Zainal Abidin Ahmad (writer)

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Ahmad is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Zainal Abidin. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.
Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri
Zainal Abidin Ahmad
PMN
زين العابدين أحمد‎
Born
Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad

(1895-09-16)16 September 1895
Batu Kikir, Negeri Sembilan, Federated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died23 October 1973(1973-10-23) (aged 78)
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Resting placeJalan Ampang Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur
Other namesZa'aba or Za'ba
Organisation(s)Malay Language and Literary Congress
MovementMalayan Academic Movement

Tan Sri Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad (Jawi: زين العابدين بن أحمد; 16 September 1895 – 23 October 1973)[1] or better known by the moniker Za'aba (alternatively spelled Za'ba), was a Malaysian writer and linguist. He modernised the Malay language with the publication of a series of grammar books entitled Pelita Bahasa in 1936 at the Sultan Idris Training College. The book contained guidelines in modernising the structure of classical Malay, transforming it into the language that is in use today: the most significant change was the switch from the conventional passive to the modern active form of syntax.[2]

He also devised the Za'aba Spelling system for Malay, which was adopted as the official orthography of Malay in Malaya and successor state Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei until when it was replaced by the New Rumi Spelling in 1972.

  1. ^ Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad (Za'ba). arkib.gov.my
  2. ^ Mohamed Pitchay Gani Bin Mohamed Abdul Aziz (July 2016). "Unveiling Secrets of the Past Through the Passage of Malay Scripts". BiblioAsia. Vol. 6, no. 2. National Library Board. pp. 19–23.