Manado Malay, or simply the Manado language, is a creole language spoken in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province in Indonesia, and the surrounding area. The local name of the language is bahasa Manado, and the name Minahasa Malay is also used,^[2] after the main ethnic group speaking the language. Since Manado Malay is used primarily for spoken communication, there is no standard orthography.

Manado Malay differs from standard Malay in having numerous Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, and Ternate loan words, as well as having traits such as its use of kita as a first person singular pronoun, rather than as a first person inclusive plural pronoun. It is derived from North Moluccan Malay (Ternate Malay), which can be evidenced by the number of Ternate loanwords in its lexicon.^[3] For example, the pronouns ngana ('you', singular) and ngoni ('you', plural) are of Ternate–Tidore origin.^[4] Manado Malay has been displacing the indigenous languages of the area.^[5]

The vowel system of Manado Malay consists of five vowel phonemes.^[6]

Manado Malay has nineteen consonants and two semivowels.^[7]

Most words in Manado Malay have stress on the pre-final syllable:

However, there are also many words with final stress:

Possessives are built by adding pe to the personal pronoun or name or noun, then followed by the 'possessed' noun. Thus pe has the function similar to English "'s" as in "the doctor's uniform".

The following are the interrogative words or "w-words" in Manado Malay:

Ada ('to be') can be used in Manado Malay to indicate the perfective aspect, e.g.:

• Dorang ada turung pigi Wenang = 'They already went down to Wenang'
• Torang so makang = 'We ate already' or 'We have eaten already'
• kita = 'me', 'myself', 'I' or 'we', 'us'
• torang = 'we', 'us'.

The final nasals /m/ and /n/ in Indonesian are replaced by the "-ng" group in Manado Malay, similar with Terengganu dialect of Malaysia, e.g.:

• makang (Indonesian makan) = 'to eat',
• jalang (Indonesian jalan) = 'to walk',
• sirang (Indonesian siram) = 'to shower', etc.

The ber- prefix in Indonesian, which serves a function similar to the English -ing, is modified into ba- in Manado Malay. E.g.: bajalang (berjalan, 'walking'), batobo (berenang, 'swimming'), batolor (bertelur, 'laying eggs')

° = ng, n, or m depending on phonological context.

The me(°)- prefix in standard Indonesian, which also serves a function to make a verb active, is modified into ma(°)- in Manado Malay. E.g.: mangael (mengail, 'hooking fish'), manari (menari, 'dancing'), mancari (mencari, 'searching'), mamasa (memasak, 'cooking'), manangis (menangis, 'crying').

Due to the historical presence of the Dutch and the Portuguese in eastern Indonesia, several Manado Malay words originate from their languages. However, there is little influence from the local Minahasan languages, and borrowings from Spanish are not very prominent either – in spite of the historical Spanish dominance – suggesting that Manado Malay was transplanted from outside the Minahasa region.^[8] On the other hand, Portuguese influence is comparatively significant,^[8] considering that the Portuguese presence in the area was relatively limited.^[9] There is also a layer of loanwords from the non-Austronesian language of Ternate, which was controlled by the Portuguese in the period 1512–1655.^[8]

Several words in Manado Malay are loaned to standard Indonesian:

• baku (which indicates reciprocality) e.g.: baku hantam ('to punch each other'), baku ajar ('to hit each other'), baku veto ('to debate one another'), baku sedu ('to laugh oneselves off'), and baku dapa ('to meet each other'). Originally a loanword from Ternate, it has spread through Manado Malay into other regions of Indonesia.^[10]

Examples :

• Kita or ta = I
• Ngana or na = you
• Torang or tong = we
• Dorang or dong = they
• Io = yes
• Nyanda’ or Nda = no (' = glottal stop)

Sentences :

• Kita/ta pe mama da pi ka pasar : My mother went to the market
• Nyanda’/Nda’ makang Ngana dari kalamareng. : You haven't eaten since yesterday.
• Jang badusta ngana pa kita! : Don't lie to me!
• Pasti torang/tong bisa! : We can surely it.

Manado Malay test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

Wikivoyage has a phrasebook for Manado Malay.

• Alkitab Bahasa Manado, the first Bible translation into Manado Malay (2017).
• Manado Malay-English-Indonesian Dictionary, Webonary.

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