Creativity in the Classroom

In Malaysia, the standard language is called Bahasa Malaysia "Malaysian language". In Singapore, Brunei, southern Thailand, and the southern Philippines it is called Bahasa Melayu "Malay language", and in Indonesia it is generally called Bahasa Indonesia, "Indonesian language", though Bahasa Nasional "National Language" and Bahasa Persatuan/Pemersatu "Unifying Language" are also heard. However, in areas of Sumatra and Riau where the language is indigenous, Indonesians refer to it as Bahasa Melayu.The use of Malay throughout insular and peninsular Southeast Asia is linked to the rise of Muslim kingdoms and the spread of Islam, itself a consequence of growing regional trade. At the time of European colonization, the Johor-Riau Sultanate had ascendancy. Since the 15th century, the Johor-Riau dialect of Malay had been used as a lingua franca throughout the Malay Archipelago, as the similar dialect of Malacca had been used before it. When Johor-Riau was divided between British Malaya (Johor) and the Dutch East Indies (Riau), its language was accorded official status in both territories.
Indonesia pronounced Riau (Johor) Malay its official language (Bahasa Indonesia) when it gained independence. Since 1928, nationalists and young people throughout the Indonesian archipelago had declared Malay to be Indonesia's only official language, as proclaimed in the Sumpah Pemuda "Youth Vow." Thus Indonesia was the first country to designate Malay as an official language.
In Malaysia, the 1957 Article 152 of the Federation adopted Johor (Malacca) Malay as the official language (Bahasa Malaysia). The name "Malaysia", in both language and country, emphasized that the nation consisted of more than just ethnic Malays. In 1986 the official name was changed to Bahasa Melayu, but in 2007 it was changed back. "Bahasa Melayu" was defined as Brunei's official language in the country's 1959 Constitution.
The Indonesian and Malaysian dialects of Malay are separated by some centuries of