Za'aba Spelling

The Za'aba Spelling (Malay: Ejaan Za'aba) was the second major spelling reform of Malay Rumi Script introduced in 1924. The reform was devised by Zainal Abidin Ahmad or better known by the moniker Za'aba, a notable writer and linguist at Sultan Idris Teachers College.[1] Za'aba's orthographic system principally dealt with the assignment of vowels in closed syllables, distinguished the schwa from the half-open vowel /e/ by a new grapheme ⟨ě⟩, and insisted on the use of hyphens to differentiate affixes or post-positional emphases from the infinitives.[2][3] The system as devised by Za'aba emphasised the importance to represent the original pronunciation of Johor-Riau Malay, where various modern standards of Malay were derived, that he viewed as the most elegant form of Malay.[4]

From 1930's onward, the Za'aba system gained wide sanction and was used officially in education and civil administration of Malaya, Singapore and Brunei,[5] to replace the older Wilkinson spelling. Following the adoption of the orthography in schools, it was later called the Ejaan Sekolah ('school spelling system'). Despite its official status, the system was continuously challenged throughout the years as other linguists came up with their own suggestions for a reform. The most notable one was by the Third Malay Congress held in 1956 that introduced the Congress Spelling System.[6][7] The Za'aba orthography was formally replaced by the New Rumi Spelling in 1972.

Background

The first major orthographic reform of Malay Rumi Script was initiated by a British scholar administrator, Richard James Wilkinson in 1904, from which the Wilkinson spelling or 'Romanised Malay Spelling' was introduced, and became the official system widely used in all British colonies and protectorates in Malaya, Singapore and Borneo.[8] Following the growth in the use of Malay in the education system funded by the colonial administration, efforts to improvise the Rumi spelling system were undertaken by various organizations, including the notable Sultan Idris Teachers College. In 1924, after 20 years in use, the Wilkinson orthography was improvised further in a reform initiated by a linguist Zainal Abidin Ahmad at the Sultan Idris Teachers College. Over the years, the system was progressively improvised and was applied in a series of pedoman bahasa ('guide to language') published by the college. Among several publications that applied this orthography include Ilmu Bahasa Melayu Penggal 1 (1926), Pelita Bahasa Melayu Penggal 1 (1941), Daftar Ejaan Jawi-Rumi (1949), of which all of them were written by Za’aba.[9]

By 1930s, the Za'aba spelling became the official orthography used in Malaya and even adopted in the education system and civil administration. The Za'aba spelling also gained widespread currency in Brunei and Singapore. Following the adoption of the orthography in schools, it was called the Ejaan Sekolah ('school spelling system'). Despite its official status, the system was continuously challenged throughout the years as other linguists came up with their own suggestions for a reform.[10][11]

During World War II, a system known Fajar Asia ('the Dawn of Asia') was widely used in Malaya and Indonesia. Both countries reverted to their respective old systems as soon as the Japanese occupation ended. In Malaya however, there were continuous efforts to reform the spelling system. In 1956, the Third Malay Congress introduced another spelling system known as the Congress Spelling System, but it was never widely used.[12] In 1959, another reform, this time jointly initiated by Malaya and Indonesia under a Cultural Agreement was carried out with the introduction of Malindo system, but the system was scrapped shortly after, following the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. The Za'aba spelling continued to be used up until 1972, when another major reform took place with the introduction of New Rumi Spelling.[13]

The system

Za'aba's orthographic system principally dealt with the assignment of vowels in final closed syllables, distinguished the schwa from the half-open vowel /e/ by a new grapheme ⟨ě⟩, and insisted on the use of hyphens to differentiate affixes or post-positional emphases from the infinitives.[14][15] The system emphasised the importance to represent the original pronunciation of Johor-Riau Malay, where various modern standards of Malay were derived, that Za'aba viewed as the most elegant form of Malay.[16]

Final closed syllables
Proposed changes[17][18][19]
WilkinsonZa'abaIPAMeaning
burukburok/buroʔ/ugly
teguhtĕgoh/təgoh/firm
terungtĕrong/təroŋ/eggplant
subursubor/subor/fertile
bilikbilek/bilek/room
jernihjĕrneh/jərneh/clear

There were no particular explanations by Za'aba for such amendments, but based on the reformed words, Za'aba seemed to have emphasized on the phonetic realisation in spelling to reflect their original pronunciation in Malay. This was in contrast to the Wilkinson orthography, and even Republican system in Indonesia, that emphasized more on the vowel coherency represented in the orthography.[20][21]

Schwa

Za'aba standardized the marking for the Malay indeterminate vowel or the schwa represented by phonetic sound /ə/, by introducing a new grapheme ⟨ĕ⟩. By having the diacritic mark, the Za'aba system able to differentiate schwa from the half-open vowel /e/, which remains to be represented by letter ⟨e⟩. The objective of this move, was again for the phonetic realisation in spelling to simplify the reading process.[22][23][24]

WilkinsonZa'abaIPAMeaning
berhematbĕrhemat/bərhemat/being prudent
penyelesaianpĕnyĕlĕsaian/pəɲələsaian/solution
merdekamĕrdeka/mərdeka/independence
tenteratĕntĕra/təntəra/soldier

Hyphens

Za'aba also introduced the use of hyphens to differentiate affixes or post-positional emphases from the infinitives.[25]

WilkinsonZa'abaIPAMeaning
dijualdi-jual/didʒual/is sold
keretanyakĕreta-nya/kəretaɲa/his/her car
pergilahpĕrgi-lah/pərgilah/go!
di tamandi-taman/ditaman/at the park
ke tamanke-taman/kətaman/to the park
gollark: No, that's one of our older computers.
gollark: Wow, that'll definitely work.
gollark: There are uncountably infinitely many, so assuming a finite, nonzero sale price for each, I'll have uncountably infinite money.
gollark: I should make apioform NFTs to fund our operations.
gollark: *Bounded* Solomonoff induction? Because that isn't really very good.

References
  1. Leow 2018, p. 89
  2. Asmah Omar 1989
  3. Leow 2018, p. 89
  4. Leow 2018, p. 208
  5. Muhammed Salehudin Aman 2019
  6. Asmah Omar 1989
  7. Leow 2018, p. 89
  8. Asmah Omar 1989
  9. Muhammed Salehudin Aman 2019
  10. Asmah Omar 1989
  11. Leow 2018, p. 89
  12. Asmah Omar 1989
  13. Asmah Omar 1989
  14. Asmah Omar 1989
  15. Leow 2018, p. 89
  16. Leow 2018, p. 89
  17. Asmah Omar 1989
  18. Leow 2018, p. 89
  19. Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan & Mikami 2007, p. 139
  20. Asmah Omar 1989
  21. Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan & Mikami 2007, p. 139
  22. Asmah Omar 1989
  23. Leow 2018, p. 89
  24. Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan & Mikami 2007, p. 139
  25. Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan & Mikami 2007, p. 139

Bibliography
  • Asmah Omar (1989), "The Malay Spelling Reform", Journal of the Simplified Spelling Society, archived from the original on 2011-08-26
  • Muhammed Salehudin Aman (2019), Sinopsis Sistem Ejaan Bahasa Melayu, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
  • Leow, Rachel (2018), Taming Babel: Language in the Making of Malaysia, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1316602607
  • Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan; Mikami, Yoshiki (2007), "Orthographic Reforms of Standard Malay Online: Towards Better Pronunciation and Construction of a Cross-language Environment", Journal of Universal Language, 1
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