A Lesson on Manglish (Malaysian English or Mangled English)

Despite being traditionally based on British English , Manglish (Malaysian English) has been strongly influenced by American English. I have come to realize that Malaysians are unaware of the differences between British and American English (I just use spell check on EVERYTHING!). 

For example, centre (British) is typically spelled center (American), although colour and color are used interchangeably. In schools and in the print media, Malaysians default to spelling the British way, i.e. "vapour" instead of "vapor" and"organise" instead of "organize"

It can often be confusing, as Malaysians tend to omit articles and anything they deem unnecessary to a sentence. In other words, keep it short and sweet!

Here are a few examples:

Malaysian                                                              American

Why you so like that one?                                       Why are you behaving in that way?

Eat, eat, eat.                                                          Go on and have your meal.

Eh, faster lah.                                                        Can you please pick up the pace?

You can or not?                                                      Can you do it or not?

Vocabulary also varies tremendously.

Word / Phrase	American / British meaning	Malaysian meaning
@	short for 'at'	an indicator that the name following is a nickname or alias, usually used by Chinese, e.g. for Tan Siew Khoon @ Jimmy, his nickname/alias is Jimmy. However, with the increased use of e-mail in recent years, especially in urban and demographically younger areas, the primary meaning of the symbol is now the same as in British/American English.
driver	anybody who drives / is driving	a personal chauffeur. The wealthy and the elite often employ a "driver" who is essentially a butler that also doubles up as a chauffeur.
last time	on the previous occurrence	previously (often used instead of "used to", for example: "Last time I was a manager" when the meaning is "I used to be a manager")
a parking lot	a parking garage (from US English)	a parking space, e.g. "That new shopping mall has five hundred parking lots."
photostat	a historical copying machine using a camera and photographic paper, which was superseded by the photocopier.	a photocopier; also used as a verb meaning "to photocopy"
slang	informal spoken language, often unique to a particular country or social group	accent, e.g. "I cannot understand your slang", when the real meaning is "I cannot understand your accent"
an alphabet	a set of letters used in a language	a letter of the alphabet, e.g. "The word 'table' has five alphabets."
bungalow	A small house or cottage usually having a single storey and sometimes an additional attic story that is free standing, i.e. not conjoined with another unit.	A mansion for the rich and/or famous; or a fully detached house, regardless of the number of floors it has. Lately, some housing developers have taken to using terms such as "semi-detached bungalow".
to follow	to go directly after e.g. "John is driving; follow him", means go in your own car, behind John's car	to go with, accompany e.g. to go with John in his car.

  (Wikipedia, you hit the nail right on the head with these examples!)

Just doing research on all these has brought back so many memories. I suddenly feel i've been put on familiar ground again. Nothing can express how grateful I am to be Malaysian! 

The Adorable Lah - Authentically Malaysian

If you are walking the streets of London or sipping coffee at a sidewalk cafe somewhere in Paris, and you hear in plain English, 

"So expensive-lah" or "So hot-lah", just turn around in the direction of the voice and I guarantee you that ten out of ten, the person who just dotted his or her sentence with a lah is Malaysian. 

If you are feeling homesick in a foreign land and suddenly you overhear a conversation full of Yes-lahs and No-lahs, your homesickness can be assuaged for it sounds just like home and the speakers can only be Malaysians (or Singaporians, which is close enough when you're homesick!). 

Just where did this lah come from and how did it creep into the English spoken by Malaysians? It is inevitable that Malaysians, living in a multi-lingual, multi-cultural setting will inter-borrow phrases and expressions from one language to another. Thus the very unique lah, used only in this part of the world (Malaysia and Singapore), could have originated from Malay, or any of the local dialects or languages.

Only a Malaysian born and bred in this country will know how to use the lah. A Malaysian who has been away for a while can slip back into using it quite comfortably but a Malaysian who has been away for a long time, say, seven to ten years, with little contact with fellow Malaysians, may find great difficulty as to exactly when to pepper his speech with lah. Just going lah, lah, lah every first or third word doesn't quite qualify. Malaysians will be able to sniff you out in a second and tell that somehow, sorry-lah, you just don't make the grade. 
For example, try saying the following sentence aloud:

"I-lah tell you-lah how-lah many times-lah but-lah you never-lah listen."
Any true blue-blooded Malaysian would cringe and tell straight-away that any person who speaks like that is an impostor.

Foreigners newly arrived in this country will find it quite baffling at first. Sure, these Malaysians are speaking English but what on earth is that strange musical note that they place at the end of their sentences every so often?? It does take some getting used to. An article in the Malaysian Trade Quarterly (Jan-March 1995) states that many foreigners have the mistaken notion that adding a lah to the end of every sentence lets them get away with a fairly good impression of a Malaysian accent.

This is hardly the case. The use of lah is, in fact, quite an art for those who were not born into the language. Here are a few sophisticated variations of its use:

"No fun-lah, you!" (You're really no fun at all!)
"You see-lah, like that also you cannot do!" (Can't you even do such a simple thing?)
What are the functions of the lah? What are the rules regarding its usage? How would you teach your orang puteh friend or spouse how to use the lah if he demands desperately for some help along the way ? Well, I'm afraid one can't learn it formally. Like sambal belacan or cincalok, it's an acquired taste. You've got to be around for sometime, and gradually you'll acquire a taste for it.

If you think the lah is baffling enough as it is, Malaysians have more tail words up their sleeves or in this case, off their tongues. A great favorite is the 'aaa', which has an entire repertoire of meanings, depending on how it is used. A simple 'thank you' to a Malaysian may sound too curt and most Malaysians, in informal settings, would prefer to say 'thank you-aaa' as it sounds softer and friendlier. A 'Yes lah' and a 'Yes-aaa' response are also subtly different in meanings.

If someone were to ask you a question such as, "Are you coming along?", a 'Yes-aaa' response would be inappropriate whereas a 'Yes-lah' response would be acceptable.

If your friend informed you that he's bought a brand new car, then a "Yes-aaa" response would be fine, meaning "Oh really?" The "yes-aaa" could cover a whole gamut of responses ranging from being a question to a reply dripping in sarcasm depending on the intonation.

Another popular tail word is one, as in,
"I don't know what to say-lah. This kind of things very hard to say one." or
"I'm so fed-up one, you know. I explain how many times in simple English, still cannot get through one."

Sometimes if you use one once too often, it can backfire. Your listener may find it hard to resist and may pun on your one. For example:

Lady: "I don't want one, but he wants so what can I do?"
Friend: "You don't want one aaa, but you want two, yes or not?"

Yet another tail word is man, as in "I say, man. Long time no see" or "I donno, man." This is an interesting adaptation from American culture rather than an influence of the mother tongues. Malaysians can add man to any sentence arbitrarily and even to exclamations such as "Wah man! Solid!"

To confuse things further, sometimes, Malaysians don't use single but double tail words at the end of a sentence, for example, "He's so bodoh (stupid) one lah!" or "Why your dressing so Ah Beng one-aaa?"

And sometimes tail words do not appear at the end of sentences but somewhere in the middle, such as in sentences where the subject is delayed, for example: "So action one man he!" or "Terror one lah she!"

Malaysians generally speak two types of English -- proper English particularly in business and professional settings, and Malaysian English with its charming and unique expressions. 

Just as the French have their oo-la-la, the Italians their Mama-mia, and the English, endearing expressions like "By Jove" or "Well, jolly good", may our Malaysian lah live a long and healthy life! Say yes-lah to that! 

A Matter of Time

Time -  Plan, schedule or arrange (when) something should happen or be done. 

It's funny how different cultures view time differently. Some cultures see it as rude to be too early. Others see it rude to be late. Some expect you to be late.

In America, events generally start on time. People are expected to be on time at events. In Malaysia, everyone is expected to be late. 

Never trust a Malaysian when he or she says, "I'm on my way". BE SURE to clarify their definition of "on the way" because more often than not, they probably have not even left for the destination.

Even at formal meetings and events, Malaysians generally take the "grace period" of 20 minutes. 

For example, if a wedding dinner is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. and you are there anywhere before 8 p.m., be prepared to be full on peanuts  or tea by the time the first meal is ever served.

Malaysians are generally a laid back society. We do not plan every second of the minute of the day. We tend to go with the flow. To be honest, it sometimes scares me how laid back we are.

Hanging out with Malaysians here have proven that over and over again. When Malaysians meet, they gather in a circle and talk. Most likely nothing substantial. But we talk and talk and talk, almost always for hours. It's what we call "lepak time" (hanging out time). 

It's nice some of the time, and wasteful most of the time. But hey, maybe it's why we know each other so well. It builds bonds and gives you a sense of belonging. So maybe if you're wasting time, you might as well do it with Malaysians.

Mr. Dave Rhea

Mr. Dave Rhea.

I had the privelege of hearing Mr. Dave Rhea speak at my blogging for journalist class yeaterday. Mr. Rhea has made me realized the importance of being flexible. Mr. Rhea talked about his advantage being so internet savvy that causes him to have more job security because he is more "portable".

To be frank, I never thought much about online journalism. In classes I have learned a lot about the benefits and how the generations are moving towards the internet even for news. However, I always saw myself working at a newspaper on more of the "traditional side" where my work appears on dead trees, as Dr. Clark class it, rather than it being posted on a void.                                                         

Mr. Rhea mentioned that he finds himself being underpaid as a journalist and is always finding ways to make money through journalism. This has also made me start thinking about my future and ways I can equip and hone my skills to be able to not just focus on one, but different aspects of journalism, which can include photography, editting, and more.

Mr. Rhea also talked about the importance of content. He said something that surprised me, which was the fact that spelling and grammar can be overlooked, provided the content is good. I have to say that I somewhat disagree with that. As much as a fully agree with the importance of content, I think that grammar, spelling and sentence structure differentiates a good writer from a bad one. Good sentence structure and grammar often goes hand in hand with content.

All in all, I enjoyed Mr. Rhea's talk in our class. I will certainly try to work on my content, as well as continue to proof read my work to ensure the best results both content-wise and language-wise.

Dr. Hochenauer of Okie Funk

Recently, on October 4th, Dr. Clark invited a guest speaker on my blogging class to give the students a little more insight on blogging. Dr. Hochenauer, is a professor at UCO who not only teaches a class on blogging, but also has a "liberal-based" blog called Okie Funk. He received anonymous threats from readers as well as co-workers who felt that his messages and opinions were too "out there" for the calm Oklahoma.

However, Dr. Hochenauer persevered and is getting more known within the community. Although it has not been said that he has stopped received threats, it might be reasonable to say that his readers are getting used to his radical ideas.

One thing I admire about Dr. Hochenauer is that his blog hasd a purpose. He does not choose to be liberal just for the sake of being a rebel. Dr. Hochenauer wishes to educate Oklahomans and hopes that the people today will take a stand and not hold on to the stand of the older generation just because they "were told so".

This is something that I have taken from Dr. Hochenauer. I believe that often times, I choose to be extremely careful with what I post. I was born in a conversative home and was taught certain values. I find myself censoring because I am afraid of my family back home telling me that I have "changed". The truth is, I have changed because change is inevitable.

Dr. Hochenauer has taught me not to just go witht he flow. I have to take a stand.