55 replies to this topic

[LYY]

“The Almighty Allah has removed the false pride taking, which was practiced in the pre-Islamic period, where individuals took false pride with their ancestors (forefathers). All mankind belong (in lineage) to Adam (pbuh). Adam is created of soil (earth dirt).”

There is God in every soul.
Need no thy a monotheist to know God.
The Omni-being is everywhere ...
It takes a simple pure heart to see Him.
Those who know God
make no differentiation between his fellow mankind.
If any, it is the gap of wisdom that separates ...

I see the image of false pride
in those who practice the faith of differentiation
between the false illusion of devoted Adam and infidel Adam.
While Adam is made of soils ...
why separates his descendants into Muslim and Kafir?

Edited by LYY, 26 August 2007 - 10:41 PM.

[Hang Li Po]

Olga Receiving Her Prize




Olga is a 19-year-old undergraduate at the Moscow State University in Russia. She has just won the Bahasa Melayu International Public Speaking Contest - Deputy Prime Minister's Trophy - held in Kuala Lumpur on 13 March, 2007. Her speech titled "Can the Malay World Determine the Future of World Governance" won her the first prize. (The title in Bahasa Melayu: "Mampukah Dunia Melayu Mencorak Arah Pentadbiran Dunia Masa Hadapan")

Olga started to learn Bahasa Melayu three years ago. Her desire to learn Bahasa Melayu was beset with obstacles, among them a lack of learning aids and the fact that there are no teacher or student exchange programmes between Malaysia and Russia.

A total of 24 participants from Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, China, The Netherlands, Pakistan, Iran took part in the contest.

Bahasa Melayu is easy to learn compared to many other languages. Furthermore, it has a very wide usage in this part of the world. It is the lingua franca of the Malay Archipelago covering Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Southern Thailand and Southern Philippines.

There are five vowels in the Malay language: a, e, i, o, u. These five vowels give rise to six pronunciations, with "e" pronounced in two different ways, as follows:

* "a" is pronounced as "ah" (with silent h)
* "e" is pronounced as the vowel "a" as in a, b, c, ...
* "e" is also pronounced somewhat like the English word "err"
* "i" is pronounced as the vowel "e" as in a, b, c, d, e, .......
* "o" is pronounced as the vowel "o", (i.e. remained the same)
* "u" is pronounced as "oo" (sounding a bit like "wu")


Now, if a consonant is matched with a vowel, (for example, "pa" or "fi") can you come out with the right pronunciation by yourself? ("pa" is how you call your father while "fi" is pronounced as "fee"). If you can, then you will have no problem reading aloud correctly a short Malay passage even though you don't understand a word of it.

You see, in the Malay language, the pronunciation of the basic unit remains the same wherever it is found in a word. For example, "pa" is pronounced the same in all the following words: apa (what), bapa (father), pada (at), padang (field), paku (nail), pakai (wear) ....etc.

I still remember how I first learnt the language when I was in Year Two of my primary school. I was a model pupil to my class in Bahasa Melayu pronunciation. My Malay teacher (Cikgu Abdullah - 'Cikgu" means teacher) would ask me to stand in front of the class to recite aloud the basic pronunciation, starting with ba, be, bi, bo, bu, be (second pronunciation); cha, che, chi, cho, chu, che (since the 1970's, ch is replaced with c but the pronunciation remains unchanged); da, de, di, do, du, de; fa, fe, fi, .....on and on, exactly like the way we recite aloud multiplication table.

It was quite a feat because no other pupils came close to my level of ease and fluency.

It went without saying that I was Cikgu Abdullah's pet.

Frankly, there is nothing to boast about here. Firstly, the way I learnt is now considered outdated (and I agree with it). Secondly, with so many new and advanced learning aids around, there are so many more effective and interesting ways to learn a foreign language.

Why not buy a tape or CD to learn Malay conversation before you visit Malaysia. Your travel will be that much more pleasant and meaningful.

If you would like to know more about Bahasa Melayu or to purchase Malay books, magazines, CDs etc., please contact me here. I may be able to look it up for you.

Or visit this very useful site www.bahasa-malaysia-simple-fun.com to learn the Malay language in a fun way.

Let's wrap up this topic with something light, albeit cheeky. Let's try some riddle! (In Bahasa Melayu, it is called 'teka-teki')

Let me give you the original Malay version followed by its English translation.

Atas goyang, bawah susah;

Bawah goyang, atas suka.

Translation:

When up there is rocking, down there is suffering;

When down there is rocking, up there is rejoicing.

Clue: An outdoor hobby.

Edited by Hang Li Po, 28 August 2007 - 11:48 PM.

[Hang Li Po]

[LYY]

Sadly that will not help much.

They are not tackling the real issue here.
The real issue here is religion, not language.
As long as the muslim keep differentiating themselve from the non-muslim, the problem will go on until Doom Day.

[Hang Li Po]

Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana's relevant thoughts on 'bahasa'


Setiono Sugiharto, Jakarta



Thelate Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, who was born in Natal, North Sumatra onFeb. 11, 1908, is recognized not only as one of Indonesia's great writers but also as a philosopher whose ideas still exert a considerable influence in Indonesia's contemporary literary studies and the development of modern Indonesian Language.

Many, including the younger generation, would only know him as the author of the famous novel Layar Terkembang (Open Sail) and the founder and editor of a literary and linguistic magazine, Pudjangga Baru (The New Writer).

Among language teachers and students, Alisjahbana is known as the writer of Tatabahasa Baru Bahasa Indonesia (New Indonesian Grammar), published in 1948, used as a reference for teaching Indonesian grammar to both senior high school and university students then.

Most of Alisjahbana's works on Indonesian linguistics were motivated by his philosophical views on the nature of language planning or, to use his coined term, language engineering. For him, planning for all the behaviors of language for all members of a nation was a difficult, if not an impossible task. Furthermore, he saw this kind of planning as a corrupt activity that could be little the essence of humans as thinking and free beings.

His conviction was that standard English, French, German and other standard languages (probably Indonesian language) were mainly the product of compulsory education.

Alisjahbana then contended that the idea of language planning should be perceived in a very limited sense and for a very special goal. It was the language of schools that could be the target of effective planning.

His philosophical perspective on language engineering also served as the main impetus for him to pioneer the publication of Pembina Bahasa Indonesia (Guide to the Indonesian Language), a monthly magazine written to help teachers understand grammatical and terminological difficulties in the language.

Despite his insistence on controlling the use of language (i.e.grammar) in class via many of his erudite works, Alisjahbana never resented the use of language in the other domains. Indeed, he acknowledged the freedom of using language, as part of human nature.

At the Second Congress of Indonesian Language in Medan in 1945, for example, Alisjahbana took a moderate stance when a group of teachers reproached the language used by journalists for being sloppy and anarchistic. For him, journalists were the true bearers of modern Indonesian, and the teachers' main concern was not to correct them, but rather to concentrate on the language of the coming generation of journalists who were still their pupils in schools.

For those adopting chauvinist attitudes of language used formaintaining nationalism, many of Alisjahbana's views of language modernization are incompatible and even contradictive. Purists wouldl ikely reject any foreign terminologies and instead use the native language in all domains of life.

Alisjahbana believed that only by learning from the values of western civilization can language modernization be realized. In one of his internationally published articles, he bluntly proclaimed that among the established guidelines for the coining of modern terms, "I myself preferred (the choice of coining international terms) since it united Indonesia with the world of science and technology."

In this globalized and technologically advanced world, most of Alisjahbana's thoughts on language planning, as part of languagemodernization, are still germane to the development of Indonesian. His progressive and liberal view of accommodating international terms can help facilitate the progress of Indonesian as modern language.

In fact, if one really follows his line of thoughts, one may see that Alisjahbana offered a down-to-earth strategy for modernizing Indonesian language.

This is implied in his remarks on language codification, as follows, "Since the scientific, technological, and other modern concepts were already available and easily accessible in existing modern languages, the process of codification of modern Indonesian terms could proceed steadily without too much difficulty."

During his life, Alisjahbana may have learned from the reality that the development of a language is inseparable from contact with other languages. The fact that the most widely used language, English, is rich in its semantic field, is due to its user's flexibility, to borrow and adopt other languages such as French, German, Japan, Arabic, and even Malay.

The writer is chief-editor of Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching. He can be reached at setiono.sugiharto@atmajaya.ac.id.

Edited by Hang Li Po, 16 February 2008 - 07:59 AM.

[Hang Li Po]

Bahasa Malaysia to English / English to Bahasa Malaysia Tranlator


http://www.citcat.com/

Edited by Hang Li Po, 31 March 2008 - 10:19 PM.

[One time poster]

Very insightful article pertaining to Malaysia's national language situation. Language as a role in forming a national consciensce is very interesting. Studying other national movements throughout history it is notable that language plays a very large role. From Italy to Germany to Thailand language was always at the forefront in forming a national conscience. The only difference is that the European language movements started many hundreds of years ago while Asian ones are much newer. Concerning the word "bahasa" the Thai word for "language" is also "Pasa". I believe it originates from the same term, which is probably Sanskrit in origin.

Your own outlook in life is also commendable. We are after all just people, and racial distinction is merely a human invention. I was born and raised a Buddhist, but you handle unfair criticism on your religion and identity much more gracefully than I could ever have.

[Hang Li Po]

Organisasi Bahasa Melayu di Bangsa Filipina




What is our goal?


The goal of this organization (Organisasi Bahasa Melayu di Bangsa Filipina) is to facilitate the teaching of the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu) in the Philippines.


What is our proposal?


Our proposal is that Malay be taught to elementary children for 2-3 grades (in addition to, or instead of, Tagalog), and that Malay become an elective for High School and College students.




Why Malay?




* Malay is one of the world's major languages, unlike Tagalog.It is spoken by about 300 million people worldwide and is one of the 3 fastest growing languages in the world according to a 2004 study authored by David Graddol in the eminent scientific journal Science.


* Malay has a very long history as the lingua franca of traders and the marketplace in south east asia, including the Philippines.Malay inscriptions have been found in the Philippines from the 9th century AD, and Magellan used Malay to communicate with the people in Lapu-lapu's area, before meeting his death at the hands of Lapu-lapu himself. Malay is already used as a lingua franca in parts of the southern Philippines today.


* Malay has historically NOT been associated with any one dominant group,unlike such languages as Javanese and Tagalog, This makes it particularly suitable as an adopted language for a diverse nation where the imposition of the dominant group's own language (e.g. Tagalog) might be viewed with resentment by other people in the country.


* Malay is the major or one of the major languages for many of our neighbors in South-East Asia.It is the major language in the Indonesia Archipelago, Malaysia, Brunei, and East Timur (where it is a working language) and its use is growing quickly in places like Singapore (where the impetus to make Singapore's non-Malay citizens conversant in Malay has gained ground). There are minority speakers of Malay in such places as Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and many Australians also understand Malay from their High School studies. Beyond these countries, Malay is studied by more than 100,000 students worldwide as a foreign language, including by Filipinos who travel to Malaysia to learn the language.


* The adoption of the Malay language proclaims our pride in our strong Malay roots.Indeed, the national hero of the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rizal, is justly lauded as the "Pride of the Malay Race".


* Malay is much much easier to learn than Tagalog or English.


As an example, unlike Tagalog and English, whose verbs change tenses by changing word forms, Bahasa Melayu does not:



Aku pergi ke sekolah (I go to school)

To denote tense, just use:

sedang - to denote a continuous present action
sudah - to denote a past action
akan - to denote a future action

Aku sedang pergi ke sekolah (I am going to school)
Aku sudah pergi ke sekolah (I went to school)
Aku akan pergi ke sekolah (I will go to school)



* Malay and Filipino languages have many common words


Because Malay is related to most of the Filipino languages, there are many common words shared between them. Some examples:


Bahasa Tagalog - Bahasa Melayu


* ako - aku (=Saya)
* kami - kita/kami
* puno - pohon
* mata - mata
* sayang - sayang
* pili -pilih
* bili - belih
* basa - baca
* panik - naik

* dalawa - dua
* tatlo - tiga
* apat - empat
* lima - lima
* anim - enam
* isang libo - seribu

* langit - langit
* buwan - bulan
* kidlat - kilat
* hangin - angin
* kuting - kucing



* Will Malay replace Tagalog?


This organization does not necessarily intend to supplant the use of Tagalog with Malay, although it feels that such a result would be beneficial to the nation in the long run.

This feeling is rooted in the belief that the Philippines needs to rid itself of things that impede the progress of our nation. The adoption of Tagalog as the national language (although thinly disguised under the name of "Filipino") is arguably one thing that has impeded the creation of a truly united state.

It can be argued that people who are not Tagalogs, including and especially those from the center and south of the nation, do not want to embrace the Tagalog language because they associate it with dominance from the Manila-based ethnic group of the same name. Thus, Tagalog contributes to the fracturing of our society, and does not unite it, except in the most superficial ways.

The adoption of Malay instead of Tagalog, which is what this organization believes should have been done in the beginning, will mean a further DEMOCRATIZATION of the nation in that a TRUE lingua franca with no strong historical ties to a dominant or colonial ethnic group will be used - instead of one that is a contributing factor to disunity in the country.


* Wouldn't it be better to adopt English instead?


This organization does not advocate the removal of English from the curriculum, and indeed realizes its primary importance in terms of an international language to those not conversant in Malay, and believes the nation should continue to develop students with knowledge of this language. But at the same time, it believes that English would not serve well as the one and only official language, since it is so far removed from our own ethnic roots - an alien tongue that is competent enough when used to communicate with peoples beyond the immediate neighborhood, but one which does not (and should not) fully express our hopes, dreams, and desires as a people.


* Who do I contact for more information?


You may contact L. Leed at kalim1998@yahoo.com



Sources : http://www.blueboard.com/malay/

[李正龍]

Palava Alphabet




Kawi Alphabet

that's not palava character..
palava character that originated from india has different form..
and that "so-called palava" character is integrated part of kawi/jawi/jowo syllabic component..

"so-called kawi" here, is a written character for javanese language..
and there's no distinction between kawi/jawi/jowo character..
kawi were used for ancient royal javanese language, and jawi/jowo is typical javanese language..

kawi and jawi/jowo came from java..
and don't be confused with jawi script..
because you'll find jawi script as an arabic derived character..

Jawi/Jowo/Jawa - Javanese Language in Wikipedia
Kawi - Ancient Javanese Language in Wikipedia

palava/pallawa just like this..


this is Yupa Inscription from Kutai kingdom..
the oldest Hindu kingdom in Indonesia..

Edited by 李正龍, 21 May 2008 - 10:43 AM.

[polar_zen]

What is our goal?


The goal of this organization (Organisasi Bahasa Melayu di Bangsa Filipina) is to facilitate the teaching of the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu) in the Philippines.


What is our proposal?


Our proposal is that Malay be taught to elementary children for 2-3 grades (in addition to, or instead of, Tagalog), and that Malay become an elective for High School and College students.




Why Malay?


* Malay is one of the world's major languages, unlike Tagalog.It is spoken by about 300 million people worldwide and is one of the 3 fastest growing languages in the world according to a 2004 study authored by David Graddol in the eminent scientific journal Science.

I think it is fine to learn Malay as a language among Filipinos, but never instead of Tagalog. Tagalog is our native language on top of Ilocano, Cebuano, Bikol, etc. and one of the languages our ancestors spoke in. In terms of practicality, most Filipinos know some English so there's no reason to learn Malay. Even more importantly, Tagalog (officially called Filipino) is a national language and should be promoted as a source of cultural pride. Many Filipinos now, especially those overseas, speak Taglish (mix of Tagalog and English words) and many native Tagalog words have fallen out of use. Tagalog should be at the forefront in the schools along with English, because of practicality.

Filipinos already have to juggle three languages: Tagalog, their local dialect (if different from Tagalog), and English. For Chinese Filipinos, you have to add Hokkien Chinese. Adding Malay is just silly and complicates things because then even more funding and money will have to be used up in an already poor education system. It's a waste of resources on top of the fact that it is a foreign language with no real use unless you plan on moving to Malaysia or maybe Singapore. I'm sorry if you find it offensive, it's not my intention, but there's no legitimate reason for this proposal and I find it mildly offensive when a Malaysian talks about possibly displacing one of my people's native language.

[Hang Li Po]

that's not palava character..
palava character that originated from india has different form..
and that "so-called palava" character is integrated part of kawi/jawi/jowo syllabic component..

"so-called kawi" here, is a written character for javanese language..
and there's no distinction between kawi/jawi/jowo character..
kawi were used for ancient royal javanese language, and jawi/jowo is typical javanese language..

kawi and jawi/jowo came from java..
and don't be confused with jawi script..
because you'll find jawi script as an arabic derived character..

Jawi/Jowo/Jawa - Javanese Language in Wikipedia
Kawi - Ancient Javanese Language in Wikipedia

palava/pallawa just like this..


this is Yupa Inscription from Kutai kingdom..
the oldest Hindu kingdom in Indonesia..

(1)




(2) Jawi Was Arab word for means '' mixture''. The Arab called all nusantara people (south east asia) by the name of Banu al-Jawiyun @ Bani Jawi (mixture races)

[Hang Li Po]

Credit

Bubur Rantapan Asyura (Faisal Tehrani)

http://tehranifaisal.blogspot.com/

[李正龍]

by showing that derivation scheme..
it means that Miss Hang Li Po agree with me that "so-called palava" character You've attached before is not palava, right meh..??

if Jawi words came from Arabic, how come Javanese peoples themselves called their island as "JAWA/JOWO"..??
Arabic came earlier to inquire Jawa island or else..??

Edited by 李正龍, 22 May 2008 - 08:43 AM.

[sunflower1]

actually when you land on Java island it already hard to find people talk in Malay. they all talk in sundanese, betawi and javanese. in middle of borneo the orginal tribe are dayak and they speak dayak language. not to meantioned eastern indonesia or even philipine. the region of malay language are within Malay peninsula, Sumatra and western to northern borneo.

[Hang Li Po]

Batu Bersurat Terengganu (Inscribed Stone of Terengganu)







Asa pada Dewata Mulia Raya beri hamba menegoh Ugama Islam............


Tuhan atau Subhanahu wa Ta'ala telah diungkapkan dengan Dewata Mulia Raya.



Sources : http://www.etourz.co...tu_bersurat.htm

http://portal.unesco...ery.php/cat/949