Comments on: Nizar’s List of Malay Pronouns

By: mutalib saifuddin

mutalib saifuddin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:01:12 +0000

puan jordan! my father used to get a ‘thank you’ card from an australian, and the wish started with “Dear Puan”.

By: Liyana

Liyana — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:44:38 +0000

In Brunei I = kediaku (informal). There’s a list of ” I” pronoun when addressing higher ranking people.

You = kita/ abiskita (for someone older than you) or “kamu” between friends or people you are comfortable with.

As pointed out the lists of pronouns in Malay are “infinite”.

By: Nizar

Nizar — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:23:04 +0000

Another update:

‘Koi’ - saya/aku in Pahang (especially Temerloh and Pekan)

By: naeboo

naeboo — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 21:41:27 +0000

somehow i remember learning that “AKU” is the formal way of addressing yourself in school. as with “ENGKAU” and “ANDA” they are also formal.

By: Nizar

Nizar — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 09:14:46 +0000

Oh, yes… I’m so not from a royal blood. Tuanku is ‘Your highness’ for both King/prince and Queen/princess.

By: mardia

mardia — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 11:56:14 +0000

Thank you for this list. I am a part-time translator and I am interested in postings on languages (besides all other categoreis, of course, esp Alisdair:-). I will update my translator group Teraju about this.

Btw, can I add ‘Tuanku’ to address the royals ? or did I miss it?

Keep up the good work.

mardia
http://www.bakerette-cafe.com

By: Nizar

Nizar — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 04:40:12 +0000

I’ve posted PART II on my blog under ‘Language’ category.

There’s something I need to tell here though. If you read any tafseer of the Quran, you’ll notice the verses are literally translated from Arabic. Thus when Allah refers to Himself, He always uses “Kami” while in Islam, we believe in unity of God.

“Kami” in tafseer doesn’t mean there are more than 1 God but it’s something to do with being Superior.

Using plural as a polite form or a means to emphasize greatness is usual in certain languages such as Turkish, Persian, and Arabic.

For instances, the Turks say “sēn” (for singular “you”), but when they want to show politeness or emphasize greatness/superiority, they say “siz” (plural “you”, used as singular). I think it’s “shoma” in Persian.

In “Assalaamu alaikum” - “kum” is plural “you”, but (most) Muslims always use this form of greeting, to one person or many.

By: PART II - Anonyms in a Malay Family « Fong Wan

PART II - Anonyms in a Malay Family « Fong Wan — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 04:19:28 +0000

[...] I don’t quite know how to play around with colors in Wordpress. I asked for Jordan’s courtesy to post PART I on his blog, even though he insisted that I put it here because it’s my work. I just thought I was too lazy (well, I am!) to consistently update my blog. When I gave the document to Jordan, I highlighted some words red but it was all gone when pasted on Wordpress, so I decided this time I’d better handwrite my article to give it a more original look and personal touch. But that’s not all, I also wanted to see how good I can write with pens and papers nowadays since I changed to using keyboards after leaving high-school in 1996. Hopefully, you won’t be getting headache while reading my handwriting. So, here’s something I’d like to share with you. [...]

By: Nizar

Nizar — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 04:13:00 +0000

LOL haha
Yeah… thank you for that!

“Beliau” means ‘he/she’ (human only) that is well-respected - leaders, authors, or someone who you think deserves a public respect. Not to be used for criminals.
Also, “baginda” - (he/she … usually ‘he’) for the Prophets and kings.

I’m just wondering where exactly are you from Umm-fi-Ard?

By: Umm-fi-ard

Umm-fi-ard — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 01:42:24 +0000

Terima kasih kerana menerangkannya. Semahunya saya mahu memberi contoh dengan lagu kegemaran oleh generasi muda kita tetapi saya tidak tahu lagu Melayu popular yang terbaru. Ataupun lagu kegemaran oleh penduduk serumpun kita di seberang Laut Cina Selatan/Selat Melaka nun disana. Contohnya lagu nyanyian klasik seniman Broery Marantika tetapi saya tidak juga ingat lirik lagu “beliau” pada masa kini.