Malay
In Singapore, the 'Malay' language is popularly known by the locals as the "bahasa Melayu". The Malay language or the "bahasa Melayu" belongs to the Austronesian family of languages. The Austronesian language is generally spoken by the inhabitants of the Pacific island and by the people of the South-east Asia. This ancient language is rated at par with the Uralic and the Indo-European family of languages. This language is also used by the Malay population residing on the Borneo coast, Riau islands, and Sumatra peninsula, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. Malay is uniquely similar to the 'Indonesian' language. Malay has been awarded the status of an official language in Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. It is believed that Malay originated in the 'Riau islands' and so the Malay language that is spoken in the Riau Islands has been accepted as the standard form of Malay in Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.
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