Pontianak Malay Explained

Pontianak Malay
Nativename:Bahase Melayu Pontianak
بهاس ملايو ڤونتيانق
States:West Kalimantan, Indonesia
Ethnicity:Pontianak Malays
Region:Pontianak, Kubu Raya, Ketapang and Mempawah
Speakers:280,000
Date:no date
Familycolor:Austronesian
Fam2:Malayo-Polynesian
Fam3:Malayo-Sumbawan
Fam4:Malayic
Fam5:Malay
Iso3:none
Iso3comment:(covered by zlm)
Linglist:zlm-rit
Glotto:none

Pontianak Malay (Bahase Melayu Pontianak, Indonesian: Bahasa Pontianak, Jawi script: بهاس ملايو ڤونتيانق) is a Malayan language spoken in Pontianak, Indonesia and the surrounding area.

It is one of the two major varieties of Malayic languages spoken in West Kalimantan,[1] the other being Sambas Malay. Pontianak Malay is a close relative of Sambas as well as Sarawak Malay in neighbouring Sarawak, Malaysia. Elements from Johor-Riau Malay, Chinese, Banjarese, Indonesian, various Dayak languages as well as many localism can be seen in the language, reflecting the various ethnic origins residing in the city.

Although Pontianak is relatively homogeneous, some regional sub-dialects are notable. The Malay varieties spoken in Pontianak, Kubu Raya, Ketapang and Mempawah differ slightly from each other. Differences exist both in terms of vocabulary and phonology.

Linguistic features

The pronunciation system in Pontianak Malay language stressed the usage of the /ə/, this is closely resembles Johor-Riau variant compared to the other Bornean Malay dialects and the related standard Indonesian language. Another notable feature of the accent is the Voiced velar fricative in pronouncing the letter R which similarly used in Sarawakian Malay. In addition, the spoken interjection of Bah is widely used in Pontianak, corresponding to the usage of language observed throughout coastal Borneo.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rusnalasari, Zulidiana D. . ICBLP 2019: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Business, Law And Pedagogy, ICBLP 2019, 13-15 February 2019, Sidoarjo, Indonesia . Alfath . Tahegga Primananda . Wasil . Muhammad . Ade . Reswanda T. . Arumsari . Andini Dwi . Wardhana . Rony . 2019-10-16 . European Alliance for Innovation . 978-1-63190-199-7 . 536 . en.