Malay Language For

Foreigners

Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin

Institute of The Malay World and
Civilization
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
shima@pkrisc.cc.uykm.my
The Structure of the
Course
1. Malay Language
2. Malay Culture
3. Workshops
4. Fieldtrips
5. Graduation Day
 The Language Component
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Semantics and Pragmatics

• The approach seems to make the

class more interesting and most
importantly it hinders from the
connotation of being a ‘kindergarten’
school.
 Phonetics and Phonology
• Since Malay and Indonesian languages seems rather similar but there are differences that
must be highlighted. In fact the pronunciation in everyday life for Malay speakers are
different. For examples:

• The /a/ sound in word final position surfaces as //. Any /a/ sound that is unchanged
indicates that it is a loanword.

2 syllables 3 syllables

bapa - /bap/ bahawa - /bahaw/

saya - /say/ bahagia - /bahagi/
rupa - /rup/ semasa - /semas/

• Malay has two phonemes for the sound /e/ that is // and /e/. Normally, // occurs in the
first syllable.
// /e/
emak - /ma?/ elak - /ela?/
empat- /mpat/ enak- /ena?/
sejuk - /sjo?/ ekor - /ekor/
 Semantics and Pragmatics
• Malay language is a context dependent language. Thus, its grammatical
system is quite complex, especially with respects to meaning.

The teachers are trained to teach with sufficient materials and evaluate their
relevancy according to the students’ proficiency. For instance, at the novice
level, the ability to understand Malay is very limited; teachers will focus
more on simple strings of sentences that are practical and relevant to the
students. At this level our aim is to give an introduction to the students
about the Malay language. At the end of the basic one course the students
are able to communicate using simple Malay.

At the intermediate levels, grammar is introduced. More vocabularies are

used. Problems of polysemy in Malay words frequently occur. To
overcome these problems, a lexicographic approach is adopted. The verb
chosen is ‘potong’ /cut. According to Asmah Hj. Omar (1986), ‘potong’
has 20 meanings. The act of ‘potong’ determines the sizes and shapes of
the objects. This can lead to confusion to the students. Hence, the practical
method is necessary in order for the students to capture the meaning easily.
• .
 The Demonstration of the word ‘cut’

Step 1: The teacher will explain the verb ‘cut’ (potong).

To ensure that all the students understand some

Vegetables are used to make things clearer. The terms
given are potong (cut), hiris(slice), kupas (peel),
mayang (slice thinly), belah (cut into two), and etc.

Step 2: The teacher will demonstrate the act of slicing.

This is the act of hiris (slice). We

normally ‘hiris’ thin objects such as
leafs.
Cont.
Step 3: Another word synonym to cut that is to peel is introduced.

This is the act of kupas (peel). We use to

peel fruits.

Step 4: More illustrations are given with different types of vegetable and fruits.

This is the act of potong bulat (cut roundly).

Cont.

• Step 5: The final product of cutting fruits served to the students.

 The Culture Component
Visiting the Malay House

• Step 1: entering the Malay house

Students are told to remove their

shoes. Wait until they are invited
to enter the house.

Step 2:

We teach them how to sit according to the

Malay customs.
Cont.

Step 3:

We teach them how to shake hands.

The proper shaking hands are introduced.
There are different ways depending
to the age of the people involved.
 The Reinforcement Activities
Workshops

The Japanese students are demonstrating

the Japanese kites. A few types of kites are
presented in the form of origami.

An American students preparing a ‘special’ coffee

With his creative recipe. The utensils and
ingredients in the picture are part of his wordlists
used in his presentation.
 Reinforcement Activities
Field Trip

Students experiencing their day in a

fruit orchard. They were introduced to
durians, mangoes, rambutans, and
mangoesteens.

Students at the handcraft center. They

had a chance to try and make a clay vase
At the same time they managed to
converse with the workers around them.
Cont.

One-day trip to the north part of Malaysia.

They were taken to the Muzium of the Malay
Warriors. They had the chance to read the captions
written on the picture exhibited. This will improve
their readings skills.

At the end of the trip, the local people held a small party.
This is the time where they can use all the
expression of respect they had learned in the class before.
They had the opportunity To experience the Malay serving
etiquette and tasted the Malay ‘kuih’
(sweet and spicy culinary).
Graduation Day

Certificates are awarded to the students.

 Conclusion
*Teaching a second language to foreigners really needs a skill.

*Teachers with a linguistics background can make the teaching

process more effective, easier and fun.

*Different background of cultures and interests are other

determinant factors that must be taken into considerations.

*We will always ensure that additional materials and workshop

presentation will fulfill their needs.

*What is more important is that at the end of the course the

students can speak our language and will come back for more.