Malay

Austronesian33 million nativeLatin

RegionMalaysia/Brunei/Singapore

FamilyAustronesian

Speakers33 million native

ScriptLatin

TypeAlphabetic

About Malay

A great maritime trade language for over a thousand years. The base of Indonesian and Malaysian standards. Official in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. Once written in Indian, then Arabic, then Latin letters. Grammar is strikingly simple, with no conjugation, gender, or tones.

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