THE TECHNICAL MALAY SUMMARY There are people who think that Malay are artistic but through their language we can proof that they are technical. Many language posses classifiers which are significantly different from each other. Languages differ in the ways in which they classify certain entities. The classifying criteria include properties of entities such as shape, size and quality. There is a wide range of classifiers in the Malay language. These classifiers have interesting semantic implications. One type of Malay numerical classifiers termed by Malay grammarians as “Penjodoh Bilangan”, (“Countable match”) is one on which our paper will present some conclusions involving semantic classification of its functions. This classifier which is sometimes referred to by some grammarians as “Penunjuk Jenis”, (“Type Displayer”) appears in binomial noun phrases as found in English binomial noun phrases, such as in “A bar of soap” and “A loaf of bread”. The difference in this type of classifier in the Malay language is that they are very heavily used in the language and are influenced by shape, size, quality and other equally interesting factors. This is an example of how language can be in a technical form creating shapes technically. This means that a part of the original language is from the human technical point of view. Although classifiers in the Malay language can have effects similar to that found in English language and other languages, there are in addition, technical language forms that are artistic, architecturallistic and mechanicallistic that form the creation of sizes, shapes and qualities. This paper is not only meant for audience with technical background such as engineering and architecture student / lecture but also those who are with linguistic background. THE TECHNICAL MALAY Introduction Many languages possess classifiers which are significantly different from each other. Languages differ in the ways in which they classify certain entities. The classifying criteria include properties such as-shape, size and quality. This paper presents some conclusions involving the semantic classifications and functions of classifiers in the Malay language. There is a wide range of classifiers in the Malay language. The classifiers have interesting semantic implications. One type of Malay numerical classifiers is termed by Malay grammarians as Penjodoh Bilangan (Countable Match). This classifier, which is sometimes referred to by some grammarians as Penunjuk jenis (Type Displayer), appears in binomial noun phrases as found in English binomial noun phrases, such as ‘A bar of soap’ and ‘a loaf of bread’. The differences in this type of classifiers in the Malay language are that they are very heavily used in the language and are usually influenced by shape, size, quality and other equally interesting factors. This is an example of how language can be visualized in a technical form creating shapes technically. This means that part of the original language is from the human technical point of view. Although classifiers in the Malay language can have effects similar to that found in the English language and other languages, there are, in addition, technical language form that are artistically designed towards architecture and engineering that form the creation of sizes, shapes and qualities. The paper further gives examples whereby the language can be interpreted into visual forms. The word-order of this type of classifiers is usually the same as that in English, i.e: NUMERICAL -CLASSIFIER – NOUN In the Malay language, numerical classifiers which effect technical form are influenced by size, shape and quality. (A) Size There are a number of classifies that are influenced by various sizes. These classifiers match objects according to their sizes, whether they are small or big. A.1. The two words, Buah and Biji, match the different sizes of objects according to personal visual interpretation. Sebuah which means ‘A Fruit’ matches bigger objects such as a chair sebuah kerusi, a ship sebuah kapal, a house sebuah rumah or a mountain sebuah bukit. On the other hand sebiji means ‘A seed’ matches smaller objects than buah such as an apple sebiji epal or a ball sebiji bola, e.g. : Sebuah rumah Sebiji kelapa A “Fruit” house A “seed” coconut A house A coconut A.2. There are another two Malay words that differentiate size. Both words Batang and Puntung mean ‘Stick’ or ‘Stem’. Sebatang matches bigger sticks such as a log sebatang kayu balak, a pole sebatang tiang, an oil palm tree sebatang pokok kelapa sawit, a highway sebatang lebuhraya. Sepuntung matches smaller sticks such as cigarette sepuntung rokok, a match stick sepuntung mancis api or a toothpick sepuntung penculik gigi. Sebatang kayu balak Sepuntung rokok A “stem” wood log A “Stick” cigarettes A log A cigarettes A.3. There are also words in the Malay language that classify various sizes. These words are ketul and buku which mean ‘Bar’, ‘Block’ or ‘lump’. Seketul mathches objects of bigger sizes like a rock seketul batu, or a gold bar seketul emas. Sebuku matches smaller objects such as salt sebuku garam. Seketul batu Sebuku garam A”bar” rock A “lump” salt A piece of Rock A lump of salt (B) Shape Most of these classifiers which are influenced by sizes are also influenced by shapes. These shapes are mostly geometrical, where some of them may focus on the content or position of the shape. B.1. Buah which means ‘Fruit’ usually refers to something of a bigger size (see A 1) but with an unspecified frame-like shape. Sebuah matches objects like houses, boxes, ships, chairs, tables and mountains. For some new inventions like computersm calculators or satellites, these would match with Sebuah. Countries, states and towns are also included in this category since they have a frame-like shape from the Malay point of view. Sebuah pulau Tiga buah gerabak keretapi A “fruit” island Three “fruit” coach train An island Three train coaches B.2. Biji which means ‘seed’ usually refers to something of a smaller size (see A.1.). It matches with objects which are more or less rounded in shape. In other words, it matches objects which are not sharply pointed. Sebiji matches fruits, balls and eyes from the Malay point of view. “Cups” also comes under Sebiji since it is rounded in shape. Sebiji buah tembikai Lima biji bola keranjang A ”seed” fruit of watermelon Five ”seed” basketball A watermelon Five basketball There is another word Butir that takes rounded objects but which is more specific than Biji. Unlike Biji, Butir might only take round and oblong objects, such as eggs or bullets. B.3. Keping and Helai, which mean ‘piece’, ‘slice’ or ‘sheet’, do not refer to specific sizes. They match with thin objects that have width and length. Sekeping and Sehelai match with tiles, plywood, carpets and tablecloth. Sekeping papan lapis Empat helai permaidani A ”piece” wood layer Four ”pieces” carpet A piece of plywood Four pieces of carpets B.4. Batang and Puntung mean ‘Stick’ or ‘Stem’. They refer to specific sizes (see A.2.). and also Utas means coil, which does not refer to any specific size. These classifiers match long objects which are mostly cylindrical like pipes, poles, palm trees and ropes. They also match with uncylindrical objects like rails. Seutas tali A “coil” of rope A piece of rope B.5. Bentuk means ‘curve’ it refers mostly to small objects. It classifies objects that are curved or that are made into certain shapes through the process of curving. Bentuk refers mostly to jewellery like rings, earrings, and lockets, and it can also refer to fishing hooks. Sebentuk cincin berlian Tujuh bentuk mata kail A “curve” ring diamond Seven “curve” eye hook A diamond ring Seven (fishing) hooks B.6. Pucuk which means ‘Shoot’, refers to no specific size. This classifier is influenced by the shape of shoots of trees especially bamboo shoots from the Malay point of view. A shoot usually is pointed upward. This classifier matches a gun since traditionally a gun is usually placed with its sharp and upward. Sepucuk senapang A “shoot” gun A gun Although Pucuk takes and objects as big as a gun, it would not however take an object as big as a pyramid (Pyramid matches “Buah”, see A.1. & B.1.). (C) Quality Classifiers which are influenced by the sizes and shapes of objects as mentioned above are also influenced by their quality, i.e. solidity and softness. C.1. Keping and Helai (see B.3.). Although they are the same in shape, they are entirely different in quality. Keping is hard or solid, while Helai is floppy or soft. So Keping matches with tiles, plywood and boards, while Helai matches with carpets, clothes and papers. A piece of bread or a computer diskette is matched with Keping because it cannot be folded or rolled. C.2. Batang, Puntung and Utas are classifiers which identify similar shapes (see B4). While Batang and Puntung are of different sizes (see A.2.), ‘Utas’ has no specific size but it differs from Batang and Puntung in quality. Utas is floppy and soft, while Batang and Puntung are hard and solid. Batang matches with logs, pipes, poles and palm trees. Puntung matches with cigarettes, toothpicks and match sticks, and Utas matches with ropes, strings, wires and chains. C.3. Biji (see A1&B2) and butir (see B.2) are nearly the same in shape, but ketul (see A3) is more solid than both of them but less rounded. Biji and Butir match with balls, fruits, eggs and bullets, while ketul matches with rock, gold and soap. General Analysis Some aspects of Malay classifiers have interesting semantic views. Letters which match with Pucuk (see B.7) are opposed to papers which matched with Helai (see B.3 & C.1), a piece of paper that matches with helai when written as a letter which match with pucuk. There are some possibilities that make letters come under this ‘pucuk’ category. Through my experiences, most historical letters (with reference to Malay tradition) are written initially with shorter lines at the top of a page then become broader towards the bottom. This makes them look like a shape of a shoot. It may also be due to the way how the letters are folded. During the olden days, Malays are popular in the art of folding, like the folding of Sungkit cloth or betel leaves for wedding or for royal ceremony. It might probably be that they fold letter in this shape to be handed o the king. The letters are shaped like a shoot with its pointed edge upwards. Another interesting view is when a soap, which is less solid, comes under ketul (see A.3 & C.3), while bullets, which are more solid, come under Biji/Butir (see A.1 & B.2). Typically a soap is not rounded but a bullet originally is. That’s why a soap goes under ketul and the bullet goes under Biji/Butir. Say, if we melt gold and makes it into small rounded marbles, the Malays might match these gold marbles with Biji/Butir because shape has more influence on the objects than the quality and size in Malay classifiers. For the Malay speakers, to use the classifiers (see size, shape, & quality), they need to judge or focus on the objects by their actual shape, size, and quality. This judgement depends on personal visual interpretation. It is not unusual for two people to use different classifiers for the same objects for most of the objects have nearly the same shape, size, and quality. For example Sebatang and Sepuntung, or Sekeping and Sehelai are used in the following ways. Beri saya sebatang rokok Beri saya sekeping kertas Give me a ”stick” cigarette Give me “sheet” paper Give me a cigarette Give me a sheet of paper The proper classifier for a cigarette is Sepuntung, and for paper is Sehelai. The Judgement and focus also on sebatang and sepuntung. Sebatang focus on the stick but sepuntung focus on the tips. So cigarette and match stick with tips at the end of the stick may classify as “Sepuntung”. We can view all these classifiers by their size, shape and quality through this chart. It is interesting here to see a narrow difference between Sebiji (see A.1, B.2, C.3) and Sebutir (see C.3). Both are [- big] [+ rounded], while “Sebutir” is [+ solid]. But, Sebiji has no specific quality in solidness and softness. It could either [+ solid] or [- solid]. This means that any object that matches with Sebutir may be classified with Sebiji, but not every object that matches with Sebiji can be classified with Sebutir. For example, fruits may be matched with Sebiji but not with Sebutir; while eggs and bullets which match with Sebutir are more specific, while sebiji may cover a wider range. Another significant thing observed here is that Sebentuk (see 2.B.6) mostly matches with jewellery such as rings, earrings, and lockets, but gold chains are matched with Seutas (see B.4 & C.2). Here, even though the object is curved, but if the shape is long and floopy it matches Seutas. Additional Factors Besides size, shape and quality, there are other Malay matching classifiers which basically show some technical forms. (D) Focus D.1. Orang means ‘Person’, and Ekor means ‘Tail’. Both are matched with living creatures. The Malays count animal using Ekor as classifiers, as opposed to English and Arabic that classify them by heads. The Malays classify human with Orang instead. From this we can interprets that the Malay language differentiates human, animal and other living creatures by focusing on the tail. It is from the Malay point of view that creatures have tails. So Orang matches only human, while Ekor matches all animals including birds, fish and insects. Seorang guru Empat ekor ikan A “person” teacher Four “tail” fish A teacher Four fish D.2. Kuntum means ‘Buds’. And tangkai means ‘Stalks’. Both are mostly matched with flowers. We can say: Sekuntum bunga or Setangkai bunga A “bud” flower A ”stalk” flowers A flower A flower The difference is that Sekuntum focuses on the flower itself, while Setangkai focuses on the stalk of the flower, actually both refer to the same flower attached to the same stalk. D.3. Kerat and Potong mean ‘Portion’. These classifiers match with pieces that are cut off from any object. Sepotong kek Sekerat kayu A “portion” cake A “portion” wood A piece of cake A piece of wood The difference here is that the focus is on the pieces that are going to be cut, whether the shape is intended or otherwise. For example, if we want to cut a cake into pieces of a certain intended shape, then the pieces match with Potong. But if we just cut the wood into pieces that we do not bother how the shape would turn out to be, then the pieces match Kerat. Most probably when we cut a piece of cloth into shapes that we want to make it into a shirt, we will say Sepotong. But remember, if we cut an object into slices it may go back to Keping (see B.3 & C.1). Sekerat might mean a half at certain situation, if we only cut it into two pieces. On the other hand the art of cutting also influence the way malays classified them. Sepotong (a piece) from the word potong (cut or chop) but “sekerat” a piece or a half from the word kerat (cut by pushing and pulling a knife or saw hard into a solid material but if the material is quite hard and floppy to be cut we might call it “hiris” “sehiris” a piece. So it’s focusing on how things are cut and the quality of the material to be cut. D.4. Bilah may mean ‘blade’. It matches with sharp tools and parts that we use to cut, chop and stab, or narrow blade-like objects. The focus is on the sharpness of tools or spare-part objects, for example knives, swords and nails which people use for cutting, chopping and nailing. Sebilah pedang A “blade” sword A sword D.5. Bidang means ‘Surface area’. It focuses mostly on the surface area or land. It matches with plantation and fields with no specific shape or size. Saya beli sebidang tanah dan tiga bidang ladang getah. I buy a ”surface area” land and three ”surface area” rubber plantation I buy a piece of land and three rubber plantations. D.6. Some of the Malay numerical classifiers that indicate measurement focus on the shape and size of the object to be measured. Sejengkal : a distance between the thumb and finger, to measure smaller objects or surfaces. Sehesta : an arm (A measurement of one arm), to measure bigger objects or surfaces. Sepemeluk : a hug (measurement of one hug), to measure a big long and cylindrical objects. Sedepa : a stretch (A measurement of one stretch of two hands) to measure a big flat surface. Pokok itu besarnya lebih kurang sepemeluk Tree that size it more or less a ”hug” The size of that tree s about a hug D.7. There is numerical classifier in Malay language that classifiers pairs. The word “Pasang” which means ‘Put together’ matches with anything in pairs. Dia mempunyai sepasang mata yang cantik. He/She has a pair eye that beautiful He/She has a pair of beautiful eyes. In the pair system, if we want to focus on only one object of a pair, there is a special classifier which classifies that. This classifier is Belah which means ‘Split’. Dia hanya memakai sebelah kasut He/She only wears a “split” shoe He/She wears only one shoe. To refer to a pair of eyes we match it with pasang, but if we want to focus on the eyes individually, the Malays classify them with ‘belah’. Ke dua dua belah matanya buta To two two ”split” eye his blind Both his eyes are blind Conclusions In general, we can conclude that from the highly descriptive and expressive forms of these Malay numerical classifiers, the Malays are not only artistic but are technical as well! There are technical language forms that are artistically inclined towards architecture and engineering. This shows that the Malay language has high potentials to accommodate high technology knowledge in the modern world. It is assumed, therefore, that with such overwhelming potentials, the Malay language can confidently be internationally widespread in the near future. However, this has to depend on how the implementation of the language in the field of hi-tech. We cannot continue borrowing from other languages; instead we must try to accommodate the language to hi-tech. This is, of course, not an easy task since a lot of research must be done. Finally, it is recommended, therefore, that more linguists specialised in the Malay language to come forward to support the immediate need of the Malay language in the hi-tech world. 0 = not specific Sepucuk = (+ pointed up) Seulas = (+ section) + (curve000-Sebentuk -00+0Seutas +-0+-Sepuntung +-0++Sebatang -+000Sehelai ++000Sekeping +--0+Seketul +--0-Sebuku +-+0-Sebutir 0-+0-Sebiji 0-00+ (frame)Sebuah SOLIDTHINROUNDEDLONGBIGCLASSIFIERS