Malay language

Malay is an Austronesian language spoken across Southeast Asia, with standardized forms including Malaysian Malay, Brunei Malay, and Indonesian.

Austronesian languages: A language family spread across the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with members also spoken in Madagascar and Taiwan. Malay belongs to this family, whose geographic reach frames its linguistic history.
Indonesian language: The standardized national language of Indonesia, based chiefly on Malay and closely related to Malaysian Malay. Indonesian and Malaysian Malay share a base but differ in vocabulary, spelling, and usage.
Old Malay: An early historical stage of Malay attested in inscriptions from the seventh century onward. Its inscriptions provide direct evidence for Malay before its later regional expansion.
Lingua franca: A language used for communication among people who do not share a first language. Malay served this role in regional trade and remains a shared means of communication.
Tagalog language: An Austronesian language native to the Philippines and the basis of Filipino, the country’s national language. Tagalog shares a distant language family with Malay but has a different national and regional history.
Malayic languages: A branch of Austronesian languages that includes Malay and closely related varieties across western Indonesia and neighboring regions. This branch contains Malay varieties and helps distinguish Malay from the wider Austronesian family.
Malaysian Malay: The standardized national variety of Malay used in Malaysia, also called Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Melayu. It is one of the national standards encompassed by the broader Malay language.
Srivijaya: A maritime kingdom centered in Sumatra that dominated important Southeast Asian trade routes from the seventh century onward. Srivijaya’s inscriptions and trading reach helped establish early Malay as a regional language.
Official language: A language designated by a government for use in public institutions and official communication. Malay has official status in several countries, though its legal role differs by state.
Javanese language: A major Austronesian language spoken chiefly on the Indonesian island of Java. Javanese is regionally influential in Indonesia, unlike Malay’s role as a cross-community standard.

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