Kedah Malay or Kedahan (Malay: bahasa Melayu Kedah; also known as Pelat Utara or Loghat Utara 'Northern Dialect') or as it is known in Thailand, Syburi Malay (Thai: ภาษามลายูไทรบุรี Phasa Malāyū Saiburī) is a Malayic language mainly spoken in the northwestern Malaysian states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang, and northern Perak and in the southern Thai provinces of Trang and Satun. The usage of Kedah Malay was historically prevalent in southwestern Thailand before being superseded by the Thai language. Enclaves of Kedah Malay can be found in Kawthaung District in Myanmar; Ranong and Krabi in upper southern Thailand; Jaring Halus, Langkat and Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia and up north in Bangkok, central Thailand, where most of the Kedah Malay speakers are descendants of historical settlers from Kedah.[2]
| Kedah Malay | |
|---|---|
| بهاس ملايو قدح ภาษามลายูไทรบุรี | |
| Pelat Utagha Bahasa Melayu Kedah, Bahasa Melayu Utara | |
| Native to | Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia |
| Region | Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Perlis, northern Perak (Kerian, Manjung, Larut, Matang and Selama), Trang, Satun, Ranong, Tanintharyi, Langkat, Aceh |
| Ethnicity | Kedahan Malays Thai Malays Burmese Malays Jaring Halus Malays |
Native speakers | 2.6 million (2004)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin script, Arabic script, Thai script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | meo |
| Glottolog | keda1251 |
Dark Blue: Regions where Kedahan is currently spoken, Blue: Regions where Kedahan is historically spoken
Kedah Malay can be divided into several dialects, namely Kedah Persisiran (Littoral Kedah; which is the de facto prestige dialect of Kedah Malay), Kedah Utara (Northern Kedah), Perlis-Langkawi, Penang and some others outside Malaysia.[3] Speakers in Trang as well as Satun are heavily influenced by the Thai language. However in the district of Baling, they speak a different variant more closely related to Kelantan-Patani Malay than it is to Kedah Malay.[4]
Phonology
editConsonants
edit| Labial | Alveolar | Palato-alveolar | Dorsal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | t d | t͡ʃ d͡ʒ | k ɡ |
| Fricative | s | h | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ |
| Trill | r | |||
| Semivowel | l | j | w |
Note(s):
- Word initially:
- /r/ is pronounced as the velar fricative [ɣ] in the syllable onset.[5]
- In certain loan words, /r/ is pronounced as an alveolar trill [r] such as in market [market] 'market'.
- /r/ is pronounced as the velar fricative [ɣ] in the syllable onset.[5]
- Word finally:
- Following /i/, velar nasal /ŋ/ is neutralised to /n/, so kucing /kut͡ʃiŋ/ 'cat' and kuning /kuniŋ/ 'yellow' are pronounced [kut͡ʃen] and [kunen] (even spelt accordingly in rare manuscript instances i.e. کوچين for the former[6]) though the final consonant is still underlyingly /ŋ/ as can be seen from the derived forms of these words such as kekuningan /kəkuniŋan/ 'yellowness' [kəkuniŋan] which still retains the [ŋ].[7]
- /s/ is neutralised to /h/, so kurus /kurus/ 'thin' is pronounced [kughuʲh].[7][8]
- After /a/, this /s/ is palatalised, so panas /panas/ 'hot' is pronounced [panaʲh].
- /r/ is realised as a pharyngeal fricative [ʕ] so lapar /lapar/ 'hungry' is pronounced [lapaʕ].[5]
Vowels
editMonophthongs
editKedah Malay has eight monophthongs, unlike Standard Malay which has six with /ɛ/ and /ɔ/ not having phonemic status.[9][10]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Close-Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-Mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a |
Note(s):
- In open-ended final syllables and before a glottal stop (allophone of /k/ in the syllable coda) also in final syllables, /a/ is realised as [ɒ], so anak /anak/ 'son/daughter' and paksa /paksa/ 'to force' are pronounced [anɒʔ] and [paʔsɒ].
Diphthongs
editKedah Malay has four diphthongs /ai, au, oi, ui/ with /ui/ being a surplus diphthong that does not exist in Standard Malay.[11]
Comparison with Standard Malay
editBelow is a comparison between Kedah Malay and Standard Malay.[12]
| Standard Malay
Sound |
Position | Kedah Malay
correspondence |
Example
(Standard Malay ≙ Kedah Malay) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /il/ | Word-final syllable | /e/ | katil /katil/ 'bed' | ≙ | /kate/ |
| /el/ | /ɛ/ | comel /t͡ʃomel/ 'cute' | /t͡ʃomɛ/ | ||
| /oh/ | /o/ | bodoh /bodoh/ 'stupid' | /bodo/ | ||
| /o/ | Both syllables of two-syllable words | /ɔ/ | sotong /sotoŋ/ 'squid' | /sɔtɔŋ/ | |
| First syllable of certain two-syllable words | /u/ | boleh /boleh/ 'can' | /buleh/ | ||
| /i.a/ | Anywhere | /a/ | siapa /si.apa/ 'who' | /sapa/ | |
| /ɛ/ | biasa /bi.asa/ 'normal' | /bɛsa/ | |||
| /u.a/ | /o/ | laut /la.ut/ 'sea' | /lot/ | ||
| /ɔ/ | kuala /ku.ala/ 'estuary' | /kɔla/ | |||
Vocabulary
edit| Kedah Malay | Standard Malay | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| hang | awak/kamu/kau | 'you' (singular) |
| hangpå/hampå | kalian | 'you' (plural) |
| cek/aku | saya/aku | 'I' |
| cek | saya | 'I' (young to old) |
| cek | kamu | 'you' (old to young) |
| depå/lepå | mereka | 'they' |
| sépå (In a few certain areas) / kitorang | kami | 'we' (exclusive) |
| Kedah Malay | Standard Malay | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| sapadiå, sapå | siapa/siapakah | 'who' |
| apå,på,padiå,natangpå | apa/apakah | 'what' |
| bilå,mengkalå | bila/bilakah | 'when' |
| genå, lagumanå | bagaimana/bagaimanakah | 'how' |
| manå | mana | 'where' |
| pasaipå,sepå,awat,
buatpå, sebabpå |
mengapa | 'why' |
| bapå | berapa | 'how much' |
| Kedah Malay | Standard Malay | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| camcå | sudu | 'spoon' |
| habaq | cakap | 'talk' |
| mai | datang, mari | 'come' |
| mau | nak | 'want' |
| payah | susah | 'difficult' |
| lå, lani | sekarang | 'now' |
| lagu | macam | 'sort' |
| cabai | cili/lada | 'chilli' |
| hakap | tamak | 'greedy' |
| pi | pergi | 'go' |
| sat | sebentar, sekejap | 'one second' |
| mengkalā | bila, apabila | 'when' |
| ketegaq | degil, keras kepala | 'naughty' |
| geghék,beskat | basikal | 'bicycle' |
| mertun | tukul | 'hammer' |
| lempaq | baling | 'throw' |
| ghabat,ghagaih | memanjat | 'climb' |
| ligan | kejar | 'chase' |
| loqlaq | tak senonoh | 'indecent' |
| ketit | gigit kecil | 'bite softly' |
| tokak | gigit | 'bite' |
| belemoih | comot | 'messy' |
| cemuih | bosan | 'bored' |
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Kedah Malay at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Asmah Haji Omar 2017, p. 38.
- ^ See Malayan languages for a comparison between Kedah Persisiran and Penang dialects.
- ^ Mohd Noor Aswad 2019.
- ^ a b Shahidi A. H. 2009, pp. 309–311.
- ^ Gallop, Annabel Teh (Dec 21, 2015). "A Malay manuscript artist unveiled: Datuk Muda Muhammad of Perlis". Asian and African Studies. The British Library. Retrieved Feb 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Ajid Che Kob 1997, pp. 40–42.
- ^ Shahidi A. H. 2009, pp. 310–311.
- ^ Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf et al. 2021, p. 78-80.
- ^ Shahidi A. H. 2009, pp. 305–308.
- ^ Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf et al. 2021, pp. 81–82.
- ^ Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf et al. 2021, pp. 68–69.
- ^ a b Strife 2007.
- ^ Fazal Mohamed Mohamed Sultan & Nurulafiqah Suhaimi 2012, p. 490.
Bibliography
edit- Fazal Mohamed Mohamed Sultan; Nurulafiqah Suhaimi (2012). "Kata Soal Dalam Dialek Kedah" [WH Questions in Kedah Dialect]. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies (in Malay). 12 (2): 475–493.
- Nurul Shahida Jamil; Maslida Yusof (2015). "Analisis Deiksis Dialek Kedah". GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies (in Malay). 15 (1): 163–187. doi:10.17576/GEMA-2015-1501-10.
- Shahidi A. H. (2009). "Alternasi Dalam Fonologi Subdialek Kedah Utara". Jurnal Bahasa (in Malay). 9 (2): 302–325.
- Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf; Stefanie Pillai; W. A. Wan Aslynn; Roshidah binti Hassan (2021). "Vowel Production in Standard Malay and Kedah Malay Spoken in Malaysia". Linguistics International Journal. 15 (1): 65–93.
- Asmah Haji Omar (2017). "Language in Kedah in Late 19th Century-Language Situation in a Malay State in Late 19th Century". Malaysian Journal of Languages and Linguistics. 6 (2): 36–47. doi:10.24200/mjll.vol6iss2pp36-47.
- Ajid Che Kob (1997). "Word Final Nasal in Malay Dialects". In Odé, Cecilia; Stokhof, Wim (eds.). Proceedings of Seventh International Conference on Austronesian. Amsterdam: Rodopi. pp. 35–43. ISBN 9789042002531.
- Mohd Noor Aswad (2 November 2019). "Getting to know the unique Baling dialect". New Straits Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- Strife, Fiq (2 November 2007). "Kamus Dialek Melayu-Kedah" [Kedah Malay Dialect Dictionary]. Dunia Melayu Kedah (in Malay). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
