most ethnic malays speak one or more of the many dialects (versions) of the malay language, a language of the austronesian family of languages. in indonesia, the standardized form of malay is indonesian (). in malaysia, the standard form is called malaysian (. about 80% of their words mean the same thing in either dialect. these naming policies were created to form national unities in the two countries instead of making the malays a ruling influence or the ruling class, something that it is in brunei. in brunei, thailand and singapore it is known as "bahasa melayu".