Sambas Malay (Sambas Malay: Base Melayu Sambas, Jawi: بيس ملايو سمبس) is a Malayic language primarily spoken by the Malay people living in Sambas Regency in the northwestern part of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is also widely used in Bengkayang and Singkawang, both of which were formerly part of Sambas Regency before being split in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Sambas Malay contains unique vocabulary not found in Indonesian or standard Malay, although it shares many similarities with the vocabularies of both languages. It is closely related to Sarawak Malay, spoken in the neighboring Malaysian state of Sarawak, particularly in terms of vocabulary. The border between Sambas and Sarawak has fostered a long-standing connection between the Sambas Malay community and the Sarawak Malay community, existing even before the formation of Malaysia and Indonesia. It is also more distantly related to other Malay dialects spoken in West Kalimantan, such as Pontianak Malay, which exhibits significant phonological differences.
In Sambas, Sambas Malay serves as a language of interaction and culture, not just among the Sambas Malay people but also with other ethnic groups. This means that Sambas Malay is not only a means of communication within the community but also plays a vital role in preserving cultural elements such as traditional ceremonies and folklore. Nevertheless, most Sambas Malays are bilingual, speaking both Sambas Malay and standard Indonesian. On the other hand, other ethnic groups in Sambas, such as the Chinese and Dayak, are also proficient in Sambas Malay alongside their native tongue and Indonesian. The language is also the primary language of the Sultanate of Sambas, an Islamic sultanate historically ruling the region, though it no longer holds any political power today.
Classification Sambas Malay is a Malayic language. Speakers of Malayic languages are spread from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, to the southernmost part of the Philippines. Malay is a member of the Austronesian family of languages, which includes languages from Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia. Malagasy, a geographic outlier spoken in Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, is also a member of this language family. Although these languages are not necessarily mutually 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 many cognates found in the languages' words for kinship, health, body parts and common animals. Numbers, especially, show remarkable similarities.
Sambas Malay is closely related to Sarawak Malay, sharing significant lexical similarities. For instance, both dialects use words like kamek for I, pangkong for to hit, and maok for want, among others. Some studies classify Sambas Malay as part of the Coastal Borneo Malay language group, which includes Brunei Malay, Berau Malay, Banjarese, and Kutainese. It is also distantly related to Pontianak Malay and other Malay dialects spoken in other parts of West Kalimantan. However, there are significant differences between Sambas Malay and Pontianak Malay, especially in terms of phonology.
Geographic distribution and usage Sambas Malay is predominantly spoken in the northwestern part of West Kalimantan, particularly in Sambas Regency. It is also spoken in the neighboring Bengkayang Regency and the city of Singkawang, both of which were originally part of Sambas Regency before becoming separate administrative regions. The Malay dialect spoken in Singkawang originates from Sambas Malay, as does its culture. However, it has undergone some blending with Indonesian, so it is no longer entirely Sambas Malay. Nevertheless, in northern Singkawang, many residents still use pure Sambas Malay without any mixture, particularly in the Naram subdistrict, where the community remains closely tied to Malay language and culture. Sambas Malay is also spoken in Telok Melano village and other border villages in Sarawak, Malaysia, near the West Kalimantan border. The speakers in these areas are primarily descendants of Sambas Malays who migrated there. However, the use of Sambas Malay is predominantly confined to older generations, as younger residents are generally more fluent in the Kuching dialect of Sarawak Malay.
In Malay-populated settlements across Sambas and its surrounding areas, Sambas Malay serves as the primary language for daily communication. For the Sambas Malays, Sambas Malay is used as both a language of social interaction and a cultural language. This means that, in addition to serving as a means of communication among community members, Sambas Malay is also a medium for preserving other cultural aspects, such as traditional performances, ceremonies, and folklore. Most Sambas Malays are bilingual in both Sambas Malay and Indonesian. Code-switching between the two languages is common, especially in settings like markets, where people from diverse ethnic backgrounds are present. In local government offices and schools, Sambas Malay is regarded as a colloquial language and is commonly used in informal settings, while Indonesian is reserved for formal occasions. Sambas Malay also serves as a lingua franca for interethnic communication between Malays and other ethnic groups, such as the Dayak and Chinese communities. Additionally, the Indonesian dialect spoken in Singkawang, Sambas, and the surrounding areas has been significantly influenced by Sambas Malay, particularly in terms of tone and pronunciation.
Dialects The Sambas Malay language encompasses several dialects, notably the 'e' and 'o' dialects. The differences in these dialects primarily lies in the phonology. The Malay spoken in the town of Sambas closely resembles the dialect spoken in Ngabang in Landak Regency, the Dayak Nyaduʼ language, and Pontianak Malay. The dialect in the vicinity of the former Panembahan Sambas Kingdom, the precursor to the Sultanate of Sambas, located in Teluk Keramat District, is thought to have been influenced by both Sambas Malay and Javanese. This connection is linked to the history of Panembahan Sambas, established by a king from the Majapahit Kingdom who fled with his entourage from Java. As a result, Sambas Malay dialects in areas such as Teluk Keramat, Sajad, and Paloh display notable Javanese influences.
Phonology Sambas Malay, like many other regional languages in Indonesia, lacks a standardized phonological system. Nevertheless, many of the phonological system designed for Sambas Malay is loosely based on standard Indonesian orthography, especially the system created by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.
Vowels Like Indonesian and Standard Malay, Sambas Malay has six vowels. These vowels are /i/, /e/, /ə/, /a/, /u/, and /o/, FrontCentralBackCloseMidOpen Notes: In writing, and are both represented as . Although, is sometimes specified as ⟨é⟩.
Consonants Sambas Malay has 19 consonants. LabialDentalAlveolarPostalveolarVelarGlottalNasalPlosive/ AffricateFricativeApproximantTrill Notes:
In writing, the following phonemes are represented as thus: is is is is is is
Diphthongs In Sambas Malay, there are three diphthongs: /ai/, /au/, and /oi/, which are pronounced as [ay], [aw], and [oy], respectively. Examples of the usage of these diphthongs are shown below:
/ai/: pandai 'smart' /au/: wau 'kite' /oi/: tanggoi 'hat'
Grammar
Along with Indonesian, standard Malay, and other Malayic languages, the word order in Sambas Malay is typically subject-verb-object (SVO). While there are notable exceptions, the grammar structure of Sambas Malay shares many similarities with Indonesian and Standard Malay.
Affixes Affixation, or the process of adding affixes, refers to attaching an affix to a base word, whether it is a simple or complex form, to create a new word. In Sambas Malay, there are several types of affixation: prefixation, suffixation, and circumfixation.
The table below presents a list of affixes used in Sambas Malay, along with their allomorphs, meanings, and examples: Type of affixesAffixesAllomorphsMeaningsExample of root wordExample of derived wordPrefixesbé-bél-, bér-Expressing possession, performing an action, indicating usage, producing or emitting something, denoting reciprocity, calling or naming, indicating a collective, describing a state or condition, marking intransitivity, and expressing reflexive actions.bini 'wife'bébini 'to have a wife'mé-mém-, mén-, méng-, ményPerforming an action (or movement), making or producing something, moving towards a direction, becoming or acting in a way described by the root word, resembling what is described in the root word, commemorating a particular event, performing an action as described in the root word, doing work with an instrument or tool mentioned in the root word, and creating or producing something as described in the root word.laot 'sea'mélaot 'to go to the sea'pé-pém-, pén-, péng-, pény-Someone who performs or habitually performs an action, a tool or instrument used to carry out an action, someone who frequently or habitually engages in an activity, someone or something possessing the qualities described by the root word, and someone or something that causes or creates a particular outcome.minom 'to drink'péminom 'drinker'di-noneFormation of passive verbs.sapu 'broom'disapu 'to be swept'ké-noneDenotes "the one being..." and numerals indicating sequence or grouping.limak 'five'kélimak 'fifth'té-noneDenotes an action that has been completed, an action that continues, an action occurring unintentionally, the ability to do something ("can be..."), or an action done repeatedly or to an intense degree.gantong 'hanging'tégantong 'is hanging'sé-noneIndicating "something," expressing "togetherness," denoting "entirety," referring to "a single time (simultaneously)," signifying "similarity or resemblance," and representing "a certain amount or quantity."kampong 'village'sékampong 'the whole village'Suffixes-annoneDenote the result or outcome of an action or refer to something "being" or "having been" as described in the root word. The suffix also conveys notions of entirety or collectiveness, resemblance, and the possession of a quality mentioned in the root word.maén 'to play'maénan 'toys'-éknoneIndicating a place or direction where the object of the sentence signifies a specific location or target, denoting the act of giving or causing something and implying that an action leads to a particular outcome. It also suggests that an activity is repetitive or involves multiple participants and conveys the idea of removing or discarding what is referenced in the root word.tanyé 'to ask'nanyaék 'to ask someone' -kannoneDenoting the act of creating, causing, or making something, as well as indicating the use of something as a tool or performing an action on behalf of someone else.kacék 'small'kacékkan 'to make something smaller'Circumfixespé-...-anpém-, pén-, péng-, pény-Formation of nouns from root words.carék 'to find' péncarékan 'findings'ké-...-annoneExpress a state or condition, indicate being affected by or experiencing something, denote an action performed unintentionally, or signify an excessive degree of something. hujan 'rain' kéhujanan 'caught in the rain'
Reduplication