The book traces the development of German acquaintance with the Malayan world and language as reflected in publications up to 1700. Beginning with a perusal of earliest cartographic renderings and a recapitulation of economic and political circumstances of German involvement in European Far-Eastern trade after 1500, the volume proceeds to systematically inspect 16th and 17th century German travellers' memoirs and translations of foreign sources. Relevant text passages are quoted in the original with English gloss. Citations of renderings of Malay items are accompanied by transliterations in modern spelling. Ultimate and intermediate sources and the routes by which various items reached the German public are followed, as well as virtual networks of information. Etymologies of numerous real or assumed Malayisms are elaborately reinspected, and corrected where necessary. The development in usage of the acquired Malayisms after 1700, reconstructed from entries in dictionaries and encyclopaedias and through direct quotation from German literature, is shown to reflect fluctuations in public attention towards features from exotic regions.

Totally revised new edition Focuses on the everyday language Practices all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing Clear grammar points Exercises and revision lessons to check progress

This book should be of immense interest to students of language in general. Whether they are studying the Malay language in change or researching on the relationship between language and cognition or indeed delving into aspects of historical and anthropological linguistics, this book promises to offer many valuable insights. Throughout the hook, there is an attempt to relate linguistic theory to the pragmatics of language development.

Just who are ‘the Malays’? This provocative study poses the question and considers how and why the answers have changed over time, and from one region to another. Anthony Milner develops a sustained argument about ethnicity and identity in an historical, ‘Malay’ context. The Malays is a comprehensive examination of the origins and development of Malay identity, ethnicity, and consciousness over the past five centuries. Covers the political, economic, and cultural development of the Malays Explores the Malay presence in Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, as well as the modern Malay show-state of Malaysia Offers diplomatic speculation about ways Malay ethnicity will develop and be challenged in the future