Take The Path Less Ordinary

But if you insist on learning a language to take home, Bahasa Malaysia should be it. From glitzy cities to remote jungles, Malaysians of all colours and creed speak Bahasa Malaysia.

If trees could talk, it’d be Bahasa Malaysia.

Origin

Do you know that words like paddy, amok, junk, ketchup, caddy, godown and bamboo are derived from the Malay language?

How the Malay language originates is still a puzzle but new findings are slowly piecing them together. The latest report by American Journal of Human Genetics suggested that the Malagasy language spoken by East Africa’s Madagascar islanders resembles Indonesian’s Maanyan language spoken in southern Borneo. This is not surprising considering in May 2005, a study on mitochondrial DNA passed directly from mothers to children by a team of genetics experts at Cambridge, Oxford and Leicester also showed similarities to sequences found between people living in Madagascar and Borneo, now shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Bahasa Malaysia is classified under the Austronesian’s Malayo-Polynesian language family tree which also share similarities with languages like ….

1. Indonesia’s Javanese, Sudanese, Acehnese, Chamorro, and Belau.
2. Phillipines’ Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Bikolano, Kapampangan and Waray-Waray.
3. Polynesian Islands’ Hawaiian, Maori, Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, and Tuvaluan.

My days in Malaysia are too short to learn the language. Help.

Don’t fret. There’s always a safety caveat - most people understand English. Children are exposed to English at an early age by today’s standard school curriculum. Older generation who are born after World War II had the privilege to study under colonial English education system. In fact, among SE Asian countries, Malaysia has the highest English-speaking population. This propelled Malaysia to be one of the largest market outside the Western world for English songs and movies. Popular Western music bands and megastars are constantly flying in to deliver live concerts. Michael Jackson rocked Malaysia in 1996 and Linkin’ Park did their gig in 2003.

Include a small radio in your packing list. There are roughly 7 English radio channels to keep you company.

So, there you are. Even if you don’t speak like a Malaysian, you can still enjoy like one.

Bahasa Malaysia for small talk

Here are some useful words and phrases one should brush up on for trips to Malaysia …

English (B.Malaysia)

Hello (Hello)
Yes (Ya)
No (Tidak)
How are you ? (Apa khabar ?)
Good morning (Selamat Pagi)
Good night (Selamat Malam)
Good bye (Selamat jalan)
Thank you (Terima kasih)
Sorry / Excuse me (Minta maaf)
I don’t understand (Saya tidak faham)
You’re welcome (Sama sama)
Oh my god ! (Alamak !)
Ouch ! (Adoi !)

Do you speak English ? (Awak boleh berbahasa Inggeris?)
Where is the loo ? (Di manakah tandas ?)
Where is the ATM ? (Di manakah mesin ATM ?)
How much does this cost ? (Berapakah harga yang ini ?)
I want to buy this (Saya nak beli yang ini)
No, thank you (Saya tak nak, terima kasih)
Not too spicy please (Jangan terlalu pedas)
This is delicious (Sedapnya)
It is absolutely horrible (Teruknya)

Zero or None (Kosong)
One (Satu)
Two (Dua)
Three (Tiga)
Four (Empat)
Five (Lima)
Six (Enam)
Seven (Tujuh)
Eight (Lapan)
Nine (Sembilan)
Ten (Sepuluh)

Morning (Pagi)
Afternoon (Petang)
Night (Malam)
Midnight (Tengah Malam)

Bahasa Malaysia for jungle use

Danger (Bahaya)
Rainforest, jungle (Hutan)
Leech (Pacat)
Snake (Ular)
Tiger (Harimau)
Elephant (Gajah)

How deep is this river ? (Berapa dalam kah sungai ini ?)
Is this poisonous ? (Adakah ini beracun ?)
I’m freakin’ out. I’m getting outta here ? (Saya takut. Saya nak balik sekarang)
Will I die of malaria here ? (Di sini, ada penyakit malaria ?)

If you hear your guide yelp “Cabuuuutttt … “, it’s good time to drop everything and run for your life.