Did you know that Indonesian and Malay are actually the same language? It’s an official language in Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore under the name Malay, but it dons the moniker of Indonesian in Indonesia, standardized from Riau Malay, historically spoken in the Strait of Malacca. All throughout Indonesia and Malaysia, you’ll find more languages that include “Malay” in their name, and these are separate from Indonesian and Malay proper. Indeed, languages like Pontianak Malay are their own fully fledged languages.
Pontianak Malay is spoken by an estimated 940,000 native speakers, although the precise figure is uncertain. Its status is relatively stable, and it’s even commonly used in early education and is learned by the local Chinese and Dayak populations. In fact, Pontianak Malay’s role as a local lingua franca even, unfortunately, contributes to the erosion of the indigenous Dayak languages. But still, Pontianak Malay itself is threatened by Indonesian, and that’s why it can be so hard to find translation services for the language. At TranslationServices.com, we’re addressing this problem by introducing our very own Pontianak Malay translation services.
Why not send a message and request a free quote for Pontianak Malay translation services today?
What are the defining features of Pontianak Malay?
Pontianak Malay is certainly different from Malay and Indonesian (in some ways, strikingly so), but it’s still closely related. It’s found in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, found in the northwest of Borneo, on the border with Malaysia. Specifically, it’s native to the city of Pontianak and the regencies of Kubu Raya, Ketapang, and Mempawah, with the intricacies of the language differing slightly across the locales. However, it’s like most other languages in Indonesia in that it belongs to the Austronesian family.
Grammatically, Pontianak Malay is highly similar to other Malayic languages, featuring extensive verbal inflection, including the “trigger system” so notorious among Maritime Southeast Asian languages. In this system, verbs are modified with prefixes that indicate either an “agent” (subject) or “patient” (object) focus. But Pontianak Malay has many unique features, including the particle bah, which is used to emphasize the previous word. Pontianak Malay also lacks the politeness registers found in most Malay languages, and its heavy use of abbreviated words can throw speakers of Standard Malay for a loop. That’s why you need to work with dedicated Pontianak Malay translators—Standard Malay speakers won’t do.
For any Pontianak Malay translation project, we’re ready to help.
Our Pontianak Malay translation services allow clients from around the world to access tailored translation services for this specific Malayic language, taking into account all the subtle and not-so-subtle ways it differs from other Malay languages. You can choose between the Pontianak, Kubu Raya, Ketapang, and Mempawah dialects, as we hire native speakers of all four. You can also choose the translation direction—to Pontianak Malay or from Pontianak Malay—because our team offers both.
What’s your Pontianak Malay translation project? Are you a researcher coming to West Kalimantan to collect data from locals, or perhaps a local educator eager to offer native-language learning materials to kids? Are you a local business owner eying the global market, or maybe a foreign CEO looking to expand to Pontianak? Are you an author who writes in Pontianak Malay and wants to woo a foreign audience, or could you be a content creator from another country who wants to bring their labor of love to Pontianak Malay speakers? Whoever you are, whatever your project is, and whatever the subject matter it deals with—even if it’s highly technical—our diverse and flexible Pontianak Malay translation team is here to help.
Our Pontianak Malay translation services are for clients of all kinds—so what are you waiting for? Place an order now!