 |
Live and Learn Malay
Audio Lessons Software Dictionaries Exercise Books Flashcards Video & Media Learn Online Immersion Culture Corner Learning to speak Malay opens the door to a fascinating world of cultures that descend from ancient times. Many consider the language to be among those easiest learnt by English speakers. Nonetheless, if you're going to progress in the language you'll need to get your hands on some good language learning resources. We've researched what's available and unearthed the best resouces that will help you learn this exciting language. If it isn't on this page, it's not worth using! Find advice on Malay audio lessons, language software, dictionaries, exercise books and much more... Did you know? The following English words originate from Malay: bamboo, orang-utan, sarong, amok, compound, gong, ketchup, mandarin, tea.
Useful Phrases Selamat Datang - Welcome (used as a greeting) Selamat tinggal - Good bye Jumpa lagi - See you again Terima kasih - thankyou Nama awak apa? - What is your name? Nama saya Michael - My name is Michael Ya - Yes Tidak - No Minta maaf - I apologise
An Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people and other peoples who live in the Malay peninsula, Southern Thailand, the Phillipines, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, and some parts of the coast of Borneo. Also called Behasa Melayu, it is the official language of Malaysia. The language was used as the lingua franca throughout the archipelago since the 15th Century. When Islam arrived in SE Asia in the 14th Century, the Arabic script was introduced to replace the traditional Indian writing system. Later, due to British and Dutch influence in the region, the Latin script was adopted. A total of 20 - 30 million people speak the language in its different forms, making it the 54th most widely spoken language on earth. There are many dialects of the language, some of which are mutually unintelligible. One of them, Indonesian, originates from Behasa Melayu but is separated by some centuries of language development. The dialect, also known as Bahasa Indonesia is the native language of the 250 million inhabitants of Indonesia, making it one of the most widely spoken languages on earth. Many people consider Malay and Indonesian to be two of the easiest languages to learn. The grammar is very straightforward like Chinese, but there are no tones or characters. Pronunciation is easy for speakers of European languages, and has a logical orthography.
The "Teach Yourself" book comes with 2 CD's of audio material to complement the book. See our Exercise Book section. Internet Freebies Fruit audio lessons are provided free on this site - an ideal way to quickly pick up the fruit names.
EuroTalk Interactive - Talk Now! Learn Malay
Internet Freebies BYKI provide a free language software download which is very useful for beginners to the language. Free Language Quizzes are provided on this site to test your vocabulary. If you're serious about learning the language you'll need a good dictionary to help you with vocabulary. The following dictionaries are the best available.
Collin's Dictionary
Oxford Fajar: Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Internet Freebies The Bhanot Dictionary is a useful, free English-Malay Dictionary.
Using a good exercise book can help you build your understanding of the language grammar and provides you with exercises to test your knowledge. There are several exercise books available for this language, but some of them contain errors and aren't very user friendly, so we haven't featured them. If you're looking for a good exercise book course we recommend the following:
Everyday-Malay: Phrase Book and Dictionary
Teach Yourself Complete Course
Malay-for-Everyone
Internet Freebies 101 Languages provide useful phrases, a pronunciation guide and grammar explanations for free.
Free Flash Cards in any language: At Live and Learn Languages we provide free flashcards in any language. Please click on the link above to visit our Flashcard page for more information. If you don't live in a Malay-speaking country it can be hard to practise what you learn. However with the dawn of the interent age the world has become a very small place. A great way to learn is by using a language exchange site to practise speaking or writing with a native who wants to learn English. All you need is an internet connection and a webcam. The following sites provide this service: The best and fastest way to learn the language is to visit live in Malaysia and attend a language school there. Having to practise your language skills daily will make you learn quickly. The following language school provides excellent courses: University Kebangsaam: caters to students from all over the world and provide beginners, intermediate and advanced courses, each course containing 100 hours of instruction. Each course costs RM1520 per person. Of course there are ways to immerse yourself even if you're not in the country. Immerse yourself in the language where you live by using the following suggestions: 1. Listen to the radio online each day and surround yoursely with the language. 2. Keep up with the news each day. If you're new to the language try using a dictionary to figure out the main headline every day. Overtime you'll really expand your vocabulary. 3. Use Google BahasaMelayu instead of English Google when searching on the net. 4. Listen to your favourite Malay songs learn the lyrics, and try singing them. When we sing in a foreign language we loose our accent. For example, Celine Dion sings beautifully in English with no trace of an accent, but if you hear her speak she has a very strong Quebec accent. Learning to sing popular-Malay-songs will build your vocabulary and improve your accent. For example, below is a music video of the famous Zainal Abidin's song "Puteri". Try learning the lyrics, figuring out their meaning, and then try singing along.
You can listen to clips of more songs by Zainal Abidin in the box below:
Cultural Quirks: The Malay people are by far the largest ethnic group in Malaysia, making up over half of the population. By definition of the constitution all Malay-people are Muslims, although the traditional culture can still be found in the villages. The Chinese have been settling in the country for centuries, and now form the country's second largest ethnic group. They are usually Tao Buddhists and maintain strong links to their ancestral homeland. The Indians make up the third largest ethnic group, whereas the indigenous tribes, the oldest inhabitants, make up only 5% percent of the population. There are about 100 different tribal groups in the country. National Recipes:
Malaysian food reflects the multi-racial nature of the country, having roots in Chinese, Thai and Indian cuisine. The different ethnic groups all have their own dishes, but many are derived from several ethnic influences. Rice and noodles are staple foods, and Indian breads such as Naan are eaten for breakfast. Some popular dishes include Kangkung Belacan and Keropok Lekor. Authentic-Recipes-from-Malaysia Traditional Music: The natives of the Malay peninsula played in small ensembles called "kertok" - a swift and rythmic xylophone music. In Malacca "ronggeng" is the traditional folk music, and is played with violin, drums, button accordion and an Indonesian gong. The Arabic derived "zapin" music is also very popular throughout the country, as is "Dondang Sayan", a slow and intense form of music with mixes influences from China, India, the Arabs, Portugal and traditional music. Listen to some clips of traditional Malay music below:
Have you learned to speak this fascinating language. If so we'd love to hear how you did it. Which resources did you find useful? Which weren't so great? Please e-mail us your findings using the form below.
Photos kindly provided by Terence Wong
|
: a very useful piece of software ideal for beginners. EuroTalk provides games and exercises for learning basic day to day phrases. The software allows you to record your voice and compare it to native speakers - it also remembers words you get wrong and targets your weak points.
is an easy reference 1091 page dictionary, ideal for beginners to the language. The dictionary contains all the useful phrases you're likely to need, and can be used effectively by both English speakers learning Malay, or Malay speakers learning English.
is the best choice if you're an advanced learner of the language. It is however hard to get hold of. We've linked to Amazon where, if it's available, it's the cheapest.
is the best phrasebook available for the language, being more comprehensive than the Lonely Planet book. A grammatical foundation is given for the phrases, a feature rarely seen in a phrase book. The bilingual dictionary at the back contains 2000 entries. If you've been learning for a while this probably isn't for you, but if you're new to the language it will serve as a an excellent reference for the basics.
is one of the most comprehensive Malay course available. The extensive exercises and cultural explanations will help you get a good grasp on the language. The book is complemented by 2 audio CDs to aid pronunciation. The glossary at the back is not very extensive, so you'll need a dictionary in addition to this course.
is an excellent, well organised exercise book containing good grammar explanations, practical exercises and plenty of real life examples.
is a lovely recipe book which gives instructions on how to prepare some of the country's most mouth watering dishes.
