Terengganu Malay

Terengganu Malay (Malay: Bahasa Melayu Terengganu, Terengganu Malay: Base Tranung/Ganu) is a variety of Malay spoken in the Malaysian state of Terengganu all the way southward to coastal Pahang and Mersing, Johor and historically spoken in the Anambas and Natuna islands of Riau Islands, Indonesia but its speakers are fastly diminishing and replaced by the local Malay dialects on the islands. It is the state's most dominant Malay variety and also acts as the main lingua franca for various ethnic groups within Terengganu (the Highly localised Peranakan Chinese minority in Terengganu, known as "Mek Awang" mainly use Terengganu Malay besides their native Hokkien). Although usually considered to be a variety of Malay, Terengganu Malay is one of the most aberrant from all the Malay varieties in the Peninsular along with Kelantan-Pattani Malay and developed a distinct phonetic, syntactic and lexical distinctions which makes it mutually unintelligible for speakers from outside the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia ^[1]. However, Terengganu Malay shares close linguistic relations with Kelantan-Pattani and Pahang varieties in which it forms the same Malay group of East Coast Peninsular Malayan languages^[2]. These similarities often confused many people outside the region, which usually interchanged Terengganu Malay with those of Kelantan Malay even though there are major phonological and vocabulary differences between the two.

Despite being the majority language of the state, Terengganu Malay also coexists with two distinct but closely related Malay varieties as well. In the districts of Besut and Setiu, the majority of the population speak Kelantan-Pattani Malay which is closely related but distinct from Terengganu Malay although in recent years many people from southern Terengganu started to migrate into these districts and both variants coexists with each other ^[3]. In Hulu Terengganu, the variety of Malay spoken there is often regarded as a sub-dialect of Terengganu Malay but have distinct phonology and some parts of the vocabulary than those spoken in other parts of Terengganu which sometimes unintelligible to coastal speakers. Even within different villages in Hulu Terengganu, the variety exhibit some differences as well mostly in terms of phonology. The rest of Terengganu however uses the Coastal sub-dialect of Terengganu Malay but there also exists some minor differences in terms of vocabulary between each districts but still largely mutually intelligible. The sub-dialect spoken in the districts of Kuala Terengganu-Kuala Nerus is considered the standard dialect for inter-ethnic and inter-district communications.

Terengganu Malay is considered to be the most recognisable identity of the state. This can be seen in many local television dramas, movies as well as in both modern and traditional songs and poems which emphasizes the usage of Terengganu Malay.^[4] Radio stations such as Terengganu FM and Hot FM Terengganu mainly used Terengganu Malay in its broadcast along with standard Malaysian. Recent years show an increase of awareness of the uniqueness of Terengganu Malay, such as the increasing use of Terengganu Malay in shop signs and recently the publication of Hulu Terengganu Malay dictionary ^[5]

Names

The people of Terengganu usually referred to their language as Base/Bahse Tranung/Tghanung (/bahsɘ tɣanuŋ/) which means 'the language of Terengganu' or Cakak Tranung (/tʃakaʔ tɣanuŋ/) which means 'Speaking Terengganuan'. In Standard Malay it is known as Bahasa Terengganu or Bahasa Melayu Terengganu (Dialek/Loghat Terengganu which means 'Terengganu dialect' is also widely used). The people of outside Terengganu often misunderstood that Terengganuans usually called themselves and their language as Ganu, the word Ganu is actually how the Kelantanese and the people of Besut in northern Terengganu pronounce Terengganu and is rarely used by southern Terengganuans (Southern Setiu to Kemaman) themselves. Besides Tranung and Ganu, the people of Terengganu sometimes use Ganung, Teganu and Teganung as well.

Distribution

Terengganu Malay is natively spoken in most parts of Terengganu (exclude Besut and Setiu ), all the way down to Kuantan and Cherating in Pahang and Mersing in Johor. Terengganuan Malay is also spoken in big cities like Kuala Lumpur where there is a large Terengganuan community.

Dialects

Terengganu Malay has two major dialects that is Coastal (zlm-coa) and Inland (zlm-inl) . A dialect spoken in Kuala Terengganu district are the de facto standard dialect of Terengganu Malay.^[1] However, the most distinct of all dialects is Inland Terengganu Malay, spoken in Hulu Terengganu district, the Inland dialect have a distinct phonology compared to Coastal dialect, the most prominent is the pronunciation of the end letter "e", Coastal Terengganu speakers tend to pronounce it as a schwa while Inland Terengganu speakers tend to pronounce it with strong "e" (as in red) similar to Perak Tengah dialect. People in Setiu mostly speak a mixed Kelantanese-Terengganuan Malay due to its border between Besut which predominantly use Kelantan-Pattani Malay^[6][7] and Kuala Terengganu which use the more prestige form of Terengganu Malay. People in Dungun, Marang and Kemaman usually speak similar to those in Kuala Terengganu but with influences from Standard Malay and Pahang Malay as well. The people of coastal Pahang and the district of Mersing in Johor also use a Coastal variety of Terengganu Malay.

Literature

Although essentially a spoken language with no standard orthography, Terengganu Malay is widely used in folk songs, poems, and also in mainstream and local media (such as local radio stations, dramas and movies). Ibrahim Taib, a famous Terengganu poet who was known for his usage of Inland Terengganu dialect in his poems such as "Mok, Aku Nok Tubaik" (Mom, I want to get out) and "Jadilah Awang" (enough Awang) can be considered a fine example of Terengganu Malay literature. The song Blues Tranung/Ganu Kite by a famous Malaysian band Iklim was a major hit song at that time and is sung wholly in Terengganu Malay. In 1999 song recorded by traditional singers Noraniza Idris and Siti Nurhaliza called Dondang Dendang composed by Suhaimi Mohd Zain, the bridge part of the song contains old-trengganuan malay poem. The song is influenced by rodat sound (Terengganu style of Malay zapin).

Phonology

Terengganu Malay has a distinct phonology and grammar compared to Standard Malay. The Grammatical order and Pronunciation is similar but also distinct to those of the neighbouring Pahang and Kelantanese Malay.^[1]

Pronunciation /a/ followed by a nasal consonant changes to /ŋ/ ayam ايم ('chicken') becomes ayang; makan ماكن (to eat) becomes makang

/a/ at the end of syllables changes to /ɔʔ/ minta مينتا ('to ask') becomes mitok

/ah/ changes /ɔh/ rumah رومه ('house') becomes rumoh

/a/ changes to /ə/ saya ساي ('I') becomes saye

/i/ changes to /iŋ/ sini سيني ('here') becomes sining

/ua/ changes to /ɔ/ buaya بوايا ('crocodile') becomes boye

/aj/ becomes /aː/ sungai سوڠاي ('river') becomes sunga

/aw/ becomes /a/ pisau ڤيساو ('knife') changes to pisa

/ia/ before a nasal vowel changes to = /ijaŋ/ siam سيام ('Siam') becomes siyang

/ia/ changes to /ɛ/ biasa بياسا ('once') becomes bese

/s/ and /f/ at the end of syllables changes to /h/ malas مالس ('lazy') changes to malah

/m/ and /n/ at the end of syllables changes to /ŋ/ hakim حاكيم (judge) changes to hakeng

/r/ changes to /ʀ/ orang اورڠ ('person') becomes oghang

final consonants are often only pronounced as a glottal stop. bukit بوكيت ('hill') becomes buke’ (bukiʔ) words are distinguished between lengthened initial consonant

final /l/ are silent. example: tinggal ('left') becomes tingga, tebal ('thick') becomes teba usually /l/ as in /lah/ are removed and became /ah/. example: Banyaklah ('so many') becomes banyok ah.

bulang ('moon') vs. bːulang ('many months'); katok ('to strike') vs. kːatok ('frog'); siku ('elbow') vs. sːiku ('hand tool')

Vocabulary

Several comparisons between Standard Malay and Terengganu Malay with English translations:

Some notable Terengganuan phrases

"starang baroh" means "really"... a popular phrase used when you want to show or express something that is really serious or true.

Example:
Ambe dok tau starang baroh

As opposed to Standard Malay or West coast Malay dialects:-

Saya memang tak tahu langsung

Another famous Terengganuan Malay phrases that have been used by Terengganu people is "Senyung sokmo" which mean "Senyum selalu" in standard Malay and "Smile always" in English. It is widely used by Terengganu people to wish other people well and to brighten their days.

Sample Text

Saya nak tidur Terengganu Malay:

Budok-budok lening koho dok kena makanang tradisi, sohbeng kate kuey, nasik pong ttuko bimbo lagi, nok wak guane makanang lening modeng blake, oghang mude tak mboh belajo duk ngarak ke oghang tue sokmo.

Malaysian:

Budak-budak sekarang semakin tak kenal makanan tradisi, jangan kata kuih, nasi pun masih tertukar lagi, nak buat macam mana makanan sekarang semua moden, orang muda tak nak belajar selalu mengharap ke orang-orang tua.

English

Kids today don't know about traditional foods, it's not just traditional cakes, even the rice as well, what can we do all foods these days are modern, younger generations don't want to learn always rely on their elderlies.

References

External links

• Ensiklopedia Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu, DBP Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
• Loghat Terengganu | Terengganu
• Bahasa Malaysia Simple Fun - Terengganu Malay Language