Spread of Kedah Malay: A. Kedah Valley, B. Satun (Setul), C. Tanintharyi (Tanah Sari), D. Aceh

Kedah Malay or Kedahan (Malay: bahasa Melayu Kedah); also known as Pelat Utara or Loghat Utara ('Northern Dialect') or as it is known in Thailand, Syburi Malay (Thai: ภาษามลายูไทรบุรี) is a variety of the Malayic languages mainly spoken in the northwestern Malaysian states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang, and northern Perak and in the southern Thai provinces of Trang and Satun. The usage of Kedah Malay was historically prevalent in southwestern Thailand before being superseded by the Thai language. Enclaves of Kedah Malay can be found in Kawthaung District in Myanmar; Ranong and Krabi in upper southern Thailand; Jaring Halus, Langkat and Aceh in Sumatra, Indonesia and up north in Bangkok, central Thailand, where most of the Kedah Malay speakers are descendants of historical settlers from Kedah.

Kedah Malay can be divided into several dialects, namely Kedah Persisiran (coastal Kedah; which is the de facto prestige dialect of Kedah Malay), Kedah Utara (Northern Kedah), Perlis-Langkawi, Penang and some others outside Malaysia.[2] Speakers in Trang as well as Satun are heavily influenced by the Thai language. However in the district of Baling, they speak a different variant more closely related to Kelantan-Patani Malay than it is to Kedah Malay.[3]

Vocabulary

Pronouns[4]
Kedah Malay Standard Malay English Translation
hang awak / kamu / kau 'you' (singular)
hangpā / ampa kalian 'you' (plural)
cek / aq saya / aku 'I'
cek saya 'I' (young to old)
cek kamu 'you' (old to young)
depa mereka 'they'
sépā (In a few certain areas) / kitorang kami 'we' (exclusive)
Question Words[5]
Kedah Malay Standard Malay English Translation
siapa, sapa siapa / siapakah 'who'
apa, pa apa / apakah 'what'
bila bila / bilakah 'when'
cemana, lagu mana bagaimana / bagaimanakah 'how'
mana mana 'where'
pasai pa, awat, rokpa,

buat pa, sebab pa

mengapa 'how'
berapa, bapa berapa 'how much'
Basic Words[4]
Kedah Malay Standard Malay English Translation
camca sudu 'spoon'
habaq cakap 'talk'
mai datang, mari 'come'
mau nak 'want'
lorat susah 'difficult'
lā, lāni sekarang 'now'
lagu macam 'sort'
cabai cili / lada 'chilli'
hakap tamak 'greedy'
pi pergi 'go'
sat sebentar, sekejap 'one sec'
mengkalā bila, apabila 'when'
ketegaq degil, keras kepala 'naughty'
geghék basikal 'bicycle'
mertun tukul 'hammer'
lempaq baling 'throw'
menghabat memanjat 'climb'
ligan kejar 'chase'
loq laq tak senonoh 'indecent'
ketit gigit kecil 'bite softly'
tokok gigit 'bite'
berlemuih comot 'messy'
cemuih bosan 'bored'

References

  1. ^ Kedah Malay at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ See Malayan languages for a comparison between Kedah Persisiran and Penang dialects.
  3. ^ Mohd Noor Aswad (2 November 2019). "Getting to Know the Unique Baling Dialect". New Straits Times. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b Fiq Strife (2 November 2007). "Kamus Dialek Melayu-Kedah" [The Kedah Malay Dialect Dictionary]. Dunia Melayu Kedah (in Malay). Retrieved 22 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Fazal Mohamed Mohamed Sultan & Nurulafiqah Suhaimi 2012, p. 490.

Further reading

External links