Manado Malay, or simply the Manado language, is a creole language spoken in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province in Indonesia, and the surrounding area. The local name of the language is , and the name Minahasa Malay is also used, after the main ethnic group speaking the language. Since Manado Malay is used primarily for spoken communication, there is no standard orthography. Manado Malay differs from standard Malay in having numerous Portuguese and Dutch loan words as a result of colonisation and having traits such as its use of as a first person singular pronoun, rather than as a first person inclusive plural pronoun. It is derived from North Moluccan Malay (Ternate Malay), which can be evidenced by the number of Ternate loanwords in its lexicon. For example, the pronouns ('you', singular) and ('you', plural) are of Ternate–Tidore origin. Phonology Vowels The vowel system of Manado Malay consists of five vowel phonemes. Consonants Manado Malay has nineteen consonants and two semivowels. Stress Most words in Manado Malay have stress on the pre-final syllable: However, there are also many words with final stress: Grammar Pronouns Personal Possessives Possessives are built by adding to the personal pronoun or name or noun, then followed by the 'possessed' noun. Thus has the function similar to English "'s" as in "the doctor's uniform". Interrogative words The following are the interrogative words or "w-words" in Manado Malay: Grammatical aspect ('to be') can be used in Manado Malay to indicate the perfective aspect, e.g.: = 'They already went down to Wenang' = 'We ate already' or 'We have eaten already' = 'me', 'myself', 'I' or 'we', 'us' = 'we', 'us'. Nasal final The final nasals and in Indonesian are replaced by the "-ng" group in Manado Malay, similar with Terengganu dialect of Malaysia, e.g.: (Indonesian ) = 'to eat', (Indonesian ) = 'to walk', (Indonesian ) = 'to shower', etc. Prefix "ba-" prefix The ber- prefix in Indonesian, which serves a function similar to the English -ing, is modified into ba- in Manado Malay. E.g.: (, 'walking'), (, 'swimming'), (, 'laying eggs') "ma(°)-" prefix ° = ng, n, or m depending on phonological context. The me(°)- prefix in standard Indonesian, which also serves a function to make a verb active, is modified into ma(°)- in Manado Malay. E.g.: (, 'hooking fish'), (, 'dancing'), (, 'searching'), (, 'cooking'), (, 'crying'). Influences Loanwords Due to the past