THE TEACHING OF MALAY IN EUROPE 5^ 



Before the same committee the late Lord Cromer expressed 

 the view that almost as important as instruction in language is 

 instruction in " Oriental history, in religion, in all the social 

 customs and the tilings that cluster round religion." 



The result of the recommendations of the committee was the 

 establishment of the School of Oriental Studies at Finsbury Circus, 

 which was opened by His Majesty the King-Emperor in February 

 (1917). On the faculty is a Lecturer in Malay, and Mr. Q. 6. 

 Blagden, late of the Straits Settlements Civil Service, has been 

 appointed first Lecturer. 



The Report of the Committee has been published as an official 

 blue-book and affords very profitable reading to all interested in 

 Oriental languages. Sir Frank Swettenham is quoted as favouring 

 preliminary training in England for six months or a year for cadets 

 in our civil service. Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, also gave evidence, 

 especially on the study of Chinese. Mr. Addis, joint manager of 

 the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank gave evidence of the value of 

 Chinese in commercial circles and the rarity of the self-denial re- 

 quired to master the drudgery of learning it in men once launched 

 on business careers abroad. Mr. Ray writes a memorandum on the 

 study of Melanesian languages. 



The Report gives brief accounts of the instruction provided in 

 Malay at Paris and Leiden. 



Mr. Blagden has published the curriculum at Paris in Journal 

 50 of September 1908, and I have nothing to add to his account, 

 except that the PancJia-Tandaran and Cherita Jenaka are now 

 text-books, for pupils in their first year and that \ Papers on Malay 

 Subjects,' Skeat's ' Magic/ Wilkinson's ' Dictionary ' and my own 

 ' Malay Grammar ' are books consulted. In 1906-1907 there were 

 24 regular students of Malay at the Ecole Speciale des Langues 

 Orientales Vivantes. 



At Leiden are taught (a) a general knowledge of the Indone- 

 sian languages, (/;) Malay, (c) Javanese, (d) Old Javanese, (e) 

 Sundanese, (/) Madurese, (g) Minangkabau (//) Batak. Synop- 

 tical lessons are given in history, religion, geography and ethno- 

 graphy, especially for students destined for the Dutch colonial civil 

 service. The courses in Malay are designed for 



(i) candidates for the administrative civil service of the 

 Dutch East Indies 



(ii) doctors of law who desire to become magistrates in 

 the Dutch East Indies 



(iii) candidates for the degree of Doctor of Languages 

 and Literatures of the East Indian Archipelago. 



For students in groups (i) and (ii) a practical knowledge of 

 Malay is the aim of the course; for students in (iii) a more pro- 

 found comparative study of Malay and the general linguistics of 

 the Indian Archipelago. 



R. A. Soc, No, 75, 1917. 



