Appendix:Malay–Tagalog relations

This appendix contains the relations between the languages Malay and Tagalog.

Malay and Tagalog are two of the most spoken Austronesian languages. Malay is spoken in Malaysia (as Malaysian), Brunei, Singapore and Indonesia (as both as the national language Indonesian and as a regional language). Malay-based pidgins and creoles are also spoken in other parts of maritime Southeast Asia. Tagalog is spoken in the Philippines, as a first language around Manila and surrounding provinces and a second language elsewhere; it serves as the basis of the national language Filipino, one of the Philippines' official languages alongside English. Malay and Tagalog are Malayo-Polynesian languages; while distantly related, they share many cognates, but they are not mutually intelligible, and there are also many false friends and false cognates speakers of both languages can encounter.

Unless otherwise indicated, Malay terms listed here usually refer to Standard Malay words (as used in Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore). For Tagalog, terms used in the standard language of Manila is used. Schwa in most Malay words are generally written with a unaccented E in dictionaries; É is used for the conventional E sounds.

Cognates edit

Malay and Tagalog share many cognates, especially in core vocabulary and early loanwords. Most Malay-Tagalog cognates descend from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian and Proto-Austronesian, or are loanwords, some directly from Malay or from another language via Malay. For each of these forms, a Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) reconstruction is given, or the ultimate ancestor in the case of loanwords which came to Tagalog via Malay. Glosses are given for each term in case the Malay and Tagalog differ in meaning. This list mostly excludes cognates with the same spelling, except where they have different meanings. Some Malay forms are similar to Tagalog cognates in Kapampangan, except they are differently pronounced.

Borrowings edit

Tagalog has borrowed terms from Malay, mostly during precolonial times. Most loanwords from Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Tamil and also Kawi (Old Javanese) came to Tagalog by way of Malay, from its use as a trade language across maritime Southeast Asia. There are also modern borrowings from Malay in an attempt to displace Spanish borrowings in the early 20th century (e.g. gurò from guru, bansá from bangsa; both of Sanskrit origin).

False friends edit

Malay (as well as Indonesian) and Tagalog has many false friends and false cognates.

Malay word Malay word's English translation Tagalog translation Tagalog word Tagalog word's English translation Malay translation Notes
atas top ibabaw atas order, command perintah
batas limit hanggahan batas law; decree

sense "law"

sense "decree"

batuk to cough umubó batok nape tengkuk
belakang back (of the body) likód balakáng hip pinggul (Malay); panggul (Indonesian)
bukit hill burol bukid farm ladang Both from Malayo-Polynesian
bunga flower bulaklak bunga fruit buah Both from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
hukum law batás hukóm judge hakim Both from Arabic. Tagalog came via Malay.
kain cloth; textile; fabric kayo; tela kain to eat makan Malay cognate with Ilocano kain.
lalu put through; done; past lipas lalò more; increasingly; especially semakin; terutamanya Tagalog probably borrowed from Malay.
langka (Indonesian) scarce; seldom; rare madalang langkâ jackfruit nangka
lipas cockroach ipis lipás passing of time lepas Both from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
pagi morning umaga pagi stingray ikan pari
pulut sticky rice malagkít pulót molasses; honey

sense "molasses (US); treacle (UK)"

sense "honey"

sampah discarded items of no use; garbage basura sampá going up; climb panjat
sampai until; to arrive hanggang; umabot sampáy hanging (of clothes) jemur; ampai
sanggul dressed hair; coiffure pusód sanggól baby bayi Malay cognate with Kapampangan sanggul.
sangkut catching on; holding up [Term?] sangkót implication; involvement (noun); involved (adjective) penglibatan (noun); terlibat (adjective) Both from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
sendok (Indonesian) spoon kutsara sandok ladle senduk (Malay); sendok besar (Indonesian) Malay and Tagalog share meaning.
tampal, tempel (Indonesian) patch; paste tapal; dikít tampál slap tampar; lempang Both from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian