Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat: There's a Mistake?

To use Malay words to describe emotion and feelings, one must follow these grammatical rules:

1. The word + akan. For example: Suka akan, benci akan. Or,
2. Prefix ‘me’ + the word + suffix ‘an/i’ (suffix is not a necessity in some words). For example: Menyukai (out of suka), Merindukan (from the word rindu).

However, I was taught that the word 'merindui' is wrong. The correct form is 'merindukan.' You can’t find the word 'merindui' in Kamus Dewan Edisi Ketiga but I was told that the word is included in Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat, page 1332.

I still believe that the correct form is ‘merindukan.’

A Malay linguist told me that Kamus Dewan is not an ultimate guide for Malay grammar. The only guide you can rely upon is Tatabahasa Dewan.

Radio Antarabangsa China

When I was looking for some websites about Islam in China, I discovered a very interesting website (in my opinion). It is Radio Antarabangsa China (CRI).

I wonder, who made the Malay translation and manage its on-air radio broadcast? Malays?

Every words in Malay is carefully written. Tatabahasa (Malay grammar) is observed well. You can read its publication: Kembara Sutera. Even Malays can't do this. Look by yourself, there's a lot of rubbish blogs (even official websites!) written in Malay but unfortunately full of tatabahasa, choice-of-word and spelling errors. They should be ashamed of themselves.

To learn Islam is not necessarily taking examples from Muslims. Same goes to learning* Bahasa Melayu. Being native Malay doesn't mean having good command of Bahasa Melayu.


(*Rule of gerunds applied. Same as : "Mr Hammond is looking forward to meeting you")

Do Japanese Loan Some Arabic Words?

There are two Japanese words I've discovered so far similar to Arabic words phonetically and meaningly.

In Japanese, the word 'anata/anta' means 'you.' In Arabic, 'anta' means the same but specifically used towards a male.

Japanese word for bird is 'tori,' (鳥). In Arabic, the bird is called to'ir or toyr (ٱلطائر\ٱلطير).

Ramadhan or Ramadan?

(This is teaching Malay language in English)

Cikgu Shafiee bin Zakaria, our Malay language teacher once taught us how to spell loaned words in Malay language such as 'Ramadan, terawih' etc.

He said, many people tend to exaggerate the spelling of the words, for example Ramadan.

In Malay, the correct spelling is simply, 'Ramadan' with capitalized letter R. Yet, many people spell it as 'Ramadhan.'

Cikgu Shafiee explained that there is no exact Roman letter to be pronounced like the Arabic letter 'ض,' so there's no need to put letter 'h' after 'd' in 'Ramadan' to make it sounded like the letter 'ض.' He reiterated that it is already known pronouncing 'd' in 'Ramadan' is not as same as pronouncing 'd' in the word 'meredakan.'

Same goes to the word 'terawih.' That is the correct spelling! Yet, some ignorant people out there claimed that it is important to preserve the nature of the pronunciation of the word, so they spell it as 'taraweh,' and more pathetically, 'tarawikh!'

It intrigues me, how come these idiots who claimed that they are opposing PPSMI, and had learnt Bahasa subject for about twelve years during compulsory education yet persistently making such simple mistakes. Shame on you. It would be oxymoronic to say that you are an anti-PPSMI but not competent in your own language (suppose you are a Malay).

Anyway, wishing you a blessed Ramadan.

Mihrab of Muhammad bin Abu Bakr Mosque, Mit Damsis, Dakahlya