Terengganu Malay
Base Tranung Bahasa Melayu Terengganu بهاس ترڠݢانو
Native to	Malaysia
Region	Terengganu,Mersing andTanjung Sedili (Johor),Kuantan (Pahang)
Ethnicity	Terengganuan Malay
Native speakers	1.1 million (2010)[citation needed]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Malayic Terengganu Malay
Dialects	Coastal Terengganu Inland Terengganu
Writing system	Latin script,Arabic Script (Jawi)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Linguist List	zlm-coa (coastal)
	zlm-inl (inland)
Glottolog	tere1283
Linguasphere	33-AFA-ca
Areas where Coastal Terengganu Malay is the majority language    Areas where Inland Terengganu Malay is the majority language    Areas where Terengganu Malay is a minority language

Terengganu Malay (Malay:Bahasa Melayu Terengganu; Terengganu Malay:Bahse Tranung/Ganu) is aMalayic language spoken in the Malaysian state ofTerengganu all the way southward to coastalPahang and northeastJohor. It is the native language ofTerengganu Malays and highly localized Chinese Peranakan (locally known as "Mek and Awang") community as well as a second language among the smaller Indian minority.

The language has developed distinctphonetic,syntactic andlexical distinctions which makes it mutually unintelligible for speakers from outside the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, especially those who speak Standard Malay/Malaysian.^[1][2] Terengganu Malay still shares close linguistic ties with neighboring Kelantan andPahang of which it forms under the umbrella term of "East Coast Peninsular Malayic languages" but maintain its own features distinct from both Pahang and Kelantan-Patani.^[3][4]

Terengganu Malay also coexists with two closely related Malayic varieties. In the districts ofBesut and northern part ofSetiu, the majority of the population speak a variant ofKelantan-Pattani Malay, but in recent years many people from southern Terengganu started to migrate into these two districts and both variants now coexist with each other.^[5] In the inlandmukim of Pasir Raja,Dungun, several villages still speak a variant of Ulu Tembeling dialect of Pahang Malay, locally known as Pasir Raja dialect.^[6]

Terengganu Malay is considered to be the most recognisable identity of the state. This can be seen in many local television dramas, movies, songs, poems and religious sermons^[7] which emphasize the usage of Terengganu Malay.^[8] Radio stations in Terengganu whether public (Terengganu FM) or privately owned (Hot FM andMolek FM) mainly use Terengganu Malay in its broadcast alongside standardMalaysian. Recent years show an increase of awareness of the uniqueness of Terengganu Malay, such as the increasing use of Terengganu Malay in shop signs and recently the publication of a Hulu Terengganu Malay dictionary.^[9]

The people of Terengganu refer^{[clarification needed]} to their language asbase/bahse Tranung/Tghanung (/bahsətɣanuŋ/) which means 'the language of Terengganu' orcakak Tranung (/tʃakaʔtɣanuŋ/) which means 'Terengganu speech'. InStandard Malay, it is known asbahasa Terengganu orbahasa Melayu Terengganu. Besides Tranung,Tranu,Ganung,Teganung,Teganu andGanu are also used with the latter (Ganu) being used as an exonym by people outside of Terengganu when referring to Terengganu.

Terengganu Malay is natively spoken in most parts of Terengganu other thanBesut and the northern part ofSetiu. Besides Terengganu, it is also spoken in coastalPahang, fromCherating near the border withKemaman district to as far south asMersing district in the state of Johor.^[7] A variety spoken in the village ofTanjung Sedili in the district ofKota Tinggi is said to be a mixture of Terengganuan, Johorean and several other Malay varieties, reflecting the historical demographics of the area, which once received Malay migrants from Terengganu.

Terengganu Malay has two major dialects: Coastal (zlm-coa) and Inland (zlm-inl) and each of these two dialects has several regional differences depending on districts or villages. The dialect spoken inKuala Terengganu district is the de factostandard dialect of Terengganu Malay.^[2] The major differences between Coastal (known asPata) and Inland (known asUlu) dialects is the pronunciation of the letter "e" of which Coastal Terengganu speakers tend to pronounce it as aschwa while Inland Terengganu speakers pronounce it with strong "e" (as in red).

People in the northernmost regions of Terengganu, specifically in the district ofBesut and several parts ofSetiu do not speak Terengganu Malay, but instead usesKelantan-Pattani Malay.^[10][11] The dialects spoken inDungun,Marang andKemaman as well as outside of Terengganu such as in Pahang (Kuantan,Pekan andRompin) and Johor (Mersing) does not have significant differences than those in Kuala Terengganu and is classified as part of the Coastal dialect. The residents ofTanjung Sedili which is a small coastal village inKota Tinggi, Johor spoke a dialect that is a mixture of Johorean and Terengganuan as the residents there are mostly of Terengganu Malay ancestry.

InPasir Raja which is a mukim located in the interior parts of Dungun, majority of the Malays there spoke a variant ofPahang Malay specifically the Ulu Tembeling dialect instead of Terengganuan. It is because the majority of the people in those areas are descendants of Pahang migrants that migrated into Dungun more than a hundred years ago. Today both varieties (Pahang Malay and Terengganu Malay) coexists in Pasir Raja and the residents can fluently speak both of those varieties.

Based on 2013 research, the division of Terengganu Malay are as follows^[12]

Although essentially a spoken language with no standard orthography, Terengganu Malay is widely used in folk songs, poems, and also in mainstream and local media (such as local radio stations, dramas and movies).Ibrahim Taib, a famous Terengganu poet was known for his usage of Inland Terengganu dialect in his poems such as "Mok, Aku Nok Tubaik" ('Mom, I want to get out') and "Jadilah Awang" ('Enough Awang').

Terengganu has a rich history of folk songs sung mostly in Terengganu Malay, among those areAnok Udang,Anok Burung Baniong,Ulek Mayang andWatimang Landok.

Besides traditional folk songs, Terengganu Malay has also made way into modern contemporary songs especially singers or bands who were born and raised in Terengganu. Among the most well known was the song "Blues Tranung/Ganu Kite" by a famous Malaysian bandIklim. It was a hit song not just in Terengganu but also across Malaysia in the 90s and 2000s. "Dondang Dendang", a 1999 song composed by Suhaimi Mohd Zain and recorded by traditional singersNoraniza Idris andSiti Nurhaliza, contains an old Terengganuan Malay poem in the bridge based on the traditional Terengganu dance calledRodat. Another band called Spring also recorded a song sung in Terengganuan, called "Hati Mahu Baik".

Consonant inventory of Terengganu Malay^[13]

/a/ followed by a nasal consonant changes to/ŋ/:ayamايم ('chicken') becomesayang;makanماكن ('to eat') becomesmakang

/a/ at the end of syllables changes to/ɔʔ/:mintaمينتا ('to ask') becomesmitok

/ah/ changes to/ɔh/:rumahرومه ('house') becomesrumoh

/a/ changes to/ə/:sayaساي ('I') becomessaye

/i/ changes to/iŋ/:siniسيني ('here') becomessining

/ua/ changes to/ɔ/:buayaبوايا ('crocodile') becomesboye

/aj/ becomes/aː/:sungaiسوڠاي ('river') becomessunga

/aw/ becomes/a/:pisauڤيساو ('knife') changes topisa

/ia/ before a nasal vowel changes to/ijaŋ/:siamسيام ('Siam') becomessiyang

/ia/ changes to/ɛ/:biasaبياسا ('once') becomesbese

/s/ and/f/ at the end of syllables changes to/h/:malasمالس ('lazy') changes tomalah

/m/ and/n/ at the end of syllables changes to/ŋ/:hakimحاكيم ('judge') changes tohakeng

/r/ changes to/ɣ/:orangاورڠ ('person') becomesoghang

Final consonants are often only pronounced as a glottal stop.bukitبوكيت ('hill') becomesbuke’ ([bukiʔ])

Words are distinguished by lengthened initial consonant.

Final/l/ is silent. Example:tinggal ('left') becomestingga;tebal ('thick') becomesteba.

Usually/l/ as in/lah/ is removed and becomes/ah/. Example:Banyaklah ('so many') becomesbanyok ah.

Bulang ('moon') vs.bːulang ('many months');katok ('to strike') vs.kːatok ('frog');siku ('elbow') vs.sːiku ('hand tool')

Several comparisons between Standard Malay and Terengganu Malay with English translations:

Starang baroh means 'really', a popular phrase used to show or express something that is really serious or true.

Example:Ambe dok tau starang baroh, as opposed to Standard Malay or West coast Malay dialects:Saya memang tak tahu langsung.

Another famous Terengganuan Malay phrase isSenyung sokmo which meansSenyum selalu in standard Malay and 'Smile always' in English. It is widely used by Terengganu people to wish other people well and to brighten their days.

Dokrok cettong denotes two situations whereby one is totally exhausted or someone who is very weak.^{[clarification needed]}

Terengganu Malay:

Budok-budok lening koho dok kena makanang tradisi, sohbeng kate kuey, nasik pong ttuko bimbo lagi, nok wak guane makanang lening modeng blake, oghang mude tak mboh belajo duk ngarak ke oghang tue sokmo.

Standard Malay:

Budak-budak sekarang semakin tak kenal makanan tradisi, jangan kata kuih, nasi pun masih tertukar lagi, nak buat macam mana makanan sekarang semua moden, orang muda tak nak belajar selalu mengharap ke orang-orang tua.

English

'Kids today don't know about traditional foods, it's not just traditional cakes, even the rice as well, what can we do all foods these days are modern, younger generations don't want to learn always rely on old people.'

• Jiang Wu (2023).Malayic varieties of Kelantan and Terengganu. Amsterdam: LOT Publications.doi:10.48273/LOT0651.ISBN 978-94-6093-436-0.

• Ensiklopedia Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu, DBP Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
• Loghat Terengganu | TerengganuArchived 20 February 2017 at theWayback Machine
• Bahasa Malaysia Simple Fun – Terengganu Malay Language

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