Proud to be a Malaysian? You ought too. We are just so innovative. Although we are using the Queen’s English since the colonial era, our own “English language” has also taken form. Manglish- the way Malaysian speaks English. Even at times I do not understand some of the Manglish, it just reduce the sentence to just a few words but carry lots of meaning.
English: The project we are working on is a failure. We are in trouble now!
Manglish: Die! Project die lah!
English: Can you please reverse your car?
Manglish: Gostan!
English: Please switch off the power for the lights.
Manglish: Off light!
English: Excuse me, can you please move aside? You are blocking the way.
Manglish: Hot water! Hot water!
English: He is a cunning man. Please be careful when you are dealing with him.
Manglish: Con man la! Don’t get con ok.
English: What would like to have for lunch sir?
Manglish: Makan (Eat)! Minum(Drink)!
English: Please be careful with those fragile goods. You will be held responsible for the condition.
Manglish: Careful aa.. If break you pay!
English: We ought to be positive in our thinking. Keep the motivation up!
Manglish:
Sometimes I wonder if we are to feel embarrassed or feel proud. Should we feel proud that we have our own identity and have our Manglish? Or should we feel ashamed of polluting the English language? Welcome to the boleh land!
1 comments:
Hahaaha!!!
I heard this joke at church on Sunday and it was very good.
It seems that 80% of Malaysians go to England to study law in university.
Now, in England, you don't say "study", you "read" for a degree while at university. So, if you hear your friend say, "I read law at Lincoln Inn in UK", it means that he studied law in UK. P/S: Lincoln Inn is a very prestigious law school, our founding father, Tun Abdul Rahman read law there. (^_^)
Anyway, our fellow Malaysian was stopped at the immigration by the British immigration officer and was asked, "What is your reason of your visit to the UK?"
Malaysian: I came to study law.
British Officer: Wow! I heard that 80% of Malaysians come here to study law. There must be a lot of lawyers in Malaysia by now.
Malaysian: Really? I didn't know that.
British Officer: If you do not believe, I will show you.
The next chap who walked up was also a Malaysian, a Tan Ah Chong. So, the officer asked him,
British Officer: What is your business of your visit to the UK?
Tan Ah Chong: Study-LO!!!!
LOL!!!!! (^_^)
I try not to speak in Manglish when I'm using business language, i.e. talking to customers and also my staff.
However, many people do not understand me.
I do not speak in a slang (though, it sounds very American) and I use simple English.
Typically, our new University graduates (be they Chinese, Malay, Indian or Lain-Lain), reply by saying, "HAH??" when they do not understand what I'm saying.
They made a remark stating that we sound very stuck-up and high-class.
I do believe that there is nothing wrong with using good English and certainly, we do not sound very stuck-up when doing so.
I do not think we should be proud of our Manglish.
I use it everyday but when I debate with some friends who read law, they certainly said that Manglish corrupts our command of English.
Hehehe, if you want to learn good English, speak to a lawyer. ;)
Post a Comment