Bahasa Melayu Ambon
Ambon Malay
Austronesian
Ambon Malay (autonymously Bahasa Melayu Ambon) is a Malay-based contact variety of the Maluku archipelago, spoken as L1 by around 250,000 people and as L2 by approximately 1.4 million in the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku. Linguistically, Ambon Malay descends from the lingua franca Malay used by Maluku spice traders and Dutch colonial administrators since the 16th century, gradually replacing the indigenous Maluku Austronesian languages of Ambonese and Lease Islanders. It is now a creolized contact variety with simplified Malay grammar but distinctive Ambonese phonology (final consonant weakening, distinct vowel qualities) and lexicon (significant Portuguese, Dutch, and indigenous Maluku loanwords). Ambon Malay is one of the most-vibrant regional Malay varieties of Indonesia and serves as the cultural lingua franca of the entire Maluku region.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Ambon Malay
Water
aer
/aer/
Fire
api
/api/
Sun
mata hari
/mata hari/
Moon
bulan
/bulan/
Mother
mama
/mama/
Father
papa
/papa/
Eat
makang
/makaŋ/
Drink
minong
/minoŋ/
Love
sayang
/sajaŋ/
Heart
hati
/hati/
Tree
pohon
/pohon/
House
ruma
/ruma/
Dog
anjing
/andʒiŋ/
Cat
kucing
/kutʃiŋ/
Hand
tangang
/taŋaŋ/
Eye
mata
/mata/
Hello
hela
/hela/
Thank you
tarima kase
/tarima kase/
One
satu
/satu/
Good
bagus
/baɡus/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Austronesian languages
| Meaning | Ambon Malay | North Moluccan Malay | Musi | Indonesian | Malay | Banjar | Old Malay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | aer /aer/ | aer /aer/ | ayek /ajek/ | air /ˈa.ir/ | air /ˈa.ir/ | banyu /baɲu/ | ayar /ajar/ |
| Fire | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ | api /api/ |
| Sun | mata hari /mata hari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matahari /matahari/ | matari /matari/ |
| Moon | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ | bulan /bulan/ |
| Mother | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mak /mak/ | ibu /ibu/ | ibu /ibu/ | uma /uma/ | ibu /ibu/ |
| Father | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | bapak /bapak/ | ayah /ajah/ | ayah /ajah/ | abah /abah/ | bapa /bapa/ |
| Eat | makang /makaŋ/ | makang /makaŋ/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ | makan /makan/ |
| Drink | minong /minoŋ/ | minong /minoŋ/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | minum /minum/ | nginum /ŋinum/ | minum /minum/ |
| Love | sayang /sajaŋ/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | cinta /tʃinta/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ | sayang /sajaŋ/ |
| Heart | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | hati /hati/ | ati /ati/ | hati /hati/ |
| Tree | pohon /pohon/ | pohong /pohoŋ/ | kayu /kaju/ | pohon /pohon/ | pokok /pokoʔ/ | batang /bataŋ/ | kayu /kaju/ |
| House | ruma /ruma/ | ruma /ruma/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ | rumah /rumah/ |
| Dog | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ | anjing /andʒiŋ/ |
| Cat | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | ikung /ikuŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ | pusa /pusa/ | kucing /kutʃiŋ/ |
| Hand | tangang /taŋaŋ/ | tangang /taŋaŋ/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ | tangan /taŋan/ |
| Eye | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mato /mato/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hello | hela /hela/ | cerang /tʃeraŋ/ | halo /halo/ | halo /ˈhalo/ | hai /hai/ | salam /salam/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | tarima kase /tarima kase/ | tarima kase /tarima kase/ | terimo kasih /terimo kasih/ | terima kasih /tərima kasih/ | terima kasih /tərima kasih/ | tarima kasih /tarima kasih/ | — /—/ |
| One | satu /satu/ | satu /satu/ | siko /siko/ | satu /satu/ | satu /satu/ | asa /asa/ | sa /sa/ |
| Good | bagus /baɡus/ | bae /bae/ | bagus /baɡus/ | baik /baiʔ/ | baik /baiʔ/ | bagus /baɡus/ | baik /baik/ |
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