Beka Melayu

Béka Melayu (Jawi: بيكا ملايو), Cakap Melayu (چاکڤ ملايو), Lidah Melayu (ليده ملايو) or Tuturan Melayu (توتورن ملايو) is a linguistic purism of Malay (and Indonesian) language based on the Austronesian language group, especially the Malayic branches.[1][2][3][4] This project is newly created by native cyberspace users on the Internet. It is also less known as Melayu jati or Melayu tulen which means "pure Malay". Among the most significant foreign contributors to Malay vocabulary are Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Siamese, Tamil, English, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese, while Dutch is most spotted in Indonesian.[lower-alpha 1][5]

Malay tricolour flag used by Beka Melayu on Twitter.

Etymology

Beka and cakap can be defined as 'discussing', 'talk' or 'speak',[6] while lidah means 'tongue'.[7] Beka was chosen to replace the word bahasa, 'language' which is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit bhā́ṣā (भाषा).[8][9] Melayu, which is a word for 'Malay', is thought to be derived from several different terms including Sanskrit himalaya, meaning 'snowy place', and Javanese mlaya or mlayu, meaning 'to run'.[10] It is also suggested to come from Malay melaju, 'to accelerate' which refers to a river that was mentioned in the Malay Annals.[11] See "etymology of Malay" for further information. However, this term is assumed to be related to the word layar or melayar,[12][13] which means 'sailing',[lower-alpha 2] descended from Proto-Austronesian *layaʀ.[14] So, Beka Melayu literally means 'Malay discussion' or 'Malay language'.[4]

Simple history and conception
See also: History of the Malay language

In earlier times, since the colonial period, the concept of linguistic purism in Malay was not widely known or supported. Writers who focused on translating foreign books tried to block most western influences like English and Dutch in Malay literature, while other influences such as Sanskrit and Arabic were still widely used.

Pure Malay was first suggested in 2017 under the name Lidah Malayaw.[15] The effort was then followed by other cyberusers using sites like Facebook, YouTube, Quora, and most recently Twitter.[16][1][4][2]

Concept

The objective of Beka Melayu is to remove all foreign vocabulary in the Malay language and to use native language innovations. This new language variation accepts all of the pure Austronesian elements, mostly from the Malayic language; for example, Malay itself, Minangkabau, Iban, Temuan, Jakun, Javanese and many more.[12] The Austroasiatic elements already used will be kept.[12]

Methods

There are several methods used in Beka Melayu to create new vocabulary. Some examples of the methods are:

Main Malay adaption

This method uses pure Malay words already recorded in several Malay dictionaries or other references. Among the commonly used dictionaries are Kamus Dewan (KD), Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI), Wilkinson dictionary (can be accessed via SEALang Library Malay) and others. For example:

Loanword from language  Beka Melayu  translation 
cawan Mandarin 茶碗 (cháwǎn). cangkir[lower-alpha 3] (KD 'cup'; KBBI 'small bowl with handle') cup
kerusi/kursi Arabic كرسي (kursii) seliri[lower-alpha 3] (KD, KBBI 'seat', in romance) chair
rakyat Arabic رَعِيَّة‎ ('raʿiyya) sebawah[3] (KD 'a person under command') citizen
warganegara Sanskrit वर्ग (varga) + नगर (nagara) anakbenua[3] (KD anak, 'child' + KD benua, 'country') national

Dialect Malay and Malayic adaption

Based on pure words in dialectal Malay like Kelantan-Pattani, Terengganu, Kedah, Pahang, Johor-Riau, Sarawak and others, and Malayic languages such as Iban, Minangkabau, Banjar, Jakun, Temuan and many more. For example:

Loanword from language  Beka Melayu  translation
almari/lemari Portuguese armário gerobok[lower-alpha 3] (Johor Malay; KD 'clothes chest') cupboard
doktor English doctor bomor[lower-alpha 3] (Kelantan-Pattani Malay; cf. KD bomoh, 'shaman') doctor
roti Hindi रोटी (roṭī) gembung[lower-alpha 3] (Banjarese gambung, 'bread') bread
sekolah Portuguese escola sasaran[lower-alpha 3] (Minangkabau, KD 'learning place') school

Austronesian innovation

Based on words from other Austronesian languages like Javanese, Sundanese, Tagalog, Maori and others. Some of the words are changed to adapt to Malay (Johor-Riau) grammar and pronunciation. For example:

Loanword from language  Beka Melayu  translation 
buku Dutch boek serat[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] (Javanese; cognate with surat, 'letter') book
gajah Sanskrit गज (gaja) liman[lower-alpha 4] (Javanese; from lima-(a)n, 'to have five things', refers to its legs and trunk) elephant
gereja Portuguese igreja sembahan[lower-alpha 3] (Tagalog simbahan; from sembah-an, 'something about worshipping') church
tsunami Japanese 津波 (tsunami) semung[lower-alpha 4][12] (Simeulue smong, 'a giant wave') tsunami

New word creation

New words and terms can be created by several methods based on Malay grammar like affix addition, reduplication and metathesis, while a phrase with two or three words is often shortened by blending. For example:

By affixes addition (common method)
  • pelagau:[lower-alpha 4] from pe- (prefix) + lagau, 'to call', for 'telephone'.
  • penawang:[lower-alpha 4] from pe- (prefix) + tawang, 'space', for 'astronaut'.
  • jemadi:[lower-alpha 3] from jadi 'to be' + -em- (infix), for 'creation, being'; cf. Javanese dumadi.
  • urupan:[lower-alpha 4] from urup, 'to change something' + -an (suffix), for 'economy'.


By reduplication
  • bebaru:[lower-alpha 3][4] reduplicating of baru, 'new', for 'news'.
  • lelemas:[lower-alpha 3] reduplicating of lemas, 'drowning', for 'nitrogen'; cf. Indonesian zat pelemas, 'suffocating substances'.


By word blending
  • gamerak:[lower-alpha 4] blend of gambar gerak, 'moving picture', for 'video'.
  • kogam:[lower-alpha 4] blend of kotak gambar, 'picture box', for 'camera'.
  • rungkup:[lower-alpha 3] blend of ruang lingkup, 'surrounding space', for 'context'.
  • wagam:[lower-alpha 3] blend of wayang gambar, 'shadow play with picture', for 'film'; cf. pawagam, 'cinema'.


Sentence

Kepersenangan, Awang panggilanku. (Hello, my name is Awang.)

Dua puluh telu tahun tuaku. (My age is twenty three years old.)

Akan mengaji anak empunya warung itu kajibintang di Atélua. (That shop owner's child will study astronomy at New Zealand.)

Berterima kasih empu sakit tuan itu ke Tuhan atas diberikan dia pasangan yang sangat santun. (The androgologist was grateful to God because he was blessed with a very civilised partner.)

Kebenarannya sangat tinggi bayaran hidup di pangkalan ini untuk inak segalur itu. (The cost living at that city is in fact too expensive for that aunt and her family.)

Notes
  1. Javanese and other native languages are not assumed as a borrowing in Beka Melayu as they were come from the same language family.
  2. This is just an Internet theory and cannot be confirmed by research.
  3. In tweets on Twitter by Beka Melayu (@bekamelayu).
  4. In videos on Youtube by Beka Melayu.

References
  1. Beka Melayu on Youtube
  2. Beka Melayu on Twitter
  3. Alam Bahasa (8 February 2019). "Beka Melayu: Lumpuk Ujar Dalam Pemerintahan" [Beka Melayu: Government Terms]. The Patriots (in Malay). Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  4. Syauqi Stya Lacksana (2019). "Akan terlihat seperti apakah Bahasa Indonesia jika seluruh kosakatanya murni berakar dari Austronesia?" [What would Indonesian Language look like if its entire vocabulary had pure Austronesian roots?]. Quora (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  5. Idris Manshor (2017). "The Systemic Rules of Malay Standard Borrowing from Arabic: Guidelines for Linguists and Translators". Issues in Language Studies. Section of Translation Studies and Interpreting, School of Humanities Universiti Sains Malaysia. 6 (2): 78-90. doi:10.33736/ils.1624.2017. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  6. Sir Richard James Wilkinson (primarily based on the works of). Search for "beka". SEAlang Library Malay. SEAlang. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  7. Sir Richard James Wilkinson (primarily based on the works of). Search for "lidah". SEAlang Library Malay. SEAlang. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  8. Sir Richard James Wilkinson (primarily based on the works of). Search for "bahasa". SEAlang Library Malay. SEAlang. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  9. Alam Bahasa (16 December 2018). "Gerakan Memurnikan Bahasa: Perihal Bahasa Melayu VS Beka Melayu" [Language Purism Movement: About Malay Language VS Beka Melayu]. The Patriot. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  10. Abdul Rashid Melebek (2006). Sejarah Bahasa Melayu. Utusan Publications. p. 9-10. ISBN 9676118095. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  11. Melebek, Abdul Rashid; Moain, Amat Juhari (2006), Sejarah Bahasa Melayu ("History of the Malay Language"), Utusan Publications & Distributors, ISBN 978-967-61-1809-7
  12. Alam Bahasa (27 August 2021). "Pemurnian Bahasa: Anglish Moot vs Béka Melayu" [Language Purism: Anglish Moot vs Béka Melayu]. The Patriots (in Malay). Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  13. Nornizam Jamal (6 May 2017). "Bagaimana Orang Melayu Mendapat Namanya?" [How did Malay peoples get their name?]. The Patriots (in Malay). Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  14. Robert Blust; Stephen Trussel (2010). "*layaR". Austronesian Comparative Dictionary. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  15. "Beka Melayu: Pengenalan" [Beka Melayu: Introductions]. WordPress (in Malay). 23 August 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  16. Beka Melayu on Facebook

See also
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