This article is about the creole language in Malaysia. For the code-switching between Maltese and English, see Maltenglish. For the 2014 Malayalam film, see Manglish (film).
Manglish is an informal form of Malaysian English with features of an English-based creole principally used in Malaysia. It is heavily influenced by the main languages of the country, Malay, Tamil, and varieties of Chinese. It is not one of the official languages spoken in Malaysia.
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 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 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 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).[2]
Manglish shares substantial linguistic similarities with Singlish in Singapore, although distinctions can be made, particularly in vocabulary.
Initially, "Singlish" and "Manglish" were essentially the same language, when both Singapore and the states now comprising Peninsular Malaysia were under various forms of direct and indirectBritish 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 the same Chinese language.[3]
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 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 the era of British rule (see "gostan" and "outstation" below).
Malaysian English and Manglish
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.[4][5] While all varieties of English used by Malaysians may be considered Malaysian English,[6] some make a distinction between Malaysian English and Manglish; Malaysian English being 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.[5] Many Malaysians however tend to refer to the colloquialisms used by those taught in English-medium school as Malaysian English,[7] while some argued for the basilect form or pidgin as the "real" Malaysian English.[8] At 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.[9]
The term Malaysian English 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.
Influences from other languages
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 the Indian languages – which, in some cases, qualifies as a form of code-switching.[10]
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 the light", translated directly from Chinese.[citation needed]
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'.[11] This 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.
Duplication of words
Chinese, Malay and Tamil languages often duplicate words for different functions such as to show pluralisation, emphasis or repetition. Similarly, this has influenced the duplication of English words when speaking Manglish, especially when placing emphasis on certain words or to show pluralisation.[12]
Some examples include:
You don't noisy-noisy ah, I whack you later then you know. (Don't be too noisy or I'll discipline you later.)
That boy you dated last time is the short-short one in the party is it? (Was the boy you dated the very short one we met at the party?)
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).[13][14][15] Compared to Standard English, the semantic relationship between topic and comment is not important; moreover, nouns, verbs, adverbs, and even entire subject-verb-object phrases can all serve as the topic:
That school Chinese orchestra very good one. (The Chinese orchestra of that school is very good.)
She play violin very bad leh. (She's very bad at playing the violin.)
Yesterday she also give homework, too much lah. (She also gave homework yesterday, there's too much.)
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 a diagnostic feature of Manglish.[16] For example:
Stupid lah. (This is stupid.)
Why don't want come? (Why don't you want to come?)
Nouns
"ang mo" – White people, from Hokkien "red hair" (紅毛). Used by Chinese, while the Malays use Mat Salleh {see below}.[17]Gweilo may be used in Cantonese.
"chop" – stamp (also used as verb). From Malay 'cop' meaning stamp e.g. "Put your company chop on the receipt".
"dollar" – a loaned currency used especially in relation to business transactions, in lieu of "ringgit" (Ringgit Malaysia).
"Mat Salleh" - a Malay term to describe white people.[17]
"outstation" – out of town (e.g. going outstation), from the colonial era when British officials went to hill stations to escape the heat.[18]
"terrer" – (pronounced as the English "terror") Refers to someone or something being awesomely amazing or good (e.g. "Bloody hell, that guy is terrer!").
Adjectives
"action/ackshun/eksyen" – showing-off, arrogant, from English "action".[19]
"aiksy/lan si" – arrogant, overconfident.[19]Laan si is of Cantonese origin.
"best" - superlatively good, see also syok/shiok.[20]
"chop" – stamp (of approval). (Due to confusion of the usage of the Malay word "cap". [E.g. I got the chop for my letter from the office lah.])
"cincai" – casually, simply, doing things as one pleases. Comes from Hokkien chhìn-chhái (凊彩) for "simply", "casual" or "slipshod". E.g. "I just cincai order a dish from the menu."[19][22]
"geng" – great, amazing, used to describe a person. e.g. "Wah, he is so geng."[17]
"geram" – to be annoyed, irritated, pissed off. Originally from Malay meaning "angry" or "to feel agitated". e.g. "Eh look at his attitude lah, geram only!"[19]
"la-la" – flashy, gaudy appearance. "La-la" replaces the older derogatory term "Ah Lien" that is used to describe girls who wear heavy make-up and outstanding clothes and accessories, which usually end up being rather bad taste instead of looking sophisticated or in fashion. They also usually sport brightly coloured hair. "La-la" can also be used to describe the things these girls are known to wear. E.g. "That salegirl was very la-la"/"The clothes are so la-la." These days, the term is also used to describe guys who sports outstanding/bizarre hairstyle and wear outstanding clothes and accessories resulting in bad taste as well. "la-la zai" and "la-la mui" is commonly used to make distinctions between the genders, with the former referring to guys and the latter referring to girls. The "la-la's" also feature rather punkish attitudes.
"macam yes" – to describe when a person believes he is amazing, when in reality, he is not. 'Macam' is a Malay word meaning 'as if' or 'like', and 'yes' in this context means 'amazing/great/best/right'. e.g. "He macam yes one." (He believes he is so great.)
"ngaam ngaam" - just. From Cantonese (啱啱),[23] e.g. "It ngaam-ngaam fits in." (It fits in just right.)
"pai-seh" – ashamed, embarrassed/embarrassing. 'pai-seh' (歹勢) is of Hokkien origin [E.g.: I kena punish lah... very pai-seh eh!].[24][25]
"slumber" – relaxed, laid-back; possibly a conflation of the Malay "selamba", meaning nonchalant, and the English "slumber".
"sup-sup sui" – easy, no big deal. 'Sup-sup sui' (濕濕碎) is of Cantonese origin.[19]
"seng" - refer to "geng"
"syok/shiok" – indicates the object as superlatively good. "Syok" or "shiok" is a borrowing from Malay syok meaning "pleasing" or "attractive", possibly originally Persian šoḵ (cheerful, spirited) or Arabic šawq (desire, passion).[21][26]
"tidak apa" - to have a happy-go-lucky attitude, or be indifferent. From Malay.[27]
"ulu" - uncultured or remote, from Malay meaning upriver or remote interior of country.[19] The word has also entered British military slang to mean a remote jungle place.[28]
"yellow" – dirty-minded, perverted. Direct translation of Chinese word for yellow to describe a perverted or dirty-minded person. e.g. "Aiyer, he is very yellow, better stay away from him." (He is very perverted, you should stay away from him.)
Adverbs
"agak agak" - approximately, roughly, from Malay for "guess".[27]
"sibeh" – very, extremely. From Hokkien (死爸). Used when wanting to put an emphasis on something saying it is great or big—whether it is in a good or bad way does not matter as long as it is "huge" e.g.: "That guy is sibeh annoying lo."
Verbs
"beh tahan" – cannot stand something. "beh" comes from Hokkien, meaning cannot. "tahan" comes from Malay, meaning stand or tolerate. Used mostly among Chinese. e.g. "I beh tahan him la." (I cannot stand him anymore.)
"cabut/cantas" – to run off, flee or to escape ('Cabut' is a Malay word meaning to pull or pulling out as a transitive verb, or to become detached as an intransitive verb.)[27]
"gostan" – reverse a vehicle, probably from the nautical term "go astern" (mostly used in Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Penang) or "go stunt". Sometimes also expressed as "gostan balik" (lit., reverse back).[18]
"jadi" – happened, succeeded (derived from the Malay word 'jadi', and may sometimes mean 'so' as in, "Jadi?" = "So what?")
"kacau" – to disturb, e.g.: Please don't kacau me. From Malay for "disturb" or "disorganised".[30][31]
"kantoi" – to get caught ("I kena kantoi..." means, "I got shafted/reprimanded/caught")
"kena" – to experience/get caught/punished; often used like a noun. e.g. "I sure kena if I cheat". (I'm sure to get punished if I cheat.) From the Malay passive verb "kena".[30]
"kenasai"/"kanasai" – to get into trouble, a mix of Malay kena meaning "get" or "meet" and Hokkien sai (屎, faeces) to form the phrase "hit by shit".[32]
"makan" – to eat (Malay), often refer to lunch or dinner (Malay) (e.g. "You makan dy?" means "Have you taken your dinner/lunch?")
"kow-kow" / "kowkow" / "kaukau" – (pron: Kao-kao) used to stress a personal satisfaction on a specific action specified before. The stress can be due to shock, anger, pain, or pleasure. Example: He got it kow kow ("He got it badly")
"lempang" – literally "bash" in Malay but usually refers to a slap. Example: He can lempang your face.
"makan" – Take a bet (e.g. "I makan 1/2 biji on Manchester United" means "I bet 1/2 handicap on Manchester United")
"mamak" / "mamak stall" – from the term mamak (a slang for Indian or Indian Muslims), it is used to refer to Indian Muslim restaurants in Malaysia. Example: let's go eat at a mamak lah.[33]
"mempersiasuikan" - to embarrass, derived by adding Malay affixes "mem", "per" and "kan" to a Hokkien word "sia suay" (泻衰)[34] meaning shame.[20]
"pon" – to skip school/play truant/apon (from Malay "ponteng", meaning the same)
"saman" – to issue a fine, usually in relation to a traffic offence, from "summons".
"shake leg" - idling, not doing anything, from Malay "goyang kaki".
"siam" – to avoid (e.g. "Boss is coming. I siam first.")
"sit" – this English word is used for riding in a vehicle in the way the equivalent words are used in Malay and in Chinese dialects, e.g. "sit bus" for "take the bus".[35]
"tahan" – to stand, to bear ("Cannot tahan her perfume! So strong!"). From Malay "tahan", to endure, to withstand.[27]
"tumpang-ing" – riding in someone else's vehicle or lodging at someone else's house, from the Malay verb "tumpang" + "-ing".
"yam-cha/yum-cha" – socializing with friends usually in "mamak stalls", but other places also apply. Generally identifies with "go have a drink". Derived from the "yum cha" used in Cantonese.[20]
(any Malay word) + the English suffix "-ing" – doing a certain action, e.g. "Makan-ing (short for "tengah makan" or "I'm eating right now"), "He's d one dat tipu-ing me leh.." (meaning "He's the one cheating me!").
Interjections
"Alamak" – exclamation of surprise or shock. (E.g. "Alamak!" (Oh no!)). From the Malay exclamation 'alamak', probably a contraction of "Allah" and "Mak" (mother).[36]
"Abuden?" - Combination of Hokkien "A-bo", meaning "if not" in English, and the word "then". It is also equivalent to simply saying "Obviously". Usually used a sarcastic response to an obvious observation or question.
"Adoi" - exclamation like an "Ouch!" From Malay.[36]
"Aiya" - exclamation to express surprise or dismay. From Chinese.[36] e.g. "Aiya, it's raining leh, cannot go out liao." (Aiya, it's raining, we cannot go out anymore.)
"Aiyer" – exclamation to express disgust. Derived from Chinese. e.g. "Aiyer, there's vomit all over the floor."
"Anoh" – exclamation to express agreement. Used mostly among Chinese.
"Bo jio" – A term in Hokkien meaning "no invitation" (bo jio, 無招). It may be used to annoy friends or families when they are having a better time than the speaker.[20]
"Cehwah/Huiyooh/Fuyoh/Fuiyoh/Fuiyor/Fulamak/Aiseh" – exclamation of amazement/wonder/marvel. (E.g. Fuyoooh, his hair so jinjang!)
"Die/Finish/Gone/Habis/Mampus/Mampui/Sei/See/GG/Pok kai/" – generic exclamations from various languages to indicate "trouble", used like the English "dead" or "dead end", but the word "die" does not mean to die literally. "Sei" is usually pronounced as its Cantonese equivalent, "die". (E.g. Today he die because of that loan shark(Today, he is in trouble because of the loan sharks.).
"Geli"- meaning disgusting. Example:"Eh,this thing very geli eh!"(Hey,this thing is very disgusting!)
"Haiz/Haish" – similar to sighing. e.g. "Haiz, still got work to do." (Haiz, I still have work to do.)
"Jinjang" – a term to explain one's appearance, being out of fashion or old-fashion, e.g. The guys over there are so jinjang! (Jinjang is also a sub-urban town in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.)
"Giler Ah!" – exclamation of shock or amazement. From the Malay word 'gila' which means mad or crazy. Sometimes it is used to refer to people who act rudely or uncivilized in public.
"Neh" (high pitch[original research?]) – used to emphasize to remember something. e.g. "Neh, the guy that wear yellow shirt ah, he fall down yesterday."
"Neh" (rising pitch[original research?]) – used to emphasize pointing to something. e.g. "Neh, the toilet is over there."
"Oi" - to call someone. It has a disrespectful connotation and often used rudely. e.g. "Oi, come back here."
"Podaa!" – from Tamil equivalent to the American phrase, "Get out!" when expressing disbelief
"Siao" – crazy. From Hokkien siao (痟). e.g. "Siao ah you" (Are you crazy)
"Walao eh" – also an exclamation of amazement, either from Hokkien or Teochew[36]
"Wah" - to express amazement. From Cantonese (嘩).[36][39]
"Watodo" – a rhetorical "What do do?" (Example, "It has already happened. What can we do?").
"Wei" – exclamation when conversing to a close friend, or used as "hello" when answering phone (from Chinese 喂, "wei")[40]
"Woi" – exclamation to express annoyance. e.g. "Woi, you siao ah, where can do this one?" (Woi, are you crazy, how can we do it like this?)
Grammar
"(Subject + predicate), is it?" – this is often used as a question. "It" doesn't refer to the subject, but rather to the entire preceding clause ("Is it so?") This is comparable to the French phrase "n'est-ce pas?" (literally "isn't it?") and the German usage of "..., oder?" (literally "..., or?")
Phrases
"Open collar, pocket no dollar" – expression reflecting linkage between extravagant appearance and persona, and illusion of wealth
"That's why" - expression used to express agreement with a statement (Example: "It's so hot today!" "That's why!")
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 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!).[5] 'Lah' also occurs frequently with "Yah" and "No" (hence "Yah lah" and "No lah"), resulting in 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.[41]
Lah is often used with brusque, short, negative responses:
Don't have lah! (Brusque response to, "Lend me some money, can?")
Don't know already lah! (Brusque response to someone fumbling with an explanation. Mostly by Chinese.)
Lah is also used for reassurance:
Don't worry, he can do it one lah – Don't worry, he can get it done.
It's okay lah – It's all right.
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:
Where are you ar? (This is especially of Chinese origin.)[5]
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
'Loh' or 'lo' (囉) 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, 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 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 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
"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" is of Cantonese origin (咩). In Cantonese or Hakka, "meh" is a final particle that transforms statements into questions that indicate doubt or surprise.[42]
Phonetic Features of Spoken Manglish
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.[6]
Manglish is non-rhotic
Sometimes referred to as r-fullness/r-lessness, spoken Manglish is similar to the standard variety of English in Singapore and Britain, in that the final /r/ consonant is dropped during speech. Words such as 'water' and 'player' are transcribed as /wɒtə/ and /plejə/ respectively.
There is no distinction between long and short vowels
In Manglish, long vowels such as /ɑː/ and /ɜː/ are usually pronounced no differently from /ʌ/ and /ə/ respectively. For instance, 'father' is pronounced as /fʌdə/ instead of /fɑːðə/.
Diphthongs are reduced to monophthongs
Diphthongs such as /eɪ/ are usually reduced to /e/ in words such as 'later'. So instead of /leɪtə/, Manglish speakers tend to say /letə/ instead.
Dental fricatives /ð/ and /θ/ are pronounced as dental plosives instead.
Dental fricatives are often not enunciated in Manglish the way it is in standard varieties of English. Instead, they are pronounced as plosives. Hence, words like 'this' /ðɪs/ is pronounced as 'dis' /dɪs/ (voiced), and 'thing' /θɪŋ/ is pronounced as /tɪŋ/ (voiceless).
Omission of final consonants
Final consonants of words are often left out in spoken Manglish. Some examples include 'dun' (don't), 'fac' (fact), 'adap' (adapt).
Absence of lip rounding in diphthongs ending in /ʊ/
/əʊ/ and /oʊ/ diphthongs, where there is a lip rounding at the end, is often pronounced without the lip rounding in Manglish. For instance, 'so' and 'go' are pronounced as /so/ and /go/ instead of /soʊ/ and /goʊ/.
Usage of Manglish on the Internet
The use of Manglish can be commonly found on the internet, especially amongst bloggers.[43]
Nouns
Adjectives
Verbs
Phrases
1)
Aircon: abbreviation of air conditioning.
Syiok Sendiri: used to express the feeling of getting carried away or amusing oneself.
Ciplak: describing plagiarism
Goyang Kaki: when translated into English, it means "shake leg". To Malaysians, shaking one's legs means that the individual has nothing to do and is simply laying around.
2)
Gegirls: a slang that became popular due to its frequent usage by local television comedians as a friendly nickname used for girls. It can also be used to describe a group of girls.
Chincai: originates from Hokkien, means a non-serious or simple attitude committed by a person in ignorance attitude without thinking of the possible consequences that might occur as a result from the chincai attitude.
E.g. I chincai paraphrase and summarise.
Pau: indicative of asking someone to buy something or give money.
Makan-makan: used by Malaysians to describe small dining events such as small gatherings at home or with friends.
3)
Kapchai: describing a small motorcycle. It originated from the name of a specific model of Honda motorcycles with the addition of a Cantonese word "chai" which means extremely small.
Chibai: a swear word often used by Malaysians. Derived from the Hokkien word referring to the female sexual organ. Can also mean shit, bastard and other profanities.
Membawang: a slang word derived from Malay that means to gossip. 'Bawang' means 'onion'. 'Mem' is a prefix for a verb. This slang word came about as there are many 'aunties' that gossip together while peeling onions.
4)
Uncle/Aunty: Malaysians refer to all middle-aged adults as uncle and aunty despite having no blood relation.
Gatal: When translated from Malay, the word has the meaning of "itchy" in English. The word however means "on purpose" or indicate female concupiscence
5)
Lansi: a profanity describing individuals with an arrogant attitude.
6)
Sepet: someone who has slit and narrow eyes and often used when describing the eyes of the Chinese.
"There is"/"there are" and "has"/"have" are both expressed using got, so that sentences can be translated in either way back into British / American English. This is equivalent to the Chinese 有 yǒu (to have):
Got question? – Is there a question? / Do you have a question?
Yesterday ar, East Coast Park got so many people! – There were so many people at East Coast Park yesterday. / East Coast Park had so many people [there] yesterday.
This bus got air-con or not? – Is there air-conditioning on this bus? / Does this bus have air-conditioning?
Where got!? – lit. Where is there [this]?, also more loosely, What are you talking about? or Where did you get that idea?; generic response to any accusation. Derived from Malay sentence "Mana ada" – 'Mana' (Where) 'ada' (got) and also from Chinese sentence "哪里有" – '哪里' (Where) '有' (got).
Can is used extensively as both a question particle and an answer particle. The negative is cannot:
Gimme lah, ok or not? – (Give it to me, OK?)
Can! – (Sure!)
Can! – (Yes, that is possible)
Cannot. – (No way.)
Pronouns
There is a tendency to drop referential pronouns (I, you) in Manglish. This is due to direct translations of Chinese and Malay in which it is unnecessary. For example, "you" and "I" in the following sentences is omittable.[44]
"(you) never do anything right" (None of the things that you do is correct.)
"(you) always also cannot, cannot, cannot" (You always prohibit (me) from doing something)
"你可以做这个吗？" (Can you do this?)
"可以。" ((I) can.)
"Kau boleh buat ini ke?" (Can you do this?)
"Tak boleh." ((I) cannot.)
Noun phrases
There is a tendency to use plural forms for uncountable nouns such as 'staffs', 'equipments', 'informations', 'criterias' and 'phenomenons'. Additionally, some articles are often dropped.[44]
Manglish and Singlish share a common history and some common characteristics. The difference between Manglish and Singlish can be subtle and sometimes difficult to be distinguish even among the locals. However, Manglish is markedly more influenced by the Malay language, with the majority population in Malaysia being the Ethnic Malays; while Singlish is more influenced by Hokkien dialect or Mandarin Chinese, with the majority population being the Ethnic Chinese. For example, "kena" (a Malay word, somewhat of a prefix added for the sake of turning an action verb into passive form) might be more often used in Manglish; while Singlish more frequently uses words like "liao" (meaning "already" in Hokkien), "nia" (meaning "only" in Hokkien). However, referring the aforementioned example, "kena" is also used in Singlish and "liao" in Manglish, only to a less extent. This shows the huge influences on these two languages on each other as well. There is no difference between the two when heard from foreigner's ears.
The word 'Manglish' is also used to describe the English spoken by Malayalam speakers from the Kerala state in India having a Malayalam accent, mainly by those who have studied in Malayalam-medium schools. This is also propagated by Malayalam media.
Manglish (manga in English) is also the name of an interactive cartoon feature in the Mainichi Daily News, Japan's major English-language online newspaper. Manga, or Japanese comics, are displayed on the Web site in their original format, but English translations of the Japanese characters can be seen by mousing over the speech balloons.
Indonesian is the official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries. With over 280 million inhabitants, Indonesia ranks as the fourth most populous nation globally. According to the 2020 census, over 97% of Indonesians are fluent in Indonesian, making it the largest language by number of speakers in Southeast Asia and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Indonesian vocabulary has been influenced by various regional languages such as Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, Balinese, Banjarese, and Buginese, as well as by foreign languages such as Arabic, Dutch, Portuguese, and English. Many borrowed words have been adapted to fit the phonetic and grammatical rules of Indonesian, enriching the language and reflecting Indonesia's diverse linguistic heritage.
This article outlines the differences between Malaysian English, Malaysian Colloquial English (Manglish) and British English, which for the purposes of this article is assumed to be the form of English spoken in south east England, used by the British Government, the BBC and widely understood in other parts of the United Kingdom.
Malaysian English (MyE), formally known as Malaysian Standard English (MySE), 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.
Singapore English is the set of varieties of the English language native to Singapore. In Singapore, English is spoken in two main forms: Singaporean Standard English, which is indistinguishable grammatically from British English, and Singaporean Colloquial English, which is better known as Singlish.
Penang Hokkien is a local variant of Hokkien spoken in Penang, Malaysia. It is spoken natively by 63.9% of Penang's Chinese community, and also by some Penangite Indians and Penangite Malays.
Ah Beng is a pejorative term applied to describe an anti-social lower-class youth in Malaysia and Singapore who displays common characteristics such as having dyed hair, wearing loud fashion, playing loud music in public and being less educated. The female equivalent of an Ah Beng is an Ah Lian.
Keling or Kling is an exonym to denote a Tamilian or someone deemed to have originated from South India. Originally a neutral term, since the mid-20th century it has been considered derogatory and an ethnic slur, and it is sometimes euphemistically referred to as the K-word. The term is used in parts of Southeast Asia, particularly the Malay Archipelago where there are a significant Tamil diaspora – specifically Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei – but cognates exist in neighbouring countries as well.
The languages of Singapore are English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, with the lingua franca between Singaporeans being English, the de facto main language. Singaporeans often speak Singlish among themselves, an English creole arising from centuries of contact between Singapore's internationalised society and its legacy of being a British colony. Linguists formally define it as Singapore Colloquial English. A multitude of other languages are also used in Singapore. They consist of several varieties of languages under the families of the Austronesian, Dravidian, Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan languages. The Constitution of Singapore states that the national language of Singapore is Malay. This plays a symbolic role, as Malays are constitutionally recognised as the indigenous peoples of Singapore, and it is the government's duty to protect their language and heritage.
Bahasa Rojak or Rojak language is a Malaysian pidgin formed by code-switching among two or more of the many languages of Malaysia. Bahasa means "language", while rojak means "mixture" in Malay, and is a local food of the same name.
Singlish is the English-based creole or patois spoken colloquially in Singapore. English is one of Singapore's official languages, along with Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. Although English is the lexifier language, Singlish has its unique slang and syntax, which are more pronounced in informal speech. It is usually a mixture of English, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay, and Tamil, and sometimes other Chinese languages like Teochew, Hainanese, Hakka, Hockchew, and Mandarin. For example, pek chek means to be annoyed or frustrated, and originates from Singaporean Hokkien 迫促. It is used in casual contexts between Singaporeans, but is avoided in formal events when certain Singlish phrases may be considered unedifying. Singapore English can be broken into two subcategories: Standard Singapore English (SSE) and Colloquial Singapore English (CSE) or Singlish as many locals call it. The relationship between SSE and Singlish is viewed as a diglossia, in which SSE is restricted to be used in situations of formality where Singlish/CSE is used in most other circumstances.
Singaporean Mandarin is a variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken natively in Singapore. Mandarin is one of the four official languages of Singapore along with English, Malay and Tamil.
Sarawak Malay is a Malayic language native to the State of Sarawak. It is a common language used by natives of Sarawak and also as the important mother tongue for the Sarawakian Malay people.
Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, commonly known as Singdarin or Singnese, is a Mandarin dialect native and unique to Singapore similar to its English-based counterpart Singlish. It is based on Mandarin but has a large amount of English and Malay in its vocabulary. There are also words from other Chinese languages such as Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew as well as Tamil. While Singdarin grammar is largely identical to Standard Mandarin, there are significant divergences and differences especially in its pronunciation and vocabulary.
Hokkien is a variety of the Southern Min languages, native to and originating from the Minnan region, in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is also referred to as Quanzhang, from the first characters of the urban centers of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou.
Singlish, formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English, is an English-based creole language originating in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact between speakers of many different Asian languages in Singapore, such as Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Teochew, and Tamil. The term Singlish was first recorded in the early 1970s.
Singaporean Hokkien is the largest non-Mandarin Chinese dialect spoken in Singapore. As such, it exerts the greatest influence on Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, resulting in a Hokkien-style Singaporean Mandarin widely spoken in the country.
Standard Singaporean Mandarin is the standard form of Singaporean Mandarin. It is used in all official Chinese media, including all television programs on Channel 8 and Channel U, various radio stations, as well as in Chinese lessons in all Singapore government schools. The written form of Chinese used in Singapore is also based on this standard. Standard Singaporean Mandarin is also the register of Mandarin used by the Chinese elites of Singapore and is easily distinguishable from the Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin spoken by the general populace.
Malay grammar is the body of rules that describe the structure of expressions in the Malay language and Indonesian. This includes the structure of words, phrases, clauses and sentences. In Malay and Indonesian, there are four basic parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and grammatical function words (particles). Nouns and verbs may be basic roots, but frequently they are derived from other words by means of prefixes and suffixes.
Malaysian Cantonese is a local variety of Cantonese spoken in Malaysia. It is the lingua franca among Chinese throughout much of the central portion of Peninsular Malaysia, being spoken in the capital Kuala Lumpur, Perak, Pahang, Selangor, Putrajaya and Negeri Sembilan, it is also widely understood to varying degrees by many Chinese people throughout the country, regardless of their ancestral language.
↑ Tan, Ludwig (2003) 'Topic prominence and null arguments in Singapore Colloquial English'. In David Deterding, Low Ee Ling and Adam Brown (Eds.) English in Singapore: Research on Grammar, Singapore: Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics, pp. 1-10.
↑ Tan, Ludwig (2007) Null Arguments in Singapore Colloquial English. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.
↑ Leong, Alvin (2003) Subject omission in Singapore Colloquial English. In David Deterding, Low Ee Ling and Adam Brown (Eds.) English in Singapore: Research on Grammar, Singapore: Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics, pp. 11-21.
↑ Gupta, Anthea Fraser (1994) The Step-tongue: Children's English in Singapore, Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, pp. 10-11.
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