Malay is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines and Thailand. Altogether, it is spoken by 290 million people across Maritime Southeast Asia.
Orang Asli are a heterogeneous indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia.
Malay Singaporeans are a local ethnic group in Singapore. The group is defined as a Singaporean who is of Malay ethnicity or, whose ancestry originates from the Malay world. Malay Singaporeans constitute approximately 15% of the country's citizens, making them the second largest ethnic group in Singapore after Chinese Singaporeans and before Indian Singaporeans. They are recognised by the government as an indigenous people of the country.
Seletar is an area located in the north-east of Singapore. Its name can also refer to the Seletar Planning Area, situated in the North-East Region of Singapore. The place name was derived from the Malay subgroup who were indigenous to the area, the Orang Seletar. It shares boundaries with the planning areas of Sengkang to the south, Punggol to the east, Yishun and Simpang to the west, as well as the Straits of Johor to the north.
The Orang Laut are several seafaring ethnic groups and tribes living around Singapore, peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian Riau Islands. The Orang Laut are commonly identified as the Orang Seletar from the Straits of Johor, but the term may also refer to any Malayic-speaking people living on coastal islands, including those of Mergui Archipelago islands of Myanmar and Thailand, commonly known as Moken.
Jakun people or Orang Ulu/Orang Hulu are an ethnic group recognised as Orang Asli of the Malay Peninsula in Malaysia.
The Aslian languages are the southernmost branch of Austroasiatic languages spoken on the Malay Peninsula. They are the languages of many of the Orang Asli, the aboriginal inhabitants of the peninsula. The total number of native speakers of Aslian languages is about fifty thousand and all are in danger of extinction. Aslian languages recognized by the Malaysian administration include Kensiu, Kintaq, Jahai, Minriq, Batek, Cheq Wong, Lanoh, Temiar, Semai, Jah Hut, Mah Meri, Semaq Beri, Semelai and Temoq.
The term Proto-Malay, which translates to Melayu Asli or Melayu Purba or Melayu Tua, refers to Austronesian speakers, possibly from mainland Asia, who moved to the Malay peninsula and Malay archipelago in a long series of migrations between 2500 and 1500 BC, and in one model the first of two migrations of early Malay speakers, before that of the Deutero-Malays. The Proto-Malays are the ancestors of the Malays in the modern Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The most prominent member is Malay, which is the national language of Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia; it further serves as basis for Indonesian, the national language of Indonesia. The Malayic branch also includes the local languages spoken by Indonesians and ethnic Malays, further several languages spoken by various other ethnic groups of Sumatra, Indonesia and Borneo. The most probable candidate for the urheimat of the Malayic languages is western Borneo.
The Mah Meri are an ethnic group native to western part of Peninsular Malaysia. They are one of the 18 Orang Asli groups named by the Malaysian government. They are of the Senoi subgroup. Most of the members of the Mah Meri tribe live along the coast of South Selangor from Sungai Pelek up to Pulau Carey, although there is at least one Mah Meri Community on the other side of the Klang River.
Semelai is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula. It belongs to the Southern branch of the Aslian language subgrouping. The Semelai reside predominantly around the Bera, Serting and associated river systems in the states of Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.
The Orang Laut language or Loncong, is one of the Malayic languages. It is one of several native languages of Orang Laut of the Bangka and Belitung islands in Indonesia, and may be two distinct languages.
Orang Kanaq language is one of the Aboriginal Malay languages, grouped under the Austronesian language family. It is spoken by the Orang Kanaq, one of the 19 Orang Asli groups in Peninsular Malaysia.
The Senoi are a group of Malaysian peoples classified among the Orang Asli, the indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. They are the most numerous of the Orang Asli and widely distributed across the peninsula. The Senois speak various branches of Aslian languages, which in turn form a branch of Austroasiatic languages. Many of them are also bilingual in the national language, the Malaysian language.
Orang Kanaq are one of the 18 Orang Asli ethnic groups in Malaysia. They are classified under the Proto-Malay people group, which forms the three major people group of the Orang Asli. The Orang Kanaq are considered as the smallest Orang Asli group with the population of approximately 90 people only.
Jah Hut is an Austroasiatic language spoken around the Krau river in peninsular Malaysia. The Jah Hut are one of the indigenous Orang Asli peoples.
Mah Meri, also known as Besisi, Cellate, Hma’ Btsisi’, Ma’ Betisek, and “Orang Sabat”, is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula. Along with Semaq Beri, Semelai and Temoq, Mah Meri belongs to the Southern Aslian branch of the Aslian languages. Mah Meri is the only remaining Aslian language spoken in a coastal area and its speaker population is 3,675 as recorded at the Orang Asli Museum in Gombak. A dictionary of the Mah Meri language has been compiled by Nicole Kruspe.
Cheq Wong is an Austroasiatic language spoken in the Malay Peninsula by the Cheq Wong people. It belongs to the Northern subbranch of the Aslian languages. Northern Aslian was labelled Jehaic in the past.
Orang Seletar are one of the 18 Orang Asli ethnic groups in Malaysia. They are classified under the Proto-Malay people group, which forms the three major people group of the Orang Asli. The Orang Seletar are also considered as part of the Orang Laut, natives of the Straits of Johor; separating Singapore from Peninsula Malaysia.
Temoq people belong to the Proto-Malay of the Orang Asli ethnic group that are found in Pahang, Malaysia.
