Malay
Malay is one of 99 world languages in the LEXOS registry, belonging to the Austronesian language family. Every word or phrase can be analysed across 6 linguistic levels: phonetics → phonology → morphology → syntax → semantics → pragmatics.
Malayic branch of Austronesian; Latin (Rumi) script today, historically also written in Jawi (Arabic-derived) script. Forms the linguistic basis of both standard Indonesian and standard Malaysian.
6 Levels of Analysis for Malay
Other Austronesian languages
Frequently asked about Malay
What language family does Malay belong to?
Austronesian.
At which levels can I analyse Malay?
Six levels: Phonetics (speech sounds, IPA), Phonology (phonemes and sound patterns), Morphology (word structure), Syntax (phrases and sentence structure), Semantics (literal meaning), Pragmatics (meaning in context).
Is Malay one of the most spoken world languages?
Yes — LEXOS catalogues the 99 most-spoken / most-commercially-relevant world languages, covering every major language family and every continent.