I quite agree with him.. ;)

Merdeka English

By TOM HAYTON

THE linguist Max Weinreich said a language is a dialect with an army and a navy. When English was exported by the British Empire, there was a sense in which linguistic standards were set by colonial powers.

Malaysia has been now been independent for 50 years but English is still widely spoken here. So what standards should Malaysian speakers of English be conforming to?

To speak a language correctly, we need to know its lexicon, or vocabulary, its grammar, or set of rules, and its phonology, or sound system. Malaysian English has unique lexical, grammatical and phonological features, so it qualifies as a dialect of English, just as Kelantanese is a dialect of Bahasa Malaysia.

Taking this one step further, the multilingual nature of Malaysian society has led to a mixing of English with Malaysian languages. This dialect is known locally as bahasa rojak, or “mixed language’’.

Some people believe that Malaysian English is somehow less valid or ‘’proper’’ than say, British English.

When I first came to Malaysia, I was overwhelmed with words and phrases that sounded like English but which I couldn’t understand. Some examples include:

1. “Where got?’’

“Where got?’’ is a direct translation of the BM term “mana ada”, which is used to deny the truth of a statement.

“You were in KLCC yesterday.’’

“Where got?’’ (I wasn’t there)

2. “I’m only an executive’’

What do you mean, only an executive? Isn’t that an achievement?

Of course, the misunderstanding here stems from a difference in the meaning of the word “executive’’ in British English and Malaysian English. In British English, an executive is someone with managerial authority. In Malaysia, the term refers to someone relatively junior.

3. “Can ah?’’

Adding “ah’’ to the end of a verb turns it into a question. This is a lot faster and easier than saying, “Do you think you could ... ?’’ so it might be construed as a kind of linguistic laziness.

The problem with arguing that these three examples are not “proper’’ English is that dialectic variations exist everywhere English is spoken. Do you know what a pair of kecks is? In Lancashire, where I grew up, this is what we call trousers.

So there is no reason why the Malaysian dialect of English should be any less valid or “proper’’ than any other dialect.

However, we need to be aware of the differences that exist between our dialects, be they Malaysian English, Lancashire English, Geordie, Glaswegian or Cockney, and the dialect of the listener or reader.

If you use Malaysian English, then you are probably already aware of some of these differences. If not, it would be useful to take some lessons in Standard English, so called because it gives everyone an internationally understood model to work with.

Dialects add to the richness and depth of a language. Malaysian English is no exception. To use a rojak sentence, “Happy Merdeka, everyone.”