What you need to know if you consider translating content into Bahasa Languages?
Despite the fact that the majority of the population (62% as of 2014) speaks English, Bahasa Malaysia (BM) has been the only official language in Malaysia since 1968.
Translation from English into Malay is becoming increasingly demanded; organizations and institutions that aim to reach large audiences in the country. The stakeholders in key government bodies and NGO officials must keep their communication in Bahasa Malaysia to ensure maximum reach and efficiency.
Indonesian flag
Sometimes, “Bahasa” is used to refer to Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia interchangeably. This, however, is not exactly correct. Even though both languages stem from the same family, their distinctions are significant. The information below refers to both Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia (collectively referred to as “Bahasa”).
Quick facts.
Bahasa belongs to the Austronesian family, a Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of languages.
Total number of speakers (native and as a second language): up to 250,000,000 (estimated)
It’s spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, East Timor, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Christmas Island, and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Officially spoken in: Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore.
Recognized as minority language in: East Timor, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Thailand, and Philippines.
Influences and borrowings.
Arabic, Sanskrit, Tamil, Persian, Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, and English heavily influenced Bahasa languages. The highest number of borrowed words come from the mentioned languages.
Alphabet.
Latin is the official alphabet used in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
Jawi – Arabic alphabet is co-officially used in a few states in Malaysia, but not nation-wide, while it is co-official nation-wide in Brunei.
Standards.
There are two standards: The Indonesian standard used in Indonesia, and the Malaysian standard used in Malaysia and Singapore.
Other variants.
There are 10 known variants in Malaysia, with standard Bahasa Malaysia is standardized across the country. Also there isBrunei Bahasa, which is a variant of Bahasa Malaysia spoken in Brunei Darussalam. Indonesia has a number of known variants of its own as well.
Honorifics and registers.
As monarchies, Malaysia and Brunei have special language registers when referring to members of Royal families. These are honorifics as well as certain verbs and nouns which are not used by and in relation to commoners. If your target audience is the Royal family, you’d need to adjust the language accordingly.
The following Royal registers of Bahasa Malaysia exist:
Royal Malay language
Royal Brunei language
Other uses: Indonesian is used at UN peacekeeping missions
Maven International, a translation company in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has been successfully providing translation services from English into Malay and Indonesian languages since 2013. We have translated content for some clients into the Brunei variant of Bahasa Malaysia as well as into Royal Brunei and Royal Malay registers and transliterated content using Jawi alphabet.
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