Draft:Indonesian and Malaysian Malay Vocabulary

Loanword source differences
Indonesian and Malaysian Malay both differ in the forms of loanwords used due to division of the Malay Archipelago by the Dutch and the British and their long-lasting colonial influences, as a consequence of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824: Indonesian absorbed primarily Dutch loanwords whereas Malaysian Malay absorbed primarily English words. Pronunciation of certain loanwords in Malaysian Malay follows English, while in Indonesian it follows Dutch, for example Malay "televisyen" (from English: television) and Indonesian "televisi" (from Dutch: televisie); the "-syen" and "-si" also prevail in some other words, though "-si" has become more preferred in Malay of late.

Malaysian Malay has also experienced significant conservative pushback as precedent entities that existed within the British sphere made efforts to create words that would fit naturally foreign ideas of governance and thought through a Malay-oriented context. The Pakatan Belajar Mengajar Pengetahuan Bahasa in Johore headed by Abdul Rahman Andak during the 19th century was especially important in introducing neologisms like pejabat ("office", cf. Indonesian kantor from kantoor) and setiausaha ("secretary", cf. Indo sekretaris from secretaris) into the Malay lexicon. For example, the word for 'post office' in Malaysia is "pejabat pos" (in Indonesia this means 'post officer'), whereas in Indonesia it is "kantor pos".

There are also some Portuguese influences: in Indonesia, Christmas is known as "Natal", whereas Malaysia uses both "Natal" and "Krismas", the latter derived from English. There are also instances where the Malaysian Malay version derives from English pronunciation while the Indonesian version takes its cue from Latin. The Latin preference of the (older) Indonesian intellectuals in these instances may be ascribed to the influence of their classical-oriented education when Gymnasium schools were established during the Dutch colonial period: compare Malaysian Malay kualiti, kuantiti, majoriti, minoriti and universiti with Indonesian kualitas, kuantitas, mayoritas, minoritas and universitas.

Some words which are spelt the same in both languages may even carry entirely different meanings in the other language, potentially leading to humorous or embarrassing situations: while baja means "steel" in Indonesian, in Malaysian Malay it means "fertiliser". Also, whereas the Indonesian word butuh (from Sundanese ᮘᮥᮒᮥᮂ butuh) means "require" or "need", in Malay, it is a vulgar slang term equivalent to "cunt/cock". Conversely, where the word "banci" seems innocuous enough in Malaysia ("census"), in Indonesia it is a derogatory term for "transvestite".

The relatively large share of Islamic (Arabic or Persian) loan words shared by Malaysian Malay and Indonesian often poses no difficulty in comprehension and usage, although some forms may have developed a (slightly) different meaning or have become obsolete either in Malaysian Malay or in Indonesian, e.g. khidmat, wakil (see below).

Word derivation and compounds
Indonesian and Malaysian Malay have similar derivation and compounds rule. However, there is difference on quasi-past participle or participle-like adjective when attached to a noun or verb. Malaysian Malay uses prefix ber- to denote such, while Indonesian uses prefix ter- to do so. It is important to note that prefix ber- can denote several other meanings.

False friends
Besides vocabulary differences, there are also a number of false friends in both languages. As these words are in quite common use in either or both of the languages, misunderstandings can arise.