Manglish

August 31st, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

One day, David the Englishman and Ah Keong the Malaysian were having lunch together. Both were drinking from bowls of soup when they spotted a fly in David’s soup. David beckoned to a waiter.

David: “Pardon me, old chap, but I seem to have an insect in my chowder. Would you be so kind as to pass the chef my request of another bowl?”

As David got his soup, Ah Keong then found a fly in his instead. He then beckoned to the same waiter.

Ah Keong: “Oi,got fly la!”

Does Ah Keong remind you of someone? Perhaps it could be someone you are very familiar with, a friend of someone you know, or it could even be yourself. Or it could be everyone you know! Why? Simply because Ah Keong speaks the mother tongue (as some may call it) of Malaysians- Manglish. Some may argue that the native language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysia, or some say it is English, but when most, if not all of us speak this version of language, call it whatever you please, surely it has reached a status of being more than just a dialect, or slang, or jargon. Just take a look at the origins of the name itself- “Manglish” is simply a combined word from Malaysian English.

The biggest tell-tale sign of Manglish are suffixes at the end of sentences, which come in several variations. To non-Malaysians, or more precisely, non-Manglish speakers, the need for such words are puzzling as they seem to serve no purpose because the sentence and its meaning remain the same with or without such suffixes. “Cannot la!” would have the same meaning as “Cannot”. “Are you ok?” does not differ from “Are you ok ah?”. “You sure?” is suffice is even one word less than “you sure meh?”. I’m sure I don’t need to continue with this list, you Malaysians should know much better. And yet, despite knowing this, we Malaysians still feel as if without such words, our sentences are not complete or do not emphasize as much.

This local language, sometimes also called Rojak English because it often borrows words from other languages and dialects such as Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien, has even evolved further over the years, particularly with the younger generation. Nowadays it seems as if almost anything can be considered a word in Manglish, as long as the people involved in the conversation understand each other. Think of how many youngsters say “cacat-ed” to indicate a malfunctioning object or to tease a friend’s ability,or “malufying” to convey embarassment. These are words certainly not found in any dictionary at all, and yet it seems that not a single young person would not understand the usage of such words. We are very familiar with Manglish, and we often favour its usage instead of simple, plain old English, despite being aware of its frequent grammatical errors and unnecessary suffixes. But what exactly is it that makes this language (or whatever you choose to call it) so endearing?

When questioned, it would be rather safe to say that most of us would have different answers in mind. One reply you may expect would point towards the practical side of Manglish. Often, Manglish sentences are very short and yet precise, cutting out adjectives, pronouns, adverbs and such, sometimes even omitting everything in a sentence (”Ok ah?” instead of “Are you feeling alright?”). Although this would be graded a big, fat F in a grammar test, there seems to be no problem in understanding the sentence at all with Malaysians. Plus, less words mean more time to talk. Sometimes, the manner in which a sentence is structured in Manglish also adds to it a dash of drama and a hint of humour (click here for examples).

Some of us would say “everybody tok this way, so I oso tok like dat la.” In this case, Manglish is so commonly used and favoured amongst Malaysians that to not speak Manglish would make one stand out, and sometimes not be able to fit in as easily. There is also the risk of being misunderstood, as some words in Manglish deliver a meaning completely different from English terms, like “I boring la” meaning “I am bored”, not “I am boring”. At times, there may even be people who accuse you of putting on a fake accent (”westernised”) or of being ashamed of the local culture, simply because you do not see the need for adding unnecessary words at the end of sentences.

Having said that, this also goes to show how Manglish has become more than just a language amongst Malaysians- it has now become a large part of our culture; an element which signifies our nation being united in at the very least one common theme, which is our language. Manglish is one of the things which connect our people, despite the vast differences in race, culture, religion, ideology, social status and so on. In other words, one country, one language. In this case, the answer to the question, “Why Manglish?” would be “Cannot meh?”. Of course, learning proper grammar and vocabulary is important, and we should be able to use it in appropriate situations. Do not use the “shortened” English language in job interviews! But at the same time, don’t by ashamed to speak Manglish, for above all, to speak Manglish is to be uniquely Malaysian.

HAPPY HARI MERDEKA!

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