| Gorontalo Malay | |
|---|---|
| Bahasa Indonesia Gorontalo[1] | |
| Mobisala Molayu | |
| Native to | Indonesia (Gorontalo andCentral Sulawesi) |
| Region | Gorontalo and the northern part ofGulf of Tomini |
| Ethnicity | Gorontaloan |
Native speakers | ~1,000,000 |
Malay-based creole languages
| |
| Latin andJawi[2] | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
Gorontalo Malay, also known asBahasa Indonesia Gorontalo orMobisala Molayu inGorontalo,[1] is aMalay-based creole language spoken by the majority of theGorontalo people in the northern part ofSulawesi,Indonesia, especially in the province ofGorontalo,[3][4] as well as inBuol Regency,Central Sulawesi.[5]
Linguistically, Gorontalo Malay us classified as a trade language and a Malay-based creole.[6][7] It generally functions as alingua franca in Gorontalo and its surrounding areas, including parts of the northernGulf of Tomini, which are also inhabited by the Gorontaloan people.[8][9]
The influence ofArabic is evident in Gorontalo Malay, with several Arabic words incorporated into the language, such asana (أنا) for the first-person singular pronoun (I) andente (أنت) for the second-person singular pronoun (you).[10]
Gorontalo Malay initially developed in the coastal regions of Gorontalo, particularly in port cities. It later absorbed influences fromArabic,Dutch,Ternate Malay, and primarily fromManado Malay,[11] alongsideGorontaloan as the native language of its speakers.[3][12]
The language also shares similarities in vocabulary and grammar with Ternate Malay, a feature common to other Eastern Indonesian Malay varieties. One key difference between Gorontalo Malay and other Eastern Indonesian Malay varieties is its distinct pronunciation intonation, heavily influenced by the Gorontalo language.[5]
In Gorontalo Malay, there are several verbs and nouns derived from Malay that undergo a change in the pronunciation of the vowel phoneme, influenced by the speech patterns of theGorontalo language. The vowel sound [ə] in standard Malay changes to [o] in Gorontalo Malay (this change also happened at prehistoric times, see alsoGorontalo–Mongondow languages). For instance,bolajar (frombelajar 'to study'),posawat (frompesawat 'airplane'), andmoncuci (frommencuci 'to wash') reflect this phonetic shift. Additionally, the wordMelayu 'Malay' is also pronounced asMolayu in Gorontalo Malay, further demonstrating this influence.[2]
Gorontalo Malay has pronouns or substitute words primarily based on Manadoic Malay languages (such as Manado Malay and Ternate Malay).[13]
There are several loanwords from foreign languages in thepersonal pronouns of Gorontalo Malay, particularly fromArabic.
| Pronouns | Glosa | Gorontalo Malay |
|---|---|---|
| First person singular | I | ana |
| First person plural | we | torang |
| Second person singular | you | ente |
| Second person plural | you all/you guys | ngoni |
| Third person singular | he/she | dia,de |
| Third person plural | they | dorang |
In Gorontalo Malay, the infixpe is used to indicate possession, similar to how-nya is used in standard Indonesian to denote ownership or possession. For example, in the phrasepe rumah (the house’s),pe indicates that the house belongs to someone or is associated with them. This construction helps to express possessive relationships in the language.
| Glosa | Melayu Gorontalo |
|---|---|
| my book | ana pe buku |
| your book | ente pe buku |
| his/her book | dia pe buku,de pe buku |
| our book | torang pe buku |
| you guys' book | ngoni pe buku |
| their book | dorang pe buku |