Vowel Reduction of /a/ to /e/ in final word position

Descriptive Study of Phonological Differences Between Bahasa Malaysia & Bahasa Indonesia by Farah Eleena Mahdzan

[ home ]

Vowel Reduction of /a/ to /e/ in final word position

"In standard [Malaysian] Malay, there is a vowel reduction rule which reduces /a/ in word final position to [e] (schwa) (Teoh 24)."

In Malay, many words contain 'a' in the final word position, such as apa (what), kenapa (why), saya (I), kita (we), dua (two), and ada (have). When Noreen was observed talking, she used many of these words as they are common in speech, and she unconsciously, as the writer expected, played her words by the vowel reduction rule of /a/ to /e/.

In Vitria's case, however, the words with /a/ in word final position have, naturally, retained its true pronunciation. The following table will present the differences:

Table 1

Malay words with 'a' in word final position	Noreen's Pronunciations (Malaysian)	Vitria's Pronunciations (Indonesian)
Apa Siapa Mana Jawa Pada	Ape Siape Mane Jawe Pade	Apa Siapa Mana Jawa Pada

Note:

e (schwa): pronounced as 'e' in butter
a: pronounced as 'u' in up

"The vowel reduction process is very characteristic of the Johor-Riau Malay dialect of which the standard [Malaysian Malay] dialect is based (Teoh 49)."

This particular vowel reduction of /a/ to /e/ in /a/ word final position in Malaysian Malay has made the dialect unique and very distinguishable from Indonesian Malay.

Page 4 out of 7