Misplaced Pages

#100899

60-560: Manglish spoken in West Malaysia is very similar to and highly mutually intelligible with Singlish , a creole of similar roots. There is little distinction between the two creoles except that Manglish vocabulary contains more Malay words while Singlish contains more words of Hokkien ( Min Nan ) and Teochew origin. The vocabulary of Manglish consists of words originating from English , Malay , Hokkien , Mandarin , Cantonese , Tamil , and, to

120-428: A basilect depending on the circumstances. All three varieties may be seen as part of Malaysian English, but some prefer to see Malaysian English as a form distinct from the basilect Manglish, which tends to ignore English grammar, while others may see the basilect as the "real" Malaysian English. There is also no consensus on what Standard Malaysian English might be. Some regard the mesolect to be substandard English and

180-675: A coastline facing the South China Sea on the Pacific Ocean , it is not generally regarded as an East Coast state, since the main coastline of the state is located on the Straits of Johor of the Indian Ocean . The East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia is socioculturally different in terms of overall racial composition and political affiliations compared to the West Coast – the states' demographics in

240-451: A diagnostic feature of Manglish. For example: The ubiquitous word lah ( [lɑ́] or [lɑ̂] ), used at the end of a sentence, can also be described as a particle that simultaneously asserts a position and entices solidarity. Note that 'lah' is often written after a space for clarity, but there is never a pause before it. This is because originally in Malay, 'lah' is appended to the end of

300-479: A form of English that largely follows the standard rules of English grammar but with some local characteristics, while Manglish is a pidgin that does not follow the grammatical rules or structure of English. Many Malaysians however tend to refer to the colloquialisms used by those taught in English-medium school as Malaysian English, while some argued for the basilect form or pidgin as the "real" Malaysian English. At

360-599: A jovial atmosphere. For example, "I came all the way for you loh" and "Nah, that one loh, that fat chubby one in a yellow shirt loh". "Loh" is mostly used by the Chinese community in Malaysia, because of its Cantonese origin. "Meh" is commonly used at the end of a question. It is usually used with a sense of confidence in his or her own statement but the hint of doubt towards the other person. For example," I like her, can not meh?" (meaning "I like her. What's wrong with that?"). "Meh"

420-573: A less brusque sound, thus facilitating the flow of conversation. It is also possible that Lah comes from Cantonese. In Cantonese, Lah ( 啦 ) is placed at the end of a sentence in imperatives making it sound more like a request than an order. It might have Tamil origin as well. Lah is still used widely in Southern Tamil Nadu (Thirunelveli, Kanyakumari district) in the same manner. Tamil is said to be more pure in this region than northern Tamil Nadu and had ancient trade link with south east Asia. Lah

480-710: A lesser extent, various other European languages and Arabic , while Manglish syntax resembles southern varieties of Chinese. Also, elements of American and Australian slang have come through from imported television series. The Malaysian Manglish is sometimes known as Rojak or Bahasa Rojak , but it differs from the Rojak language by the use of English as the base language. The term rojak derives from "mixture" or "eclectic mix" in colloquial Malay . The East Coast versions ( Kelantan and Terengganu ) of Manglish may differ greatly from that of West Coast Malaysian speakers. Besides mixing multiple languages, Manglish includes mixing

540-455: A local dialect. Manglish refers to the colloquial , informal spoken form of pidgin English in Malaysia that some considered to be distinct from more "correct" forms of Malaysian English. It exists in a wide variety of forms and primarily as a spoken form of English. It is the most common form of spoken English on the street, but it is discouraged in schools, where only Malaysian Standard English

600-573: A plural form in English – Menteri s Besar. Particles in Malaysian English come from the influence of Chinese and Malay . Some phrases used for emphasis in British or American English are used as particles in Malaysian English, while ignoring the participle or a verb. "I got pay!" "I did pay!" Syntactical differences are few although in colloquial speech 'shall' and 'ought' are wanting, 'must'

660-603: A relatively small percentage of Malaysians are fluent in it. The acrolect is internationally intelligible, and it is used for official purposes or formal occasions and written communications. It conforms to standard British English , but some words that are specific to Malaysia may be used. The mesolect is a localised form of English that is used by competent speakers of English or as an informal medium of communication between different ethnic groups of Malaysia. It may use some colloquial terms, and its grammar and syntax may show some deviations from standard English. The basilect

SECTION 10

#1732891092101

720-467: A tendency towards simplification in its pronunciation and grammar, a feature also found in other new Englishes. For example, in pronunciation, diphthongs tend to become monophthongs in Malaysian English, stops may be used instead of dental fricatives and the final consonant clusters often become simplified. There are 6 short monophthongs in Malaysian English, compared to 7 in British English, and

780-462: Is "traffic jam loh!" when asked by a friend why he or she is late to an occasion. Sometimes, loh is used to express insincerity while speaking, for instance when one says "sorry loh" or "thank you loh". However, in some cases, the use of loh is only intended to give an advice without any notion of impatience. Examples: "I think he's being unreasonable loh" or "if you ask you will know loh". In lesser cases, using "loh" can make some emphasis or convey

840-457: Is a form of English used and spoken in Malaysia . While Malaysian English can encompass a range of English spoken in Malaysia, some consider it to be distinct from the colloquial form commonly called Manglish . Malaysian English may be categorised into three levels: the acrolect , mesolect and basilect . The acrolect is used by those with near-native level of proficiency in English, and only

900-738: Is a mix of so many languages and multiple language rules, it is understandable only to Malaysians. Many Malaysians are able to speak their native language fluently but choose to speak Manglish in their daily lives and conversations. The term Manglish is first recorded in 1989. Other colloquial portmanteau words for Manglish include (chronologically): Malish (1992), Malaylish (1992), Malenglish (1994), Malglish (1997), Malayglish (2005), and Malanglish (2013). Manglish shares substantial linguistic similarities with Singlish in Singapore , although distinctions can be made, particularly in vocabulary. Initially, "Singlish" and "Manglish" were essentially

960-454: Is also replicated in Manglish with sentences like 'She go to the shop yesterday' and 'I come here every day'. The Chinese also tend to speak Manglish with staccato feel as it is syllable-timed, unlike English which is stress-timed. Chinese, Malay and Tamil languages often duplicate words for different functions such as to show pluralisation, emphasis or repetition. Similarly, this has influenced

1020-439: Is descended from British English, largely because of the country's colonisation by Britain from the 18th century. However, influence from American mass media, particularly in the form of television programmes and films has made most Malaysians familiar with many American English words. For instance, both " lift / elevator " and " lorry / truck " are understood, but the British form is preferred. Only in some very limited cases

1080-417: Is marginal for obligation and 'may' is rare. Many syntactical features of Malaysian English are found in other forms of English such as British English and North American English: Officially, Malaysian English uses the same pronunciation system as British English. However, most Malaysians speak with a distinctive accent that has recently evolved to become more American by the influx of American TV programmes,

1140-417: Is no distinction between long and short vowels Diphthongs are reduced to monophthongs Dental fricatives /ð/ and /θ/ are pronounced as dental plosives instead. Omission of final consonants West Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia , historically known as Malaya , also known as West Malaysia or the "Malaysian Peninsula" , is the western part of Malaysia that comprises the southern part of

1200-480: Is not important; moreover, nouns, verbs, adverbs, and even entire subject-verb-object phrases can all serve as the topic: The above constructions can be translated analogously into Malay and Chinese , with little change to the word order. The topic can be omitted when the context is clear, or shared between clauses. This results in constructions that appear to be missing a subject to a speaker of Standard English , and so called PRO-drop utterances may be regarded as

1260-486: Is not used in any official context except for the ever-changing school curriculum modules in attempts to improve the command of English but without going into advanced lessons. It is however, possible to speak Manglish without substituting English words with those from another language. Speakers of Manglish from the country's different ethnic groups tend to intersperse varying amounts of expressions or interjections from their mother tongue – be it Malay , Chinese or one of

SECTION 20

#1732891092101

1320-409: Is of Cantonese origin (咩). In Cantonese or Hakka, "meh" is a final particle that transforms statements into questions that indicate doubt or surprise. Manglish has its unique set of features when spoken by native Malaysians that are distinct from the standard variety of English. Though very similar to spoken Singlish, the two should not be considered the same variety. Manglish is non-rhotic There

1380-472: Is often done quite spontaneously, sometimes for comic effect. Since Malaysian English originates from British English when the British Empire ruled what is now Malaysia, it shares many of the features of British English. However, it also has components of American English , Malay , Chinese , Indian languages , and other languages in its vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Malaysian English shows

1440-634: Is often used with brusque, short, negative responses: Lah is also used for reassurance: Lah can also be used to emphasize items in a spoken list, appearing after each item in the list but is not commonly used in this context. Although lah can appear nearly anywhere, it cannot appear with a yes–no question . Another particle should be used instead. For example: The Chinese influence in Manglish, however, can be seen among other races in Malaysia, especially when conversing with Chinese-speaking people. This principle can be generally applied to all forms of non-standard English spoken in Malaysia. 'Loh' or 'lo' (囉)

1500-437: Is taught. Its lexis is strongly influenced by local languages, with many non-English nouns and verbs commonly used, and it is significantly different grammatically from Standard English. There are colloquialisms in English that are not common outside of Malaysia, which are also used colloquially as substitutes in other languages in Malaysia. In Manglish, Malay or Chinese grammatical structure may be used with English words, which

1560-471: Is the American English form more widespread: " chips " instead of " crisps ", " fries " instead of " chips " and " diaper " instead of " nappy ". Some words and phrases used in Malaysia have different meanings than in British or American English. Malaysian English has its own vocabulary, which comes from a variety of influences. Typically, for words or phrases that are based on other English words,

1620-400: Is used in the same context as "lah". It serves as a final particle to intensify a decision that is definitive and irrevocable. In most cases, loh is used in direct response to a question or query with the connotation that the respondent is somewhat impatient or annoying because the person thinks that the answer is so obvious that the question should not have been raised from the start. In fact,

1680-593: Is used very informally by those with limited proficiency and vocabulary in English, and it has features of an extended pidgin or creole with syntax that deviates substantially from Standard English. The basilect may be hard to understand internationally, and it is often referred to as Manglish . As with other similar situations, a continuum exists between these three varieties, and speakers may code-switch between them, depending on context. Most professionals and other English-educated Malaysians speak mesolect English informally between themselves, but they may also use

1740-467: Is usually used to present a sentence as rather light-going and not so serious; the suffix has no specific meaning. However, Chinese languages also make abundant use of the suffix lah and there is some disagreement as to which language it was originally borrowed from. There is also a strong influence from Malay, Hokkien , Cantonese , Mandarin , and Tamil , which are other major languages spoken in Malaysia. Manglish also uses some archaic British terms from

1800-468: The Indian languages – which, in some cases, qualifies as a form of code-switching . Verbs or adjectives from other languages often have English affixes , and conversely sentences may be constructed using English words in another language's syntax. People tend to translate phrases directly from their first languages into English, for instance, "on the light" instead of " turn on the light". Or sometimes, "open

1860-581: The Crown Colony of North Borneo , the Crown Colony of Sarawak , and the self-governing State of Singapore to form the new Federation called Malaysia . The merger was initially proposed in order to reunify Singapore with its hinterland in the Federation as they were originally associated under British Malaya but later separated and were governed separately after the formation of the Malayan Union . Even when

Manglish - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-645: The House of Representatives of Parliament . Singapore within Malaysia was seen as having a special status (similar to Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom ) and was thus not grouped with the other non-autonomous states in the Peninsula. Although this arrangement was brief and Singapore was ultimately expelled from the Federation two years later in 1965, becoming a fully sovereign country, the Interpretation Act 1965 of

1980-572: The Malay Peninsula on Mainland Southeast Asia and the nearby islands . Its area totals approximately 132,490 km (51,150 sq mi), which is nearly 40% of the total area of the country; the other 60% is in East Malaysia on the island of Borneo . It shares a land border with Thailand to the north and a maritime border with Singapore to the south. Across the Strait of Malacca to

2040-546: The South China Sea , a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean : The term West Coast ( Malay : Pantai Barat ; Jawi : ڤنتاي بارت) refers informally to a collection of states in Peninsular Malaysia situated towards the western coast generally facing the Strait of Malacca which is a component of the Indian Ocean , as opposed to the East Coast. The West Coast is partitioned further into three regions: Although Johor has

2100-568: The vowel length tend to be the same for long and short vowels. There are, however, slight differences in pronunciation in the states in the central and southern parts of the Malay Peninsula from those in the north and the east of Malaysia. There are also some variations in its vocabulary. The grammar in Malaysian English may become simplified in the mesolectal and basilectal varieties. For example, articles and past-tense markers may sometimes be omitted, question structures may be simplified, and

2160-569: The Malayan Union transformed into the Federation of Malaya, Singapore was not a part of it. Although politically distinct, Malaya was then seen geographically as comprising the States of the Federation of Malaya in the Peninsula and Singapore. In order to facilitate the merger, the Borneo States (which initially also included Brunei ) were brought in as well as it was believed that with the inclusion of

2220-410: The Malaysian English speaker may be unaware that the word or phrase is not used in British or American English. Such words are also present in the vocabulary of some continuums of Singapore Standard English . Many words of Malay origin have made it into the standard form of Malaysian English used in the media, literature and formal speech. For example, Menteri Besar (Malay for Chief Minister) even has

2280-504: The Parliament of Singapore still defines Malaya as comprising the States of Malaya and Singapore in a geographical sense. Today, the States of Malaya are colloquially referred to as Peninsular Malaysia and West Malaysia, excluding the Borneo States and Singapore . The term should also not be confused with the Malay Peninsula , which includes lands that are a part of Myanmar and Thailand . Peninsular Malaysia (States of Malaya) comprises

2340-526: The country's prominent urban areas are located. Peninsular Malaysia consists of 11 out of the 13  states , and two out of the three federal territories of Malaysia, which includes the national capital of Kuala Lumpur . The states are listed as the following: Originally comprising the states and territories of the Federation of Malaya , the then Federation under the Malaysia Agreement merged with

2400-439: The distinction between countable and mass nouns may be blurred. In the basilectal variety, omission of the object pronoun or the subject pronoun is common. The modal auxiliary system is also often reduced, and sometimes, a verb may be absent. The colloquial form often has Malay or Chinese grammatical structure. Particles are commonly used in colloquial Malaysian English, a notable one being an enclitic "lah" used at

2460-450: The duplication of English words when speaking Manglish, especially when placing emphasis on certain words or to show pluralisation. Some examples include: Manglish is topic-prominent , like Chinese and Malay . This means that Manglish sentences often begin with a topic (or a known reference of the conversation), followed by a comment (or new information). Compared to Standard English, the semantic relationship between topic and comment

Manglish - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-475: The end of a sentence. In the acrolect, which uses standard English vocabulary and is internationally comprehensible, non-English terms are still used. Typically these are words for which there is no direct equivalence in English or those that express local reality; for example, bumiputera , kampong , as well as titles such as Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Tunku . Words from the Chinese or Indian languages may also be used, such as ang pow or dhoti . In

2580-416: The era of British rule (see "gostan" and "outstation" below). In Malaysia, Manglish is considered to be a less formal form of Malaysian English which has features of a pidgin or a creole , rather than a fully-fledged creole language. While all varieties of English used by Malaysians may be considered Malaysian English, some make a distinction between Malaysian English and Manglish; Malaysian English being

2640-473: The former are overwhelmingly Malay and its people lean towards social conservative and Islamist values, their electoral representation dominated by the Malaysian Islamic Party . The distinction between West and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) goes beyond the sphere of geography . Being separate regions administratively before the formation of the Malaysia, there exists more autonomy than

2700-405: The indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia; in 2022, they numbered around 209,575 and mostly lived in inland parts of the region. As of 2012, Peninsular Malaysia oil production stood at 520,000 barrel of oil equivalent per day. The term East Coast ( Malay : Pantai Timur ; Jawi : ڤنتاي تيمور) is particularly used in Malaysia to describe the following states in Peninsular Malaysia facing

2760-647: The large number of Malaysians pursuing higher education in the United States, and by the large number of English-speaking Malaysians in cities employed in American companies. For example, that increased the emphasis on "r" in words such as "refer" and "world". Even though Malaysian English is not the official language of Malaysia, it is still used among Malaysians in business. About 80% of urban businesses in Malaysia conduct their transactions in English (both Malaysian English and Manglish ). However, American English has quite

2820-463: The lexical level, limited lexis is used and consequently, a number of words serve a variety of functions, giving extended meanings not normally accepted in standard British English. There are some differences of contemporary words used between Malaysia and the United Kingdom. The use of Manglish is discouraged at schools, where only Malaysian Standard English is taught. The term Malaysian English

2880-453: The light", translated directly from Chinese. Aside from borrowing lexicons and expressions at varying levels depending on the speaker's mother tongue, Malay, Chinese and Tamil also influence Manglish at a sentence formation level. For example, Chinese languages do not mark the verb for tenses. Instead, information about time is often acquired through contextual knowledge or time-specific markers such as 'yesterday', 'today' and 'tomorrow'. This

2940-426: The mesolect, local words and phrases for which there are English equivalents may also used, for example, tidak apa ("never mind", "it does not matter") or ulu (or hulu , meaning "head", "upper reaches of a river", "interior of a country"). In the basilect, the use of local terms may be extensive even if most words used are English, and local expressions or exclamations such as alamak (Oh my god) often form part of

3000-673: The official language. The University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate continues, however, to set and mark the GCE O-Level English Language "1119" paper, which is a compulsory subject for the Malaysian Certificate of Education (the English Language paper set by the Malaysian Ministry of Education is the same as the English Language "1119" paper for GCE O-Level). To a large extent, Malaysian English

3060-535: The original States of Malaya, e.g. in having a different judicial court structure and separate immigration regulations. These rights were granted as part of Sarawak's 18-point agreement and Sabah's 20-point agreement with the Federation of Malaya during the formation of expanded federation. [REDACTED] Media related to Peninsular Malaysia at Wikimedia Commons Malaysian English Malaysian English ( MyE ), formally known as Malaysian Standard English ( MySE ) (similar and related to British English ),

SECTION 50

#1732891092101

3120-462: The questioner might have no idea beforehand about the rude reply that would be shot back to him/her, though it can be argued that the word 'lah' might deliver stronger emotions from the speaker. For example, to show argumentative mood or making emphasis, one would say, "You lo (it's your fault), if it's not for you we wouldn't be in trouble now!" and possibly in response, the other would say, "Eh, I never forced you to follow me here loh!" Another example

3180-429: The same Chinese language. English as spoken in Malaysia is based on British English and called Malaysian English . British spelling is generally followed. Since 1968, Malay has been the country's sole official language. While English is widely used, many Malay words have become part of common usage in informal English or Manglish. An example is suffixing sentences with lah , as in, "Don't be so worried-lah", which

3240-469: The same language, when both Singapore and the states now comprising Peninsular Malaysia were under various forms of direct and indirect British rule , though not forming a single administrative unit except between 1963 and 1965. (See Malaya .) In old British Malaya, English was the language of the British administration whilst Malay was the lingua franca of the street. Even Chinese people would speak Malay when addressing other Chinese people who did not speak

3300-450: The speech. In the first half of the 20th century, Malaysian English was similar to British English but spoken with a Malaysian accent. However, in the postcolonial era (since 1957), the influx of American TV programmes has influenced the usage of Malaysian English. There is no official language board, council or organisation to ensure the correct and standard usage of Malaysian English because after independence, Malay replaced English as

3360-648: The states of Johor , Kedah , Kelantan , Malacca , Negeri Sembilan , Pahang , Penang , Perak , Perlis , Selangor , and Terengganu , as well as the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya . Malaya comprises Peninsular Malaysia and the Republic of Singapore . Malay Peninsula comprises the southern tip of Myanmar , Peninsular Malaysia, and Southern Thailand . Ethnicity in Peninsular Malaysia (2020) The majority of people in Peninsular Malaysia are ethnic Malays , predominantly Muslims . Large Chinese and Indian populations exist. The Orang Asli are

3420-478: The syntax of each language. Hence, Malaysians often speak English in Malay or Chinese syntax. Idioms, proverbs and phrases are also often translated directly to English from Malay, Chinese, and Tamil. The accent and vocabulary used is highly dependent on the formality of the context and language dominance of the speaker. The speaker would also vary the quantity of Manglish spoken depending on their counterpart. Foreigners are generally unable to understand Manglish as it

3480-569: The various ethnic groups in Borneo, the racial arithmetic would be offset such that the influx of ethnic Chinese from Singapore would not politically overwhelm Malaya, satisfying the Malay ultras . Ultimately, both Malaysia and Singapore agreed that after a merger, Singapore would retain autonomy in labour, education and health, among others, unlike the other states in the Federation of Malaya. In exchange, Singapore received an underproportioned representation in

3540-459: The west lies the island of Sumatra , and across the South China Sea to the east lie the Natuna Islands of Indonesia . At its southern tip, across the Strait of Johor , lies the island country of Singapore . Most of Peninsular Malaysia's interior is forested, mountainous and rural; the majority of Malaysia's population and economy are concentrated on the coastal western half, which is where

3600-516: The word and is not a separate word by itself. In Malay, 'lah' is used to change a verb into a command or to soften its tone, particularly when usage of the verb may seem impolite. For example, "to drink" is "minum", but "Here, drink!" is "minumlah". Similarly, 'lah' is frequently used with imperatives in Singlish, such as the command, "Drink lah!" (Come on, drink!). 'Lah' also occurs frequently with "Yah" and "No" (hence "Yah lah" and "No lah"), resulting in

#100899