Difference between revisions of "Language/Malay-individual-language/Grammar/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation"

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{{Malay-individual-language-Page-Top}}
{{Malay-individual-language-Page-Top}}


<div class="pg_page_title">Malay (individual language) Grammar → Introduction → Alphabet and Pronunciation</div>
<div class="pg_page_title">Malay (individual language) Grammar → Introduction → Alphabet and Pronunciation</div>
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As a Malay language teacher of 20 years, I believe that learning the Malay alphabet and pronunciation is the foundation of the language. It is crucial to get this right in order to communicate effectively in Malay.
As a Malay language teacher of 20 years, I believe that learning the Malay alphabet and pronunciation is the foundation of the language. It is crucial to get this right in order to communicate effectively in Malay.


<span link>Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: [[Language/Malay-individual-language/Grammar/Prepositions-and-Conjunctions|Prepositions and Conjunctions]] & [[Language/Malay-individual-language/Grammar/Nouns|Nouns]].</span>
== Malay Alphabet ==
== Malay Alphabet ==


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[[Category:Malay-individual-language-0-to-A1-Course]]
[[Category:Malay-individual-language-0-to-A1-Course]]


 
==Other Lessons==
==Related Lessons==
* [[Language/Malay-individual-language/Grammar/Adjectives-and-Adverbs|Adjectives and Adverbs]]
* [[Language/Malay-individual-language/Grammar/Adjectives-and-Adverbs|Adjectives and Adverbs]]
* [[Language/Malay-individual-language/Grammar/Plurals|Plurals]]
* [[Language/Malay-individual-language/Grammar/Plurals|Plurals]]
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{{Malay-individual-language-Page-Bottom}}
{{Malay-individual-language-Page-Bottom}}
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Revision as of 22:51, 27 March 2023

Malaysia-Timeline-PolyglotClub.png
Malay (individual language) Grammar → Introduction → Alphabet and Pronunciation

As a Malay language teacher of 20 years, I believe that learning the Malay alphabet and pronunciation is the foundation of the language. It is crucial to get this right in order to communicate effectively in Malay.


Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Prepositions and Conjunctions & Nouns.

Malay Alphabet

The Malay alphabet consists of 26 letters, just like the English alphabet. The letters are:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

However, there are additional letters when the language is written in Jawi script, a modified Arabic script used to write Malay in the past. In this lesson, we will focus on the standard Latin script version.

The Malay language is unique in that it contains a mix of vowel sounds from various languages, such as Sanskrit, Arabic, and Portuguese. It is important to note that every letter represents one sound, except for the letter 'e'.

Malay Pronunciation

Here are some guidelines on how to pronounce the Malay alphabet:

Vowels

The Malay language has five vowels. They are:

- A (/a/): pronounced as in "cat". - E (/ə/): pronounced as a schwa sound, or like the 'e' in "the". - I (/i/): pronounced as in "feet". - O (/o/): pronounced as in "go". - U (/u/): pronounced as in "soup".

Table of Malay vowels:

Malay (individual language) Pronunciation English Translation
A /a/ "cat"
E /ə/ "the"
I /i/ "feet"
O /o/ "go"
U /u/ "soup"

Consonants

The Malay language has 20 consonants. They are:

- B (/b/): pronounced as in "bat". - C (/tʃ/): pronounced as in "cheese". - D (/d/): pronounced as in "dog". - F (/f/): pronounced as in "fun". - G (/ɡ/): pronounced as in "goat". - H (/h/): pronounced as in "help". - J (/dʒ/): pronounced as in "jump". - K (/k/): pronounced as in "kick". - L (/l/): pronounced as in "leave". - M (/m/): pronounced as in "map". - N (/n/): pronounced as in "knee". - P (/p/): pronounced as in "pig". - Q (/k/): pronounced as in "kick". - R (/r/): pronounced as a rolled "r". - S (/s/): pronounced as in "snake". - T (/t/): pronounced as in "top". - V (/v/): pronounced as in "voice". - W (/w/): pronounced as in "water". - X (/ɡz/ or /ks/): pronounced as in "exercise" or "exist". - Z (/z/): pronounced as in "zipper".

Table of Malay consonants:

Malay (individual language) Pronunciation English Translation
B /b/ "bat"
C /tʃ/ "cheese"
D /d/ "dog"
F /f/ "fun"
G /ɡ/ "goat"
H /h/ "help"
J /dʒ/ "jump"
K /k/ "kick"
L /l/ "leave"
M /m/ "map"
N /n/ "knee"
P /p/ "pig"
Q /k/ "kick"
R /r/ "rolled-r"
S /s/ "snake"
T /t/ "top"
V /v/ "voice"
W /w/ "water"
X /ɡz/ or /ks/ "exercise" or "exist"
Z /z/ "zipper"

Diphthongs

A diphthong is a combination of two vowel sounds that form a single syllable. There are two diphthongs in Malay:

- AI (/ai/): pronounced as in "eye". - AU (/au/): pronounced as in "cow".

Table of Malay diphthongs:

Malay (individual language) Pronunciation English Translation
AI /ai/ "eye"
AU /au/ "cow"

Understanding the Malay alphabet and pronunciation will give you a solid foundation to build your language skills upon. Practice often and listen to Malaysian speakers to improve your pronunciation.

Other Lessons