A Twitter user highlighted striking similarities between the Filipino, Indonesian and Malaysian languages in a viral TikTok video.
The video showed three people of different nationalities stating the equivalent words in Filipino, Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia.
The words “ill,” “duck,” “brain, “island,” “white,” “garlic,” and “crocodile” are either identical or closely alike in the three languages.
For example, Filipinos call “crocodile” “buwaya” while both Indonesians and Malaysians call them “buaya.”
“Just found out.. 3 related languages..” Twitter user Jalal Misai said.
Baru tahu.. Bahasa 3 serumpun.. pic.twitter.com/GCeUMeLXdh
— Jalal Misai (@jllmisai) July 6, 2023
These similarities can be expected because the languages used in the video belong to the same language family.
According to Britannica, the languages of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia are all Austronesian languages.
Meanwhile, amid the circulating video, some Twitter users added more words that are similar or nearly alike in different languages.
“Sinigang= singgang,” a Twitter user said.
“And anak!!! And mahal!!! Sayang but in a “alaaa sayangnya” way!!! Also ingat (take care/remember) CUTE!!! ALSOSOSOSO sinta/cinta(?) weeee,” another tweeted.
The Austronesian language family was formerly called Malayo-Polynesian, and also includes the tongues of Madagascar, Vietnam and Cambodia among others.
