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Malay

Malay

1 6.0
A language spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Singapore
  • noun
  • /məˈleɪ/
translation icon : malayo
  • The majority of the participants chose to answer in Malay.
  • Malay and Tamil
  • Malay and English
  • Malay or Javanese

Examples

  • The owners of these SMEs speak little English and Malay, a reason for their reluctance to move beyond their current clientele.

    Academic text (2018)
  • First, the original items of all the measures were translated into Malay.

    Academic text (2002)
  • As such, these measures were adapted to Malay by the back-translation method involving two steps.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Malay (which uses a Latin writing system) is the most common language in Malaysia.

    Blog text (25)
  • After all, Siburan, when translated from Malay to Hakka, means "New Life Village."

    Academic text (2007)
  • The official place names for these new villages in Malay are Siburan, Beratok, and Tapah.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The majority of the participants chose to answer in Malay.

  • First, the original items of all the measures were translated into Malay.

  • English is his first language; he is afraid that if he sings in Malay, his pronunciation will be ridiculed.

Compounds

A long piece of land in Southeast Asia between the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea

A group of islands in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and the Philippines, between Asia and Australia

Surface Forms

Malay singular
Malays plural

Etymology

Malay as the name of the language also comes from the place name Melayu, likely from Sanskrit malaya meaning 'hill' or 'mountain'. So the language is called Malay because it is the language of that region and its people.