1.1 Pronunciation of vowels

1.1.1 Presentation
The Malay language (Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Kebangsaan) is the national language of Malaysia. The Malay language is known and used by more than 150 million people especially in the Southeast Asian region.

The Malay language uses two distinct scripts: Jawi and Rumi. Jawi is the Arabic form of writing which was introduced to this country by Muslim missionaries and traders in the 15th century. The knowledge of it is an advantage to the study of advance Bahasa Melayu and classical Malay literature. Rumi is the Roman alphabet which came into use at the advent of British administration.

Every syllable of Malay word requires vowels, without which it would be soundless. There are six vowel phonemes, namely:
   a, e, e (pepet), i, o and u

Vowel a:
a is pronounced aa or ar as in tar, bar, and therefore:
   saya (I) is pronounced sa-yaa.
   mata (eyes) is pronounced ma-aa
   kaya (rich) is pronounced ka-yaa

1.1 Pronunciation of vowels

Vowel e :
e (pepet) is pronounced err and the sound is very short, therefore:
   meja (table) is pronounced mare-jaa.
   sewa (rent) is pronounced sare-waa

Vowel e (pepet):
e (pepet) is pronounced err and the sound is very short, therefore:
   kera (monkey) is pronounced kerr-rar
   peta (map) is pronounced per-tar
   perang (war) is pronounced per-rang

Vowel i:
i is pronounced ee or ea as in feed, deed, bead, but the sound is not long and therefore:
   pipi (cheek) is pronounced pee-pee
   biji (seed) is pronounced bee-jee
   kiri (left) is pronounced kee-ree

1.1 Pronunciation of vowels

Vowel o:
o is pronounced or, ore or aw as in law, raw, and therefore:
   bola (ball) is pronounced bore-laa
   roti (bread) is pronounced raw-tee
   topi (hat) is pronounced taw-pee

Vowel u:
u is pronounced oo or as in boot, soot, root and therefore:
   susu (milk) is pronounced soo-soo
   buku (book) is pronounced boo-koo
   guru (teacher) is pronounced goo-roo