Chrita-Chrita Baba, which means Baba Stories in the Peranakan language, is a collection of short stories, written in both Baba Malay and English presented side-by-side on facing pages. The tales draw from Southeast Asian folklore, fea- turing both adaptations of familiar fairytales with a twist, and elements from local customs, traditions, and beliefs. All sto- ries, as with most folk tales of the past, revolve around the teaching of a moral lesson. Chrita-Chrita Baba is the spiritual successor to the Chrita Dulukala, the last collection of stories translated into Baba Malay in the early 1900s by the Peranakan Chinese. However, while those were faithful transla- tions of Chinese classics for the enjoyment of the non-Chinese speaking Baba Nyonya community, this book features both adaptations of old Nusantara folk tales and original stories for the enjoyment of the contemporary reader. The book was written in response to the Baba language being listed as anendangered language with fewer than 1000 fluent speakers inSingapore. With recent Baba language revitalisation efforts by the Peranakan community, new learners of the language will now have something to read and look forward to. The book will also be enjoyed by those who are interested in Peranakan culture, heritage languages, and local folklore.

This book documents modern Baba Malay, a critically endangered Austronesian-based contact language with a Sinitic substrate. Formed via intermarriage between Hokkien-speaking male traders and indigenous women in the Malay Peninsula, the language has less than 1,000 speakers in Singapore and less than 1,000 speakers in Malacca, Malaysia. This volume fills a gap for reference grammars of contact languages in general. Reference grammars written on contact languages are rare, and much rarer is a reference grammar written about a critically endangered Austronesian-based contact language. The reference grammar, which aims to be useful to linguists and general readers interested in Baba Malay, describes the language’s sociohistorical background, its circumstances of endangerment, and provides information regarding the phonology, parts of speech, and syntax of Baba Malay as spoken in Singapore. A chapter that differentiates this variety from that spoken in Malacca is also included. The grammar demonstrates that the nature of Baba Malay is highly systematic, and not altogether simple, providing structural information for those who are interested in the typology of contact languages.

This dictionary documents the vast storehouse of unusual words, phrases, idioms and expressions used by Baba Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and elsewhere. It aims to help younger Babas learn and maintain this unique language. An introduction to the language, a glossary and notes on cherki (a popular Baba game) are also included.

Precious Baba Malay is about to go extinct, but you can reverse the process by learning Baba Malay in clearly defined steps. This treasured language can be a part of your life, hopefully to be revived as it is spread through sharing this didactic method. Former assessor and examiner of the Higher School Certificate (NSW, Australia), Theresa Fuller, known fondly in the Peranakan community as Bibek Theresa, draws on her years of experience in the classroom to create the Baba Malay Today series - a range of chapter books with an easy-to-follow curriculum aimed at the beginner. Books 1 & 2 - Interrogatory Book 3 - Conjunctions Book 4 - Prepositions Book 5 - Antonyms