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 © Nmedia - Fotolia.com 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