Perak Malay (Bahase Peghok or Ngelabun Peghok; Standard Malay: bahasa Melayu Perak; Jawi script: بهاس ملايو ڤيراق) is one of the Malay dialects spoken within the state of Perak, Malaysia. Although it is neither the official language nor the standard dialect in the whole state of Perak, its existence which co-exists with other major dialects in the state of Perak still plays an important role in maintaining the identity of Perak. In spite of the fact that there are five main dialects traditionally spoken in Perak, only one of which is intended by the name "Perak Malay". There are subtle phonetic, syntactic and lexical distinctions from other major Malay dialects. Perak Malay can be divided into two sub-dialects, Kuala Kangsar and Perak Tengah, named after the daerah (districts) where they are predominantly spoken.
Classification Linguistically, the Malay dialects spoken in the state of Perak are diverse. In fact, there is still no definite classification of the type of Malay dialects used in Perak. Ismail Hussein (1973) classified the Malay dialects in Perak into five types segregated into five different areas. While Harun Mat Piah (1983) categorized them into six. Although Asmah Haji Omar (1985) divided the Malay dialects in Perak into five types, the specifications of the division did not coincide with that of Ismail's.
Distribution
Perak Malay is spoken throughout the whole state except in the northwestern parts of Perak (Kerian, Larut, Matang and Selama), and a few parts of Manjung district including Pangkor Island where the northern dialect is predominantly spoken.
In the northeastern part of Perak (Hulu Perak) and some parts of Selama and Kerian, the Malay people natively speak a distinct variant of Malay language which is most closely related to Kelantan-Pattani Malay and the Malay dialects of southern Thailand due to geographical borders and historical assimilation. This variant is occasionally classified as a sub-dialect of Yawi. The district of Hulu Perak once was ruled by the Kingdom of Reman. Reman was historically a part of Greater Pattani (which is now a province of Thailand) before gaining independence in 1810 from the Pattani Kingdom via a rebellion by the Royal Family.
In the southern parts of Perak (Hilir Perak and Batang Padang) and also in the districts of Kampar and Kinta and several parts of Manjung, the dialect is heavily influenced by southern Malay dialects of the peninsula such as Selangor, Malacca and Johore-Riau Malay and various languages of Indonesian archipelago namely Javanese, Banjar, Rawa, Mandailing and Buginese as a result of historical immigration, civil war such as Klang War and other inevitable factors.
Whilst there are many Malay dialects significantly found in Perak, all Malay dialectologists basically agreed that Perak Malay is spoken by the native Malay people who traditionally have long been subsisting along the riverine system of Perak which comprises Perak River valley and its vicinity except those at the upper stream. Historically, it was a tradition for the Malay peasants in Perak to settle along the Perak River. Royal residences also were built at various sites along the river basin, and there was never any attempt to move to another tributary.
Characteristics Phonology Open final syllables It has been said that in general, the Malay people in Malaya distinguish the dialect of Perak by the final vowel in Standard Malay substituted into strong 'e': , in contrast to , , and in the other Malay dialects, similar to inland Terengganu dialect. So as for the word (eye) which is shown by the phonemes in Standard Malay, is pronounced as in Perak Malay notably in central Perak region. It appears that Perak Malay has a vowel raising rule which changes word final vowel of Standard Malay to .
Word Standard Malay Perak Malay Meaning Perak Tengah Kuala Kangsar Bota (a town in Perak) eye we, us, our (inclusive) look (noun) to be subject to (passive voice), to contact with car, cart
Exception of this rule occurs for some words as shown in the table below. This exception is regarded as common amongst most Malay dialects in the peninsula. Word Standard Malay Perak Malay Meaning Kinta (a district in Perak) independent ball trishaw pretty, good very (adj.), the most (superlative)
As the prevalence of Perak Malay, the diphthongs presented by the graphemes and are often articulated as varied forms of monophthongs. Still and all, diphthongization of monophthongs occurs in certain conditions instead. For instance, the final vowels sound /-i/ and /-u/ are articulated to some extent as diphthongs [-iy] and [-uw] respectively. The monophthongization patterns phonetically vary by the sub-dialects. Word Standard Malay Perak Malay Meaning Perak Tengah Kuala Kangsar gulai (a traditional Malay cuisine) shop, store (noun) to arrive (verb), until (prep. and conj.), as far as (adverb) to be worried stork lime
The pattern /-ai̯/ transformed to [-aː] is particularly restricted to some areas within the district of Perak Tengah. Typically in most villages in Parit and southward to Bota, this pattern is applied. While in the sub-districts of Kampung Gajah and northward to Lambor, the speakers tend to utter in the similar form as in Kuala Kangsar sub-dialect.
Closed final syllables There is a phonological rule in Perak Malay that neutralizes the final nasals to alveolar nasal. The final nasals and phonetically exist in certain environments. In other circumstances, the nasals are neutralized to . This neutralizing rule operates only if the final nasals are directly preceded by or . In addition, the and are allophones of and in closed final syllables in general Malaysian phonology. Word Standard Malay Perak Malay Meaning Taiping (a sub-district in Perak) dry fierce, livery, pugnacious to send, to post season pious
Rhoticity Most of Malay dialects particularly in Malaysia are non-rhotic. Perak Malay is one of non-rhotic variants of Malay language and the 'r' is guttural. In Perak Malay, if the 'r' appears in the initial and middle position of a word, it will be pronounced as French 'r' specifically voiced uvular fricative, [ʁ] but if it comes in the final position of a word and in a postvocalic setting, it will be dropped or deleted and then substituted into an open vowel; usually 'o' by affecting the open vowel preceding it.
Vocabulary Personal pronouns Perak Malay differs lexically from Standard Malay for some personal pronouns. The suffix '-me' indicates plural pronoun. Possibly '-me' is derived from the word that means 'all' in Malay. +Perak Malay Personal Pronouns Type of pronoun Perak Malay Meaning First person Singular teman (general), awok (intimate), keme (familiar), aye (very polite), aku (informal) I, me Plural keme (general), kume*, temanme (rare) we, us: they and me, s/he and me (exclusive) kite we, us: you and me, you and us (inclusive) Second person Singular mike (general), kamu (familiar), kome (intimate) you, thou, thee Plural kome (general), mikeme, mengkeme*, mengkome* you, y'all Third person Singular die/diye, deme (familiar) he, she, him, her Plural deme (general), depe** they, them
Notes: * Kuala Kangsar variant ** Influence of the northern dialect
Intensifiers Instead of using '' or '' as intensifier for an adjective, Perak Malay speakers also use specific intensifiers for some adjectives. Standard Malay Perak Malay Meaning sangat putih puteh melepok very white sangat hitam itam bere/legam very dark/black sangat merah meghåh menyale very red sangat busuk busuk bango/melantong very smelly sangat manis maneh meleten very sweet sangat tawar tawo lesyo/besyo very tasteless sangat masam masam meghutuk very sour sangat hangus hangit pengit very scorched sangat terik panah/paneh jantan very hot (Sun) sangat panas hangat pijo very hot sangat sejuk sejuk bedi very cold sangat kurus kuruih merehek very thin (body)
Animals Perak Malay also differs phonetically and lexically from Standard Malay for some animals. Standard Malay Perak Malay Meaning anjing anjen dog buaya boye crocodile burung boghong bird cacing cacen worm cencurut cencoghot Malayan shrew harimau ghima/ghimo tiger ikan haruan/gabus anåk maråk/meghåh, ikan bocat/bujuk, ikan bado snakehead murrel ikan temelian/tembelian ikan temoleh Probarbus jullieni ikan tongkol ikan kayu Euthynnus affinis kala jengking kale lipit scorpion kambing kamben goat kelekatu mengkiok winged caste of termite kerbau koba/keghobo buffalo kerengga kongge/koghongge weaver ant kucing kucen cat labi-labi jelebo softshell tortoise pepatung/sesibur cakcibo/cikcibo dragonfly pianggang cenanga/cenango Leptocoriza varicornis semut api semut gata/gatey fire ant ular ulo snake
Fruits and plants Perak Malay has distinct names for specific fruits and plants. Some differ in pronunciation from Standard Malay. Standard Malay Perak Malay Meaning cili caba/cabey chili cili padi/api caba/cabey boghong Bird's eye chili durian doyan/deghoyan durian durian belanda doyan/deghoyan mekåh/meghokah soursop kabung kanto sugar palm kedondong amra Spondias dulcis kelapa nyio coconut kerdas geduåk/genuåk Archidendron bubalinum kuini kuinen fragrant mango limau bali lima/limo tambun pomelo mangga pelam/mempelam mango manggis manggeh mangosteen mencupu/cerapu ceghopu Garcinia prainiana petai peta/petey Parkia speciosa rambutan mbutan/ghombutan rambutan tampoi laghah Baccaurea macrocarpa
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