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Questions & Answers about Tanggungjawab bakeri itu ialah membantu komuniti sekitar.
What does tanggungjawab mean and how is it formed?
tanggungjawab means responsibility. It’s a compound of tanggung (to bear or carry) and jawab (answer or take responsibility), so literally what you bear in answering, effectively meaning responsibility.
Why is bakeri itu used to mean the bakery, and what role does itu play?
bakeri is a loanword from English bakery, and Malay has no standalone article the. Instead, the demonstrative itu follows a noun to mark it as definite: bakeri itu is literally that bakery, which in translation is simply the bakery.
Can itu be replaced with ini here? Would that change the meaning?
You could say bakeri ini to mean this bakery, but ini suggests closeness or something just introduced, whereas itu refers back to something already mentioned or understood. Swapping them shifts nuance from that bakery to this bakery.
What is the function of ialah in this sentence, and how does it differ from adalah or merupakan?
ialah is a copula used in formal Malay to link a subject and its definition or identity, similar to is in English definitions. adalah is more general and common in everyday speech, serving a similar linking role. merupakan means to constitute or form and often appears in formal writing. All three can sometimes be interchanged, but ialah carries a stronger sense of precise definition.
Could we omit ialah and still have a correct sentence?
If you drop ialah, the sentence becomes Tanggungjawab bakeri itu membantu komuniti sekitar, which reads as the bakery’s responsibility helps the surrounding community. That makes tanggungjawab the actor of membantu, changing the meaning. To express is to help, you need a copula like ialah (or adalah).
Why is membantu used instead of bantu?
membantu is the standard verb form with the active-voice prefix me-, meaning to help. bantu is the root or imperative form and does not function as a complete verb in a declarative sentence.
What does sekitar mean, and why does it follow komuniti?
sekitar means around or surrounding. In Malay, modifiers such as adjectives or descriptors generally follow the noun they modify. So komuniti sekitar literally reads community surrounding, i.e. surrounding community.
Could you say komuniti di sekitar instead of komuniti sekitar?
Yes. di sekitar is a prepositional phrase meaning around (something), so komuniti di sekitar translates as the community around it. Without di, sekitar functions as an adjective meaning surrounding.
Why is there no article like the in this Malay sentence? How do you know when a noun is definite?
Malay has no articles such as the or a/an. Definiteness is indicated through context, demonstratives (itu, ini), possessives (for example bakeri saya for my bakery) or quantifiers (satu, beberapa). In this sentence, itu marks definiteness.
How else might you express the same idea in formal or everyday Malay?
In formal writing you could use adalah in place of ialah:
Tanggungjawab bakeri itu adalah membantu komuniti sekitar.
In everyday speech you might rephrase and use a verb form:
Bakeri itu bertanggungjawab membantu komuniti sekitar – literally That bakery is responsible for helping the surrounding community.