While it is true that I would like to focus more on speaking than writing, the latter is nonetheless an important metric of my progress and understanding of the language and one that I have not ignored. The process of writing itself in Malay is fairly straightforward, given the romanization of Malay orthography and the relatively few outliers in spelling ('c' pronounced as 'ch', e.g.). One consistent writing piece has come in the form of my assignments from Melisa, typically in the form of a 5-7 sentence paragraph detailing a certain topic or set of topics. This has been a great way not only for me to grasp my understanding of the concepts, vocabulary, and structures that I am learning, but also to connect older grammar points or vocabulary and be adventurous in trying to link everything together. Malay is a language that does not have a lot of diphthongs or the like, so writing actually helps me gain a better understanding of if I am pronouncing it correctly in spoken form (funnily enough). Writing by hand has been very effective and I have heard that it allows for a better grasp of material compared with typing, so I will keep this up.
In terms of creating both simple and complex sentences, one word has been particularly useful: yang. This words means "which/who/that is" and can easily be included in sentences to add detail and complexity (e.g. "under the tree is a bird that is red"). I have also been learning conjunctions and words to more fluidly link two sentences or clauses together so I am not writing in short and blunt sentences, making my handle of the language stronger as well. My Malay textbook is essentially a workbook, so I write all over it and can often learn new words, patterns, or usages from simply reading the instructions preceding the exercises. In addition, Melisa and I often try to make use of typing Malay during our meetings so I can practice my listening skills and see this translates in the act of typing. Much of this use of the computer includes searching for certain words, concepts, or ideas, typically in image or video form, to further my understanding of the language.
Handwriting was a very important aspect of learning Chinese, which included a lot of memorizing and learning radicals and stroke order, but handwriting in Malay has a different function because its orthography is romanized. I will continue to use it as an effective counterbalance to my spoken language skills and as a way of gauging my grasp and understanding of key terms and concepts.
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