Talk:encik

Etymology of Indonesian & Malay "encik"/"encek"

@Xbypass Hi, I noticed that you added the entry and etymology for Indonesian encik. Me and some friends were wondering if there is always a difference in Indonesian encik and Indonesian encek or they can also be interchangeable spellings? and if they were all inherited from Malay encik? I made the entry for Indonesian encek using info from SEAlang Library Indonesia. Pls check my edits as a native Indonesian speaker. Also, is the "elder sister" definition from kakak also a regional thing? We have been recently looking into the Hokkien etymology of likewise cognates in the region, as per Tagalog Intsik, Cebuano Insik, Malay encik, Indonesian encek, Thai เจ๊ก (jék), Singaporean English Ah Chek. We think that these entries that have the meaning close to "(Chinese) uncle" are related to Hokkien 引叔 (ín-chek, “uncle”), which we have found some old and modern extant sources attesting to it. We were wondering why there is also a female definition in these sorts of entries? Is this like a regional definition that got applied after the original gender was lost and got generalized, and then maybe it became female in those regions?? or it has something to do with Tamil அக்கா (akkā)--Mlgc1998 (talk) 02:44, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

@Mlgc1998 Hi. Well, split of [i] and [e] is a recent phenomenon as this reflected in many cognates in Austronesian languages. So, while both are not interchangeable today, both are interchangeable in the past. In regard of definition, all definition are regional thing (such as Indonesian kakak) as the first one most likely prevalent in Malay-speaking area, while the third one prevalent in Javanese-speaking areas such as in my place. On the Hokkien 引叔 (ín-chek, “uncle”), I agree that is one part of the Indonesian word etymology with note of rareness of /í/ to [ə] vowel change. In other hand, I would rather attribute the female schoolteacher and elder sister sense to Hokkien 阿姊 (a-chí, a-ché, “elder sister”) with /a/ to [ə] vowel change, rather than to Hokkien 引叔 (ín-chek, “uncle”) or Tamil அக்கா (akkā). --Xbypass (talk) 05:38, 31 January 2022 (UTC)