Utilising Arabic-origin loanwords in teaching Malay as a foreign language

• Main Author: Uni, K.
• Format: Article
• Published: Universiti Putra Malaysia 2015
• Subjects: PJ Semitic; PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/19515/; http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/Pertanika%20PAPERS/JSSH%20Vol.%2023%20(3)%20Sep.%202015/08%20JSSH%201102-2014.pdf
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

After Sanskrit, Arabic is the second-largest donor language to the Malay vocabulary. Through a vocabulary survey containing 40 Arabic-origin Malay loanwords, this study examines the utility of explicit presentation of Arabic-origin Malay loanwords and their etymologies in teaching Malay as a foreign language to Arabic speakers. The participants included 20 Arabic-speaking students at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The participants averaged 24.4 correct answers and 17.6 newly learned vocabulary items. At 5% significance level, a clear significant difference was found in participants' scores before and after the presentation of the loanwords' Arabic etymologies (p = .000). This study concluded that the explicit presentation of Arabic-origin Malay loanwords containing one or more modified consonants or vowels and their etymologies benefits Arabic speakers who are learning Malay as a foreign language.