• Source: Terengganu Malay

Terengganu Malay (Malay: Bahasa Melayu Terengganu; Terengganu Malay: Bahse Tranung/Ganu) is a Malayic language spoken in the Malaysian state of Terengganu all the way southward to coastal Pahang and northeast Johor. It is the native language of Terengganu Malays and highly localized Chinese Peranakan (locally known as "Mek and Awang") community as well as a second language among the smaller Indian minority.
The language has developed distinct phonetic, syntactic and lexical distinctions which makes it mutually unintelligible for speakers from outside the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, especially those who speak Standard Malay/Malaysian. Terengganu Malay still shares close linguistic ties with neighboring Kelantan and Pahang of which it forms under the umbrella term of "East Coast Peninsular Malayic languages" but maintain its own features distinct from both Pahang and Kelantan-Patani.
Terengganu Malay also coexists with two closely related Malayic varieties. In the districts of Besut and northern part of Setiu, the majority of the population speak a variant of Kelantan-Pattani Malay, but in recent years many people from southern Terengganu started to migrate into these two districts and both variants now coexist with each other. In the inland mukim of Pasir Raja, Dungun, several villages still speak a variant of Ulu Tembeling dialect of Pahang Malay, locally known as Pasir Raja dialect.
Terengganu Malay is considered to be the most recognisable identity of the state. This can be seen in many local television dramas, movies, songs, poems and religious sermons which emphasize the usage of Terengganu Malay. Radio stations in Terengganu whether public (Terengganu FM) or privately owned (Hot FM and Molek FM) mainly use Terengganu Malay in its broadcast alongside 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 a Hulu Terengganu Malay dictionary.




Names


The people of Terengganu refer to their language as base/bahse Tranung/Tghanung (/bahsə tɣanuŋ/) which means 'the language of Terengganu' or cakak Tranung (/tʃakaʔ tɣanuŋ/) which means 'Terengganu speech'. In Standard Malay, it is known as bahasa Terengganu or bahasa Melayu Terengganu. Besides Tranung, Tranu, Ganung, Teganung, Teganu and Ganu are also used with the latter (Ganu) being used as an exonym by people outside of Terengganu when referring to Terengganu.




Distribution


Terengganu Malay is natively spoken in most parts of Terengganu other than Besut and the northern part of Setiu. Besides Terengganu, it is also spoken in coastal Pahang, from Cherating near the border with Kemaman district to as far south as Mersing district in the state of Johor. A variety spoken in the village of Tanjung Sedili in the district of Kota Tinggi is said to be a mixture of Terengganuan, Johorean and several other Malay varieties, reflecting the historical demographics of the area, which once received Malay migrants from Terengganu.




Dialects


Terengganu Malay has two major dialects: Coastal (zlm-coa) and Inland (zlm-inl) and each of these two dialects has several regional differences depending on districts or villages. The dialect spoken in Kuala Terengganu district is the de facto standard dialect of Terengganu Malay. The major differences between Coastal (known as Pata) and Inland (known as Ulu) dialects is the pronunciation of the letter "e" of which Coastal Terengganu speakers tend to pronounce it as a schwa while Inland Terengganu speakers pronounce it with strong "e" (as in red).
People in the northernmost regions of Terengganu, specifically in the district of Besut and several parts of Setiu do not speak Terengganu Malay, but instead uses Kelantan-Pattani Malay. The dialects spoken in Dungun, Marang and Kemaman as well as outside of Terengganu such as in Pahang (Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin) and Johor (Mersing) does not have significant differences than those in Kuala Terengganu and is classified as part of the Coastal dialect. The residents of Tanjung Sedili which is a small coastal village in Kota Tinggi, Johor spoke a dialect that is a mixture of Johorean and Terengganuan as the residents there are mostly of Terengganu Malay ancestry.
In Pasir Raja which is a mukim located in the interior parts of Dungun, majority of the Malays there spoke a variant of Pahang Malay specifically the Ulu Tembeling dialect instead of Terengganuan. It is because the majority of the people in those areas are descendants of Pahang migrants that migrated into Dungun more than a hundred years ago. Today both varieties (Pahang Malay and Terengganu Malay) coexists in Pasir Raja and the residents can fluently speak both of those varieties.
Based on 2013 research, the division of Terengganu Malay are as follows




= Comparison between Coastal and Inland dialects

=




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 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').




= Music

=
Terengganu has a rich history of folk songs sung mostly in Terengganu Malay, among those are Anok Udang, Anok Burung Baniong, Ulek Mayang and Watimang Landok.
Besides traditional folk songs, Terengganu Malay has also made way into modern contemporary songs especially singers or bands who were born and raised in Terengganu. Among the most well known was the song "Blues Tranung/Ganu Kite" by a famous Malaysian band Iklim. It was a hit song not just in Terengganu but also across Malaysia in the 90s and 2000s. "Dondang Dendang", a 1999 song composed by Suhaimi Mohd Zain and recorded by traditional singers Noraniza Idris and Siti Nurhaliza, contains an old Terengganuan Malay poem in the bridge based on the traditional Terengganu dance called Rodat. Another band called Spring also recorded a song sung in Terengganuan, called "Hati Mahu Baik".




Phonology






= Consonants

=
Consonant inventory of Terengganu Malay




= Vowel Inventory

=




= 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 to /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 /ɣ/: orang اورڠ ('person') becomes oghang
Final consonants are often only pronounced as a glottal stop.
bukit بوكيت ('hill') becomes buke’ ([bukiʔ])
Words are distinguished by lengthened initial consonant.
Final /l/ is silent. Example: tinggal ('left') becomes tingga; tebal ('thick') becomes teba.
Usually /l/ as in /lah/ is removed and becomes /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:




Notable Terengganuan phrases


Starang baroh means 'really', a popular phrase used 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 phrase is Senyung sokmo which means 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.
Dokrok cettong denotes two situations whereby one is totally exhausted or someone who is very weak.




Sample text


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 old people.'




References






Further reading


Jiang Wu (2023). Malayic varieties of Kelantan and Terengganu. Amsterdam: LOT Publications. doi:10.48273/LOT0651. ISBN 978-94-6093-436-0.




External links


Ensiklopedia Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu, DBP Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
Loghat Terengganu | Terengganu Archived 20 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
Bahasa Malaysia Simple Fun – Terengganu Malay Language

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