[1][2] Terengganu Malay still shares close linguistic ties with neighboring Kelantan and Pahang of which it forms under the umbrella term of "East Coast Peninsular Malayic languages" but maintain its own features distinct from both Pahang and Kelantan-Patani.

This can be seen in many local television dramas, movies, songs, poems and religious sermons[7] which emphasize the usage of Terengganu Malay.

It is because the majority of the people in those areas are descendants of Pahang migrants that migrated into Dungun more than a hundred years ago.

Based on 2013 research, the division of Terengganu Malay are as follows[12] Although essentially a spoken language with no standard orthography, Terengganu Malay is widely used in folk songs, poems, and also in mainstream and local media (such as local radio stations, dramas and movies).

"Dondang Dendang", a 1999 song composed by Suhaimi Mohd Zain and recorded by traditional singers Noraniza Idris and Siti Nurhaliza, contains an old Terengganuan Malay poem in the bridge based on the traditional Terengganu dance called Rodat.

Consonant inventory of Terengganu Malay[13] /a/ followed by a nasal consonant changes to /ŋ/: ayam ايم ('chicken') becomes ayang; makan ماكن ('to eat') becomes makang /a/ at the end of syllables changes to /ɔʔ/: minta مينتا ('to ask') becomes mitok /ah/ changes to /ɔh/: rumah رومه ('house') becomes rumoh /a/ changes to /ə/: saya ساي ('I') becomes saye /i/ changes to /iŋ/: sini سيني ('here') becomes sining /ua/ changes to /ɔ/: buaya بوايا ('crocodile') becomes boye /aj/ becomes /aː/: sungai سوڠاي ('river') becomes sunga /aw/ becomes /a/: pisau ڤيساو ('knife') changes to pisa /ia/ before a nasal vowel changes to /ijaŋ/: siam سيام ('Siam') becomes siyang /ia/ changes to /ɛ/: biasa بياسا ('once') becomes bese /s/ and /f/ at the end of syllables changes to /h/: malas مالس ('lazy') changes to malah /m/ and /n/ at the end of syllables changes to /ŋ/: hakim حاكيم ('judge') changes to hakeng /r/ changes to /ɣ/: orang اورڠ ('person') becomes oghang Final consonants are often only pronounced as a glottal stop.

Bulang ('moon') vs. bːulang ('many months'); katok ('to strike') vs. kːatok ('frog'); siku ('elbow') vs. sːiku ('hand tool') Several comparisons between Standard Malay and Terengganu Malay with English translations: Starang baroh means 'really', a popular phrase used to show or express something that is really serious or true.

[clarification needed] Terengganu Malay: Budok-budok lening koho dok kena makanang tradisi, sohbeng kate kuey, nasik pong ttuko bimbo lagi, nok wak guane makanang lening modeng blake, oghang mude tak mboh belajo duk ngarak ke oghang tue sokmo.

Malaysian: Budak-budak sekarang semakin tak kenal makanan tradisi, jangan kata kuih, nasi pun masih tertukar lagi, nak buat macam mana makanan sekarang semua moden, orang muda tak nak belajar selalu mengharap ke orang-orang tua.