the Malay Language & Tact - justin_guber

the Malay Language & Tact

I was in a queue at the mamak stall when this guy just reached over me, practically bumping me out of the way, to reach for some nuts on the otherside of the counter. I stared at the guy with absolute fury, lack of manners being something that usually causes cockroaches to shrivel up my butt and die.

I wondered why this guy didn't say anything when i realized: there's no word for 'excuse me' in Malay.

The closest word to 'excuse me' in Malay that I can think of is 'tumpang lalu', which means, 'may I pass by'. I can't for the life of me think of a simple word or two word sentence that is equivalent to 'excuse me' which an ordinary layman may say.

Then I considered the word 'thank you'. The Malay equivalent is 'terima kasih', which means 'receive my gratitude'. Then 'sorry': 'maafkan saya' - 'forgive me'. These are sentences, quite long ones too, that you wouldn't consider using unless in a formal function. The only one that gets used that often is thank you.

But those can kinda pass. The 'excuse me' can't. Or, even worse, there's no real word for 'please'.

The equivalent of 'please' in Malay is 'tolong', which literally means 'help'. So, instead of saying 'please pass the jam' you'd be saying 'help and pass the jam'.

Is it just me or are these words orders? Secondly, are they even a close approximation to what they should mean?

In the olden days, when people were humble and had manners, these words fit in with society. In the big city, they don't. Sure, not many New Yorkers use the term 'excuse me', but still, if you wanted to, you could use it without sounding like your auditioning for an adaptation for a Jane Austen movie.

Also, interestingly but unrelated, a common Malay insult is 'kepala hotak engkau' which directly translates to 'your head-brain'.

Something tells me I'm not meant to be here.

1.6.04 06:29

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