Ampenan Malay

Last updated
Ampenan Malay
Lombok Malay
Bahasa Melayu Ampenan
Native to Indonesia
Region Lombok (Ampenan)
Ethnicity Ampenan Malays
Native speakers
12,000 (2021)
Latin and Jawi
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog None

Ampenan Malay is a Malay dialect spoken in the old town of Ampenan in the city of Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. This is the mother tongue and daily language of the Ampenan Malays, and the speakers are also multi-ethnic, such as Sasak, Chinese, Arabs, Bugis, Javanese, and others. The main speech area covers the environments (lingkungan) of Melayu Bangsal, Melayu Tengah, and Melayu Timur. [1]

Contents

Language characteristics

Ampenan Malay has been the dominant language spoken in the old town of Ampenan for centuries, especially since the 19th century. [2] The grammar and vocabulary are mostly of Malay origin, but are influenced by borrowings from other languages, especially Sasak, Arabic, Chinese, and Javanese. [3] [4] Besides that, the Ampenan Malays can still speak Indonesian, with a little fluency in Sasak. [5] [6] The following is an example of a conversation in Ampenan Malay:

A:mau kemana énté? (where are you goin?)
B:ané mau réjaq juluq (I want to go home first)
A:kemana énté réjaq? (where are you going back to?)
B:ke bét (to the house)

It can be seen that the grammar and most of the vocabulary is based on Malay, but we can see the absorption of words from other languages, such as ané 'I', énté 'you', réjaq 'go home', bét 'house' from Arabic, as well as the word juluq 'first' from Sasak. The pronunciation of Ampenan Malay is influenced by Sasak pronunciation, but has a distinctive accent that is different from both Malay and Sasak. [7]

Usage

Ampenan Malay, which is sometimes called Lombok Malay, is the identity or character of the Ampenan Malays forms the local Malay culture and ideology as a form of expression by speakers to fulfill their needs as members of society. The Ampenan Malays as a minority ethnic group on Lombok Island enable speakers of the dominant ethnic group in this case the Sasak people to speak or at least understand or so as not to deny the existence of differences caused by differentiating factors, for example as a means of communication. Ampenan Malay is used as a regional language, the everyday language of Ampenan Malays, among the majority Sasak people. [8]

Vocabulary

Ampenan Malay is divided into several speech varieties, according to the environments (lingkungan) where it is spoken, for example the vocabulary used in Melayu Bangsal is different from that used in Melayu Tengah. [8]

GlossAmpenan Malay
Melayu BangsalMelayu Tengah
dogasuasu, acong
youkauente
digngekatgali, cangkul
washnyucibasuh
meatdagingjangan
colddinginnet
spitludahbetiju
hand in handgandengdenden
cutputongpeleng

See also

References

  1. Kurniawan, Muh. Ardian; Fernandez, Inyo Y. (2013). Enklave Melayu Ampenan dan Enklave Melayu Loloan: Studi Dialektologi Diakronis (Thesis). AUNILO: Libraries of ASEAN University Network (in Indonesian). Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University.
  2. Fahriza, Riza (10 December 2018). Saptiyulda, Erafzon (ed.). "Dari Ampenan, kisah perdagangan itu dimulai". www.antaranews.com (in Indonesian). Antara News . Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  3. Nasikin, Moh.; Arfan, Muhamad (2023). Pola campur kode dan perubahan fonologis tuturan masyarakat keturunan Arab di kampung Arab Ampenan (Thesis). Monograph (Project Report) (in Indonesian). Mataram: State Islamic University of Mataram.
  4. Wahyuni, Wika; Jaeka, Farida (2025). "Bahasa, Laut, dan Kota: Kajian Lanskap Linguistik di Ruang Publik Ampenan". Proceedings of Semnalisa V (in Indonesian). Denpasar: Mahasaraswati University.
  5. Haerayarah (2024). Komunikasi Antarbudaya Etnis Arab Dengan Masyarakat Lokal di Lingkungan Melayu Tengah Kota Tua Ampenan Kecamatan Ampenan (PDF) (Bachelor of Social Sciences thesis) (in Indonesian). Mataram: State Islamic University of Mataram.
  6. Muhlis, Buyung S. (26 February 2025). "Di Ampenan, Burung Saja Berbahasa Melayu". mataramradio.com (in Indonesian). Mataram Radio. Archived from the original on 5 July 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  7. Rahman, Muftiar (2024). Masalah Kebahasaan Dalam Masyarakat (Thesis). Psychosociolinguistics Course Assignment (in Indonesian). West Lombok: Nurul Hakim Islamic Institute.
  8. 1 2 Wardhani, Aditya (2021). "The Vitality of the Malayu Language on the Island of Lombok" (PDF). Advances in Social Science, Education, and Humanities Research. Proceedings of the International Congress of Indonesian Linguistics Society (KIMLI 2021). 622. West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Language Office. Dordrecht: Atlantis Press: 297–303.