Learn Hardcore Malay: Guru bercakap dengan mikrofon di dalam dewan. - The teacher speaks with a microphone in the hall.

Whether it’s specific or general is understood from context. If you really need to specify, you use other words (e.g. guru itu = that/the teacher; dewan ini = this/the hall), but you don’t have a direct equivalent of English “the”.

How do we know whether guru means “teacher” (singular) or “teachers” (plural)?

We don’t know just from the word itself. Malay nouns usually don’t change form for plural.

guru = teacher / teachers
dewan = hall / halls

To make it clearly singular, you can add a classifier:

seorang guru – one teacher (a teacher)

To make it clearly plural, you can:

repeat the noun: guru-guru – teachers
or use a number or quantifier: banyak guru – many teachers

In this sentence, Guru bercakap…, most readers will assume one teacher unless context says otherwise.

What does the prefix ber- in bercakap do? Why not just cakap?

cakap is the root meaning “speech / to speak / to talk”.
The prefix ber- turns it into an intransitive verb bercakap = “to speak, to talk”.

ber- + cakap → bercakap (to speak / is speaking)

In careful or standard Malay, bercakap is more “proper”.
In casual speech, people often just use cakap as a verb:

Guru cakap dengan mikrofon… (colloquial)

What is the difference between bercakap, cakap, berkata, and berbual?

All involve speaking, but with different uses:

bercakap – to speak / talk (quite general, neutral)
- Guru bercakap dengan mikrofon. – The teacher is speaking with a microphone.
cakap – root word; in informal speech, used like “talk / say”
- Dia cakap dia penat. – He/She says he/she is tired.
berkata – to say (usually followed by what is said, more formal / literary)
- Guru itu berkata bahawa… – The teacher said that…
berbual – to chat, to have a conversation (two-way, casual)
- Mereka berbual di kafe. – They are chatting at the café.

In your sentence, bercakap is appropriate because it’s about speaking (probably to an audience) using a microphone.

Why is there no word for “is” (as in “is speaking”)?

Malay usually does not use a separate verb like “is/are/am” before action verbs.

Guru bercakap… can mean:
- The teacher speaks
- The teacher is speaking
- The teacher was speaking, etc.

Tense and aspect (present, past, continuous) come from context or time words, not from changing the verb:

Guru sedang bercakap… – The teacher is speaking (right now; sedang = currently)
Tadi guru bercakap… – Earlier the teacher was speaking.
Esok guru akan bercakap… – Tomorrow the teacher will speak.

What does dengan mean here, and why does it mean “with a microphone”?

dengan is very flexible. It can mean:

with (together with someone)
- Saya pergi dengan kawan. – I go with a friend.
with / using (an instrument or tool) – this is the use in your sentence
- Guru bercakap dengan mikrofon. – The teacher speaks with / using a microphone.

So dengan mikrofon here means that the microphone is the tool/instrument used for speaking.

Could dengan mikrofon also mean “with the microphone” as a companion (like talking with the microphone)?

In theory, dengan can mean “together with”, but in this context Malay speakers will naturally understand it as using the microphone.

When dengan + thing that is a tool (e.g. pen, knife, computer, microphone), it almost always means “using” that thing.
If you wanted to say the teacher is actually talking to the microphone (like addressing it), you’d say something more explicit, e.g.
- Guru bercakap ke dalam mikrofon. – The teacher is speaking into the microphone.

So dengan mikrofon is not confusing for native speakers; they automatically interpret it as “using a microphone”.

Why dengan mikrofon instead of menggunakan mikrofon? What’s the difference?

Both are correct:

Guru bercakap dengan mikrofon.
Guru bercakap menggunakan mikrofon.

Difference in feel:

dengan mikrofon – shorter, more natural in everyday speech, still standard.
menggunakan mikrofon – literally “using a microphone”, feels a bit more explicit or slightly more formal.

Meaning is effectively the same: the teacher is speaking using a microphone.

Why di dalam dewan and not just di dewan or dalam dewan?

All three are possible, but with slightly different emphasis:

di dewan – at/in the hall (very common, neutral)
dalam dewan – in(side) the hall
di dalam dewan – literally “at in the hall”, but used as a set phrase = inside the hall, a bit more explicit.

di is the general “at / in / on” location preposition.
dalam means “in / inside”.

di dalam together emphasizes being inside the space, not just at the general location. In normal use:

Guru bercakap di dalam dewan. – The teacher is speaking inside the hall.
Guru bercakap di dewan. – Very similar meaning; many speakers would say it this simpler way.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

Malay word order is usually Subject – Verb – (Object / other details), similar to English.

Guru – Subject (the teacher)
bercakap – Verb (speaks / is speaking)
dengan mikrofon – details of manner/instrument (with a microphone)
di dalam dewan – place (in the hall)

Order: Guru (S) bercakap (V) dengan mikrofon (details) di dalam dewan (place).

You can move the place phrase to the front for emphasis:

Di dalam dewan, guru bercakap dengan mikrofon.
– In the hall, the teacher is speaking with a microphone.

This is still natural Malay.

How would I say “The teacher is speaking into the microphone in the hall” more literally?

To emphasise “into the microphone”, Malay speakers often say ke dalam mikrofon or ke mikrofon:

Guru bercakap ke dalam mikrofon di dalam dewan.
– The teacher is speaking into the microphone in the hall.

or a bit simpler:

Guru bercakap ke mikrofon di dalam dewan.

Your original sentence Guru bercakap dengan mikrofon di dalam dewan is still fine and commonly used; it’s just less literal about “into”.

Is this sentence formal or informal? How would people say it in casual spoken Malay?

Guru bercakap dengan mikrofon di dalam dewan. is standard and neutral, suitable for writing or careful speech.

In casual spoken Malay (especially in Malaysia), you might hear:

Cikgu tengah cakap pakai mikrofon dalam dewan.

Changes:

Guru → Cikgu (more everyday word for teacher)
sedang omitted but tengah used informally for “in the middle of doing”
cakap instead of bercakap
pakai mikrofon (literally “wear/use a microphone”) instead of dengan mikrofon
dalam dewan instead of di dalam dewan (simpler)

How would I make the sentence clearly past or future?

Add a time word or a tense marker; the verb bercakap itself doesn’t change.

Past:

Tadi guru bercakap dengan mikrofon di dalam dewan.
– Earlier, the teacher spoke with a microphone in the hall.
Semalam guru bercakap dengan mikrofon di dalam dewan.
– Yesterday, the teacher spoke…

Future:

Esok guru akan bercakap dengan mikrofon di dalam dewan.
– Tomorrow, the teacher will speak…
Nanti guru akan bercakap dengan mikrofon di dalam dewan.
– Later, the teacher will speak…

akan is a common marker for future, but often Malay just uses a time word without akan and relies on context.