ASEAN Life Vol: 3 June-July 2014 | Page 7
LANGUAGE LESSONS:
THAI AND MALAY
T
he ASEAN is composed
of 10 countries, each
with its own unique
language. In several countries in
the Southeast Asian region, one
country’s language is also spoken
in neighboring countries. Such
is the case of Thai and Malay.
While English is still the most
common language that facilitates
communication across the region,
it is noteworthy that neighboring
countries are trying to learn each
other’s language.
Within the region, between these
two languages, the more dominant
one is Malay. It is spoken by 40
million people compared to only
20 million Thai speakers. Overall,
the disparity is greater since
there are more than 180 million
Malay speakers against the 60
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million people that speak Thai.
Malay is the national language
in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia
and Singapore, while Thai is
the official language --- only in
Thailand. In terms of the other
countries speaking the language,
Malay is also spoken in the
Engli ͠()5