Malay

Austronesian language with some 33 million first-language speakers in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and other parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Because Malay was spoken on both sides of the Strait of Malacca, a crucial trade route between India and China, Malay-speaking groups were drawn into international commerce centuries before European penetration of the region, and Malay became a lingua franca in Indonesian ports, giving rise to a range of pidgins and creoles known as Bazaar Malay (Melayu Pasar). In 20th-century Indonesia, a standardized form of Malay was adopted as the national language, Indonesian; written in Latin letters, it is now spoken or understood by about 70percnt of the population. Similar standardizations of Malay comprise the national languages of Malaysia and Brunei. The oldest known Malay texts are 7th-century inscriptions from southern Sumatra in an Indic script (see Indic writing system); a continuous Malay literary tradition did not begin until the Islamization of the Malay Peninsula in the 14th century.

Learn more about Malay language with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Peninsula, Southeast Asia. Comprising the mainland portion of Malaysia and southwestern Thailand, it occupies an area of 70,000 sq mi (181,300 sq km), has a width of 200 mi (322 km), and extends south for 700 mi (1,127 km) to Cape Balai, the southernmost point of the Asian continent; the island country of Singapore lies just south across the Johore Strait. Its central mountain range, rising to 7,175 ft (2,187 m) at Mount Tahan, divides the peninsula lengthwise and is the source of many rivers. Both its western and eastern coasts are exposed to monsoons. It has large tracts of tropical rainforest and is a major producer of rubber and tin.

Learn more about Malay Peninsula with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Largest group of islands in the world, located off the southeastern coast of Asia between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of the more than 13,000 islands of Indonesia and some 7,000 islands of the Philippines. Formerly called the East Indies, the archipelago extends along the Equator for more than 3,800 mi (6,100 km). Principal islands include the Greater Sunda Islands (Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and Celebes), the Lesser Sundas, the Moluccas, New Guinea, Luzon, Mindanao, and the Visayan Islands.

Learn more about Malay Archipelago with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Any member of an ethnic group that probably originated in Borneo and expanded into Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. They constitute more than half the population of Peninsular Malaysia. They are mainly a rural people, growing rice for food and rubber as a cash crop. Heavily influenced by India, they were Hinduized before converting to Islam in the 15th century. Their culture has also been influenced by the cultures of the Thai, Javanese, and Sumatrans. Malay society has traditionally been somewhat feudal; class distinctions are still marked, and marriages have traditionally been arranged by parents and governed by Islamic law.

Learn more about Malay with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Language

• Malay language, the language of Malaysia and Brunei, lingua franca of Samudera-Pasai (Malay Archipelago)
• Old Malay language(s), possible ancestor(s) of Bahasa Melayu, and the Indonesian language
• Sri Lankan Creole Malay language, a language spoken by the Malay ethnic minority in Sri Lanka

People

• Malays (ethnic group), the ethnic group located primarily in the Malay peninsula, and parts of Sumatra and Borneo
• Malay race, a racial category encompassing the people of South East Asia and sometimes the Pacific Islands
• Malaysian Malays, a constitutionally defined group of Muslim Malaysian citizens
• Malays in Singapore
• Malay Indonesian, ethnic Malays in Indonesia
• Thai Malays, ethnic Malays in Thailand
• Cape Malays, an ethnic group or community in South Africa
• Cocos Malays, the predominant group ethnic group of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, now part of Australia
• Malay Australian, ethnic Malays living in Australia, or have applied for Australian citizenship.
• Overseas Malays, people of Malay ancestry living outside Malaysia and neighbouring ethnic Malay home areas

Geography

• Malay Peninsula, the geographic area containing Malaysia and Singapore, as well as parts of Myanmar and Thailand
• Malay Archipelago, the group of islands located between mainland Southeast Asia (Indochina) and Australia
• Malay, Azerbaijan, a village
• Malay, Aklan, a municipality in the Philippines
• Several communes in France:
• Malay, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire département
• Malay-le-Grand, in the Yonne département
• Malay-le-Petit, in the Yonne département

Politics/history

• Malay states, a group of nine states of Malaysia (all located in West Malaysia) which have hereditary rulers.
• Melayu Kingdom or Malayu kingdom, once prospered in Indonesia as part of Srivijaya.

Other

• Malay (producer), an american music producer
• Jessi Malay, an American singer
• Malay Chicken, a breed of chicken
• Malayan Tiger, a species of tiger that live in the jungles of Malay peninsula, Borneo and Thailand

See also

• Malaya