Malay Chetty creole language

Malay-based creole

Malay Chetty creole

Malaccan Creole Malay
Malacca Malay Creole
Chitties/Chetties Creole
Native to| Malaysia
Region| Malacca
Ethnicity| Chitty people

Native speakers

| 300[1]

Language family

Malay-based creole

* Malay Chetty creole

Language codes
ISO 639-3| `ccm`
Glottolog| `mala1482`
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The Malay Chetty creole language (also known as Malaccan Creole Malay, Malacca Malay Creole[2] and Chitties/Chetties Malay) is a Malay-based creole spoken by the Chetties, a distinctive group of Tamil people found mainly in Malacca in Malaysia and Singapore, who are also known as the "Indian Peranakans" and have adopted Chinese and Malay cultural practices whilst also retaining their Hindu heritage.[3]

Spoken since the 16th century by descendants of Tamil merchants of the Malacca Straits, Malay Chetty creole may be historically related to Sri Lanka Creole Malay. The current language status is moribund, due to inter-marriage and out-migration. There has been a language shift towards Malay instead.[2]

Malay Chetty creole is a mix of Malay, Tamil and English, although the latter's presence in the creole is not as prominent compared to the first two languages. Because of the strong influence of Malay, Malay Chetty creole is not very different from other Malay dialects, especially the Middle Malacca Malay dialect. Nonetheless, it does have its own unique features.[4]

Malay Chetty creole shares many features with Baba Malay, suggesting that they may have come from the same source language that is Bazaar Malay.[5]

## Phonology[edit]

### Comparison with Standard Malay[6][edit]

#### Deletion of the Phonemes r and h[edit]

* Final /r/ is omitted
* benar /bənar/ ≙ [bəna] 'true'
* /h/ is omitted in initial, final and mid positions except in a few words
* hijau /hid͡ʒau/ ≙ [id͡ʒo] 'green'
* tahu /tahu/ ≙ [tau] 'to know'
* darah /darah/ ≙ [dara] 'blood'

#### Monophthongisation[edit]

* Final /ai/ is reduced to half-closed front [e]
* pakai /pakai/ ≙ [pake] 'to wear'
* Final /au/ is reduced to half-closed back [o]
* pulau /pulau/ ≙ [pulo] 'island'

#### Phoneme Deletion in Consonant Clusters in Trisyllabic Words[edit]

* Mid consonant cluster /mb/ is reduced to [m]
* sembilan /səmbilan/ ≙ [səmilan] 'nine'

#### Phoneme Insertion[edit]

* Glottal [ʔ] is inserted at word final position in words that end with /a, i, u/
* bawa /bawa/ ≙ [bawaʔ] 'to bring'
* cari /t͡ʃari/ ≙ [t͡ʃariʔ] 'to search'
* garu /garu/ ≙ [garoʔ] 'to scratch'

## Vocabulary[edit]

Vocabulary Comparison[7] Standard Malay  | Malay Chetty creole  | English Translation

|
|

halwa | alua | 'sweets'
anak angkat | anak piara | 'adopted child'
mak cik/adik emak | bibik | 'auntie'/'female sibling of mother'
berkata | bilang | 'say'
cahaya | caya | 'light'
tanah/tanah pamah | darat | 'land'/'lowland'
dakwat | dawat | 'ink'
dosa | deraka | 'sin'
gagap | gagok | 'stutter'
kau/kamu/anda | lu | 'you'
kamu semua | lu orang | 'you' (plural)
pak cik | mama | 'uncle'
mak cik | mami | 'auntie'
cawan | mangkok | 'cup'
bidan | dukon | 'midwife'
nafas | napas | 'breathe'
hari ini | nyari | 'today'
pergi | pi | 'go'

## References[edit]

### Citations[edit]

1. ^ Malay Chetty creole language at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
2. ^ a b "Malaccan Malay Creole". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
3. ^ Paulo 2018.
4. ^ Mohamed 2009, pp. 58–59.
5. ^ Mohamed 2009, p. 68.
6. ^ Mohamed 2009, pp. 60–65.
7. ^ Mohamed 2009, pp. 67–68.

### Bibliography[edit]

* Paulo, Derrick A (21 October 2018). "Meet the Chetti Melaka, or Peranakan Indians, striving to save their vanishing culture". CNA. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
* Mohamed, Noriah (June 2009). "The Malay Chetty Creole Language of Malacca: A Historical and Linguistic Perspective". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 82 (1 (296)): 58–59. JSTOR 41493734. Retrieved 23 May 2021 - via JSTOR.

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