One of the beauty of being multilingual is mixing the languages together. Whether you code-switch or code-mix, it doesn’t matter as long as the other party understands what you’re saying. The use of slangs also makes it easier for us to phrase something without using too many words.
In Malaysia, we have something we like to call “Manglish” which is basically Malaysian English. This form of informal speech is heavily influenced by the dominant languages in Malaysia which are Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. This British man recently shared that “Manglish” is one of the many reasons why he loves Malaysia. Here’s his story:
Do you remember Andrew Martin, the British man who came to dislike our Perodua Kancil cars because they’re too small to be noticed when looking for a parking space? He described them as psychological torture and honestly, we don’t blame him. Anyways, he’s going viral again and this time it’s for something he loves about Malaysia which is “Manglish”.
According to the businessman, he loves the use of “Manglish” as it makes talking much easier. “You can say so much with so few words, often working on the premise of – Why use 30 words when 3 words will do?” he said on his LinkedIn profile. He then shared his experience of someone helping him by using “Manglish” when he was talking to a bus driver on the phone to check up on his son.
The British father asked a very lengthy question to check if his son was on the bus but unfortunately the driver didn’t understand. He tried to simplify his speech but still couldn’t get his answer until the Malaysian he was with took his phone and asked, “Got Billy ar?” The driver then immediately answered, “Yes got!”. Malaysian netizens were amused by his story with many commented using “Manglish”.
It’s true though, why use 30 words when you can use less than 5 to get your message across? As long as you got the keywords in your “Manglish” sentences, you’re good to go! For your information, Andrew currently resides in Malaysia and has shared many funny and wholesome stories about his time here.
Source: LindkedIn
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