Terengganu Malay

Terengganu Malay
Base Tranung Bahasa Melayu Terengganu بهاس ترڠݢانو
Native to	Malaysia
Region	Terengganu, Mersing and Tanjung Sedili (Johor), Kuantan (Pahang)
Ethnicity	Terengganuan Malay
Native speakers	1.1 million (2010)[citation needed]
Language family	Austronesian Malayo-Polynesian Malayic Terengganu Malay
Dialects	Coastal Terengganu Inland Terengganu
Writing system	Latin script, Arabic Script (Jawi)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Linguist List	zlm-coa (coastal)
	zlm-inl (inland)
Glottolog	tere1283
Linguasphere	33-AFA-ca
Regions with Coastal Terengganu majority (Dark Blue) Regions with Inland Terengganu majority (Blue) Regions with Coastal Terengganu minority (Light Blue)

Terengganu Malay (Malay: Bahasa Melayu Terengganu; Terengganu Malay: Bahse Tranung/Ganu) is a Malayic language spoken in the Malaysian state of Terengganu all the way southward to coastal Pahang and northeast Johor. It is the native language of Terengganu Malays and highly localized Chinese Peranakan (locally known as "Mek and Awang") community as well as a second language among the smaller Indian minority.

The language has developed distinct phonetic, syntactic and lexical distinctions which makes it mutually unintelligible for speakers from outside the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, especially those who speak Standard Malay/Malaysian.^[1][2] Terengganu Malay still shares close linguistic ties with neighboring Kelantan and Pahang of which it forms under the umbrella term of "East Coast Peninsular Malayic languages" but maintain its own features distinct from both Pahang and Kelantan-Patani.^[3][4]

Terengganu Malay also coexists with two closely related Malayic varieties. In the districts of Besut and northern part of Setiu, the majority of the population speak a variant of Kelantan-Pattani Malay, but in recent years many people from southern Terengganu started to migrate into these two districts and both variants now coexist with each other.^[5] In the inland mukim of Pasir Raja, Dungun, several villages still speak a variant of Ulu Tembeling dialect of Pahang Malay, locally known as Pasir Raja dialect.^[6]

Terengganu Malay is considered to be the most recognisable identity of the state. This can be seen in many local television dramas, movies, songs, poems and religious sermons^[7] which emphasize the usage of Terengganu Malay.^[8] Radio stations in Terengganu whether public (Terengganu FM) or privately owned (Hot FM and Molek FM) mainly use Terengganu Malay in its broadcast alongside standard Malaysian. Recent years show an increase of awareness of the uniqueness of Terengganu Malay, such as the increasing use of Terengganu Malay in shop signs and recently the publication of a Hulu Terengganu Malay dictionary.^[9]