ng-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ng"

Malay

Etymology

According to Benjamin (2009), inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *N- (compare Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *maN-). By surface analysis, clipping of meng-.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ŋ-/^{[n 1]}
Hyphenation: ng-

Prefix

ng- (Jawi spelling ڠ-)

(informal, especially Sarawak) Alternative form of meng-.^{[n 2]}
‎ng- + ‎sesal → ‎nyesal (“to regret”)

‎ng- + ‎tangis → ‎nangis (“to cry”)

Usage notes

^
The form of this prefix changes depending on the initial consonant of the word stem it attaches to, similar to how to the meng- prefix does. With word stems that start with voiceless consonants, the initial consonant of the word stem is dropped, while with word stems that start with voiced consonants and ⟨c⟩, it is dropped for some while retained for others:
- (with ⟨p⟩ and ⟨b⟩-initial stems)
  - IPA^(key): /m-/
    ‎ng- + ‎pekak → ‎mekak (“to be noisy”)
    
    ‎ng- + ‎bohong → ‎mohong/mbohong (“to lie”)
- (with ⟨t⟩ and ⟨d⟩-initial stems)
  - IPA^(key): /n-/
    ‎ng- + ‎tangis → ‎nangis (“to cry”)
    
    ‎ng- + ‎dengar → ‎nengar/ndengar (“to hear”)
- (with ⟨k⟩, ⟨g⟩ and vowel-initial stems)
  - IPA^(key): /ŋ-/
    ‎ng- + ‎aku → ‎ngaku (“to admit”)
    
    ‎ng- + ‎kantuk → ‎ngantuk (“to be tired”)
    
    ‎ng- + ‎gosok → ‎ngosok/nggosok (“to rub”)
- (with ⟨s⟩-initial stems)
  - IPA^(key): /ɲ-/
    - ‎ng- + ‎sakat → ‎nyakat (“to sneer”)
- (with ⟨c⟩ and ⟨j⟩-initial stems)
  - IPA^(key): /ɲ-/
    - ‎ng- + ‎cuba → ‎nyuba/ncuba (“to try”)
      
      ‎ng- + ‎jadi → ‎nyadi/njadi (“to become”)
^
This prefix is more common in some informal varieties than in others:
- In most Malaysian varieties, while it is used with some words such as in the example words above (nangis, nyesal), often, with other words, the bare form without the prefix is used instead.
- In Sarawak Malay, it is much more common.

Derived terms

Malay terms prefixed with ng-

References

^ Geoffrey Benjamin (2009), “Affixes, Austronesian and Iconicity in Malay”, in Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde, volume 165, number 2/3, →JSTOR, page 297:
Nevertheless, almost all modern grammarians of Malay and Indonesian treat me- and -n- as parts of a single prefix (meN-) that generates a nasal mutation in the initial consonant of the verb stem (except when those stems begin with /-or r-,a point I return to later). This single-prefix analysis has been repeated in almost every account, even though it has long been known to students of comparative Austronesian that the me- and -n- elements have separate origins.

Mbya Guarani

Prefix

ng-

third-person reflexive possessive prefix: one's own
Oime ngoo py.
He went to his (own) house.