This guide adapts rules and examples from Microsoft’s 89-page Malay (Brunei Darussalam) Localization Style Guide (originally written for software/UI localization). The underlying linguistic rules apply universally — to legal contracts, medical documents, marketing copy, and any Malay (Brunei) translation work. Restructured and reformatted as a general Malay (Brunei) translator reference by ChatsControl.

Malay (Brunei Darussalam) Translation Style Guide — Voice, Word Choice & Common Pitfalls (Legal, Medical, Marketing, IT)¶

TL;DR¶

• Brunei Malay uses ‘awda’ as the formal second-person ‘you’ (mostly in advertising, signs, formal letters); ‘kamu’ and ‘awak’ are common among equals; ‘engkau’ and ‘hang’ are slang.
• Distinguish ‘kami’ (we, excluding listener) from ‘kita’ (we, including listener) — critical for legal, medical, marketing copy where reader inclusion changes meaning.
• Malay (Brunei) is not gender-marked — ‘dia’ covers both he/she; prefer gender-neutral nouns (pelakon for actor/actress, guru besar for headmaster/headmistress, pelajar for mahasiswa/mahasiswi).
• Avoid anglicisms (Lebih Warna → Warna Lain; pautan terpatah → pautan terputus; shutdown → mematikan); when English loan word exists alongside Malay term, prefer the Malay (keselamatan over sekuriti, belanjawan over bajet, sejagat over global).
• Reference authoritative Brunei Malay sources: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei (www.dbp.gov.bn), Dewan Eja Pro (www.dewanejapro.com) for spell-checking, brunet.bn.

Reference materials¶

Informative References:

• www.dbp.gov.bn (Institute of Language and Literature)
• www.brunet.bn

Proofing tool for Malay language: www.dewanejapro.com (Dewan Eja Pro, dictionary and spell checker for Malay language).

Language quality criteria¶

Localization and language quality. Localization is more than translation — it includes adaptation of the product to the language, standards, and cultural norms of a particular country or region, plus the requirements and expectations of a specific target group.

Accuracy, consistency, and clarity. Inconsistencies in the interface are the most obvious obstacles to efficient use of the localized product. Use only one translation for each concept, and use that translation consistently.

User target group. LIP content should accommodate the requirements of novice computer users who depend heavily on localized terminology.

Style and tone considerations¶

Bias-free language¶

Avoid biased language that refers to women, racial/ethnic, or minority groups. This includes patronizing representations, stereotypes, well-intended “euphemisms,” and offensive expressions.

Gender bias. Recognize audience sensitivity to male/female stereotypes. Use neutral language. Create balance when assigning roles. Use general terms (“people,” “users,” “persons”) instead of phrases mentioning two genders separately. Avoid sentences referring to a single person whose gender is unknown — rewrite to plural. Don’t use “he or she,” “him or her,” “his or hers.” Don’t use slashes to combine genders.

Malay (Brunei) is not gender-biased in general. Third person pronoun “dia” can be either “he” or “she.” English gender-specific role words like “actor”/”actress,” “headmaster”/”headmistress,” “chairman”/”chairwoman” translate to “pelakon,” “guru besar,” and “pengerusi” — applying to both genders.

Some examples of gender-specific Malay words like “mahasiswa” and “mahasiswi” (male/female college student) should be replaced with words that don’t distinguish (such as “pelajar”).

Ethnic and racial bias. Avoid involuntary bias including expressions/names considered inappropriate by the group represented. Use the name the group itself uses.

Consistency vs. idiomaticity¶

The language should have the “look and feel” of a product originally written in Malay (Brunei), using idiomatic syntax and terminology, while maintaining a high level of terminological consistency. If there’s a more idiomatic way of structuring a sentence, use Malay word order instead of translating word by word, as long as the key message is conveyed.

Tone and voice¶

The tone should mimic the source product but also be respectful. Avoid dialect-specific word forms.

First-person singular pronouns. Apart from “saya,” others are “aku” and “gua” (slang). Stick to “saya” — “aku” is used among friends/equals only.

‘We’ distinction. “Kita” means “you and me” (inclusive); “kami” means “we” excluding the listener.

Second-person pronouns. Malay (Brunei) has many words for “you”: “awda,” “awak,” “kamu,” “engkau,” “hang” (last two are slang). Stick to “awda” (more formal, used in advertising and signs) for “you” — though among equals “kamu” and “awak” are most frequent. In formal letter-writing “awda” is almost always used (when you don’t know the gender of the person).

Third-person pronouns. Malay (Brunei) has only one third-person singular pronoun, “dia” — either he or she.

Why this matters: Pronoun choice carries social weight. In marketing, using “awda” signals brand respect; in legal documents the formal register is mandatory; in medical communication for patient leaflets the polite “awda” makes the information feel cared-for; in software UI the consistent choice makes the product feel coherent.

Localization guidelines¶

Acronyms and abbreviations¶

Avoid extensive use of abbreviations. Don’t abbreviate words like “and,” “or,” “something,” “someone,” or any word users might not recognize.

Acronyms. Don’t include a generic term after an acronym if one of the letters already stands for that term:

• (-) bahasa HTML
• (-) nombor PIN
• (-) rangkaian LAN
• (-) protokol SMTP
• (-) protokol SNMP
• (-) sistem fail NTFS

Localized abbreviations and acronyms. In online help/documentation, spell out the words the first time the acronym is used. Include language-specific translation, US term, and acronym:

• Objek Capaian Data (Data Access Objects, DAO)
• Objek Data ActiveX (ActiveX Data Objects, ADO)
• Halaman Pelayan Aktif (Active Server Pages, ASP)
• Bahasa Penanda Hiperteks (Hypertext Markup Language, HTML)
• Protokol Pemindahan Fail (File Transfer Protocol, FTP)

Don’t create a new acronym from the language-specific translated term. Leave English acronym/abbreviation intact (DLL stays DLL).

Unlocalized acronyms. Many remain untranslated. Don’t localize or spell out: ANSI, ISO, ISDN, DOS, DSL, CD, DVD.

Common abbreviations:

Use non-breaking space (CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR) in abbreviations.

Measurement abbreviations:

Capitalization¶

If the first word in the English source string is capitalized, the corresponding Malay first word should also be capitalized (unless language-specific rules differ).

Don’t try to mimic over-capitalization. Use Malay (Brunei) spelling conventions. Over-capitalization is awkward.

In English software, first letter of a term (or each word) in menu titles, commands, options is uppercase. In Malay (Brunei) translation with more than one word, capitalize first letter of each word:

If these terms are used in context/messages, only capitalize first letter of the first word:

Proper nouns and copyrighted product names always capitalized: Windows Vista, Microsoft, Internet Explorer.

Compounds¶

Compounds should be understandable and clear. Avoid overly long or complex compounds.

Compounds with product/component names. Product names usually trademarked — remain unchanged. Additions added with hyphen or periphrastic construction:

Major product groups use these unlocalized portfolio names without hyphen/article: Microsoft Office System, Microsoft Windows Server System, Windows Mobile.

Compounds with acronyms, abbreviations, numerals:

English terminology and Malay (Brunei) language system¶

Microsoft uses the most widely-used terminology in computer press and among users. When incorporating English terms, follow Malay spelling, grammar, syntax rules.

Anglicisms. Avoid direct English structures in target.

Some English loanwords retain original spelling; most adapt to Malay (Brunei) spelling (metodologi for methodology, aset for asset, komputer for computer). When both Malay and English loan options exist, prefer Malay: keselamatan over sekuriti, belanjawan over bajet, sejagat over global.

Nouns. English loanwords integrated into noun class system. Consider motivation, analogy, frequency.

English loanwords inflect for number — Malay generally uses bare form or “para” prefix for plural:

Verbs and verb forms. English verbs as loan words follow target syntactic/morphological rules:

Error messages¶

Apply clarity, comprehensibility, consistency principles.

Standard phrases:

Articles and possessive pronouns. Be consistent.

Negation. Be consistent.

“Tak” is colloquial shorter version of “tidak.” “Tak” is used in informal writing; “tidak” in formal. Both acceptable; e.g., “invalid” → “tak sah.”

Placeholder text. Letters convey meaning: %d, %ld, %u, %lu = number; %c = letter; %s = string. Examples: “Checking Web %1!d! of %2!d!” → “Checking Web \ of \“; “INI file “%1!-.200s!” section” → “INI file “\” section.”

Syntactic ordering. Describe action before purpose. Avoid personified inanimate subjects; replace active with passive where possible.

Verbs. Be consistent. Omit “to be” if grammatical.

Transliteration of foreign words¶

Many borrowed words from Arabic, Dutch, Chinese, English. English/foreign words frequently accepted in common usage. Some retain original spelling; many adapt to Malay (Brunei) phonetic system.

Help and documentation guidelines¶

Headings. If English heading begins with a gerund, use nominalized form in Malay.

Capitalization. English headings capitalize many parts of speech. In Malay (Brunei), use normal Malay capitalization rules.

Lists and tables. Concise headings, even if original uses longer phrase.

Procedural syntax. Order interface terms top to bottom: menu → command → dialog box → dialog box controls.

Descriptors. Use descriptor (“menu,” “button,” “command”) only if original uses it or it’s needed for clarity.

“To do this and that, click on…” Rearrange to mention action first then purpose.

Measurements and numerals¶

Use numerals for all measurements. Avoid beginning a sentence with a numeral.

“My” terminology¶

Localization decided per-product. New trend favors leaving out the possessive pronoun completely (My TV → TV). Established terminology (e.g., My Computer in Windows) maintained for consistency.

Negation¶

Negative meaning through derivative marker:

Prepositions¶

Avoid anglicisms. Locative prepositions: “di,” “ke,” “dari” for places; “kepada” and “daripada” for things.

Noun phrases:

Punctuation¶

Comma. Standard Malay separator usage.

Numerals. Comma vs. period in numerals — use Malay conventions.

Lists and tables. Apply consistent punctuation.

Quotation marks. Standard usage.

System messages¶

Use clear, consistent messaging.

UI references¶

Access keys (hot keys). Underlined letters in menu options/commands/dialog boxes.

Checkboxes and radio buttons. Consistent translation.

Dialog box contents and titles. Consistent capitalization.

Menus, commands, buttons, interface text. Consistent.

Status bar messages. Short, clear.

Tool tips and InfoTips. Brief, helpful.

Welcome screens. Polite and inviting.

Version numbers¶

Always contain a period (Version 4.2).

FAQ¶

What’s the right register for modern Malay (Brunei) translation?¶

Respectful and natural, mirroring the source tone. Avoid dialect-specific forms. Use ‘awda’ as formal ‘you’ (advertising, signs, formal correspondence); ‘kamu’ or ‘awak’ among equals. Avoid slang ‘engkau’, ‘hang’, ‘aku’, ‘gua’.

How do I choose between ‘kami’ and ‘kita’ for ‘we’ in Brunei Malay?¶

‘Kami’ = we excluding the listener (Microsoft talking about ourselves). ‘Kita’ = we including the listener (you and me together). Wrong choice signals tone-deafness: ‘kami akan’ (we’ll handle it for you) vs ‘kita akan’ (you and us together) carries different relational implications across legal, marketing, and medical content.

How does Brunei Malay handle gender?¶

Malay is not a gender-marked language — ‘dia’ is both ‘he’ and ‘she’. English role nouns with gender (actor/actress → pelakon, headmaster/headmistress → guru besar, chairman/chairwoman → pengerusi) translate to gender-neutral Malay. Gendered Malay terms like mahasiswa/mahasiswi should be replaced by neutral pelajar.

Which English loanwords should I keep vs. translate in Brunei Malay?¶

Adapt to Malay phonology (computer → komputer, methodology → metodologi, asset → aset). When both Malay and English loan options exist, prefer Malay (keselamatan over sekuriti, belanjawan over bajet, sejagat over global). Don’t include a generic term after an acronym whose letters already include it (avoid: bahasa HTML, nombor PIN, rangkaian LAN, protokol SMTP).

Which Brunei Malay language references should I consult?¶

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei (Institute of Language and Literature) at www.dbp.gov.bn; brunet.bn for general references; Dewan Eja Pro dictionary and spell checker at www.dewanejapro.com for Malay-language proofing.

How should I handle anglicisms in Brunei Malay?¶

Avoid direct English structures — translate the meaning, not the words. “Lebih Warna” (literal “more colors”) is wrong; use “Warna Lain” (other colors). “Pautan terpatah” (literal “broken link”) is wrong; use “pautan terputus.” When translating “shutdown internet connection,” use “mematikan” (turn off) not “menutup” (close). Read the result in Malay — if it doesn’t sound natural, it’s likely an anglicism.

How do I handle error messages in Brunei Malay?¶

Use standard phrases consistently: Cannot/Could not → tidak dapat; Failed to → Gagal untuk; Not enough memory → Kekurangan ingatan; … is not available → tidak tersedia. Use “tak sah” for invalid (avoid “bad” unless physically broken). Avoid possessive marker “awda” (your) unless ownership is genuinely important. Use passive instead of “Attempt to…”; describe action before purpose. Be consistent with verbs and tense.

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Malay (Brunei Darussalam) (PDF)
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei
• Dewan Eja Pro — Malay spell checker