| Malay Chetty creole | |
|---|---|
| Malaccan Creole Malay Malacca Malay Creole Chitties/Chetties Creole | |
| Native to | Malaysia |
| Region | Malacca |
| Ethnicity | Chitty people |
Native speakers | 300[1] |
Malay-based creole
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ccm |
| Glottolog | mala1482 |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
TheMalay Chetty creole language (also known asMalaccan Creole Malay,Malacca Malay Creole[2] andChitties/Chetties Malay) is aMalay-based creole spoken by theChetties (also known as Indian Peranakans), a distinctive group ofTamil people found mainly inMalacca inMalaysia andSingapore, who have adopted Chinese and Malay cultural practices whilst also retaining their Hindu heritage.[3]
Spoken since the 16th century by descendants ofTamil merchants of the Malacca Straits, Malay Chetty creole may be historically related toSri Lanka Creole Malay. The current language status is moribund, due to inter-marriage and out-migration. There has been a language shift towards Malay instead.[2]
Malay Chetty creole is a mix of Malay, Tamil and English, although the latter's presence in the creole is not as prominent compared to the first two languages. Because of the strong influence of Malay, Malay Chetty creole is not very different from other Malay dialects, especially the Middle Malacca Malay dialect. Nonetheless, it does have its own unique features.[4]
Malay Chetty creole shares many features withBaba Malay, suggesting that they may have come from the same source language that isBazaar Malay.[5]
| Standard Malay | Malay Chetty creole | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| halwa | alua | 'sweets' |
| anak angkat | anak piara | 'adopted child' |
| mak cik/adik emak | bibik | 'auntie'/'female sibling of mother' |
| berkata | bilang | 'say' |
| cahaya | caya | 'light' |
| tanah/tanah pamah | darat | 'land'/'lowland' |
| dakwat | dawat | 'ink' |
| dosa | deraka | 'sin' |
| gagap | gagok | 'stutter' |
| kau/kamu/anda | lu | 'you' |
| kamu semua | lu orang | 'you' (plural) |
| pak cik | mama | 'uncle' |
| mak cik | mami | 'auntie' |
| cawan | mangkok | 'cup' |
| bidan | dukon | 'midwife' |
| nafas | napas | 'breathe' |
| hari ini | nyari | 'today' |
| pergi | pi | 'go' |
