Grammar For Malay Language(World Language)

World Language

Word Formation

Malay is an agglutinative language, and new words are formed via three methods. New words can be created by attaching affixes onto a root word (affixation), formation of a compound word (composition), or repetition of words or portions of words (reduplication).

Root words are either nouns or verbs, which can be affixed to derive new words, e.g. masak (to cook) yields memasak (cooks, is cooking, etc.), memasakkan (cooks, is cooking for etc.), dimasak (cooked - passive) as well as pemasak (cook - person), masakan (cooking, cookery). Many initial consonants undergo mutation when prefixes are added: e.g. sapu (sweep) becomes penyapu (broom); panggil (to call) becomes memanggil (calls, is calling, etc.), tapis (sieve) becomes menapis (sieves, is sieving, etc.)

Other examples of the use of affixes to change the meaning of a word can be seen with the word ajar (teach):

* ajar = teach

* ajaran = teachings

* belajar = to learn

* mengajar = to teach

* diajar = being taught (non-transitive)

* diajarkan = being taught (transitive)

* mempelajari = to study

* dipelajari = being studied

* pelajar = student

* pengajar = teacher

* pelajaran = subject

* pengajaran = lesson, moral of story

* pembelajaran = learning

* terajar = taught

* terpelajar = well-educated

* berpelajaran = is educated

There are four types of affixes, namely prefixes (awalan), suffixes (akhiran), circumfixes (apitan) and infixes (sisipan). These affixes are categorised into noun affixes, verb affixes, and adjective affixes.

• Noun affixes are affixes that form nouns upon addition to root words. The following are examples of noun affixes:

Type of noun affixes Affix Example of root word Example of derived word

Prefix pe(N)- duduk (sit) penduduk (population)

ke- hendak (want) kehendak (desire)

juru- acara (event) juruacara (event host)

Infix -el- tunjuk (point) telunjuk (index finger, command)

-em- kelut (dishevelled) kemelut (chaos, crisis)

-er- gigi (teeth) gerigi (toothed blade)

Suffix -an bangun (wake up, raise) bangunan (building)

Circumfix ke-...-an raja (king) kerajaan (government)

pe(N)-...-an kerja (work) pekerjaan (occupation)

(N) and (R) indicate that if a word begins with certain letters (most often vowels or consonants k, p, s, t), the letter will either be omitted or other letters will replace it, most commonly with the letters in the bracket or m, ng, ny and l.

• Similarly, verb affixes are attached to root words to form verbs. In Malay, there are:

Type of verb affixes Affix Example of root word Example of derived word

Prefix be(R)- ajar (teach) belajar (to study) - Intransitive

me(N)- tolong (help) menolong (to help) - Active transitive

di- ambil (take) diambil (is being taken) - Passive transitive

mempe(R)- kemas (tidy up, orderly) memperkemas (to arrange further)

dipe(R)- dalam (deep) diperdalam (is being further deepen)

te(R)- makan (eat) termakan (to have accidentally eaten)

Suffix -kan letak (place, keep) letakkan (keep) - Imperative transitive

-i jauh (far) jauhi (avoid) - Imperative transitive

Circumfix be(R)-...-an pasang (pair) berpasangan (in pairs)

be(R)-...-kan tajuk (title) bertajukkan (to be titled, to entitle)

me(N)-...-kan pasti (sure) memastikan (to make sure)

me(N)-...-i teman (company) menemani (to accompany)

mempe(R)-...-kan guna (use) mempergunakan (to utilise, to exploit)

mempe(R)-...-i ajar (teach) mempelajari (to study)

ke-...-an hilang (disappear) kehilangan (to lose)

di-...-i sakit (pain) disakiti (to be hurt by)

di-...-kan benar (right) dibenarkan (is allowed to)

dipe(R)-...-kan kenal (know, recognise) diperkenalkan (is being introduced)

• Adjective affixes are attached to root words to form adjectives:

Type of adjective affixes Affix Example of root word Example of derived word

Prefix te(R)- kenal (know) terkenal (famous)

se- lari (run) selari (parallel)

Infix -el- serak (disperse) selerak (messy)

-em- cerlang (radiant bright) cemerlang (bright, excellent)

-er- sabut (husk) serabut (dishevelled)

Circumfix ke-...-an barat (west) kebaratan (westernized)

In addition to these affixes, Malay language also has a lot of borrowed affixes from other languages such as Sanskrit, Arabic and English. For example maha-, pasca-, eka-, bi-, anti-, pro- etc.

World language