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The Linguistic Evidences from Sejarah Melayu Showing the Greater Influence of Tamil in Malay Language

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Journal of Critical Reviews ISSN- 2394-5125 Vol 7, Issue 11, 2020 THE LINGUISTIC EVIDENCES FROM SEJARAH MELAYU SHOWING THE GREATER INFLUENCE OF TAMIL IN MALAY LANGUAGE Mohana Dass Ramasamy1 1 University of Malaya. [email protected] Received: 07.04.2020 Revised: 14.05.2020 Accepted: 05.06.2020 Abstract The number and the influence of Sanskrit and Tamil borrow-words in Malay languages could not be undermined. It is not known clearly when and how these words were brought in. Studies by the local and western scholars have claimed that the contact between these loan terms started since the era of pre-Christianity and it was extended till 16th century, in different pace and forms. This resulted-in the loanwords were adopted within the local’s language system as an integral part of the language. Most of these scholarly works have focused on verifying the contributions of Sanskrit within Bahasa Indonesia in great extent, but little interest have been shown to study the influence of Tamil in Malay spoken in Malaysia. The contributions of Tamil, in fact, is equally parallel within the Malay spoken in Malaysia, if a serious stocktaking is done properly. This study, for this reason, aimed at offering such linguistic evidences from a historical manual, Sejarah Melayu, one of the oldest Malay Manual, to verify the claim. The manual is studied before extracting the Sanskrit and Tamil loan terms, which were compared for their contributions. The outcome of the study shows that the influence of Tamil borrow- words in the old Malay language that show little differences compared to that used in the present-day Malay. The outcome of the study contends the widely accepted stance on Sanskrit, but concedes that Tamil borrow-words have expounded contributions. Keywords: Sanskrit Borrow-words, Tami Borrow-words, Borrow-words in Malay, Sejarah Melayu, India-Malay Early Contact. © 2020 by Advance Scientific Research. This is an open-access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.11.86 INTRODUCTION Sanskrit and Tamil loan words in Malay language are relatively Sanskrit or Tamil the borrow-words have reached the host many in number but its origin or beginning point of arrival is yet language, the Malay. These are the loanwords from two verified empirically. Disputes arises among the scholars on influential languages in the Indian sub-continent of significant various issues regarding this. No consensus also reached contribution that is remembered and used on day-to-day basis, whether the Sanskrit or Tamil loan words were received directly i.e., Sanskrit and Tamil. Scholarly works by Gonda (1966) and or indirectly, or whether it were brought in by pandits, sailors, Sneddon (2001) on loanwords and its contributions have rather Indian traders, Gujarati traders or local traders. It also not clear emphasized the influence of Sanskrit in the Malay Archipelago, in among them, whether the borrow-words were royal terms, general. On the other hand, Singaravelu (1988), Asmah (1964) special terminologies or terms of common mans. It also made and a few others who have studied the influence of Tamil in unclear whether or unverified whether transaction of both of Malay Malaysia, confirmed that Tamil has made equally these terms have taken place in parallel. These unanswered and significant loan contribution, too. There are few contradictions. unsettled issues were not in the locus point of scholarly works, Unfortunately, the question remained unanswered, or even even now or in the past future. untouched. The present-study explores possible answer for this unanswered query. It is not an unknown fact that Malay has bowed handful of borrow-words from various language. It might be hard to accept Sanskrit and Tamil borrowings in Malay might have been the fact that the followings were not pure Malay terms, but they received in various time-frame, from different sources with were borrowed from two languages from Indian sub-continents. different degree of acceptance. Though finding the exact timeframe is not that easy, a few sources might offer solutions for BM Sanskrit Tamil Meaning it. From some notes of pre-Christian era, events that unfolded aneka /ʌnɛgʌ/ /ʌnɛgʌm/ various during the invasion of Kadaram and Sri Vijaya by King Chola aniyaya /ʌnɪjɑjʌ/ /ʌnɪjɑjʌm/ injustice during 8th AD, the uprising of Malacca, annals of its golden era anugerah /ʌnʊgərhɑ/ /ʌnʊkɪrʌkəm/ bless and the post Malacca Empire may offer close look into the bahagian /βɑgɪ/ /bɑkkɪ/ section uprising of contact of Tamil with the Malay archipelago. Four bahasa /βɑʃɑ/ /pɑcəɪ/ language noteworthy ways, out of the many, might be noted for on how the bakti /βʌkθɪ/ /bʌktɪ/ loyalty borrowed terms might have reached the South-east Asia. town(M)/Covere bandar /βʌntʌr/ /pʌntʌr/ i. One of them is through trading activities. Historians like d area (T) Gonda (1966), Hill (2007), Khoo (1974), Arasaratnam Treasure(M)/co bendahara /βʌndʌgʌrʌ/ /bʌɲdʌm/ (1970) believed that traders who have travelled from the mmodity (T) southern part of India were responsible for using these bicara /vɪcɑrʌ/ /vɪcɑrʌɲəɪ/ interrogation terms largely in their conversation; those convenient terms destroy, eventually settled and became part of the language system binasa /vɪnɑʃɑ/ /nɑsʌm/ destruction in Malay Malaysia. budi /βʊɖɖɪ/ /pʊttɪ/ intellect, mind ii. Secondly, it is possible to believe that the terms also might bumi /βumɪ/ /bumɪ/ earth have reached the language through Gujarati traders from Gujarat. The borrow-words in BM did not show much differences from iii. Thirdly, it might have reached here though the learned Sanskrit and its resemblances in Tamil. Now, the question Indian pandits and scribes. seeking answer is this. From which language, whether the Journal of critical reviews 478 THE LINGUISTIC EVIDENCES FROM SEJARAH MELAYU SHOWING THE GREATER INFLUENCE OF TAMIL IN MALAY LANGUAGE iv. Last but not least, the terms might have been brought in by This study is aimed at offering another perspective to Malay traders who have visited India. understand the reality of the situation and seek answer for contravening reality. This might attest the long-standing Among the four, the first factor is considerably rational and perception that Sanskrit loanwords have been extensively deserve clarification. Sanskrit, then and even now, is treated as a borrowed by Malay spoken in Malaysia. Events unfolded as a scholarly language that widely applied by the learned people and result of constant interaction between the Malay world and India, bureaucrats; therefore, has little chance to reach common people. might have paved succinct path for Tamil loanwords received The Sanskrit should have reached the Malay Archipelago as the popular recognition compared to Sanskrit terms in Malay scholarly language by the pandits and royal patrons and there is Malaysia. Sanskrit, the language praised as medium of a high possibility to consider that the language might have been communication of goddess, and hindered itself from any forms of maintained and applied within a closed community, for ritual imperfection through assimilation of local contributions could ceremonies and royal courts mentioned Gonda (1966), Hill not easily be brought in and applied directly in the local (2007), Khoo (1974), and Arasaratnam (1970). As royal language. It must have taken in differently to reach the public. language, Sanskrit, in this sense, should have enjoyed limited Sanskrit might also have reached the Malay, especially Malay practices and limited chances to reach common people. It is Malaysia, through Tamil spoken by the traders, who have worthy to note Asmah (1966) who conceded that most of the travelled from the southern India, the indirect passage which has borrowed terms of Tamil belong to the common people. As a never been discussed by any literature. language of offering less attractions and necessities to common people and benefits to their day-to-day life, Sanskrit had little Moreover, linguistically, it has been accepted that give and take chance to enjoy a significant recognition among the local between languages take place provided the donor language is common people. Such limited practices and lesser economic well accepted for nourishing factors, including linguistic value posits by the Sanskrit could have prevented the language substance and its economic values. Tamil borrow-words that from enjoying popularity among the common people. found in large quantity in the vocabulary of Malay showing that there has been a shift in the pattern of borrowing in between. A The second point should be reflected from the viewpoint of sudden drift has made the contribution of Sanskrit were borrowing practices. Generally, borrowing and assimilating overshadowed by the Tamil borrowings. It is impossible for such elements of different languages into a host language would takes transitions to take place without receiving crucial intervening substantial time. Moreover, accepting borrowed terms from two motivations. This study is aimed at giving some empirical different languages and applying them side by side in tandem, is evidences to prove that such interventions have started to take an exceptional act. Receiving and adopting two languages with place as early 16th century, and this could be attested using the two different systems from same region alongside almost within text produced somewhere in the period close to Malacca’s, same time-frame, is simply not that possible. As what will be Sejarah Melayu. As a manual that describing the uprising of shown in the collected data, Sanskrit and Tamil, loanwords exist Malacca written in early of 19th century, it gives the accounts of side by side in the language, moreover, with less self- Malacca’s history and its rulers, besides the language application, identification of similarity. This, on contrary, allows to consider as it was written using the language style of 19th century. The that the borrowed terms have reached the Malay Malaysia manual is expected to shed insight into the reality of the language through an alternative way; there is a high probability to used in the distance time from now.
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