Word Formation
Bahasa Sarawak formation is a very different from Bahasa Malaysia. In fact, most West Malaysian do not understand Sarawakian conversation. Sabahan dialect is very much different from Bahasa Sarawak too and Sabahan dialect is not a language. It is only an accent which was influenced by Tagalog. But, there is one similar word that has been used by both Sabahan and Sarawakian- "Bah". It is used to stress a sentence. E.g.: Don't do like that- "Iboh polah kedak ya bah." It is similar usage of "lah" in Singlish. E.g.: Don't do like that 'lah'. Some Sarawakian Malay dialect have a similar pronunciation in certain district of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia s.E.g.:Serai>serei .Kedai>kedei. The pronunciation of 'R' in certain district of Perak have a similar vowel. Some Sarawakian Malay verbs have a strong vowel pronounce in R or K, . E.g.:Kena>Kenak, Air>aik, Beri>berik.
Many words in Bahasa Sarawak are being simplified from the original pronounsuation and some are totally different. E.g.:
| English | Bahasa Malaysia | Bahasa Sarawak |
|---|---|---|
| Sweeping | Menyapu | Nyapu |
| Coconut | Kelapa | Nyior |
| More | Lagi | lagik/ Agik/Gik |
| Road | Jalan Raya | Jeraya |
| Clever | Pandai | Pandei |
| Teach | Mengajar | Ngaja |
| Yes | Ya | aok |
| Cat | Kucing | Pusak |
| Chicken | Ayam | Manok |
| Knife | Pisau | ladin (Malay/melanau) Dandin/ pisok |
Read more about this topic: Sarawak Malay
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