| Serdang Malay | |
|---|---|
| Bahase Melayu Serdang بهاسي ملايو سردڠ | |
| Pronunciation | [ba.ha.səmə.la.jusər.daŋ] |
| Native to | Indonesia (North Sumatra) |
| Region | Deli Serdang,Serdang Bedagai, andTebing Tinggi |
| Ethnicity | Serdang Malays |
Native speakers | (136,930 cited 1991 estimate)[1] |
Austronesian
| |
| Dialects |
|
| Latin (Indonesian alphabet) Jawi | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
 Regencies and cities in North Sumatra where Serdang Malay is spoken by a significant minority of the population | |
| 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. | |
Serdang Malay (endonym:Bahase Melayu Serdang,Jawi: بهاسي ملايو سردڠ) is aMalayic language primarily spoken by theMalay people living inSerdang Bedagai Regency, the city ofTebing Tinggi, and eastern part ofDeli Serdang Regency inNorth Sumatra, Indonesia. It is closely related to other Malay varieties spoken in the eastern coast ofSumatra such asDeli Malay andLangkat Malay.[2] While Serdang Malay is the indigenous language of Serdang, it is no longer dominant due to migration from other parts of Indonesia, includingJava andKalimantan.[3] Despite these influences, Serdang Malay is still widely spoken as thelingua franca and a common language for social interaction in Serdang. It coexists with migrant languages likeJavanese and Banjarese. Many migrants, including the Banjar and Batak groups such as theKaro andMandailing people, are also proficient in Serdang Malay.[4] The language has been influenced by otherIndonesian languages, especiallyBanjarese, brought byBanjar migrants fromSouth Kalimantan. Their influence can be seen in Serdang Malay's phonology and morphology.[5]
Serdang Malay is mainly used in informal settings, while standardIndonesian is reserved for formal contexts such as schools and government institutions. The role of Serdang Malay is evident in daily interactions, including greetings, casual conversations on the street or in markets, and discussions in rice fields, on the beach, and other communal spaces. It is primarily a spoken language, whereas written communication is typically in standard Indonesian. For instance, letters to family members, as well as sermons in mosques and prayer halls, are usually delivered in Indonesian orArabic.[6] It is also used for traditional Malay ceremonies and rituals. The traditional ceremonies of the Serdang Malay people are closely tied to the belief system of their ancestors, which continues to be practiced today.[6] In these ceremonies, Serdang Malay plays a vital role. The language used in traditional rituals differs from everyday colloquial Serdang Malay. This distinction is marked by specific variations, particularly in word choice kinship terms, and the noble language of the Malay aristocracy, which is rarely used in daily conversation.[6]
Serdang Malay is aMalayic language. Speakers of Malayic languages are spread fromBrunei, Indonesia,Malaysia, Singapore,Southern Thailand, to the southernmost part of thePhilippines. Malay is a member of theAustronesian family of languages, which includes languages fromTaiwan, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia.Malagasy, a geographic outlier spoken inMadagascar in the Indian Ocean, is also a member of this language family. Although these languages are not necessarilymutually intelligible to any extent, their similarities are often quite apparent. In more conservative languages like Malay, many roots have come with relatively little change from their common ancestor,Proto-Austronesian. There are manycognates found in the languages' words for kinship, health, body parts and common animals. Numbers, especially, show remarkable similarities.[7]
Serdang Malay is closely related to other Malay varieties spoken along the eastern coast of North Sumatra, including Asahan Malay, Deli Malay, Langkat Malay, and Panai Malay.[2] Collectively, these varieties are classified as the East Sumatran Malay group.[8] It is estimated that the differences between these dialects ranges from 51% to 71.50%.[9] The differences between these varieties primarily lie in their phonology and lexicon. Despite these differences, they share a high degree of similarity.
Serdang Malay is mainly spoken in areas that were once part of theSerdang Sultanate, includingSerdang Bedagai Regency, and eastern part ofDeli Serdang Regency. It is also spoken inTebing Tinggi city, where many Serdang Malays migrants from Serdang Bedagai have settled.[10] It is spoken in areas with significant Malay populations, such asPerbaungan, which was the royal capital of the Serdang Sultanate and the cultural center of the Serdang Malays community, as well as Pantai Cermin and Teluk Mengkudu in Serdang Bedagai Regency, and alsoLubuk Pakam, the capital of Deli Serdang Regency.[11][12] In Tanjung Beringin, especially in the village of Nagur on the southeast coast of the regency, Serdang Malay is spoken by the ethnic Malay who are collectively called Tanjung Beringin Malays, also by Javanese minority. This dialect relies mainly on changing the letter [a] to the letter [o], similar to Batubara Malay, unlike other dialects of Serdang Malay which change to the letter [e].[13][14]
Serdang Malay is primarily used in daily social interactions and traditional ceremonies. Its role is particularly significant in everyday communication, not only among the Serdang Malay community but also among migrant groups such as theBanjar,Mandailing, andJavanese.[6] The traditional ceremonies of the Serdang Malay people are closely tied to the belief system of their ancestors, which continues to be practiced today. These traditions are expressed through various rituals, including engagement, marriage, housewarming,jamu laut (sea offerings),melenggang perut ormandi tian (prenatal rituals),membelah mulut (a baby's first tooth-cutting ceremony), and others.[6] In these ceremonies, Serdang Malay plays a significant role. However, in religious ceremonies, its presence is less prominent. Sermons in mosques, funeral rites, and wedding vows are typically conducted inArabic, withIndonesian also commonly used.[6]
The use of Serdang Malay in daily life coexists with the languages of migrant communities, such asBanjarese,Javanese,Minangkabau, andKaro. Many Banjar, Karo, and Mandailing people can speak Serdang Malay, and vice versa.[4] In formal education and government, Serdang Malay is no longer used. It remains primarily spoken within families and during traditional ceremonies, while standardIndonesian is used in formal settings. Indonesian, which evolved from Johor-Riau Malay, became the language of instruction in Serdang's formal education system in the early 20th century during theDutch colonial era. This shift was marked by the establishment of madrasahs, elementary schools, junior high schools, senior high schools, and vocational schools.[1] Many Serdang Malay speakers frequentlycode-switch orcode-mix between Serdang Malay and Indonesian. The growing influence of Indonesian has triggered alanguage shift, posing a threat to the Serdang Malay community. Younger generations are becoming increasingly reluctant to speak Serdang Malay, while local terms are gradually being replaced by their Indonesian equivalents.[15]
Serdang Malay, like many otherregional languages in Indonesia, lacks a standardized phonological system. Nevertheless, many of the phonological system designed for Serdang Malay is loosely based on standardIndonesian orthography, especially the system created by the IndonesianMinistry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.
LikeIndonesian andStandard Malay, Serdang Malay has six vowels. These vowels are /i/, /e/, /ə/, /a/, /u/, and /o/.[16]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open | a |
Notes:
Serdang Malay has 19 consonants.[17]
| Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Uvular | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||||
| Plosive/ | voiceless | p | t | t͡ʃ | k | ʔ | ||
| voiced | b | d | d͡ʒ | ɡ | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | s | h | |||||
| voiced | ||||||||
| Approximant | w | l | j | |||||
| Trill | ʀ̥ | |||||||
Notes: In writing, the following phonemes are represented as thus:
Serdang Malay has 3diphthongs.[18] The following examples illustrate their usage:
Along withIndonesian,standard Malay, and otherMalayic languages, the word order in Serdang Malay is typicallysubject-verb-object (SVO). While there are notable exceptions, the grammar structure of Serdang Malay shares many similarities with Indonesian and Standard Malay.
The affixes found in Serdang Malay are of four types:prefixes,suffixes,circumfixes, and compound affixes.[19] The table below presents a list of some examples of affixes used in Serdang Malay, along with theirallomorphs, meanings, and examples:
| Type of affixes | Affixes | Allomorphs | Functions and meanings | Example of basic word | Example of derived word |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prefixes | meN- | mem-, men-, me-, ny-, meng, ng- | Used to form verbs or adjectives. It conveys the meaning of‘performing an action’ when combined with a verb and‘expressing a quality as described by the root word’ when combined with an adjective.[20] | itam 'black' | ngitam 'to become black' |
| beR- | be-, ber- | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of‘having an object as described by the root word’ when combined with a noun,‘being in a state or performing an action’ when combined with a verb,‘possessing a quality as described by the root word’ when combined with an adjective, and‘becoming a group totaling...’ when combined with a numeral.[21] | sabar 'patience' | besabar 'to be patient' | |
| peN- | pem-, pen-, peny-, pe-, peng- | Used to form nouns. It conveys the meaning of ‘forming the meaning of ‘a person who [does something] or a tool for [doing something]’ when combined with a noun or verb, and ‘expressing a quality as described by the root word’ when combined with an adjective.[22] | sapu 'broom' | penyapu 'sweeper' | |
| teR- | te-, ter- | Used to form verbs or adjectives. It conveys the meaning of ‘arriving at…’ when combined with a noun, ‘by accident’ when combined with a verb, and ‘most’ when combined with an adjective.[23] | lagak 'pretty' | telagak 'prettiest' | |
| se- | none | Used to form adjectives and numerals. It conveys the meaning of ‘one’ when combined with a noun and ‘indicating equality’ when combined with an adjective.[24] | burok 'bad' | seburok 'as bad as' | |
| di- | none | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of ‘performing a task with the object described by the root word’ when combined with a noun and ‘performing a task according to the root word’ when combined with a verb.[25] | jale 'net' | dijale 'to be caught using a net' | |
| Suffixes | -i | none | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of ‘performing a task with…’ or ‘discarding or killing’ when combined with a noun, ‘repetitive’ when combined with a verb, and ‘causative’ when combined with an adjective.[26] | kulit 'skin' | kuliti 'to skin something' |
| -ke | none | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of ‘performing a task as described by the root word’ when combined with a noun, ‘performing a task for someone else’ or ‘causative’ when combined with a verb, and ‘causative’ when combined with an adjective or numerals.[27] | sejok 'cold' | sejokke 'to make something become cold' | |
| -an | none | Used to form nouns. It conveys the meaning of ‘location or what is [verb]-ed’ when combined with a verb and ‘more [adjective]’ when combined with an adjective.[28] | asam 'sour' | asaman 'more sour' | |
| Circumfixes | ke-...-an | none | Used to form nouns. It conveys the meaning of ‘indicating a location’ when combined with a noun, ‘indicating an abstraction or thing’ when combined with a noun and ‘known or suffering or an abstraction’ when combined with an adjective.[29] | raje 'king' | kerajean 'kingdom' |
| beR-...-an | be-, ber- | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of ‘mutual’ or ‘an action from the root word performed by many actors at the same time’ when combined with a verb, and ‘many [adjective]’ when combined with an adjective.[30] | pukol 'to hit' | bepukolan 'to hit one another' | |
| peN-...-an | pem-, pen-, peny-, pe-, peng- | Used to form nouns. It conveys the meaning of ‘thing or result’ when combined with a verb or adjective.[31] | jual 'to sell' | penjualan 'sales' | |
| peR-...-an | pe-, peR- | Used to form nouns. It conveys the meaning of ‘things related to what is mentioned in the root word,’ ‘area,’ or ‘place’ when combined with a noun or verb.[32] | perang 'war' | peperangan 'things related to wars' | |
| Compound affixes | meN-...-ke | mem-, men-, me-, ny-, meng, ng- | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of ‘performing a task according to the root word’ when combined with a verb, and ‘making it as described by the root word’ when combined with an adjective or verb.[33] | angkat 'to lift' | ngangkatke 'performing the task of lifting' |
| meN-...-i | mem-, men-, me-, ny-, meng, ng- | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of ‘giving or discarding as described by the root word’ when combined with a noun, ‘performing a repetitive task or many actors performing the task’ when combined with a verb, and ‘making/causing (the object) as described by the root word’ when combined with an adjective.[34] | garam 'salt' | menggarami 'to add salt to something' | |
| di-...-ke | none | Used to form verbs.It conveys the meaning of ‘performing a task as described by the root word’ when combined with a verb or adjective.[35] | lebar 'wide' | dilebarke 'to be widened' | |
| di-...-kenye | none | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of ‘performing a task as described by the root word’ when combined with a noun, verb, or adjective.[36] | cabot 'to pluck' | dicabotkenye 'performing the task of plucking' | |
| teR-...-i | te-, ter- | Used to form verbs. It conveys the meaning of ‘can be [verb]’ when combined with a noun, verb, or adjective.[37] | dekat 'near' | tedekati 'can be approached' |
In Serdang Malay, as in other varieties of Malay,reduplication is also present. Reduplication in Serdang Malay does not change the word class.[38] Reduplication serves several functions, such as indicating plurality, expressing repeated actions, conveying reciprocity, indicating ‘somewhat’ or ‘rather,’ describing quality, condition, or characteristic as stated in the root word, and denoting distributive quantity within groups.[39] There are two types of reduplication in Serdang Malay: base-form reduplication and affixed-form reduplication.[37]
Examples of base-form reduplication are shown below:
Examples of affixed-form reduplication are shown below:
Nouns in Serdang Malay have several characteristics. They can function as thesubject,predicate, andobject in a sentence. They can be accompanied by themorphemesnun oryan meaning ‘that’ andne ornen meaning ‘this.’ They can also be followed by the morphemenang meaning ‘who/which.’ Additionally, nouns can take affixes such aspeN-,peN-...-an,peR-...-an,-an, andke-...-an.[40] They can be pluralized through reduplication and can be replaced by the pronounsdie meaning ‘he/she’ andmereke meaning ‘they.’ In Serdang Malay, nouns can be classified into four types based on their ability to be preceded by classifiers when expressing quantity. The first type consists of nouns that can be preceded by the classifierbuah, which is used for inanimate objects, large items, or general things. The second type includes nouns that can be preceded byekor, a classifier specifically used for animals. The third type includes nouns that can be preceded byorang ‘person’ when specifying quantity. The fourth type consists of uncountable nouns.[40]
Examples of nouns that can be preceded by the classifierbuah are shown below:
Examples of nouns that can be preceded by the classifierekor are shown below:
Examples of nouns that can be preceded by the classifierorang are shown below:
Examples of uncountable nouns are shown below:
Verbs in Serdang Malay have several characteristics. They tend to function as predicates, can be followed by adjectives, and can be preceded byparticles. They can take various affixes, includingme-,beR-,beR-...-an,-ke,-i,meN-...-ke,meN-...-i,teR-,teR-...-ke, andteR-...-i. Additionally, verbs can be made passive by adding the affixesdi-,di-...-ke, anddi-...-i.[41] Serdang Malay verbs can be categorized into three types: verbs that can be followed by a single noun, verbs that can be followed by a noun phrase, and verbs that are not followed by a noun (intransitive verbs).[42]
Examples of verbs that can be followed by a single noun are shown below:
Examples of verbs that can be followed by a noun phrase are shown below:
Examples of intransitive verbs are shown below:
Adjectives in Serdang Malay have several characteristics. They can be followed or preceded by nouns, preceded by verbs, followed by particles asintensifiers, and take the suffix -an to indicate a comparative degree.[43] There are three types of adjectives in Serdang Malay: the positive form, the comparative form, and the superlative form. The positive form is used to describe a simple or neutral quality, without any comparison. The comparative form expresses a difference in degree between two entities, typically indicating that something is more or less than another, and can be marked by the prefixse- or the suffix-an. The superlative form indicates the highest or extreme degree of a quality, often describing the most or least of something in comparison, and can be marked by the morphemekali,sunggoh orbetol, all of which in this context means 'so', ‘very’ or ‘extremely'.[44] These comparative structures can be expressed through either bound or free morphemes.
Examples of positive adjectives are shown below:
Examples of comparative adjectives are shown below:
Examples of superlative adjectives are shown below:
Numerals in Serdang Malay have several characteristics. They can be followed by nouns and can undergo reduplication to indicate grouped quantities.[45] There are three types of numerals in Serdang Malay: definite numerals, which express specific quantities;indefinite numerals, which indicate an unspecified amount; andordinal numerals, which denote ranking or order.[45]
Examples of definite numerals are shown below:
Examples of indefi
Examples of ordinal numerals are shown below:
Particles in Serdang Malay have distinct characteristics: they cannot take affixes, they can be followed by nouns, verbs, adjectives, or numerals, and they can be preceded by nouns or verbs.[46] Particles can be classified into several types: those that can be followed by nouns, those that can be followed by verbs or adjectives, those that can only be preceded by adjectives, those that can be followed by numerals and adjectives, those that can be followed by both nouns and verbs, and those that function as connectors between words, between words and phrases, or between phrases.[47]
Examples of particles that can be followed by nouns are shown below:
Examples of particles that can be followed by verbs or adjectives are shown below:
Examples of particles that can only be preceded by adjectives are shown below:
Examples of particles that can be followed by numerals and adjective are shown below:
Examples of particles that can be followed by both nouns and verbs are shown below:
Examples of particles that function as connectors between words, between words and phrases, or between phrases are shown below:
Like other varieties of Eastern Sumatran Malay, Serdang Malay features a wealth of unique lexicons not found inIndonesian or other Malay varieties. As with many Malay dialects, it has absorbed numerous loanwords from foreign languages, particularlyArabic, due to the influence of Islam in both the Serdang region and the wider area. An example of this isabah 'father', which is borrowed from the Arabicabā (أَبَاً). Additionally, Serdang Malay has incorporated loanwords from Indonesian. As Indonesian holds the status of the national language and serves as thelingua franca in schools, many traditional Serdang Malay words have gradually been replaced by their Indonesian counterparts, leading to the decline in usage of many Serdang Malay terms.[15]
Below are examples of commonly used Serdang Malay vocabularies along with their Indonesian and English translations:
| Number | Serdang Malay | Indonesian | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | satu | satu | one |
| 2 | due | dua | two |
| 3 | tige | tiga | three |
| 4 | mpat | empat | four |
| 5 | lime | lima | five |
| 6 | enam | enam | six |
| 7 | tujoh, tujuh | tujuh | seven |
| 8 | lapan | delapan | eight |
| 9 | sembilan | sembilan | nine |
| 10 | sepuloh | sepuluh | ten |
| 11 | sebelas | sebelas | eleven |
| 20 | due puloh | dua puluh | twenty |
| 50 | lime puloh | lima puluh | fifty |
| 100 | seratus | seratus | one hundred |
| 500 | lima ratus | lima ratus | five hundred |
| 1000 | seribu | seribu | one thousand |
| 5000 | lime ribu | lima ribu | five thousand |
| 100,000 | seratus ribu | seratus ribu | one hundred thousand |
| 1,000,000 | sejute, satu jute | sejuta, satu juta | one million |
| Serdang Malay | Indonesian | English |
|---|---|---|
| nen, ne, yen | ini | this |
| nun, yun, nyan | itu | that |
| sini | sini | here |
| sian | situ | there (close) |
| sana | sana | there (far) |
| disini, tan sini | disini | over here |
| disian, tan sian | disitu | over there (close) |
| disana, tan sana | disana | over there (far) |
| kiri | kiri | left |
| kanan | kanan | right |
| atas | atas | up |
| bawah | bawah | down |
| utare | utara | north |
| selatan | selatan | south |
| timor | timur | east |
| barat | barat | west |
| Serdang Malay | Indonesian | English |
|---|---|---|
| awak, ambe | aku, saya | I, me |
| kau, kalian, kelen | kamu, engkau | you (informal) |
| die, ie | dia | he/she |
| kami | kami | we (exclusive) |
| kite | kita | we (inclusive) |
| mereke | mereka | they/them |
| Serdang Malay | Indonesian | English |
|---|---|---|
| sape | siapa | who |
| maye | apa | what |
| nape | kenapa, mengapa | why |
| mane | mana, dimana | where |
| bile | kapan | when |
| maye | gimana, bagaimana | how |
| berape | berapa | how much |
| bile, menakale | bila, apabila, kalau | if |
| Serdang Malay | Indonesian | English |
|---|---|---|
| aer | air | water |
| pokok | pohon | tree |
| sungai, sei | sungai | river |
| laot | laut | sea |
| pantai | pantai | beach |
| lumpor, lumpur | lumpur | mud |
| laki-laki | pria, laki-laki | man |
| empuan | wanita, perempuan | woman |
| tanak | tanah | land, ground, soil |
| gunong, gunung | gunung | mountain |
| paser, pasir | pasir | sand |
| mateari | matahari | sun |
| jalan | jalan | road |
| kude | kuda | horse |
| anjing | anjing | dog |
| budak | anak | child, kid |
| pekan | pasar | market |
| daon | daun | leaf |
| kulit | kulit | skin |
| ekor | ekor | tail |
| telinge | telinga | ear |
| kepale | kepala | head |
| leher | leher | neck |
| ati | hati | heart |
| mulut | mulut | mouth |
| hidung | hidung | nose |
| tingkap | jendela | window |
| pintu | pintu | door |
| tilam, katel, bale-bale | kasur | bed |
| Serdang Malay | Indonesian | English |
|---|---|---|
| makan | makan | eat |
| minom | minum | drink |
| lari | lari | run |
| bicara, bual | bicara | to talk |
| basoh, nyesah | basuh, cuci | wash |
| masok | masuk | to enter |
| tegak | berdiri | to stand |
| naler | mengalir | to flow |
| terbang | terbang | to fly |
| keleh | lihat, tengok | see |
| dengar | dengar | listen |
| bayar | bayar | pay |
| bemain | bermain | to play |
| ambek | ambil | take |
| beli | beli | buy |
| jual | jual | sell |
| balek | balik | to go back |
| tidor | tidur | to sleep |
| pegi | pergi | to go |
| kasih | beri, kasih | to give |
| buni | sembunyi | to hide |
| endak | mau | to want |
| Serdang Malay | Indonesian | English |
|---|---|---|
| misken | miskin | poor |
| kaye | kaya | rich |
| mendai | bagus, baik | good |
| burok | buruk | bad |
| lebar | lebar | wide |
| sempit | sempit | narrow |
| lagak, mendai | cantik | pretty |
| sedih | sedih | sad |
| besar | besar, gede | big, large |
| kecik | kecil | small |
| angat | panas | hot |
| sejok | dingin, sejuk | cold |
| paet, pait | pahit | bitter |
| manis | manis | sweet |
| asin | asin | salty |
| gelap | gelap | dark |
| berat | berat | heavy |
| kering | kering | dry |
| lame | lama | long (time), old |
| baru | baru | new |
| layuh | lemah | weak |
| kuat | kuat | strong |
| sakit | sakit | sick |
| berseh | bersih | clean |
| kotor | kotor | dirty |
| muak | bosan, muak | bored |
| banyak | banyak | many |
| sikit | sedikit | little |
Like many otherMalay varieties, Serdang Malay was historically written inJawi script, also known as Arab-Melayu, a modified form of theArabic script. Jawi served as the royal script of theSultanate of Serdang and was used in official contexts, such as correspondence with other Malay kingdoms.[48] Jawi was also widely used in Serdang's cultural sphere, including inscriptions and traditional Serdang Malay ceremonies.[49][50] The use of Jawi script declined significantly during theDutch colonial era with the introduction of theLatin script. This trend continued afterIndonesia's independence, as standardIndonesian, written in the Latin script, became the official medium of instruction in schools. Today, the use of Jawi in Serdang is very limited in daily life and is mostly confined to cultural and religious purposes.[citation needed]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)