Notes on Baba Malay
Baba Malay, spoken by the Peranakans, is spoken by fewer than 1000 people in Singapore and is thus classified as an endangered language. It is a creole made from the mixing of Malay and Hokkien languages. Baba Malay takes its grammar from Hokkien and most of its vocabulary from Malay.
See the about us of ‘Baba Malay’ under ‘websites’, from which I summarised the above information.
Websites
- Baba Malay: Your comprehensive site for the Peranakan language. A website focused on the revitalisation of Baba Malay. Offers language classes online from A1: Beginner to B2: Upper-Intermediate. Also contains learning resources, such as Baba Malay stories written with English translation next to it! Also has a shop that sells books, such as Baba Malay for Everyone. I obtained most of the resources listed here from this website.
Books
- Baba Malay For Everyone: A Comprehensive Guide To The Peranakan Language, by Kenneth Y K Chan. A textbook meant to bring you from A1 to B2 level. You may also buy it from the Baba Malay website (see above) or Kinokuniya.
- Chrita-Chrita Baba. The title means ‘Baba stories in the Peranakan language’. From its description: “This book features both adaptations of old Nusantara folk tales and original stories for the enjoyment of the contemporary reader… It is hoped that with the publication of this book, there will be a greater resurgence of interest in the language and more people will be inspired to learn and use the language.”
- A grammar of Baba Malay with sociophonetic considerations, 2014, by Dr Nala Lee. A dissertation. Comprehensive work on Baba Malay. Dr Lee is actively involved in Singapore trying to revive Baba Malay. You can find her homepage here
- Baba Malay Dictionary: The First Comprehensive Compendium of Straits Chinese Terms and Expressions, by William Gwee Thian Hock. You can find the much more affordable kindle version on the amazon.co.uk site