When comparing similar languages, Indonesian vs. Malay often comes up in discussions. You may have heard these conversations yourself, but how exactly do they differ?
Are Indonesian and Malay the same? The name suggests otherwise, but what is the difference between Indonesian vs Malay? Let us answer these questions and more below.
An Introduction to Both Languages
First, Indonesian and Malay are both Austronesian languages and share the same roots. They diverged in the 20th century with the formation of Malaysia and Indonesia as independent nations seeking to establish concrete national identities. However, you can find Bahasa Melayu speakers in both countries.
In 1928, the Congress of Young People adopted Malay as the national language about 20 years before Indonesia achieved independence. They called this variant of Malay “Bahasa Indonesia” and chose it because it could be learned quickly, along with the fact that it had been the language of trade in the region for a long time. Even before 1928, historical circumstances necessitated the use of Malay in the Indonesian islands.
In contrast, Malay has been spoken in Malaya (later Malaysia) by the majority of the population already. Taking inspiration from Indonesia, the founders of Malaysia renamed the national language “Bahasa Melayu” and “Bahasa Malaysia,” depending on the era, since the government swung between the two several times.
Today, Indonesian is the national language used across Indonesia, whether on the street or in business. Malay fills a similar role in Malaysia, though Bahasa Melayu is still spoken today in the Riau Islands, Sumatra, and coastal Kalimantan, among other places. Many Indonesians also reside in Malaysia as workers, speaking Bahasa Indonesia while still being understood for the most part.
Indonesian vs Malay: 7 Main Differences
Below, we examine some key differences of Indonesian vs Malay, without considering regional and dialectal variants.
Accent
In general, Indonesian vowels tend to be pronounced harder and exactly as written, especially in Bahasa Baku, the standard variant. Malay pronunciation is much softer and elongated, resulting in a more melodic tone. You will also encounter more tongue rolling in Indonesian than in Malay.
Spelling
Without delving too deep into Indonesian vs. Malay spelling differences, we can confidently say that most words don’t differ too much between the two. For example, the word “cekap” is spelled “cakap” in Malay. This divergence is mostly caused by the Indonesian language undergoing reform while retaining some Dutch influence, and Malay reforms preserving some historical spellings and British influence.
Grammar
The most common grammatical differences between Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia are in the pronouns. The “me” pronoun in Malay, “saya,” is more formal than in Indonesian, and Indonesians consider “aku” informal, while Malay users sometimes see its use as rude.
There are other distinctions, but mostly in the form of different prefixes and affixes. Overall, standard Malay is also much more grammatically rigid.
Loanwords from Different Languages
Indonesia was a Dutch colony, while Malaysia was formerly governed by the British before achieving independence. Naturally, Bahasa Indonesia has more Dutch loanwords, and Malay has many English loanwords. Indonesian also has some loanwords from Latin due to Dutch and Portuguese influence. For instance, the word for university is “universitas,” not “universiti,” which is closer to the English word.
These days, loanwords in both languages tend to come from English because it is a global language, though they might be spelled differently.
False Friends
We hope all of your friends are genuine people, but the term doesn’t refer to real-life relationships between people. False friends are words shared by two languages but having dissimilar meanings. A classic example in regards to Indonesian vs Malay is the word “punggung.” It means “back” in Bahasa Indonesia, but Malay speakers would be puzzled as to why you are referring to the buttocks. Fortunately, our excellent Indonesian tutors can teach you the difference to avoid any potential mistakes and misunderstandings.
Minor Punctuation Differences
For the most part, Indonesian and Malay use the same punctuation rules, but there are two differences. Malay numbers use the decimal point, but Indonesian numbers use a decimal comma (1.98 vs. 1,98) due to Dutch influence. Conversely, the thousands separator is the dot and not the comma. Therefore, a thousand is written as “1.000.”
The second difference is in the quotation marks. Malay uses the British style (”…“) whereas Bahasa Indonesia uses the Dutch/German style („…“) instead. Nevertheless, Indonesians are increasingly using the former due to globalization.
More Tiny Differences
There are other differences when it comes to Indonesian vs Malay. Malay tends to be more formal than Indonesian when spoken, while the latter is more casual. Additionally, because Indonesian pronunciation tends to read words as written, speakers may stress syllables differently than Malay speakers. You might also notice that some shared idioms and sayings are not perfectly identical.
Indonesian vs. Malay: Same Same but Different
Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia share the same roots and belong to the same language family. Speakers of one can understand the other to a large extent. However, if you are planning a trip to Indonesia or know people who speak the language, it is better to study Bahasa Indonesia.
If you are looking for Bahasa Indonesia courses in Singapore, you are in luck. Our expert teachers at INDOTUTORS have been instructing students since 2011. We offer in-person and online classes, such as beginner-level Indonesian, business Indonesian, and conversational Indonesian lessons.
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You can email us at info@indotutors.com. If you prefer to call or message us on WhatsApp, our number is +65 82887890. We look forward to hearing from you soon!