Writing systems:
abjads |
alphabets |
syllabic alphabets |
syllabaries |
semanto-phonetic scripts
undeciphered scripts |
alternative scripts |
your con-scripts |
A-Z index |
Direction index |
Language index
Writing systems:
abjads |
alphabets |
syllabic alphabets |
syllabaries |
semanto-phonetic scripts
undeciphered scripts |
alternative scripts |
your con-scripts |
A-Z index |
Direction index |
Language index
Malay is an Austronesian language spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand. The total number of speakers of Standard Malay is about 18 million. There are also about 170 million people who speak Indonesian, which is a form of Malay.
The earliest known inscriptions in Malay were found in southern Sumatra and on the island of Bangka and date from 683-6 AD. They were written in an Indian script during the time of the kingdom of Srivijaya.
When Islam arrived in southeast Asia during the 14th century, the Arabic script was adapted to write the Malay language. In the 17th century, under influence from the Dutch and British, the Arabic script was replaced by the Latin alphabet.
| A a | B b | C c | D d | E e | F f | G g | H h | I i |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | be | ce | de | e | ef | ge | ha | i |
| J j | K k | L l | M m | N n | O o | P p | Q q | R r |
| je | ke | el | em | en | o | pe | ki | er |
| S s | T t | U u | V v | W w | X x | Y y | Z z | |
| es | te | u | fe | we | iks | ye | zet |
Semua manusia dilahirkan bebas dan samarata dari segi kemuliaan dan hak-hak. Mereka mempunyai pemikiran dan perasaan hati dan hendaklah bertindak di antara satu sama lain dengan semangat persaudaraan.
Listen to a recording of this text
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Longer sample text (Tower of Babel)
Online Malay lessons
http://pgoh13.free.fr/l2bahasa.php
Online Malay dictionaries
http://bahasa-melayu.com
http://search.cari.com.my/dictionary/
http://www21.brinkster.com/database2001/
http://www-clips.imag.fr/geta/services/dicoweb/dicoweb.html
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~qntal/dictionary/
Free Jawi fonts and software
http://www.anu.edu.au/asianstudies/ahcen/proudfoot/mmp/cara.html
Balinese, Batak, Bikol, Bugis, Buhid, Cebuano, Cham, Chamorro, Drehu, Fijian, Hanuno'o, Hawaiian, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Javanese, Kapampangan, Makasar, Malagasy, Malay, Mandar, Maori, Marshallese, Rarotongan, Redjang, Rotuman, Samoan, Tagalog, Tagbanwa, Tahitian, Tetum, Tongan, Tuvaluan, Waray-Waray, Yapese
Other languages written with the: Arabic script | Latin alphabet
Copyright 1998- Simon Ager
