Serdang Malay (endonym: Bahase Melayu Serdang, Jawi: بهاسي ملايو سردڠ) is a Malayic language primarily spoken by the Malay people living in Serdang Bedagai Regency, the city of Tebing Tinggi, and eastern part of Deli Serdang Regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is closely related to other Malay varieties spoken in the eastern coast of Sumatra such as Deli Malay and Langkat Malay. While Serdang Malay is the indigenous language of Serdang, it is no longer dominant due to migration from other parts of Indonesia, including Java and Kalimantan. Despite these influences, Serdang Malay is still widely spoken as the lingua franca and a common language for social interaction in Serdang. It coexists with migrant languages like Javanese and Banjarese. Many migrants, including the Banjar and Batak groups such as the Karo and Mandailing people, are also proficient in Serdang Malay. The language has been influenced by other Indonesian languages, especially Banjarese, brought by Banjar migrants from South Kalimantan. Their influence can be seen in Serdang Malay's phonology and morphology.
Serdang Malay is mainly used in informal settings, while standard Indonesian 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 or Arabic. 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. 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.
Classification Serdang 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.
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. Collectively, these varieties are classified as the East Sumatran Malay group. It is estimated that the differences between these dialects ranges from 51% to 71.50%. The differences between these varieties primarily lie in their phonology and lexicon. Despite these differences, they share a high degree of similarity.
Geographic distribution and usage Serdang Malay is mainly spoken in areas that were once part of the Serdang Sultanate, including Serdang Bedagai Regency, and eastern part of Deli Serdang Regency. It is also spoken in Tebing Tinggi city, where many Serdang Malays migrants from Serdang Bedagai have settled. It is spoken in areas with significant Malay populations, such as Perbaungan, 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 also Lubuk Pakam, the capital of Deli Serdang Regency. 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].
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 the Banjar, Mandailing, and Javanese. 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 or mandi tian (prenatal rituals), membelah mulut (a baby's first tooth-cutting ceremony), and others. 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 in Arabic, with Indonesian also commonly used.
The use of Serdang Malay in daily life coexists with the languages of migrant communities, such as Banjarese, Javanese, Minangkabau, and Karo. Many Banjar, Karo, and Mandailing people can speak Serdang Malay, and vice versa. In formal education and government, Serdang Malay is no longer used. It remains primarily spoken within families and during traditional ceremonies, while standard Indonesian 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 the Dutch colonial era. This shift was marked by the establishment of madrasahs, elementary schools, junior high schools, senior high schools, and vocational schools. Many Serdang Malay speakers frequently code-switch or code-mix between Serdang Malay and Indonesian. The growing influence of Indonesian has triggered a language 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.
Phonology Serdang Malay, like many other regional languages in Indonesia, lacks a standardized phonological system. Nevertheless, many of the phonological system designed for Serdang 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, Serdang Malay has six vowels. These vowels are /i/, /e/, /ə/, /a/, /u/, and /o/. FrontCentralBackCloseMidOpen Notes:
In writing, and are both represented as .
Consonants Serdang Malay has 19 consonants. LabialAlveolarPostalveolarPalatalUvularVelarGlottalNasalPlosive/ AffricateFricativeApproximantTrill Notes: In writing, the following phonemes are represented as thus:
is is is is is is is
Diphthongs Serdang Malay has 3 diphthongs. The following examples illustrate their usage:
/au/: ijau 'green' /ai/: pantai 'beach' /oi/: amboi '(interjection that expresses surprise, pity, or admiration)'
Grammar
Along with Indonesian, standard Malay, and other Malayic languages, the word order in Serdang Malay is typically subject-verb-object (SVO). While there are notable exceptions, the grammar structure of Serdang Malay shares many similarities with Indonesian and Standard Malay.
Affixes The affixes found in Serdang Malay are of four types: prefixes, suffixes, circumfixes, and compound affixes. The table below presents a list of some examples of affixes used in Serdang Malay, along with their allomorphs, meanings, and examples: