IMPRESSED by everything Malaysian, two New Zealanders shot a letter to
an english newspaper here after a fulfilling stay. The daily obliged by retaining “makan” and “kampung” – as per the original letter minus translations.

IMPRESSED by everything Malaysian, two New Zealanders shot a letter to an english newspaper here after a fulfilling stay. The daily obliged by retaining “makan” and “kampung” – as per the original letter minus translations. This newspaper then carried property advertisements with a mix of english and Malay catchphrases. “Lebih Syok” proclaimed the ad about its homes. Is this a manifestation of nonsensical language (gobbledygook)? Or rather, is this what being a Malaysian is about? english has long surpassed French as the global language partly by giving up nationalistic ownership and instead adopted an assortment of foreign words. They still do. Should a newspaper in New Zealand keep using “makan” or “syok” over a sustained period, compilers of english dictionaries will spot this and start collating citations for these two words. Who knows? harder to fathom is Malay television drama featuring lengthy english dialogues. If the underlying marketing idea is to capture a wider audience, there is a case for a more Malaysian cast and even doses of Chinese, Tamil and Kadazan words. It should not provoke fear of diminished Malay-ness, not when modern Malay parents prefer Arabic or Western substitutes for ibu or mak. I have friends who are Abu-yya (dad) to their children. “Papa” and “Daddy” are quite popular too. This is being spat out in a self deprecating way, for the writer is Baba and the spouse, Umi. Thus, even as the Malay dramas are allowing more english, some friends contend that a slice of Malays are actually trying to be more Arab in disposition. Then this go-Arab segment should be thrilled. The Arabs are here in numbers. A friend who goes to Mecca every year has been talking about this particular surau in Taman Ibu Kota where the congregation is mostly Arabs. Since the predominantly Malay surau network has not been liberated of political schism, he argues, he shall go to this Arab-centric surau for the ramadan prayers. In return, what are the Arabs learning from us? For one, they love our great outdoors and picnics. how about Malaysianspeak? Kamus Dewan should accommodate some Chinese and Tamil words to expand its reach and appeal. A healthy proportion of english words are already accepted as Malay. Not foolhardy this. Throughout history, languages with an infusion of words which are not indigenous tend to flourish in tandem with economic might. half of Greek words were drawn from egyptian or Semitic. Globalisation, in a parallel track, tends to hype up nationalistic fervour which is why Serbian language is written in Cyrillic script or Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda upgrading Swahili to the national language. The dichotomy is such the Chinese are big-time investors in Africa and, as the BBC first spotted in a July 2002 dispatch, some of its (Chinese) nationals are going for tongue operations to improve their english. The French too are learning english, despite a contrarian official stance on purity of its language. The aristocrats of Czarist russia spoke French but the French have gone about promoting their language by being rather insular. They first introduced a law against the encroachment of foreign words in 1911. Now back to Malaysia. “mandharam” is a Tamil word that the Malay psyche is accustomed to. It relates to the range of casting spells. Ang pow too deserves a shot at penetrating Kamus Dewan should we have global ambitions for our lingua franca. Consider this – some Bangladeshi traders in european cities had once worked in Malaysia. Will the legions of foreigh workers transmit Malay words into other cultures when they hop to the next job? Our economic prowess will be a determinant. Our words are great conversation starters in any case – apa khabar? syok, makan, durian. Are we some of the biggest perpetrators of a culture of caca merba (plethora of confusion)? Why not? Wi l l this justify the display of multi-lingual street signs in Penang? This, against a backdrop of a) an upwardly mobile english-speaking Chinese nationals straddling the world to learn about other cultures b) No Swahili or Malay or Arabic translations for Oxford Street in London c) the Malaysian landscape already wholly parades an array of customs, personas and words. The Penang move is curious. hopefully the non racialist, elegant traditions of sarong-clad, Jawireading Straits Chinese of Penang will be preserved. • Rashid Yusof, on sabbatical from 24-hour journalism, is looking to dredge up a range of arguments and a smattering of ideas for the public domain.

Source: Malay Mail – July 28, 2008