention maintains

leaf.

nominally be done even

love-letter

is

not posted

of wise utterance
'

'

is

it

it

that this should

still

days of a three-cent post.

in these

entrusted to

is

'

some

not a poor sheet of paper

a jasmine bud of exquisite fragrance

Words

'.

like

bird

it

is

sural or

even the royal warkat are avoided because of their suggestion


of the inkstand

the proper

and tenderness following

'

to the

'

presence

'

'

a greeting with love

(salam

of his beloved or to her

dust beneath her feet

phorically

'

is

upon her

yang

di-iringi

Again, the lover does not address

dengan rindu sayang).


it

word

in its train

'

he lays

his

'

floral

face

'

or to the

offering meta-

lap (ka-alas rihami adindd).

And, of

course, a letter of this type does not concern itself with the

question of a
the

girl's official position,

charms and

The

upon

following example of the puji-pujian appropriate to

love-letters only refers to cases in


is

but simply dwells

virtues that she possesses.

which the

on some matter of business and the

'

gist

of the letter

compliments ' are

those formally prescribed for use at the beginning of the


epistle

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING

197

ini-lah salam yang di-iringi dengan rindu sayang di-champur


dengan dendam taadzim, yang di-sertakan dengan kaseh takrim,
yang di-hiasi dengan sayang yang tiada berkeputusan pada siang
dan malam, ya-itu datang daripada kakanda X., yang sangat menanggong duka-chita sa-hari-hari, ada-nya; mudah-mudahan barang
di-layangkan apalah kira-nya datang ka-atas ribaan adinda, Y.,
yang mulia lagi arif bijaksana serta amat mengasehani segala handai

Bahwa

taulan-nya di-dalam negSri Z., daru'1-iman, ada-nya.

The

following example, on the other hand, gives a love-

letter that is

nothing more than a message of affection and

consists o{ puji-pujian from the beginning to the end:

dengan beberapa hormat yang maha-mulia,


dendam yang tiada
berkeputusan sentiasa pada tiap-tiap siang dan malam pagi dan
petang dan sa-bilang vvaktu tiada-lah sa-kali-kali lupa dan lalai
barang sa-ketika juga sa-lagi ada p^ridaran chakeravvala bulan dan

Salam doa yang

di-iringi

maka di-champuri

pula dengan beberapa rindu

Maka ada-lah laksana punggok merindukan bulan


dan seperti chentayu menantikan hujan dan laksana Zulaikha
berahikan Yusuf dan seperti Laili berahikan Mejnun, maka demikian-lah kakanda teringatkan tuan.
Jika tidur terigau-igau dan
matahari.

dudok terbayang-bayang m^lainkan terasoh-asoh sifat wajahu'litu terdiri pada orang-orangan mata kakanda yang amat
dzaif lagi liina papah serta pula dengan miskin daripada segala
hamba Allah di-dalam dunia ini lagi bebal serta d^iigan bodoh
yatim piatu yang tiada menaroh sanak dan saudara lagi tiada
menaroh daya dan upaya melainkan di-harapkan jua belas kasehan

jika

karim

tuan serta tulus ikhlas adinda nuru'l-ashikin di-atas batu kepala

kakanda.

Ada-lah di-umpamakan seperti ayer di-dalam telaga

kalkauthar serta dengan hening jerneh, lagi-pun dSngan sejok-nya,

dan berbagai-bagai chinta neemat rasa-nya yang tiada tepermenai


Di-s^rta-kan pula dengan suatu isharat dan
ibarat orang tua-tua ada-lah laksana sa-pohon kayu yang tumboh
di-tengah padang serta dengan rendang-nya dan harum bau bunganya dan lemah maiiis rupa buah-nya
maka banyak-lah hamba
Allah yang bernaung berhenti di-bavvah pohon kayu maka bertiuplah angin yang lemah lembut dari udara yang keluar dari-dalam
shurga jannatu'n-nai'm maka terkibar-lah bau-nya bunga kayu yang
amat harum
sa-ketika jua lalu terlalai-lah hamba Allah yang
di-bawah pohon itu seperti laku orang pengsan juga sebab menchium bau-nya itu. Maka sekarang ini ada-lah kakanda yang
bernama X. sudah terkena mabok-nya itu dengan tiada terkira-kira
lagi, melainkan harap-lah juga kakanda kapada adinda dengan sabanyak-banyak harap seperti anak ayam harapkan ibu-nya. Bahwa
lagi di-dalam itu.

APPENDIX

198
ada-lah kakanda

Allah

ini

sa-umpama anak burong

jikalau tiada kasehan

maka di-mana-lah anak burong itu mahu pergi. Allah


Ya adinda, sa-kali-kali kakanda tiada membuat dusta

ibu-nya,

melainkan dahulu Allah, baada-hu rasul, dan pada k^mudian tnanlah yang kakanda harap.
Dan jikalau kiia-nya kakanda ada
menaroh sayap seperti burong neschaya sekarang ini juga kakanda
terbang hinggap ka-bawah hadzrat majlis paduka adinda chahaya
nur ini. Dan sekarang apa-lah boleh buat, dan apa-lah daya
kakanda? Badan seperti anak merpati terkepak-kepak ka-?ana
jatoh dari atas

sini lalu

Ya

rumah sampai ka-tanah, entahkan apa

jadi.

Allah, ya rasul Allah, ketiga-lah dengan adinda, ya adinda,

kakanda ini ? Ada-lah laksana pantun orang


Enchek Amat membawa suloh,
Hendak menyuloh sarang tebuan
Sembah di-angkat jari sa-puloh,

tuan, apa-lah jadi

tua:

Minta mati di-kaki tuan.

And

so on.

three or (our

The

Malay
pan UtJis.

following

love-letter usually

is

ends with a string of

rough translation of the

letter just

quoted
In the train of this letter of greeting

send a multitude of respectful

wishes and of loving thoughts that have never yet ceased to attend

me

either

can

by night or day, evening or morn no, not for one instant


you so long as the sun and the moon pursue their

I forget

My

courses.

moon

love

is

as that of the night-bird

or as that of the rain-bird

heaven

my

love

is

when

it

when

it

sighs for the

thirsts for the

dew

of

as the passion of Zulaikha for Yusuf or as the

it breaks on my slumbers
Mejnun
my waking hours with wandering
thoughts, for at no time can my eyes image anything except the
glorious beauty of your form.
I may be humble and weak and

wistful longing of Leila for

with anxious

fears,

it

distracts

poor, the very meanest of God's servants on earth


gift

may have no

what of that

put

may

lack every

friend or relative to look to in the world, but

my

trust

and confidence

in

your tenderness and

your heart, oh, most desired of lovers! For you


are as the waters of the River of Life, pure and calm and lustrous,
whose sweetness no man can measure or, if I may quote a metaphor
used by men of old, you are like some tree of over-arching verdure

in the sincerity of

that yields shade

plain

and fragrance and

fruit in the

midst of a desolate
attracted by your

can you, then, marvel that men should be

beauty and that the zephyrs from some heaven of bliss should play
about you till the fragrance of your beauty should lull the thoughts
of your lovers and lead them to be dead to everything except the

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING


delight of breathing the air of your presence

charm

my

of that influence but

trust is in you,

I,

too,

am

199

under the

even as the trust of

it, where
poor fledgeling turn ? O God Most High for I
swear to you I mean no untruth I have faith in God and the
Prophet, and, next to them, in you. Yes, had I the wings of a bird,

a nestling in

mother, for siiould the mother-bird desert

its

else could that

moment would I fly to your presence, O Light of Glory


But of what avail are these thoughts ? What power is left me ?
but a dove of fettered wings, whose struggles
I am like a dove
can only cause it to fall more helpless than ever on the ground
this very

should
of

it

Mine

attempt to

What

is

O God

fly.

to be

my

Prophet of

As

fate?

God

Love

words of the

in the

old,

old song

To

her I

lift

my

simple boon

suppliant hands,
I

crave

Oh that the earth on which she


May serve me for a grave

stands

&c.

VIII.

The
written

following examples are taken from letters actually


:

From

1.
'

Typical Letters.

Datok of Johol

compliments

'

only are given

The

a District Officer.

to

Bahwa

ini surat daripada beta Datok Johol, Johan Pahlawan Lela


Perkasa Setiavvan, yang memerentah di-dalam jajahan Nfigeri Johol
dengan sejahteraan-nya ya-itu akan datang ka-hadapan majlis
sahabat beta tuan X., Magistrate di-tanah Melayu, dengan selamat

lagi sejahtera-nya.

This form, though probably not intended to be


a typical form to be used in addressing a

man

offensive,

very

is

much

one's inferior in position, for the only portion given at any

length

is

that portion in

The

enumerated.

which the

own

writer's

titles

offensiveness lies in the brevity

are

of the

description of the person addressed.


2.

From a Negri Sembilan lembaga

Compliments
an educated

only.

man

This

to his District Officer.

letter is interesting as the

specially interested in

Warkatu'l-ikhlas wa-tuhfatu'1-ajnas

yang

custom
terbit

work of

daripada fuadu'z-

zakiah ya-itu hati yang puteh lagi hening dan jerneh yang tiada

APPENDIX

200

shale dan waham di-dalam-nya sa-lagi ada peridaran


chakerawala matahari dan bulan ya-itu datang daripada beta Datok
P. yang ada pada masa ini di-dalam daerah Negeri Kembau, mudahmudahan barang di-sanipaikan oleh Tuhan seru sakalian alam

menaroh

mengadap ka-hadapan majlis sen


paduka sahabat beta tuan X., Magistrate, yang maha-mulia pada
melakukan jalan berkaseh-kasehan dan mengambil hati sakalian
sahabat handai taulan-nya karib dan bai'd, yang ada bersemayam
pada masa ini di-dalam negeri Tampin dengan beberapa selamat
apa-lah jua kira-nya akan datang

sejaht^ra, ada-nya.

3. From a Malay Raja (not a ruling


Compliments only

chief) to a Magistrate.

Surat dengan beberapa tulus dan ikhlas serta suchi hati yang puteh

dan jerneh yang tiada menaroh shak dan waham sa-lagi


ada peridaran chakerawala ya-itu matahari dan bulan daripada beta
Raja X. yang ada terhenti pada masa ini di-dalam negSri M.
lagi hening

dengan minta mudah-mudahan barang di-sampaikan oleh Tuhan


Seru Sakalian Alam apa-lah jua kira-nya datang ka-hadapan majlis
seri paduka sahabat beta tuan R. yang menjadi Magistrate di-dalam
B. dengan kemuliaan serta pula mendapat selamat dengan sejahtera-nya.
4.

From

a Regent of Perak to a District Officer announcing

the death of the Sultan.

Bahwa

Compliments only

dan ikhlas kaseh sayang daripada beta Raja Muda


X., wakilu's-Sultan Negeri Perak, Daru'r-ridzwan, bersemayam
di-Bukit Chandan Seri Andalan, mudah-mudahan baiang di-waslkan
oleh Tuhan Seru Sakalian Alam datang ka-hadapan majlis paduka
sahabat beta tuan Y., Magistrate Kinta daerah Batu Gajah dengan
surat tulus

sejahtera-nya.

IX.
It will

Application of these Rules.

be seen from the above specimen

clerks are not

that they employ, but that they

mate

to certain forms.

been

definitely established

Malay penghulu,

Malay

rules

if

chief,

we

do what they can

to approxi-

Conversely, although no rules have

addressed by a European

down such

letters that

usually quite consistent in the compliments

how

by actual practice to show


or

should

prince

official,

it

is

not

properly

be

to

lay

difficult

study the practice of Malays

when

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING


We may

corresponding with one another.


for

comparison the extent of

allowance has to be

and mere

made

territory

official position,

take as a basis

governed.

for the difference

201

certain

between hereditary

but this difference

is

largely titular.

Resident cannot appropriate in correspondence the royal

expressions such as mempunya'i takhta kerajaan, but he certainly could claim the administrative descriptions of a Sultan

In the same way a

such as menjalatikan tadbiru l-ihsan.

District Officer corresponds in territorial extent of authority,

more or

less,

with a IMalay chief such as a Seri Adika Raja.

the

religious

expressions,

hereditary right and

on

based

Omitting the descriptions

would be

it

fairly

easy to find

formulae that are apposite and do not jar on the ear like
the present confused system by which District Officers claim
royal thrones and otherwise

make themselves

ridiculous in

official letters.

The only headings


an English

official to

hakk and kalamu

that are at all suitable to a letter

Malay

s-siddik.

It

chief of
is

any

true that

from

sort are kaidul-

they presuppose

a certain equality of rank and are not really correct where

a comparatively minor

official

addresses a Sultan, but they

have long been customary and are only unsuitable

in very

exceptional cases, for a correspondence with a ruling chief


is

not usually carried on by minor

The

oflicials.

expression seri padiika sahabat beta should be confined

as far as possible to Ruling Chiefs,

The

Governors and Residents.

expression/flf^a sahabat beta ought to be quite sufficient

for native

heads of districts and

for

English

of a District Officer or Magistrate, while

enough

in other cases.

officials

of the rank

jc?//a/5'(?/ (^f/a

In the same way, an

official,

would be

however

high in rank, should avoid applying to himself the special Malay

terms limited

in

use to native royal personages

words such

as wajah, waslkan, bershnayam, swggasa7ia, daulat and takhta

kerajaan

and he should employ

of his duties only.

polite expressions descriptive

Such expressions are not uncommon.

APPENDIX

202

The

may

following forms

be

suggested

as

suitable

to

correspondence with Malays


I.

From a Junior

Europeatt

Official.

(a) to a peasant:

Daripada kita tuan X., kepala mata-mata di-dalam daerah Y., disampaikan kapada AI. bin N'. yang ada sekarang ini di-dalam
daerah Z.

Ahual
((5)

di-taarifkan

a penghulu

to

Surat tulus ikhlas daripada beta tuan X., kepala mata-mata di-dalam
}'.,
barang di-sampaikan kapada sahabat beta Datok
Penghulu M. di-dalam daerah Z., dengan selamat-nya.

daerah

Ahual beta taarifkan


(/) to

a chief:

Surat tulus ikhlas serta dengan hati yang puteh daripada beta tuan

X., kepala maia-viata yang ada terhenti sekarang

daerah Y.,

maka barang di-sampaikan

Alam datang ka-hadapan


I\I.

yang ada pada masa

majlis

ini

ini

di-dalam

Tuhan Seru Sakalian


sahabat beta yang mulia Datok
oleh

di-dalam negeri Z,, dengan sehat can

khairu'l-'afiat.

Ahual beta maalumkan

{d) to a non-reigning raja

Surat tulus ikhlas serta dengan hati yang puteh lagi hening dan jerneh

sa-lama-lama-nya daripada beta tuan A'., kepala mataniata yang


ada terhenti sekarang ini di-dalam daerah J'., mudah-mudahan
barang di-waslkan oleh Tuhan Seru Sakalian Alam datang ter-

hampar ka-hadapan majlis padnka sahabat beta yang mulia Raja


M. yang ada bSrsSmayam pada masa ini di-dalam negeri Z., dengan
selamat dan kesejahteraan-nya.

Wa-baada-hu ahual beta maalumkan


ie)

to

a reigning Sultan

Surat tulus ikhlas serta di-iringi dSngan hormat ya-itu daripada

tuan X., kepala mata-mata yang ada terhenti kapada masa

bel^a
ini

di-dalam daerah Y. mudah-mudahan barang di-waslkan oleh Tuhan


Seru Sakalian Alam datang mengadap yang maha-mulia paduka
Seri Sultan

M.

ibni

al-marhum Raja AL yang-di-pertuan negeri Z,

daru'sh-sha/iadak, yang bersemayam di-atas takhta kerajaan dengan

beberapa selamat sejahtera-nya.

Wa-baada-hu ahual di-maalumkan ...

NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING


From

II.

203

a Senior Official.

(a) to a peasant

Daripada kita tuan A', pegawai kSrajaan di-dalam daerah Y., n^geri
Perak, di-sampaikan kapada M. bin N'. yang ada pada masa ini
di-dalam Kampong Z.

Ahual di-nyatakan
{h) to a

minor penghulu

Surat ini daripada kita tuan

X. pegawai kerajaan di-dalam daerah Y.


M. bin N. di-dalam daerah

barang di-sampaikan kapada Penghulu


Z., dengan selamat-nya.

Ahual kita taarifkan


(f)

to

a major penghulu or minor chief:

Surat tulus ikhlas daripada beta tuan X. pegawai kerajaan di-dalam

maka barang di-sampaikan oleh Tuhan Seru Sakalian


Alam datang ka-hadapan majlis sahabat beta yang mulia Datok M.
daerah Y.

yang ada beristirahat-ul-khair kapada masa


dengan sSlamat-nya.
Ahual beta maalumkan ...

ini

di-dalam negeri Z.,

{d) to a chief of importajice


Surat tulus ikhlas serta kaseh sayang yang terbit daripada hati yang

puteh lagi hening dan jerneh serta tiada menaroh lupa dan lalai
barang sa-ketika jua pun sa-Iagi ada peridaran chakerawala
matahari dan bulan ya-itu datang daripada beta tuan X. pegawai
kerajaan di-dalam daerah Y. barang di-sampaikan Allah azza

wa

ka-hadapan majlis paduka sahabat beta yang mulia Datok M.


bin N'. yang ada beristirahatu'l-khair pada masa ini di-dalam negeri
Z., dengan sehat dan afiat.

jalla

Wa-baada-hu kemudian daripada


{e)

to

itu

ahual beta maalumkan

a raja (other than a ruHng prince)

Surat tulus ikhlas serta kaseh sayang yang terbit daripada hati yang

puteh lagi hening dan jerneh serta tiada menaroh lupa dan

barang

pun

ada

lalai

chakerawala
matahari dan bulan ya-itu datang daripada beta tuan X. pegawai
kerajaan di-dalam daerah Y. barang di-waslkan Allah subhana wa
taala ka-hadapan wajah paduka sahabat beta Raja ISI. ibni alsa-ketika

jua

sa-lagi

peridaran

marhum Raja N. yang bersemayam pada masa

ini

di-dalam

negeri Z., baldu'l-aadzam serta mempunyai' daulat dan kebesaran,

ada-nya.

APPENDIX

204

{/)

to

a reigning Sultaji:

Warkatu'l-ikhlas

wa

tuhfatu'l-ajnas

yang

terbit

daripada fuadu'z-

zakiah ya-itu hati yang puteh lagi hening dan jerneh sa-lagi ada

peridaran chakerawala matahari dan bulan ya-itu daripada beta

tuan X. pegavvai kerajaan di-dalam daerah

barang

mudah-mudahan

Y.

Allah

subhana vva taala apa-lah kira-nya


mengadap yang maha-mnlia paduka Seri Sultan Af. ibni al-marhum
Sultan Y. yang-di-pertuan negCri Z. daru sh-shahadah yang berse-

mayam

di-waslkan

di-atas singgasana takhta kerajaan di-dalam istana Ktiala

L. dengan bebSrapa selamat dan khairu'l-'afiat, ada-nya.

Wa-baada-hu kemudian daripada

III.

From

ahual beta maalumkan

itu

a Resident or Resident-General.

(a) to a peasa7ii

Daripada kita tuan X. Resident di-negeri

M.

Ahual di-nyatakan
{b) to

kampong

bin A^. di-dalana


.

Y.

di-sampaikan kapada

Z.

a juinor penghulii

Surat daripada kita tuan X. Resident di-dalam negeri Y.

paikan ka-hadapan Penghulu

M.

bin

di-sam-

N. di-dalam daerah mukim

Z. dengan selamat-nya.
Ahual kita nyatakan .
.

(c) to

a special class penghulu or

7iiinor chief:

Surat tulus ikhlas daripada beta tuan X. Resident di-dalam negeri Y.

barang di-sampaikan oleh Tuhan Sera Sakalian Alam ka-hadnpan


majlis sahabat beta Datok M. yang mulia pada masa ini di-dalam
daerah Z. dengan selamat sejahtera-nya.
{d) to

an important chief:

Surat tulus ikhlas yang tiada menaroh shak dan

tuan X. Resident di-dalam negeii

waham

daripada beta

barang di-sampaikan oleh


ka-hadapan majlis paduka sahabat
Y.

Tuhan Seru Sakalian Alam


Datok M. yang mulia yang ada pada masa

beta

ini

di-dalam negeri

Z. dengan sehat dan khairu'l-'ariat, ada-nya.

Ahual beta maalumkan


(f)

to

a no7i-reigning raja

Surat tulus ikhlas yang tiada menaroh shak dan

waham

sa-lama-

lama-nya ya-ilu daripada beta tuan X. Resident di-dalam negeri


K barang di-vvaslkan oleh Tuhan azza wa jalla ka-hadapan wajah


NOTES ON MALAY LETTER-WRITING

205

M. ibni al-marhum Raja N. yang ada


pada masa ini bersemayam di-bandar Z. dengan beberapa selamat
dan sejahtera-nya.
Ahual beta maalumkan
padiika sahabat beta J\aja

(_/")

lo

a reigning Siiltan

Warkatu'l-ikhlas

wa

yang

tiihfatu'I-ajnas

tgrbit

daripada fuadu'z-

zakiah ya-itu hati yang puteh lagi hening sa-lagi ada peridaran

chakerawala matahari dan bulan ya-itu daripada beta tuan A'.


Resident negeri Y. mndah-mudahan barang di-waslkan Allah
subhana wa taala ka-hadzrat al-mukarram seri paduka sahabat
beta yang maha-mulia

Raja

N'.

mayam

paduka

seri

Sultan

M.

al-marhum

ibni

yang-di-pertuan negeri Z. dam'' sh-shahadah yang berse-

di-atas singgasana takhta kerajaan di-dalam bandar

Kuala

L. baldu'l-aadzam, dengan beberapa selamat dan kesempornaan,


ada-nya.

Wa-baada-hn kemudian daripada

From

IV.

the

Warkatu'l-ikhlas

High

wa

itu

beta

maalumkan

Commissiotier

tuhfatu'l-ajnas

yang

to

a reigmng Sultan.

terbit

daripada fuadu'z-

zakiah ya-itu hati yang puteh lagi hening dan jerneh yang tiada
mSnaroh shak dan wahani sa-lagi ada peridaran chakSrawala

matahari dan bulan ya-itu daripada beta Sir

Jll. TV. Governor


buah negeri Singapura, Pulau Pinang dan Melaka barang
di-waslkan oleh Tuhan maliku'l-hinnan wa'1-mannan apa-lah jua
kira-nya ala wajahu'l-karimu'sh-sharif seri paduka sahabat beta
as-Sultan M. ibni al-marhum Raja TV. yang-di-pertuan negeri Z.
dam' sh-shahadah yang bersemayam pada masa ini di-atas singgasana takhta kerajaan dan kebesaran di-dalam istana bandar Kuala
L. baldu'l-aadzam, dengan istirahat dan sehat serta khairu'l-'afiat

tiga

sSlamat sjahtera-nya.

Wa-baada-hu kemudian daripada


kan .
.

itu

maka

ada-lah beta

maalum-

OXFORD: HORACE HART M.A.


PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

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