Terengganu Malay

The people of Terengganu usually referred to their language as base/bahse Tranung/Tghanung (/bahsɘ tɣanuŋ/) which means 'the language of Terengganu' or cakak Tranung (/tʃakaʔ tɣanuŋ/) which means 'speaking Terengganuan'. In Standard Malay it is known as bahasa Terengganu or bahasa Melayu Terengganu (dialek/loghat Terengganu which means 'Terengganu dialect' is also widely used). The people from outside Terengganu often mistakenly believe that Terengganuans usually call themselves and their language Ganu; the word Ganu is actually how the Kelantanese and the people of Besut in northern Terengganu pronounce Terengganu and is rarely used by southern Terengganuans (Southern Setiu to Kemaman) themselves. Besides Tranung and Ganu, the people of Terengganu sometimes use Ganung, Teganu and Teganung as well.

Terengganu Malay is natively spoken in most parts of Terengganu other than Besut and the northern part of Setiu. Besides Terengganu, it is also spoken in coastal Pahang, from Cherating near the border with Kemaman district to as far south as Mersing district in the state of Johor.[6] A variety spoken in the village of Tanjung Sedili in the district of Kota Tinggi is said to be a mixture of Terengganuan, Johorean and several other Malay varieties, reflecting the historical demographics of the area, which once received Malay migrants from Terengganu.

Terengganu Malay has two major dialects: Coastal (zlm-coa) and Inland (zlm-inl) and each of these two dialects has several regional differences depending on districts or villages. The dialect spoken in Kuala Terengganu district is the de facto standard dialect of Terengganu Malay.[2] The major differences between Coastal (known as Pata) and Inland (known as Ulu) dialects is the pronunciation of the letter "e" of which Coastal Terengganu speakers tend to pronounce it as a schwa while Inland Terengganu speakers pronounce it with strong "e" (as in red).

People in the northernmost regions of Terengganu, specifically in the district of Besut and several parts of Setiu did not speak Terengganuan but instead uses a variant of Kelantan-Pattani Malay which is closely related but distinct from Terengganuan and is not traditionally classified as a variety of Terengganuan.[10][11] The dialects spoken in Dungun, Marang and Kemaman as well as outside of Terengganu such as in Pahang (Kuantan, Pekan and Rompin) and Johor (Mersing) did not have significant differences than those in Kuala Terengganu and is classified as part of the Coastal dialect. The residents of Tanjung Sedili which is a small coastal village in Kota Tinggi, Johor spoke a dialect that is a mixture of Johorean and Terengganuan as the residents there are mostly of Terengganu Malay ancestry.

In Pasir Raja which is a mukim located in the interior parts of Dungun, majority of the Malays there spoke a variant of Pahang Malay specifically the Ulu Tembeling dialect instead of Terengganuan. It is because majority of the people in those areas are descendants of Pahang migrants that migrated into Dungun more than a hundred years ago. Today both varieties (Pahang Malay and Terengganu Malay) coexists in Pasir Raja and the residents can fluently speak both of those varieties.

Although essentially a spoken language with no standard orthography, Terengganu Malay is widely used in folk songs, poems, and also in mainstream and local media (such as local radio stations, dramas and movies). Ibrahim Taib, a famous Terengganu poet who was known for his usage of Inland Terengganu dialect in his poems such as "Mok, Aku Nok Tubaik" ('Mom, I want to get out') and "Jadilah Awang" ('Enough Awang') is an example of a Terengganu Malay author. The song "Blues Tranung/Ganu Kite" by famous Malaysian band Iklim was a hit song and is sung wholly in Terengganu Malay. "Dondang Dendang", a 1999 song composed by Suhaimi Mohd Zain and recorded by traditional singers Noraniza Idris and Siti Nurhaliza, contains an old Terengganuan Malay poem in the bridge based on the traditional Terengganu dance called Rodat. Another band called Spring also recorded a song sung in Terengganuan, called "Hati Mahu Baik".

Terengganu Malay has a distinct phonology and grammar compared to Standard Malay. The grammatical order and pronunciation is similar but also distinct to those of the neighbouring Pahang and Kelantanese Malay.[2]

Pronunciation

/a/ followed by a nasal consonant changes to /ŋ/: ayam ايم ('chicken') becomes ayang; makan ماكن ('to eat') becomes makang

/a/ at the end of syllables changes to /ɔʔ/: minta مينتا ('to ask') becomes mitok

/ah/ changes to /ɔh/: rumah رومه ('house') becomes rumoh

/a/ changes to /ə/: saya ساي ('I') becomes saye

/i/ changes to /iŋ/: sini سيني ('here') becomes sining

/ua/ changes to /ɔ/: buaya بوايا ('crocodile') becomes boye

/aj/ becomes /aː/: sungai سوڠاي ('river') becomes sunga

/aw/ becomes /a/: pisau ڤيساو ('knife') changes to pisa

/ia/ before a nasal vowel changes to /ijaŋ/: siam سيام ('Siam') becomes siyang

/ia/ changes to /ɛ/: biasa بياسا ('once') becomes bese

/s/ and /f/ at the end of syllables changes to /h/: malas مالس ('lazy') changes to malah

/m/ and /n/ at the end of syllables changes to /ŋ/: hakim حاكيم ('judge') changes to hakeng

/r/ changes to /ɣ/: orang اورڠ ('person') becomes oghang

Final consonants are often only pronounced as a glottal stop. bukit بوكيت ('hill') becomes buke’ ([bukiʔ])

Words are distinguished by lengthened initial consonant.

Final /l/ is silent. Example: tinggal ('left') becomes tingga; tebal ('thick') becomes teba.

Usually /l/ as in /lah/ is removed and becomes /ah/. Example: Banyaklah ('so many') becomes banyok ah.

Bulang ('moon') vs. bːulang ('many months'); katok ('to strike') vs. kːatok ('frog'); siku ('elbow') vs. sːiku ('hand tool')

Several comparisons between Standard Malay and Terengganu Malay with English translations:

Starang baroh means 'really', a popular phrase used to show or express something that is really serious or true.

Example: Ambe dok tau starang baroh, as opposed to Standard Malay or West coast Malay dialects: Saya memang tak tahu langsung.

Another famous Terengganuan Malay phrase is Senyung sokmo which means Senyum selalu in standard Malay and 'Smile always' in English. It is widely used by Terengganu people to wish other people well and to brighten their days.

Dokrok cettong denotes two situations whereby one is totally exhausted or someone who is very weak.

Terengganu Malay:

Budok-budok lening koho dok kena makanang tradisi, sohbeng kate kuey, nasik pong ttuko bimbo lagi, nok wak guane makanang lening modeng blake, oghang mude tak mboh belajo duk ngarak ke oghang tue sokmo.

Malaysian:

Budak-budak sekarang semakin tak kenal makanan tradisi, jangan kata kuih, nasi pun masih tertukar lagi, nak buat macam mana makanan sekarang semua moden, orang muda tak nak belajar selalu mengharap ke orang-orang tua.

English

'Kids today don't know about traditional foods, it's not just traditional cakes, even the rice as well, what can we do all foods these days are modern, younger generations don't want to learn always rely on old people.'

• Jiang Wu (2023). Malayic varieties of Kelantan and Terengganu. Amsterdam: LOT Publications. doi:10.48273/LOT0651. ISBN 978-94-6093-436-0.

• Ensiklopedia Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu, DBP Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia
• Loghat Terengganu | Terengganu Archived 20 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• Bahasa Malaysia Simple Fun – Terengganu Malay Language