PERPUSTAKAAN

NEGARAMALAYSIA
 KP
JB 1693
Baba Malay.
An Introduction to the Language of the Straits-born
Chinese.
B~: Hr.:v. W. (i. Srn:r.I •.IBJ·:,u:, D.D.
The Le n n~ 11 igh n. ntl Low JVLnla y, ~rh ich appca r· lo lrn vc or.i girr-
aLetl witlt Lire Duklr, !rave gi,·cn ri ,:c loa. great lle;!l of cont rovcn;.y,
and Lo "or 11c co nf11 sion and .rrri :.; rrtHicrslaHding .
.\ o used i11 Ja va ami ol lr cr purl s o( tir e Nc ll rerlnrals J:nclics
tir e Lcrm
li. IC: H ~ I AJ.,AY

mea ns i·Jr c lang11n gc oJ' Maluy li Lc ralu rc, and us Lire clas:;.ica l
liLcmlu r·e of the Mala ys wa s wri LLc11 wlre rr &ialacca nnd Achccn
were lhe o.,.cat <:cJ JLrcs of Malay power an d Jcar·ning, it is not
surpri sing lo Jind. Lhat lite langungc of l\!Iu lay literatu re is t he
Jn ngttage whiclr. is spoke u to-da y a 11 along tire sea coast on both
sides ol' the SLrniLs of" Ma.lacca, wiLh onl y this dil!:er·ence, nawely
that a few word s of' foreign or igin nsed in tire classical literatu re
ne1•cr becam e assimil ated in the spoken .language, and therefore
continue to be pme ly liter·a ry wonh, and arc not uncl cr·stood by
lire co rnu ron people. lt is a remarkabl e fact that the l\!Lrluy langua ge
iu the Straits o( Malacca lras rcma ineil practicall y the same for
ce nturi es. 'J'Ir c Englisl1 of the t im e of Quee n ]~ lizabeLh is now
almost unintel.ligible to those wlro lra.ve not nracle tire literature
of: llrat time a special stud y ; but tire lcttccs written fro m the cour t

PERPUSTAKAAN
oi Acl1cen lo (~ucen Blizabeth and Kin g J nrncs L of Bngl.a ncl co uld
Lo-clay be read ancl tlroronglrly und cr·sLood by any <Lth standard
lJOy in the Malay ve rnacula c schoo ls of the Straits Settlements.

NEGARAMALAYSIA
In tlre Dutch Indies, however, the onl y parts whe re tlr is language
is now spoken ace tire Hiouw-Linggn. Archipelago and the East
coast of Sumatra; l1ence to the vast majority of DuLch residents
i n Lhe Eatilr tir e Malay of tire Straits ol Malacca is an unknown
to uguc, and those wlro have studied fOt" tire mo.-t part know it
onl y as the language of Mala.y li terature, and look upon it as being
p racticall y a dead langua ge, wlrcrcas iL i really a vc cy live lan-
guage in tho c pacLs of the Acchipclago where it is ·poken.
On the other hand the term
LOW MALAY

is used in the Netlrel"l ancls Indics to clcscr.ibe Lhe langua ge employed

by ]£uropeans, Eurasians, Chinese, an d other for·eigucrs in J·a.va.
ns a common means of co mmuni cation between themselves ancl the
J avanesc, Sunclanese and other inhabitants of that most populous
j our. Slraits fhanch R. A. Soc., No. 65, JQI J.
d17571 / *4

J5 st r' ~ ~~5 Perpusla.ltaa n Negara

MaJaysja
50 BAl:IA MA LA\".

of' a.ll lhe i s la.nd ~ o[ .1\!J"al~ ys ia, whicl1 contains probabl y more tktn
th ree- fourth s ol' ll1c entire popul atio n of lh c ArcJiipelago. 'l'he
iiiiiiiCII oe n11111 eri cal p1·eponllenu1 ce o( tl1 c .Ja van ese uud Su11claucse
ha~ l'l'Stdtcd i11 the ad111ix t urc of a. very large propo rtio n of the
wo rd s of ll1ose h1•o langua ges i11 th e " Low M::d ay" of' J ava, so
that I he Mala ys o[ the Sl.1·ail.,; of' M:dn.cca .l1>1 Ve d irTk ul ty in llllder-
·ta uding iL On the .isla nLl of ,J:mt. there HI'C very f·w peo pl e of
lhe Ma la y race properl y so ca.ll cd, :111d tlie " J~ow Ma lay " of' J :tva
i,.: nol I he ,.:pokcn langua ge of !-h e Ma lays nt all , bnt; 11 1e1·ely a :jargo n
co 11coded by the lll ixell l!IUl t it udc of va ri ous tongues who li ve:
toget her in tha t .i sl:w !l, nml. lllliSt necessari ly lmve a co mm on .l an-
guage as a 111ca ns of co mJnlln icat.ion. l laviug becu made the
ollicial language o[ t he Du tch gove rnment, .Low Ma la.\• is foste red
by th e st ro11g a r11f of: the la w, new. pape1·s arc p111Jli shcd in thi s
bastard dialect;, and .i t Jli'Oill iscs to be the pcrruanent co ll oqu ial
langua ge of the su uthe1·n pn.rt of the :\rchipcla go.
J n th e Brit.i .. h po~scssio u s on the Ma ln y P eninRtila the linguis-
tic co nd itions arc enti rely cliH'crcnt. Jl erc the stro ngest native
race HlliJIC ricall y is the Ma lay, an d t here is abso l11 tc ly no oUlCI.'
n:t tive .language to compete with the Malay language for the
a ~ccn<lan cy . 'l'l1orc a rc, howevCI', two ve ry di stinct clia'lects o£
the .Ualay la nguage spoken on the Ma ln.:y l'cninsu la, nam ely,
( 1) 'l'lic pu re Mala.1· as it is spoken by tile Malays am ong them-
selves, wiLI1 ils poc ulim·l y tc r."c idiom, its grammar of prefixes and
su ffixe, a ncl its i111 111ensc ly ri ch vocabul ary of wo rd s of pure Ma lay
ori g iu ; and (2) 'J'ltc so-ca ll ed colloqnial Malay of tl1 e Sett lements,
th e com mon mea 11 • of. comn1t111i cation bclwccn Emopca.ns, Chin ese,
Tamil s, i\l[a lays, and all the other nationalities of t hese wcat
trailing cen tres, whid1 has CO III LJH rative ly a ve ry sn1 a l.l voc·ab ul a ry,
and makes bnt little use o£ tl1osc grammatical <.:i~<~nges in the J:o nn

PERPUSTAKAAN
o£ words wh ich make the pure Malay language so exp ressive.
Of these two dialects we will fi1·st dea l with

NE staG
tccl A R:inAonrMA
remarksL
onAYS theI
A
TlH: SPOKEN LA.NGOAGE OF 'l'li il PUllB MALAYS.

As already above wlmt Dutch call

" High Ma la.y, "the spoken lang uage o[ the P eninsul a Malays is
in J:a et the lang na.gc of Malay li teratu re, and l1as undergone prac-
tica ll y no change wlmtc1·er in tltc past t ll rcc ce nturies. 'l.'lli ." is
due very la rgely to the fact that the Malays hold themselves al most
en tirely a loof from the peoples of other races who come hero to
lmdc and. to deve lop the natural resources of tl1 c country, lcav iug
the heavy manual labour ol' the mines and plantations, and 'a ll
the wholesale and retail t ra.clc to be clone by the Ch i.nese. 'l'he
only impo rtant c h ~ngcs whi ch lmvc ta ken pl ace in the . pokc n lan-
g uage of' t he Mala ys in tl1 c past 300 yoa 1·s appea r to have been
through the addition of those Arabic words requircll to ex press
the religious ideas which have come to them th rough th e teach ings
of Mohamedanism. Even when the Mahtys tue in the closest pro-
Jour. Straits Branch
 BABA ~1AL A Y. 51

x.itni ty Lo the btt s_y li re oJ: our grea.t t rn.de ce ntres theit· speeeh :is
onl y l•et·y sligltll y all'c<.:ted, ~o li ll le do Lli ey co t11 e in co nLad wit h
peo pl e of ot her nationa lities; ltencc it l'O tncs Umt the Mulay la n-
g ua ge is spoke n with pra ct ica. ll y lhe ~ a tn c pttt·.i ty at 'J'cl ok Blanga,
ot· i11 any oi the, otltet· outl ying villa ge: or, '.iugapot·e as i t is in Utc
rilla ges of t he interi or of Malacca or J oho r. ' l'l10se w.ho .ha ve
dea ling· with the M.a la.ys, and cl o~ ire Lo speak t heir laugua.gc
eo rrcclly, as t hey thent sc lv cs speak it, nt u: t sludy Ma lay l iteral ure,
and e~ p eciall y ·uch mod ern works as the ll' ritings of the famou s
J'l'Lunslri Abdullnh, or the rece nt ly pu bl ished lliddl cs writt en by
Uttt'lt i::l le.iman of the Ma ln y Co ll ege ftt Ma lucca, ll'h iclt arc in
<Ill exec ll cnt rom·ct·sational sty le.
l<' t·o tn what ha s ;jnst been sa id, it i · pin in t hat t hronghont our
]~r.iLi:-dt possessions the put·o l\fala y language is the lang ua ge o[ Lit e
,·ill<tges. On th ot her h.and the lan guage of th e g reaL :->cLtlctu cli Ls
attll .large to wns and of the markets and shops c,·e r.)•wltc re, i n iu ct
t he bu si ness langua ge of tl1 e Malay P eninsula, is
.llrlllA 1\L\ I•. IY,

Umt is to ~ay, Ilfa lay as it is spoken by Lhe l\hln y-speal< ing Chi nose.
'l'lt is is quite fl distinct d ia lect, lite pt·evn iling chat·,tc:te ristic of
which i ~ .i ts te nd ency Lo foll ow the ('lt i n c~c rnt lt cr than t he 1\'l.al a.y
idiom. lt is Lnt e t hn.t the number of Cltin e:;e II'Ords wh ich ltavc
become nss i.mila Letl wiLit Lhis rli a.l •cL is not 1·ery large, aud t hat
liHlll.)' words have -bec u borrowed fr om J ~11g li s h , ]'ort ug ncse, D11 tch
and 'l'a mi l, ancl from other neighbo uring longues, bu t iL is Tightly
called "Baba Mala y, '' for i L i · large ly the creation or the Baha
Chinese, and :is their mother tongue, so tha t it belongs lo tl1em in
a ;cnse that no othe r peopl e can Ol' do claim i t m; the ir OII'Ll. In
Litis respect it rlifl'crs greatly f rom the so-call ed " Low Malay" of
PERPUSTAKAAN
Ja. va, Jor thou glt those Chinese who are horn and li ve i n the .D uLch
lndi es a ll ·pea k t hat la ngua ge, yeL t hey Jw,·e not by any means had

NEGARAMALAYSIA
the stron gest infinence in ·i t~ :fornt ati on, Jot· " Low Maln.y " has a
ve ry mu ch st ronger a.f11nity witl1 .hvnncsc and ~undn.n ese than it
IJH: with Ch ine:;e, an clltas not been so mudt nfl'ectcd by tl tc Chinese
idiom as the Baba Mal ay of' the Ma.la_y .l'eninsul n., the Chine ·e in
the Dutch lnd.ies having nlways bee n few ·in num be r as compared
wi th the natives of the co untry. J n the British Hettletnent:, on
t. he ot her ha nd, the Chinese have always had a comn1nnclin g i tl-
flu cnce in a ll busi ness affa irs, and in a pt·opot-tionutc deg ree lw.ve
lcrL t heir inqJt'ess upon t he language in wh.i clt tltc bu, i ne~s of Llte
i::letLic nLCnt:s lta s alway · been transacted, and. in wltich it wilL p ro-
bab ly continue to be ca rried on long after the p t·esent generation
has passecl nway. 'l'he fa ct that Haba J\lla lay is now, and is likely
lo be for an indefi nite period, th e l..tnsines · lang un.ge o[ i::l ingapore,
l'enang, and the .l!' ecleratccl J\IIalay Bta.tes, woul d iu itself be a
su[l:icienL reason why it should be t ucli.ed as a cl i ·tio ct di alect; but
a still more weighty reason is fo und in the fact that it is the
R. A. Soc., No. 65, I9IJ,
52 BABA MA LAY.

llt Ol hcr-Longuc uf' Li te ma;jori ly of: llte Cltincsc wotneu and chil d rcll
i11 the Straits Hdtle ttt cnts, und ol: lt ~on s i dc raiJ i c and increasing
liU t11 bc r i11 the l<'e demlccl Ma lny States. lt is Lhc la11guagc o[ Lite
hont es o[ Lite SLI'II its-bol'll C'h inesc-thc tnost hi ghl y educated und
Lhe tn ost i11 f·fu enlial f'ed ion of the Chin ese co nttnunity in the
J:lriti'h posse~s i o n s, a nd ihcrcf'o re it is the Jan gun gc in wlt iclt the
II"Oilt en aml child ren of this impo rtant c l a~s ca n mo·t :readily and
.ttt o.·t ·ucc:c.·s f'ull y be ed ucated . '.!'h e pure Ma lay .la ngll agc, as Li te
M.ala ys tlt cttt 'c lvcs spea k i t, the HaiJa s wi ll Jleve t· lea nt, .for they
des pise it, calli ng it .1/alayu hulau--tlte lang uage of Lite :jungle.
'!'h eir dialect-Halm Malay- lhcy look upon as the language o[
lhe refined a nd wea lthy elm's o[ !\'b ia.y-speaking Ch inese. 'l'hat
bc i11 g the cas • it i:,; hopeless to t ry a11d I'OI'<;c upon !hem wltat uilte rs
consi der to be "U lass ica l Nhda y," howeve r tnu c:h superior it ma,v
be [t·ont Lit e view-po in t ol' the .·c:hola. r and the hi ,;tut·ian. HaiJa
ninla y is ilte la ngua ge ol' Lhc lii>Lil of' the st reet; it is a st rong and
viri le ton<r ue, mot·e easily ac:qttit·ed titan the pure M:a lay, ltllcl
suf-ficiently exp ressive fo r a ll ordi nary p ttrposcs : 111 0reove r .i t lm~
a rct narkabl e c:apae it.l' J'o r borrow ing and HS'im ilati ng such word·
a ~ .it nccll ti f ront other J a n g uH gc~ .. It is .- ure to li ve. Wh en ilt c
pr.in iplcs of' its g ntmm at icnl co nst ru ction a rc beLtcr und orsloocl,
when those wl to speak it ;~ re abl e. a lso to ren,d and wri te i t co rrect-
ly, n nil wltcn it ha s a I itora tnre o[ it· own, Babn Mn lay wi ll prove
i tse lf to be an Hde<]uate Jn ed ium for conveying tho ugltt and for
imparting i nstruction .
'l'Hll EvoLUT ION O.F B.~uA M AJ .,~Y .

MHlacca, being the oldest f'oreign settlement i n Malay" iH., i.·

the most fal'o UrHb le place to ·Lucly the h.isLory of Cltinesc i nn ui-
gmtion to this part of the wo d d, ancl the ot·.igi.n ol' the dia loet

PERPUSTAKAAN
wlt iclt they now speak. It is now nea rly 400 yea rs since Europeans
fi rst made tlteir appearance at Malacca, but the Ch inese were there
some time befo re that. J3 u!.:it Chiua, the burial g t·ountl of the

NEGARAMALAYSIA
Chin ese f rom tim e imm emoria l, wn s so called befo re the time
wh en t he Mal ay hi -tory "8jarah ll lalayu" was written, which is
more than 300 •ca rs ago. 'J'h c first immi grants were p robabl y
from Arnoy, f.o r nea rl y an fhc words of Chin ese ot·i gi.n wh ich
have come into the M:alay langua ge approach more closely to the
sounds of the H ok-l<i en than to tho ·e of any otlter dialect, and tltc
Babas of all the olll fami lies claim to be Hok-kicns. 'J'h erc is
Hi so ve ry little doubt that the Clt inese who came to t his pa rt of
tlte worlcl in the ea rl y clays were excl usively males, that they
married Maln.y wom en, but brought up their children as Chinese.
E ven to the pre ent clay tl te ma rri age customs of the Baba Chinese
app t·oximatc more closely to tltose of tl1e Malays titan to those
of tltc natives o£ China, bu t inte rntmTi agc between the Babfts ancl
the MaJa_y has entirely cea ·eel, ancl probably for humlrecls of years
past the Babas have married exelusi vely amongst their own people.
Jour. Straits Branch
 B A BA MALAY. 1)3

T he Baba commun ity, however, is still growin g by the same p ro-

cess wh ich m ust. l1a ve been go ing on for centu ries, someth in g after
t he fo ll owing manner :-An i mm igmn t comes from Chi na, and
a: ~oon ns he l1as avcd up enoug h money l1 c opens a small sl1op
in a M:a lay vi ll age, where he soon lea rn s to make l1imself 1m ile1·stood
in t he M:a lny language. When he is abl e to support a wi fe, he .l ooks
ont fo1· n g ir·l from some of the poo rer Haba fa mili es, or perh aps
a cl nn gh ter· of one of t he n nmerons concubi nes lo be f onn cl in t he
homes of t l1 e wea lthy. l \aba women of ll1 is class a 1·e to be f01m d
to-tl uy in al l the Yi llages of Ma lacca, mnni ed to small shopkee pers,
11·ho were bor n in Chi na , rLnil ;:peak l\h lay ve ry imper fectl y ; their
c:hil dren, howc1·c r, a1·e Ba hn s p1nc and simple, and i n many ea. c.
know not hin g whateve r or: t he Chin ese la no·uage. They have
learn t the J\lla lay lang uage from t heil' mot hers, and f rom con sta nt
as;:ocintion wit h M'a lny chil cl ren i n !.he vill age wl1 e1·e lh ey Jive;
i n fa ct they kn ow 111 neh more Ma.ln ,y t.ha n Ihey .a re ge nen1.ll y given
cred it for . Neve rl hole,;s !·here is a ma rked dill'erence between
t he Mn lay spoken by these Uh iue;:e ~ h i ld1 ·e n ancl that spoken by
t he Ma lny chil dren wi t l1 wh om Ihey ;:cem to m ix ;:o .free ly; bnt
IIJis is or co nrse easil y acco unted Jur by Lhe influ ence of: !.he
Cl1ine:e pa rents upo n tl 1e lang uage ;:poken by th eir ch ild ren, for
l1owever in t imate ly Lll e chi ldren ol' d ifferen t nati onaliti es may be
ll11·own toge ther in their games, i ll e lnng unge or: the home must
nel'essa rily have Lhe stronges t. in fluence npon l hem. As t ime went
hy and tlw HHi>Hs becnm e more ntll11CI'O II R, tl1 e.)' wo nl rl begin to fo rm
a t'O nJmuni t.y by lh e 1n ~e lv es n.ncl wonl d not co rn e so mu ch into
c·o nl ar t with t il e llfnlnys; thi s would he e ~ p ee; i a ll y tl1 e c>w e ·in the
tow n of Ma laccn. rntl1er than in the villages, in :fact it is no t iceabl e

PERPUSTAKAAN
even nt t.l 10 prese nt cla y thn.t t he Habn s in the village: spea k m nch
more li ke t l1e J\llnlnys t hemselves t han tll o;:e wh o l ive in the town.
i\ s Lhe Hnbns in the tow n ceased to ns;:oc iate witl1 t il e Ma lay , their

NEGARAMALAYSIA
pef' uli a1·it ie. of id iom wonl cl tend to beco me fixecl, an 1 t heir speech
wo uld be inflnen ceil less am1 'less hy t he Malay standa rds of p ro-
nu n iat ion, gra m ma r or the nse of word s. '.l'h e Malays lawe Jwd
n. li te1·nt ure of tl1eir own fo r Jnmcl recls of: yea1·P, n.nd a con ~ i.cl e mhl e
p1·opo1·t ion ol' t il e pop ul ation lmve been a ble to ren.cl and wri te :for
p miJHI> Iy at l ea~ t 300 yca1·s, and their li terat ure lms un clo uhtcdl y
t end ed to rn aintn in the puri ty of their spoken lang uage ; the Babas
on t he othe1· l1nnd J,a,·e never learned to read and wri te M:alay,
hence tl1eir kn owledge of tl1e lang ua ge l1as al ways been p urely
C'ol loqn ial, and therefore the mor e liable to be co rru pted.
'J'h e differences between til e Mala.y lang uage ns spoken by the
Haba s and the coll oquial language o( tl1 e Ma lnys themselves are
pri neipn.ll y as fo l l o w ~ :-(J) 'J'Il ey have i ntrod ncctl n. nu mber of
word s of Chin ese origin most of wh ich are wll oll y unkn own to the
Mn. lavs; (2) They are ent i1·ely un a.C!J il aintecl with a large num ber
of' Ma la y wo ril s wh ich are in common nse amo ng the M:a la.ys them-
~e l v es ; (;1) '.l'hey mi 8prono1mce many Ma lny words, and i n some
R. A. Soc., No. 65, !9!3-
54 BA BA MALA Y.

cases have al te red the pron11nciation 80 mu ch tlmt the word is al-

11lost 1lll i'Ccog ni sa bl e; and ( 4· ) to a g rout extent they use the Ch in e~c
idiom Tather than the Malay, putt ing tl1 eir ente nccs t ogethe1· in
a way whi ch is qui te tliO'crc nt fron t the co ll oqu ial language of' lhc
i\fa luys. We will consider these cliff'eren t points one by one.
Cl ) Words of' Ch·1:nese origin.
In clrulin g with t·liC (]Uestion of t he Chin ese wo rds 11 secl hy t·hc
RaiHl' ·it ""'si fir"l he rema rked that thei1· p ron 1111t ia t ion o[ such
1ronlo i ~ JVrnlnr rHi hcr thnn ( 'l1inese. ' l'h e ll ok-ki cn Uhin esc in
the pron11ntin t ion of their wo1·dK use scve 11 very d earl y dcfil1 cd
"tone~," nn(l I he meanin g ot a word depend ' ent irely npon the
to ne of YO i(·C in whi cl 1 it iS j)I'Onouncccl. Of: !:he 11 Se o[ t hese
tones t he Bnhn s for the rn ost pn rt kn ow Hbsolu te ly noth in g, and
il' they eve r pronounce a Chinese word co rrectly ns Jar as t he tone
is conce rned, il is IJ.1· ucc·idcnL Tnlher than by des ign . r am refc iT-
in g ol' cou rse to t l1ose Chinese word s whi rl! have become in-
co rpomtcd wit h the Baba M:ai>I .Y IHng nagc; man y of: the Rabas can
speak J-l ok-k icn C' hin e~e with some flu ency, and when doi ng so
mu "t of: ncce.·s ity u,;e the tones, t hongh usua.ll y I'Cry imperfectly,
~·e t wh en speuking M:alay tl, cy ""e Chin ese wo1·cl s without attempt-
ing to g ive t he CO I'I 'cct ton es, nnd in so me Cflscs Chinese words have
been so mn ch co rrupterl tha t i t is d.imcul t to rccog nif'c thei r dcriv-
flt ion . 'l'his we will i ll ust ra te later on.
The Ch inese words which flre mo. t f req uen tly usecl in Bnha
Mal ay a1·c und o11btedlv the prono 11 ns goet, " I ," and la, "you."
Tn speakin g am ong thcm sc lvcR tl1c Babas neve r 11se t he l\1a. lay pro-
Ji oun s aim fl ncl a·' gkan. bu t curi ouRly CJ iough ·fo r the prononn s o·r

PERPUSTAKAAN
the 3rcl pc rf'o n singular an d l st perf'on p lura l they in variabl y use
the M:ala y diet nnd !.··ilet, and neve r 11 sc t he Chiu c:c equiva lents.
H is well known that in po li te ~o n vcr~ation the Ma lay avoicl the

NEGARAMALAYSIA
li Re of prono11 ns as fn r as poRsib le, wh erea · the Chi nese u ~e pro-
nollns witl 1 lliiiCh g rcate1· f1·ecdom ; in t his re pect the Baba s con-
fo l'ln to Mn lny usnge. Children wo11lrl never t hink of using the
p1·onoun lu to their parents, nnil in convcrsat.ion with th eir seniors
the greatest ca1·e is taken to use tl1 c proper form of: acl ]re. s, so t hat
nil the li tt le chilclrpn kn ow tl1 c prope r t itles to be g iven to all
their relat ions; it is a remarkable thing, however, t hat th e:e
rc la t ion8hips are expressed by Ch inese and not by Malay worclR,
exceptions to tl1 is rul e be in g t he word s fo r mother (mu/,;) and
yo un ge r brot her or sister (rtrlek) anrl elder bTot hel' (etbarg). ~l.'hc
Chinese woniR for t he vario us rc la.l'ion slrips ha ve in most cn.·cs
th e prefix 1(1 wl 1ieh is nserl by th e Chin ese in ac lrl rcss ing re lat-ives,
hu t this is co rrup ted so metimes to n or m by the Baba s : fo r in-
stfl nce for fn ther the Ba lms do not use the ordi na ry H ok-kien wonl
71cJ or lciu -piJ, bnt the more 11nu:;ual worcl t·iu-t·ia in the form 'nt·iet;
for gmnrlfat hcr, ko 1:q ha s bcC'omc ' 1g!.:o rg; elder sister, tou-chf ha s
become !etch i ; fa t·li cr's elclel' brothel', pelt., is 'm pe/,;; father's younger
Jour. Straits Brant'h
 BABA l\1ALAY. 55

broth er, chek, i 'nchel"; siRter's hu sba nd, chia-hu, is chau ; and so
forth.
Anotl1er very large class of words wl1ich the Babas have
bono1rccl from the Chinese langua ge are those relating to household
affn i rs. 'l'he const ru ction of t hci r Jwu ·es i Chin ese in pian rather
thnn Mala.r, and they har e given Ohin e' e names to the clin·c,·ent
pnrts of th e hon,c-thc front room o1· hall wh ere the id ols arc
pla cer! is eH li ed t he lia" ( C hin e~c til ·ict"); the central cour t open
to I he sky is ch·imch·i ( cilltim-cli i"); t he u pper floor is lole i!J ( l£i:u-.
thg); th e inside ba lcOII.)' i:; lcugkan ( Chin ese lrt l!]-1.-ha·(r;, ope n
spa te); bcdroo111 is 1iruyke1g (pfi1g-k e1g); tl1c oulcr· bal cony open to
t he sky i:; la-rJe" ( ? liiu -ZJi"); a la111p i:; le''!J o1· tct.~gl o ·'!J ( le lg-l·li hg);
a. Clll'pet 01· ru g is i anak (i/1(/n-il ); paint is chat (clthat) ; anrl even
n. rockron ch is 1.-ac!uw!.; (ka-lsor!th). J(itchcn n tc n ~ ill' arc ca ll ed by
llfn iHy nam es, bu t anything pcc11liHr to th e C hin c~c r·ccc ivcs rt
Chinese nn111 c, as, tea pot, tekuan (l11-kor!n) ; ~o up spoon, /.?g.<1;
(ill 'l.rJ-8/,); kett le, l e!.-o (t e-1.-!5·) ; chopsLicks howcvc 1· n.rc known a.s
.•ump£1, pres uni1tbly a co rrup t ion of t l1 e M:a lny SJ!I;t; U1c tn.ble at
whir·h they cat thc i,·mca ls .i Rin va riabl y know n by t he Chin ese name
toh. ; to cook l>v steaming is known by th e Chinese nam e l im. (li111) ,
hu t l\L!Iny word s a rc n ~ed fo r a ll. other coo king ope rat ions; man y
kinil. of food " re known by Chi ncsc nam es, such HS, bann: ( bah-m.i),
lcmyn (lrht -·i1i), k iamcha i (k-iam-chhc!i ) , l.·nclwi (kn-chhch ) , pe-
cha·,; (rJeh-chhrl·l:) , cha:ipo (chhc!·i-p6·), k ueh cllaJ!} (/,;e-chcl.rg) , l.:u eh
tian (ki:- l·i £i u) , etc. Hcveml arti cle: ol' clotl1ing have nam es o(
Ch inese or igin, that whic·h is most fm nili tll' be ing o·f' COlii'SC the
qucn c, ta.ucha.1{f (th{tu -lscuy); also we li Hve Clri ncsc mournin g,
toaha (t or) -hrl.) ; a. chi lil.' s binder, olo ('i:o-t6·) ; a. man': purse, opan
( 1:o-prm) ; " womr111's purse, kotoa ( H .6·-tocl) ; stocki 11gs, boek

PERPUSTAKAAN
(brlh) ; to Hdorn ono's self, chgkan &i·r i (lSI!J); and we mi ght· here
111enti on t he flat-iron, 1dan (·ut-fan) .
As 111ight be expected, nca1·ly el'crytlring co nn ccl:c<l with ll1 c

NEGARAMALAYSIA
rcli )( iOnH CC I'Cmonies of' the Ba.bHS i. knoll'n by na ll! CS or Cllinc:c
ori girt: t he Chin ese te mpl e is b·,:o (b·i ii), th e Bu<ldlrist p1·i est is ho!J-
.,,;o (hr -.~iti") ; th e ido l is topek01y (tua-peh-!.;o ,g), sio-h io (sio-hiu."')
i,; to hnrn in ce nse, kwi (kli·i) i,; to kn ee l, and l efJW~ (l r!e-·ien ) is to
g i1·c 11 snbsc ri ption.
Hn s in e~s afl'H irs, med icine, ancl gn mcs (gamb li ng) also co n-
t ri bute a number of worils of: Chi nese o1·i gi n, sucl> as, l o/.;o (th6·-
kh rJ ·) fo 1· Rhop, l.·o1rpi (k oTg-si) assoc ia t ion ot· company, tcwl.-eh
(tJ,it'u-kc) head o[ a fi rm, j-iho (:ii-h<!) shop sign ; ko.~ o l.; (k o-·ioh)
p lnstcr, po' ho (poh-ho) peppermint, 7Jekak (po eh-1.-ctl"-h·i;u"' ) nniscl•d ,
sinS!! (sie'II-S'i") Leacher ; Hll d t he following gnmcs, paka:u (?Jhah-
l.:au), susc/,. (si/.-sek) , rhh (ch·il -h) , kctn (kcw.) , la.n (tan), etc.
'I' he Babas a Iso use a. good Tn any words of Cl! incse origin to
exp ress abstra ct ideas, but 11ot ah va.ys to cxp 1·ess tl1 e same meaning
tha t Lhe wm·cl convc.vs to t he Jl ok-ki cn chi narn an. ·l!'or· in. La nce,
fO I' un gmtcf' ul. the Babas use bo-I in-cli Clg ( uri-jin-che·rg)' .for a
R. A . Soc ., No . 6.i , 1913 .
 BABA MALAY.

sarcasti c or ironi cal remark they use sia~tpi ( smt-phi), to be satis-

fi ed kam-g·uctn (kam-g·ucin), 11i cc, hom:ict (h6-miii) , et c.
Tt should be remembered that :Cor nearl y all th e ideas and
objects mentioned abol'c the Malays have their own proper word s,
whi ch th ey would use nmong themselves. Those Malays who come
frefju ently in to co ntact wi th th e Cl1 inese a re of co urse well n.c-
fJua ·intecl wi t h snch word s as gou and t·u, tote'lg, t ek1.tan, lintchwi,
Jlechwi, t oahu, taukeh, and so fo1·t h, but wi th many of: t he wo1·ds o[
~llin ese ori gin gi1·en above even t he 1\l[al ays in the town of Mala cca
arc qui te unfamili a r. S illlila rly the Baba arc u t terly unacqnn inl-
ccl wi lh ll1 c MaJny cquil'alcnts of near ly all t hese words.
2. Jl!ala!J wonls wh·i ch w·e ttn lcnown to t he Babas.
lT1·om whn t ha been sa id above it is eYid cnt tha t t he Babas arc
unramili nr with t hose Ma la.v \I'Ol'ds o[ whi ch th ey arc a.ccllstomcd
to ti'e t·hc Cl1inesc equi val en ts, but lh cre nrc nlso a Ja. 1·gc nrnnbe1· o[
other word s in common n.·c among th e :Ma la.ys o[ whi ch the Babas
are entirely ignorant. It i.· of COll l'SC well known in Eu ropean
co un t ri es t ha.t t ho.:e who ea nn ot read th ci r own lan g ua ge use but
a very small num ber of word s in ordin a.·ry conversat ion; we cnn
onl y hope to acqu ire a. la rge vocabul ary in our own language by
constan t rea.d in g. W.i th few exce pt ions t l1 e Bahn s read nbsolu tcly
nothing in the :Ma ln.y lang uage, and consequentl y th eir know ledge
of: llf,t!ay wonl s i ~ Yery Jimi tcrl. 'l'he Mnln y lang ua ge is ri ch in
sy n o n y m ~, and ha s word s lo exp ress til e fi nest shades of' mea.ning;
bu t wl 1crc a nn111ber of word s l1 a1:e somewhat si1nila.r 1 nearli n g~ ,
lh e l ~aba nscs o1d.)' one or two i.o exp1·ess t hem a'll. !<'o r :in sla HCe,
for looking a nd see in g t ile M.ala .l'~ nse l hc word s t·iltot, pandrt·1g,
l e1gok, na mpak, lo mJiflk, tryada h, mno/rlt , ·Wek, belr t.·, etc. ; bnt

PERPUSTAKAAN
the Ba bas ha rcll y e1·c r 11se any of' t hcsc excep t lrl l.fJOk aml nmn pal.:,
and ocrasionall y foi/l(( l and fJCIII dCt i.<J. Bim il a1·l y t hey make th e one
WOJ'(l laroh se rve the pnrpose wh ere t il e Mnlays use la1·oh, bub oh

NEGARAMALAYSIA
aHd. fla k ; fL ncl lh e word a1ykat is used by t hem wh ere t he Ma la,ys
woul d ~H .)' 71ikn l, kelek, lalcu y, kando 1y . kend01y, j unj O'I!J, doko·Jr;.
Man y of' lilc Habas would kn ow so llle of: th ese wonl s if they hcarcl
a :&Lt! a.y 11 se t hem, 1: ut i.il C.)' Jo1· t he most par t do not know i.h o
exact ~·!Jad es of' ln can· ng wh ich they express, nnd eonscqncntly lilcy
do not atte mp t to usu th em. \ lf!Jcre l hc Ma. lays use two word s ol'
so1ncwhn t si1n ilar meaui 1rg, tl1c Baba s generall y 11se one to t he
ent ire exc lu sion o[ the other, J'or i 1J staucc they use be1'joum.pa and
11 ot be'l'l'lll tt, t·ua1y anrl not clrtwa.h, pega1y (for z1r; cwg ) and 11ot
chnpcvi, t·Jr; !.m · H nd .llOt banlctlt ; sz!alc a ml 11 ot lampa·r , l.:oso1y a nil
not hom JICt, 7Huws and not lw rgctl. Of t ile formati on of. derived
words rront rools by mean s of p refi xes and surfix e: ihc Babas as
a. rul e kn ow noth in g ll'hateve r ; in many cases l1 owevct' they 11sc
deri ved words, but do not seem to nnd erstn.nd t l1 eir connection with
lll c Toot word : as :for iJ1 stan cc tbe word znyaz)1.t, broom, is wen
know n, but t hey would nol understa nd ils con;1cc ti on with supu,
j our. Straits Branch
 BABA MALAY. 57

to sweep and if one use the form nuyapu th ey would probably

11 ot kn ow what wa s mean t. In so me cases th ey use onl y th e
deri1·ed form, and do 110t kn ow t h root at all: 11!'/W?YJ'iS, to wee p,
and mnari to dance, are of co urse in comm on use, bu t t he r oot
word s tmr;is a11d ta1·i are utte rl y unkn own. On th e other hand if
n Babrt kn ows the root woJ·ll. it clues not at all fo ll ow tlmt l1 e
will nml erstrtnd the deri vrtti ve, he knows ' U'I'Oil , hn t kn ows nothing
about p·tywr oh ; lu?rJ{J'tt he u ~es, bu t ZJ'IIWTJ{Jlt is practi cal ly lln-
known. A ll the prefi xes and suffixes are useil by t he ]3abas :in
connec tion wi t h ce 1·tain w o ril ~, bn t not wil h others, in fact they 11 se
th em wi tiJo ut kn owi ng wh y OL' lJ OII' t hey should be u ~ed. 'l'he
~ 11ffix 1:, 'howeve r, whie;h J'onn s t rnn sit ive ve rbs, :is pract icall y neve r
11 secl, an cl in the one worLl ·n uda'i in wh ie;h they clo use it, they ha ve
no idea th at they lmve a deri vati ve Jrom tl 1e well-known word
m u/a, for t hey J)I'OlJ oun ce i t ~ i111 p l y '1 /lllia·i, and t hen go so Ja r as
io rnake it a tm nsil ive verb ove r aga in by addin g lho ol hor silllii ftl'
suflix -kan , mak ing th e ext ra ord ina1·y combi nrtt ion nwlaikan . In
the ~a me way lh e Ha.bas make olher deri n1Lives of: their own manu-
fad m e whi <;h a re neve r n ~c d by lh c M.al ays, an rl sou nd to tl1 em
exceed ing ly ba rbaro us; rot· i n;;ta nce I ha ve n.ct uall y see n in. prin t
~ u c h rorlll S HS kbe rseflan, bfl ar ukctn :J'OL' ufl arwi, 111 111 b·if.oinkan, etc .
.,.~,·e n some or lh c simpl e prepos it ions lll'C Hove r nserl by th e Hn bns :
in ~i.eu d of !.--, ton p lu ce, f·hey al w n y~ u.e c/oi, whi <; h p roperl y mea ns
" at ; " ba,rri, ror, is alm ost llllkn own, ftlld d?'[ja'llo, wi l h, is VC l',)' Ji LLi c
u ~c<l, so ma being made to do d uly whe re t he Ma lays use d 1ga n,
7mda. a n<l oven n!.·an. S uch word s as are used in lhe pol itc
plmt scology or Lh c Ma lnys n l'C neve r usecl by th e Babas, an cl few
of t hem woulrl even kn ow t he mea ning of: snch word" if: tl1ey were
io ll CH.l' Lil om ; L rercl' pn. rt i<; ularl y to ~l.J c.ll words as bon da, acZ.iu da,

PERPUSTAKAAN
k rtka nrla, whi eh fil e ~'[a l n.ys ol' all c l a~scs 11 se in their pri vate co r-
res poudeHce, ancl a l ~o to forlll s of add J·oss Lo pcl·so ns of snpc1·ior
rank, a ncl Jll'o noun s nse<l by inferi ors to s upe l ·i o l ·~, t he va rious

NEGARAMALAYSIA
11·o rds ror speakin g, snch as, f innan of God, W ah ol: n .king, sabda
of a proph et or person of l1i gh Tank, l.·ata of eq ua ls, smbnh of in-
feri or,; nchh essi ng n r oya I pe rson. 'l'h is wlJ ole 8ystem of pllrase-
ology is prn cL icall y unkn own to fhc Hn.lin s, anrl so is al ~o the great
i>nlk of tl1 c reli g ions phraseo logy of t he J\l[n lays. It is however
mm cccssa ry lo go fu1·til cr in l il cse nm ttc r~, for enough has been
SH id lo show ve ry p ia in ly l1 ow mu ch or t he Ma lay lan gua ge is a
~ea led book to l he Ba bas.

3. M alay wo r ds 1wispronou·n ced by the R abas .

'l'il c Jh.un s have 110 difficul ty in. p ronouncin g eve ry letter i n
th e Mala v lang uage. Tn thi s res pect lil ey arc ent irely different
from lhe illlmig ran t Chinese, wh o find. it utte rl y im possible t o
sonnd the Jotter ·r or d, ami who a I ways change fi nal s in to t, and
nl>tke sun rlry other changes to suit their own pcculia l'itics of speech.
~'h e ]~ aba s m isp rono11n ce J\IIala.y word s either becau se th ey find
R. A . Soc. , No. 65, 1913.
 58 llA .BA MAT.AY.

their own way easier, or because they think it more elegant. They
ha1·e no diffic ul ty in ~o nn cl i ng the lette rs b and I, bn t instead of
ctmb·i/, they say am.bek or eve n amek, and for ti?ygal one sometimes
hears t-i·tygek. F inal a:i is always toned clown toe a nd at! to o, as
.S'UI!Je and JI'Ulo fo r· s·l!'lyai a nd 71t!la·tt. F in al h is llever sonncled
at a ll, ~o that rumah beco 111 cs 'l'llllla, bocloh is boclo, a nd boleh :is
ltol e ; thu s t hC\' ma ke no (l istin ction between th e ~o nml ol' fin~tl a·i
a nd eh, both bei ng e to t he Baba. On the other h ~tnil fi nal a is
gcnc l'fl llv ~o u ndcd ns ak, a nd somct irr rcs f·inal ·i beco rn c~ ·ik: t hu s
·inRtcad of bapa, bcwa. and 7mla., we have ba.ftak, bawa.lc a nd pula!.·.
'l 'lrcso cor·nrpt ion: of t he so und R of the Jinnl letters cau se n. g reat
dea l of co nfusion .in so me words; for instance the Haba.s n.hvay~
pr·o nouncc clwri as clw.rik or cha.rek, and have no iclcn. that thi s :i s
qu ite a different wo rd, ancl ·mea ns to tea r ; there is a. l ~o a simil ar
conf u ~ io u between ba.ll'a, to bring, and batwh . be low . 'l'he Babns
a l ~o frequen t ly drop t he h ·in t he miclcll e o:l' a wo rd , as bant. J'o r
bharu, saja fo r· saliaja, sayct fo r sah.!Ja; aml t hey have a sli gh t
l.r ml ency lo d rop t he it. at t he beginning of a wo rd, as i n t he worcl s
l1ali, hmy'tl.l, etc. The Ma lays somet imes :fail to soun cl in it ial 71 ,
hut t hey n CI' CI' Jn il to so nn il the final h, ancl somet imes go so ·far as
to ea IT .)' 1he h ove r to t he begin ni11g of t he next word , as ·r·uma h
horru y, tlah lwda, etc. Other corruptions cm1 har dly be class-
·iiiccl , so it is best to give a few examples at rand om, fo r· :in.·tan cc,
bergil u Jo r br;·i lu, k lau·a for terlawa, 'l'ii for arli, krejct fo r ke1'}rt,
p-iam fo r pl-ilurm, pegM:q for pr;arg, 81!111-]Jit for Sfn:t (chopsticks) ,
'lll ll'i'lll Vi for· ·tni'ln fli, /o:111ant1:n J'or znyantin, sm,1!1!J'I:t .for .sm btt·ty1:.
\\'onls of. Ar·ahic or·ig in a re ge nerall y co rTnp ted mo re t han pn r·c
i\llal ny wo rcl s, for exa mpl e, pe'dct for f'a'idah, jerki fo r 1·zki, akln·ct l
for ci khiml, wasohor or· lll ersol1o·r fo r mas!tilllr.

PE
Tl1rR PU
Baba
4·. SiRT
'idiom A
Ch Kmlhe1·
·1:nese AAthan
NJl[alay .
NEGARAMALAYSI A
l'cl'lr nps the most :tr·i kin g pccnli a ri ty in the way that t he
Hnba s mnke 11p t heir sentences is t he vc r·y fr·cq11 ent nsc of the pos-
KCS~ i vc pn r-ticle pwya., whi ch they nse precisely as th e H ok-ki ens
m e t he pnrticle e; but znuya be ing a l onge r worcl .is mu ch more
<'n mbc r:omc, nnil produ ceR awkwar d sentences, t hn s, " Dia 1l1!1!Ja.
'/1/0k-ba pa ada rl1uloJ.; '1/ut!.·a.n di su/(!h 1l1!1!Jf! ·meja." S nch p hraSCH
n" " t·ir;a bnlan pmyn lam.n," "spe'l'ii m.acham i lt! pU?!Ja kreta.,"
nre in consta nt u ~c , rtnil soun cl Ju cl icrons to a Mal ay. 'l'h cse se nten-
ces arc a ll take n f rom the writ ings of the Baba · themsel ves. H ere
iH n rrot hcr· typ ica I Rentence, " I ni m.acha m 7Jtt·tya om:ty [ih1· apa
yru,q ba ,yak salah lf!'7m lut bna.t, clan apa yC!I!J sdik-it .<ctla h boleh
ltuctl . !1 prr. pwya bodoh .<altl. fi k i·ra.n ini?" 'J'he Tecl un da ncy of
I he" fi'WI!J!! " iR not, however·, t he on ly pcc1rliarjty of t his Rentc nco,
ilr e write r· of wlri d r, t hough he is una bl e to speak Chin ese, ha s
g ive n 11s a I' CI')' clo:e a pprox irn nt ion to the Ulrinese ·ifl iom, and t he
whole sc ntcnC'c is abBo lutc ly unlike anyth ing t lmt a Malay would
•say. In !.he fir·st place such ex press ions ns ·1:11i nw.cha·n1. ancl a.pa
j our. Straits Bran ch
 BABA MALAY. 59

yarg are 11 ever used by Ma la ys; i11 steac1 of ·ini macham pu1ya omrg
jiki1·, a Ma lay wo ul d say pada fiki1'a:n om·rg ya:rg dmkian; and
in stead of a.pa ya·1y ba1yc•lc snlah, a Mn lay wou ld say ksalMwn ya1y
bsar; n i\l[aJa.y wou lcl probH.bly :,a.y the whole sen te nce so lll ewha.t
as follow s :- Pada fikimn 01'CI1TJ ya·rg dmlc-ian, ksalahan ya:rg bsa·r
l·iada pal?.tl d·i-JJe?'b•uat, dan ltsnlahan ya·rg sd-il.:it boleh d·i-pe1'b1.la.t.
T he ln st cl an se " A 71a. i''U'I!Ja bodoh snt1.t fii.:-imn ·in:i ?" .i s eve n more
utter ly :J'ot"Cign to M>t lay irl iom. .it will be no t iceil Umt in Ll1 e
a.hovc r<entcnce as reco nst rn ctcd .in t'he Mnlny idiom , the pn ss ive .for 111
rh-perbua.l .i >< used ; the Malay s ol' co un'e make a. great dea l of' 11'<1 of:
t !1 is co n;:trn ctio n both ·in w1·i t ing an d.' in con ve rsa t ion, but: ti1 e
Babas hn.rtll y e1·e r ll f:O i t at ~t ll. A.not her pee ulia1· o f' ll1 o Ha has :is
that they alm ost ah m ys 111 ak o t he n.dj cc t·i va I. pro noun s ·itu and ·iu·i,
t hat ancl thi s, precede t he nonn whi ch they fJ UH Ii fy instcn.(l of
:fo ll owing it, as it shoul d. be acco rd in g to Mala y id io111. Ag>t in the
Babas use ti1 e Ye rb " to be" fJ ll ito d ifl'e rcntly J:ron 1 tl1e Malay .icli ont;
tn ke such se nte nces as, " I ni adc• bt·ut salah;" "i·wi 'll'Wclwrn pwya.
o·rmy adn borloh " -no Mn iH.y wo ul d eve r use c•dc• in such a co nll e('-
t ioH at a ll. 'J'I1 ev a lso foll ow t he Eng li :;h :idi.om of p ln.c ing the
vel'il "to he" at the en cl of '' se ntence, thu s, " V/'C/.J'a clwntel• d·ic•-
o·ra:ly ada ," " how l.Jea ut if ul t hey are." Another Chin ese icl iom is
t he nse of datmg l'or " ll ere" or" hi t her," as the Uhi neso use tii·1:,
as, " knapa. t'a.dn ba:wa d1:a da.ta.·1y?" nml " Kalau l·u jalan data:1y."
Pemah :i · nsecl i n t he se nse "at so rn e time," a:; op posed to ta.'pe·r-
·nah, " neve r," ·in t:l1e same way t hat the :1-l'ok-kiens 11 secl bat and
.1T1-bat, ns, " hula. y((1;q s·u.dnh pe1'1tah ·ta·1yg o·rg seli:sa.," "a horse
whi r· h ha s sufl'ercrl nt some t ime;." " !.:1•da ya·rg s'/Ulah JiM'1W.h ja-
toh ," "a. horse whi ch at some t im e ha s fall en ;" these qn ota t ions
a. re "f rom the translation of "B lack Beanty" by Mr. Goh Hood

PERPUSTAKAAN
'1-\e ng, wh o speak: ve ry litt le Chin ese. T he "foll owi ng may a lso be
given as exn mpl es o l' p hra ses which a. re dist in ctly Uhin ese-" D·i-
pia.mkan S(/'/nJJa,i ·m.njaih: o·m?y," " tn ken care of 11 nt i l he grew

~.(, NEGARAMALAYSIA
up" = Oh i nese ch·ia"-la·ITJ; te1yok 1·e·rga.n, instead of t he Ma lay 12!!:JJc
dn~udah = 7.-!Jor!''-khn ; " 01mg y(l'rg kna. cha. p·u.kol," "the ma n
''•.., > 1Vi1o was beate11 by lmn " = ho· ·1, 71hah .
'!' he fo ll ow ing ., ist of wo 1·ds, t hongh not by any means com.-
p lete, will be nscl' nl f'or re fe rence.

WORDS l'ECUU AR '1'0 ' l'TTE BABAS.

Being prin ci pn ll y CO I't'npt ions of Mn lay n.ml Clli nese wo 1·cls.

.Baba.. Cll'inese . Nfa.lau . En gUsh .

Ajat a:ja.k to incite
Am ek ambil to fetch
Baik i n good health
Ba lck on tl1e contrary
Bio bi6 te mpl e
R. A. Soc., No. 6s, 1913.
 60 BABA MALAY.

Baba. ChineM . Malay. English.

Bami bnh-mi maccaroni and pork
Ba'sat bat-sat bed-bt1g
Bikin to make
Hoek b6h stocking
Ro-j in-r hcrg b i\ -:jln- ch e 1~ nn gTntef ul
Huntnt ekOI' ta il
Husa buclt foam
(' ha rhh >1 fl '.)'
( 'hat ehh al pa in t
(:lmu. e:h i>1-lm siste r's lm slmnd
( 'ha rgki r sma ll. cnp
C'haipo chl1 i\ i-p6· tu r11i p. salted a11 cl ch· ied
('hck-m eil ck-'n 1 brothc1·'s moth er-in-law
< 'hck-m-po cl1ek-'m-pu n ncl c': mot her-in-l aw
('h ia rg chi ilrg rid e a l1o rse
(' hiiii Chi ehh im-clli" ce nt rnl co ur t in a. house
C' hinch11 bfm- ts\1 snpercargo
C: h i n-kc chhin-ke I'Cia.t ion between parent ·
of hn ,bancl nncl wi fe
C' hi o chio tao ist riles
C'h]; i cl1 it-k i. a C.:H I'd ga me
( 'hik cwch eh i L-ke-0 fa 111 i 1\r
C' h rp;knn cli ri ts1~ to adom one's self
C' ho e: he1g-ts6·-bU. great g1·anllm ol:lic r
(' hokin dli10· -kmt ba t hing cloth
C' ho1p; po t~o 1 g-p h o· coo k
llalok korp; herl mla ido l, god

PERPUSTAKAAN
Dlaki laki -l ak i ma le
Fcs l1 cn fa shi on
(l oa. L

Ilia N EGARAMALAYSIA
<: u 111 pn l gum ol Wl'estle
11i a11 elde r brolher
11 io-soa hi n11 -SOU 11 i li Cense stick
1-1 oc-sio hC-s i ii'' Bhndcli ·t priest
. - 1roll I ia hc'l-miit fortu nate, ni ce
·1i 11 , kertns hu hG magi ca l chann, amulet
I run l1 i'm one-tenth of an :inch
.'J HIIHit 1.vn mok mosqu ilo
.1 ih o sign o1·cr the door
.rc1·ki rr.ki food
.1 ij it ejek tease
.'J ose ~ hin y silk (cmpe)
;J usla rl11sla :f'nl·c
1\achn ak kii- lsoith cock I'Oaclt
Kalot reprove
'Ka 1nguan knnt-gorn1 willing
Kau k [m a ga:mc
Jour. St raits Bran..t1
 BABA MALAY. 61

Ba.ba,. Chi ii.CS() , 'Niala.y. J!)nglish.

Kaudu malic i o n ~
Kek-ki. kek-klti irri tate
1\ ek-si111 kek-sim lJ1·okeJ1-Iica rl cJ
1\ iam-cliui kiilm-cliliili sa it l'egcbtbl cs
1\ i H~a i ,·i u-ki:i"-s;'l i brid cgrOO II L
1\ icli iak kh i t-chiiilt beggar
I\ illqJO kim-po wire of llm te l'llal grand-
m ot h e r '~ hrotli cr
J\ illl jJOCho k11n- po-ts6· ancesto rs of allove
1\ io1glii kio,g-11[ cu ngra l ul al. ious
1\il;llg ki-ta1g ( ?) tea cup
1\ IIIH nli n ll ri de or IH·icl cgmom
I\O ko· Jn tl1 cr's si.'ter
l\o n1ba (l'ort.) tlove
1\0 IJ.!:~i klJI)(-><i CO IIIIJHll.)', firm
1\ opo ko·- po great patenml au llt
1\ otoa kii Lr -toiL WOIII a n 's p urse
Kovok ku- iult lllcdici ll a l pl aster
I\ slat kha siat powe r, vi rtue
1\,; ian ka:-:ehaJt p ity
1\ ucliai k(l-d JiJ:\i leeks
1\ uel1 tia tt J,c-t ialt I'C I'liiLCc lli
l(uch cliarg k6-tsiug rice in bamlloo leaves
1\ ui klii to kneel
I\ uli po kn-li-p6 J'cn 1td e se rvant
Kun tau kGn-tl ~;1u boxing
Kupi rg Uirga car
Ku sin ku-sln aphis
Lanch ak anchak offe ri ngs to spirits
La 1gkan
Lape"
L rgkat
PERPlkat
USTAKAAN
lit. Jg-klmrg
Jau-pi"
space ro und chirncl 1e
terrace roof
to stick
Locherg
NEGARAMALAYSI
16, ch crg
A be ll (in Chinese two
kind s of gong)
Lo'chu an liok-chh oim a si Ik fabric
Loki 16·-ki Cantonese prostitute
r~oterg Ji\u-tfug upstai rs
L sirg a li-ali sling
Lu Ht thou
Mek :meh" nacli p ul se
Mortua mutua father-in -J aw, moLhcr-in-
law
Mirgkin m akin more
Mnimpi mimpi dream
Mnj ela jndela window
' Mpek Jg-peh father
Ng-chek 1g-chek uncle
R. A. Soc., No. 65, l9IJ.
62 BABA MAL\Y.

B-.ba. lt.iltese. Mala.y . Engli8h.

:"rg-cliim in-drim uncle's wi Cc
:\g-k im in-kim elder brother's wi l:e
\f g-ko 1f;-ko elder brol her
~g;-koa 1j!-koa 11 fath er-iu- law
:'\g- korg 1(!:-ko Jg gn1 nll fn Lher
\ g---k ll lk-kil . III OL\le l·'s lJro\ IJCI'
;\ g - RO l1ia 11 -sO hrol her'ti ll'i re
:\io nin (lady) IIJ Othel·-in-btw
~ -lia If:!- ha ra ther
1\-tio ~~~ j Ct 11 aunt's iiiJ Rband
0-IH\ll io-pn u Jllrlll 'S j)li i'~C
0 -lu iu-tb· d 1il(l's bi ncler
l'ak au plialt-k1w. a. g a11 10
l' ak~ ui pllalt-idg th ink, consul.t
!'ale bla JIO II I'i sh c!Ji\lli-en
Pa11,;kerg ph1g-keJg bedroom
l'eclia i peli-chh il i white cabbage
l'ekak poelt-kak- l1iu" ani seed
P ega rg pga 1~ hold
J>iJ:jak pijuk, injak tread
r o' lio pol1-h o peppermint
P orgkis p1'1n-ki ba sket wi th hall ll lcs
l'op i po- pl protect (o[ idols)
l'opia p6h-pitt11 thin cakes
:Po-poe po-poe jewel
Pun h.tn pi1n-t>m du st pan
J>ut-liaLl pu.t-hiw uufi\ial
Babck rabi t tont
Huhsia rah sia SeC I'Ct

, am pan
PERPUSTAKAAN
::3am-kai sa 1n-kUi

sam-pan
three id oiB- heaven,

boa.t
earth , water

~ aupi NEGARAMALAYSI
Salllse rg
A
RIIU-plJ'l
~ ian
r uliian
iron ical scolding
lo d igest
::3 LHII.
Hi>~up i sa u-plii i 1·oni cal sco ldin g
S ict-siet ti icL-siet dece ptive
Hiq.( kek sin-kli eh JI CW arrival

S in.'e ~ i e n-si" tcncl1er

!::lio-hio ~ i o- l1 i_
u11 lo blll'll j II CC LI SU
::3mpoa s1'g-po£t" ab;tCII S
, \oja ell lliLL"-:jitt to uow in worship
Hum pit spit chopsticks
i:iu selc ~Lt- sek a ga:m.e
'l'achi lo~L-chi elder sister
'l'aehit-g chachirg WO !'.In
'l'aiko th iti-ko leprosy
Jour. Straits Branch
 BABA ~ I A LAY . 63

JJaba. Chinvse. ~/11/"alay . Rngli sh.

Tan tlm a ga me
Tanak Ll! {rn-:'t car pet
'.1\ ugl org terg-1iorg Ifilli p
'L'nr gH i tlr fii]!;-Si ea l·gu t
T R. ugck· l~u-gC ben tt. sprouts
'l'au cl1a.n g Ll! i\ n-tHa rg qu eue
'l'au ytL tfln - i u bea n tiflt! C·e
'l'ebien llr 6-1Jieu i nfln cncc, prestige
'l'elt Le ten.
' l'cko t·c- k6· kettle
'l'ekoan te-koitn Lea.- pot
'J'e r ~ te rg lam p
'J'cy nn li\c-ien "ubse rip Lion
'J'ia 11 llri a" J ro nt Jmll
'l'im ti m <:ook 111 n do ubJ e boi ler
'l'r gsi tlng-s1 n la r·ge spoon
'l'oah a t·o;\-1! :1 rll our.ntng
' l'oak Llr oa l!. a drawoL'
'l'ocharg t iril LL-tBa lg qu eue
'l'olt to lt brbl e
'l'opckorg toii-peh-k o.rg itl ol
Us ut as ut i n ~iLc
UL-tau ut-t!m Jl at iron

PERPUSTAKAAN
NEGARAMALAYSIA

)our. Straits Branch R. A. tioc., No. bS, 1913.

15 SEP 1995