In Malay, You Make a Plural by Saying It Twice — Epoche A2
Malay and Indonesian have no plural ending like the English -s. To show that there is more than one of something, you usually say the word twice. Work through these examples and the rule will come out of them. buku = book. buku-buku = books. anak = child. anak-anak = children. rumah = house. rumah-rumah = houses. So far the pattern is simple: double the word. Now look at two more. tiga buku = three books. The word is not doubled. banyak buku = many books. Again, not doubled. Why the difference? Because in sentences 4 and 5 something else has already said "more than one". Tiga means three; banyak means many. Doubling the word as well would be saying the same thing twice. The rule Double the word when nothing else shows the number. Leave it alone when a number or a word like "many" is already there. Doubling can also do other jobs in Malay, so treat this as the plural use and not the only one. English marks the plural every time, even after "three" and "many". Malay marks it only when it is needed. A language without an -s is not a vague language; it is a language that does not repeat itself.