Talk:bamboo

IMHO, Bamboo in Malay Language is Buluh. Not Bambu. Any sources citing otherwise?
 * Yeah, AFAIK they call it "pokok buluh" (bamboo tree) in Malay. On the other hand, we Indonesians call it "bambu" or "pohon bambu" (bamboo tree). I guess they think what is Indonesian is automatically Malay :D Jiwa Matahari 08:14, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Nah it is originally Malay from the 16th century. It isn't an issue of Indonesian or Malay (Bahasa Malaysia) since those 2 countries havent even existed at that time. It was called mambu or samambu back then, then the Portuguese loaned it and it turned into 'bambu', which was later transformed to the english word 'bamboo'. But language evolved and some continue to be used and some dissapears, so in Malay nowadays, 'buluh' is more commonly used. Citation? Try the online etymology dictionary. --Danazach 16:44, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

That doesn't prove anything, you know. What I want to know is there a prove that Malay people ever use the word "bambu' ever in the history? And unlike westerners like you, I don't think Malay as an exclusive language of the Malaysian. Malay is a language use byt the Malay people who exist in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.

So I'm well aware that in the past there were no Indonesia or Malaysia. Malay is a part of Indonesian heritage, but not everything Indonesian is Malay. We have other languages and dialects in Indonesia which is unintelligible with Malay. For example "red" is "merah" in Malay (and Indonesian), but it's "abang" in Javanese and "beureum" in Sundanese. The Indonesian language is basically a standardized Malay, but it borrows a lot of words from our regional languages and dialects, so you can't just say a word in Indonesian is the same with Malay. For example, "butuh" means "need" in Indonesian and so it's used casually, but it means "penis" in Malay and so it's an illicit word.

so, can you prove "bambu" is a Malay word and not one of the many other regional languages and dialects of Indonesia?Jiwa Matahari 10:24, 21 August 2007 (UTC)


 * No no no you get me wrong Jiwa Matahari. I am replying to the first person's question about the etymology of the word bamboo. I think the issue and misunderstanding lies with the fact that people now associate the term 'Malay' with 'Bahasa Malaysia' instead of Malay as a generic term that is all encompassing (covering all the Malay dialect, eg Indonesian, Bruneian, Minangkabau Malay, Sarawak Malay, Kelantanese Malay, Riau Malay etc).
 * But I mean you got to admit that the only solution now is to either
 * a) claim it as 'Old Malay' or 'Classical Malay'?
 * b) create a new term that will be less biased and is more generic (covering all dialects)
 * c) using the least inaccurate term (hmm how to say this, something along the line of 'lesser of two evils' principle) that is not only more precise but also well known by the relevant audience, which would be either 'Indonesian' or 'Malay'
 * I couldnt be bothered to opt for a) or b) since I am not in a position to make such academic act considering I'm not a linguist. Why I say Malay is a more accurate term than Indonesian is because Malay is the term to identify that language even since I guess ages ago.


 * To claim that the word bamboo is from Indonesian is just wrong because the Portuguese who loaned it in the 16th century took it from Malay (not the Bahasa Malaysia Malay but the Malay of the 16th century) and I'm pretty sure they didnt call that language 'Indonesian' back then since they have never even heard of the word 'Indonesian' and the locals surely didnt say 'saya ngomong/cakap Bahasa Indonesia'.
 * I agree that you feel it is unfair that it seems that the Malaysian took all the limelight by using the word 'Malay' for their Malay dialect, but that is not the issue here. It is just historically more correct.
 * The website is already a reliable proof, because yes, it might be true that the Portuguese might have borrowed the word from some Malay dialect of people from 'today' Indonesia, but the language is called Malay back then, and that is all that matters in this aspect.


 * oh and btw, I'm not a Westerner. And I had my fair share of embarassment due to the difference in Bahasa Malaysia and Indonesian, as I had to recite the rosary prayers in Indonesian to a bunch of Malaysians. if you dont understand what I mean, try checking Doa Fatima under title Doa Rosario in Wikipedia Indonesia
 * --Danazach 23:50, 24 August 2007 (UTC)