This article is about the language. For Ethnic Malays residing in Brunei, see Bruneian Malays.
Brunei Malay
Bahasa Melayu Brunei
بهاس ملايو بروني
Native to
Brunei, Malaysia
Ethnicity
Bruneian Malay, Kedayan
Native speakers
320,000 (2013–2019)[1]
Language family
Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Malayic
Brunei Malay
Writing system
Latin (Malay alphabet) Arabic (Jawi)
Language codes
ISO 639-3
kxd
Glottolog
brun1242
Area where Brunei Malay is spoken
The Brunei Malay language, also called Bruneian Malay language (Malay: Bahasa Melayu Brunei; Jawi: بهاس ملايو بروني), is the most widely spoken language in Brunei and a lingua franca in some parts of Sarawak and Sabah, such as Labuan, Limbang, Lawas, Sipitang and Papar.[2][3] Though Standard Malay is promoted as the official national language of Brunei, Brunei Malay is socially dominant and it is currently replacing the minority languages of Brunei,[4] including the Dusun and Tutong languages,[5] existing in a diglossic speech, wherein Brunei Malay is commonly used for daily communication, coexisting with the aforementioned regional languages and Malay creoles, and standard Malay used in formal speech; code switching between standard Malay and Brunei Malay is spoken in informal speech as a lingua franca between Malay creoles and regional languages. It is quite similar to Standard Malay to the point of being almost mutually intelligible with it,[6] being about 84% cognate with standard Malay.[7] Standard Malay is usually spoken with Brunei pronunciation.
^Brunei Malay at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
^Clynes, A. (2014). Brunei Malay: An Overview. In P. Sercombe, M. Boutin, & A. Clynes (Eds.), Advances in Research on Linguistic and Cultural Practices in Borneo (pp. 153–200). Phillips, ME: Borneo Research Council. Pre-publication draft available at http://fass.ubd.edu.bn/staff/docs/AC/Clynes-Brunei-Malay.pdf
^Deterding, David & Athirah, Ishamina. (2017). Brunei Malay. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 47(1), 99–108. doi:10.1017/S0025100316000189
^McLellan, J., Noor Azam Haji-Othman, & Deterding, D. (2016). The language situation in Brunei Darussalam. In Noor Azam Haji-Othman, J. McLellan, & D. Deterding (Eds.), The use and status of language in Brunei Darussalam: A kingdom of unexpected linguistic diversity (pp. 9–16). Singapore: Springer.
^Noor Azam Haji-Othman & Siti Ajeerah Najib (2016). The state of indigenous languages in Brunei. In Noor Azam Haji-Othman, J. McLellan, & D. Deterding (Eds.), The use and status of language in Brunei Darussalam: A kingdom of unexpected linguistic diversity (pp. 17–28). Singapore: Springer.
^A. Clynes and D. Deterding (2011). "Standard Malay (Brunei)". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 41 (2): 259–68. doi:10.1017/S002510031100017X.
^P.W. Martin and G. Poedjosoedarmo (1996). An overview of the language situation in Brunei Darussalam. In P.W. Martin, C. Ozog & G. Poedjosoedarmo (Eds.), Language use & language change in Brunei Darussalam (pp. 1–23). Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies. p. 7.
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