The Malacca Sultanate and the Rise of Classical Malay
How the port of Melaka in the fifteenth century helped make Malay a language of trade and diplomacy across Southeast Asia.
To understand why Malay is spoken across such a wide area, look to the trading ports of Southeast Asia, and especially to Melaka (Malacca).
A trading language
Malay was used by traders along the coasts of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo long before modern nation states. Because it was easy to learn and useful for trade, people from many backgrounds used it as a lingua franca.
Melaka
The Melaka Sultanate, founded in the early fifteenth century, became one of the great trading ports of its age. Merchants from Arabia, India, China, Java and beyond met there. Malay was the language of the port and the court, and its prestige grew.
Islam was important in the Sultanate, and Arabic vocabulary and the Jawi script became part of Malay writing.
Classical Malay
The Malay of the courts and manuscripts of this period is known as Classical Malay. Works written in it include:
| Work | Type |
|---|---|
| Sejarah Melayu ("Malay Annals") | a court history of the Melaka Sultanate |
| Hikayat Hang Tuah | an epic tale of the warrior Hang Tuah |
These works show how Malay developed as a language of literature and administration.
After Melaka
The Portuguese captured Melaka in 1511, and later Dutch and British powers controlled parts of the region. The Malay language continued to spread and change, and it became the basis of the national languages of Malaysia and Brunei, and of Indonesian.
Words from trade
Trade left its mark on Malay vocabulary: words from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Tamil, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and English all appear, as our article on loanwords explains.
Useful words
| Malay | Meaning |
|---|---|
| sejarah | history |
| kerajaan | kingdom, government |
| sultan | sultan |
| pelabuhan | port |
| perdagangan | trade |
| hikayat | tale, chronicle |
| naskhah | manuscript |
Tips
- Read short extracts of Classical Malay for fun.
- Notice Arabic and Sanskrit words.
- Use the dictionary to check terms.
English Malay Dictionary
Offline English–Malay (Bahasa Melayu) dictionary with clear, accurate meanings
More about English Malay Dictionary
Colloquial Malaysian Malay: Lah, Kan and Tak Apa
How everyday spoken Malay in Malaysia differs from textbook Malay, with common particles, shortened words and mixed-language expressions.
Read article →Malay Literature and the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
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The names of Malaysia's states and main cities in Malay, with words for geography and directions.
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