Cocos Malays have their
own language variety, which is called
Basa Pulu Kokos. The language is predominantly
Betawi Malay, a Jakarta creole mix of
Malay and
Indonesian (as well as
Javanese,
Sundanese in which the Betawi language derived from) with local pronunciation and elements of
English and
Scots being mixed in.
Phrases/vocabulary •
Selamat pagi – Good morning •
Selamat ténggah hari – Good Afternoon •
Selamat soré – Evening •
Selamat malam – Good Night •
Apa Kabar? – How are you? •
Kerangkeng – Food closet •
Ke kaca – Cute •
Kenes – Cute •
Baik – Good •
Jumpa lagi – See you later (See you again) •
Korsi – Chair (in Standard Malay, Kursi or Kerusi) •
Dostor – Doctor (in Standard Malay, Doktor) •
Esbok – Fridge (from English "icebox") •
Bok – Box (in Standard Malay, Kotak) •
Epel – Apple (in Standard Malay, epal or apel) •
Jukong – Cocos Malay boat (Junk ship came from this) •
Gue – Me (Derived from
Betawi Malay) •
Loh – You (Derived from
Betawi Malay) •
Cimni – Chimney (from English) •
Kot – Coat (from English) •
Hiju/Hijo – Green (in Standard Malay, hijau) •
Kalo – if (in Standard Malay, kalau) •
Emak/Mak – Mother (used to address females with children) •
Pak/Ayah – Father (First term used to address males with children. Second term is father) •
Paman/Man – Uncle (used to address males without children) •
Bibik – Aunty (that is younger than the parent) •
Nek/Nenek – grandma (used to address grandparents of any sex) •
Wak – respectful term to address woman with teenage children •
Oh tuhan ku! – Oh my god!
Addressing elders: • If Yusri is a teenager, then Mak Yusri (mother of Yusri) becomes Wak Yusri. • When Yusri who is now Man Yusri, has a child called Mustafa, Wak Yusri becomes Nek Mustafa and Man Yusri becomes Pak Mustafa. • If Mustafa who is Man Mustafa and a teenager, has a child called Budi, then Pak Mustafa becomes Nek Budi. ==See also==