Handbook Of The Malay Language - Containing Phrases, Grammar, And Dictionary

HANDBOOK of the MALAY LANGUAGE- CONTAINING Phrases, Grammar and Dictionary WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO Military and Vocational Requirements by EDUARD F. WINCKEL. FOREWORD: The purpose of this handbook is to supply a guide for the acquisition of a practical knowledge of Malay. The Malay language, as spoken in every-day life by some eighty million people in the Netherlands East Indies, the Malayan Peninsula, and adjacent territories, is essentially simple. It is possible, therefore, to acquire in a few weeks a basic working knowledge of this language which will enable those who intend to go there to get along very adequately, not only with the Indonesians, but with most of the other settled inhabitants of the extensive areas in the Far East. The more advanced student will soon perceive that there exist minor differences in the vernaculars of the various sections of Malay sia, and he will adapt himself easily to the special words, expressions, and slight variations of pronunciation in the localities which he may visit. Malaysia is a term used to designate the Malay Peninsula and all the islands of the Indian Ocean, including Indonesia. These variations are due to the fact that the indigenous population consists of many diversified tribes, each preserving its own dialect for home use but also interjecting a few words of its private lingo into the Malay, which is the lingua franca that serves them all in common. Thus, in a few cases, different words are found in various localities to express the same idea. An intelligent Indonesian, however, will never fail to understand a word from some other region, even though he would not ever use that word himself or the pronunciation might vary from his own. In order to save the newcomer any perplexity on this point, such special words have been indicated in the DICTIONARY of this book by noting in parentheses the locality where the words are likely to be heard. Abbreviations used for this and other purposes have been listed on page 185. It should be understood, of course, that this handbook deals pri marily with the conversational language which is in common use throughout the thousands of islands of the Netherlands East Indies, the Malayan Peninsula, parts of Siam, Burma, Indo-China, and the Philippine Islands. Without a knowledge of this language, it is prac tically impossible to conduct any kind of business or vocation in Indonesia. The influence of foreign traders and successive invaders has strongly colored this Bngtta franca. Words and phrases of Sanscrit, Arabic, Persian, Chinese and later of Portuguese, English, and Dutch origin have, through the ages, been introduced. These terms* altered vii by the natives to suit the peculiar twist of the Malay tongue, have become an intrinsic part of the colloquial Malay which is taught in this book. High Malay, the purer but far more difficult language of literature, is a mixture of the original Malay of Sumatra, Sanscrit and Arabic, and has been kept fairly free fro...