Lesson XXXII Reading and Writing
Malay is a language of which it is very easy to learn to speak a little. It is, however, very difficult to acquire the idioms of the natives.— Bahasa Malayu itu mudah sakali di-dapat chahap sadikit-sadikit, tetapi kalau handak ikut saperti per-kata-an orang Malayu sendiri payah sakali.
It is written from right to left, whereas English is written from left to right— Tulis-an Jawi itu deri kanan bawa ka-kiri tulis-an Inggris deri kiri bawa ka kanan.
The letters employed are the Arabic letters— Huruf-nia yang di-pakei itu huruf ‘Arab.
What do you call that in Malay?— Orang Malayu apa kata ini?
What is the name of this object in Malay?— Apa nama barang ini bahasa Malayu?
The pronunciation of Malay differs in different states— Chakap orang Malayu itu lain sakali bunyi-nia di-dalam lain-lain tampat.
His pronunciation is not good— Chakap-nia ta’ terus, or dia chakap pelet, or télor.
The Malays of that district have a flat pronunciation; they say apé for apa— Orang Malayu negri itu leper chakap, handak kata apa di-kata-nia apé.
How do you spell that word?— Per-kata-an ini apa eja-nia?
This word is not correctly spelt— Per-kata-an ini ta’ betul eja-nia.
You should read for at least two hours a day, and thus you will soon be able to read fluently— Patut-lah tuan membacha surat Jawi sa-korang-korang dua jam lama nia pada tiap-tiap hari, lama-lama tuntu-lah buleh dapat bacha lanchar.
Why do you undertake a thing and give it up when half finished?— Perkara itu apa sebab tuan ta’ mahu bahagi habis, buat sa’ kĕrat-kĕrat sahaja?
My son has learned to write Malay, and is now learning the Koran— Anak sahaya sudah dapat tulis Jawi sakarang tengah meng-aji Koran.
When he has read it through, he will commence to learn (Arabic) grammar— Tatkala sudah khatam dia handak mengaji nahu.
He chants the Koran very well— Pandei juga dia mem-bacha Koran.
Exercise
I am not skilled in composition. He ordered the two writings to be compared. If he is diligent, he will soon get instruction. He has been attending school for ever so long, but he knows nothing. After reading the letter he put it away in a box. The raja ordered the letter to be read aloud in the assembly. How were these lines ruled? Just look over this letter and see if it will do. If you will permit me, I will take away this book to read it. His handwriting is exceedingly good.