MALAY LANGUAGE
Understanding The Malay Language & Providing Professional Malay Interpreters, Translators and Transcriptionists
American Language Services (AML-Global) understands the importance of working in the Malay language. For over a Quarter of a Century, American Language Services has worked with the Malay language as well as hundreds of others from around the world. We offer comprehensive language services 24 hours, 7 days a week worldwide by providing Malay interpreting, translation and transcriptions services along with hundreds of other languages and dialects. Our linguists are native speakers and writers who are screened, credentialed, certified, field tested and experienced in a number of specific industry settings. The Malay language is unique and has very specific origins and characteristics.
Malay and Malaysia
The Malay language refers to a group of languages closely related to each other but considered entirely separate languages. Malay is the official language of Brunei and Malaysia; the country is separated into two regions Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo by the South China Sea. Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines. Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multilingual society. Malaysia is influenced heavily in their arts and music by Asian nations. Chinese and Islamic forms heavily influence Malaysian traditional music. The music is based largely around the gendang (drum), but includes other percussion instruments (some made of shells); the rebab, a bowed string instrument; the serunai, a double-reed oboe-like instrument; flutes, and trumpets. The country has a strong tradition of dance and dance dramas, some of Thai, Indian and Portuguese origin. In recent years, Dikir Barat has grown in popularity, and the government has begun to promote it as a national cultural icon.
The Origins of Malay
There are many hypotheses as to where the Malay language originated. One of it is from Sumatra island. The oldest written documents in Malay, dated from the end of the 7th century AD, were found on Bangka island near Sumatra and in Palembang in southern Sumatra. “Malayu” was the name of an old kingdom located in Jambi province in eastern Sumatra.
The Writing System of Malay
Malay is normally written using Latin alphabet called Rumi, although a modified Arabic script called Jawi also exists. Rumi is official in Malaysia and Singapore, and Indonesian has a different official orthography also using the Latin script. Rumi and Jawi are co-official in Brunei. Efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve Jawi script and to revive its use amongst Malays in Malaysia, and students taking Malay language examination in Malaysia have the option of answering questions using Jawi script. The Latin alphabet, however, is still the most commonly used script in Malaysia, both for official and informal purposes.
Who Are You Going to Trust With your Vital Malay Language Needs?
The Malay language is an important language worldwide. It is vital to understand the general nature and specific idiosyncrasies of Malay. Since 1985, AML-Global has provided outstanding Malay interpreters, translators and transcriptionsts worldwide.
