24 Aug 2011

Love of Languages

I have something to say and I know not everyone likes to read a long blog post. So, I'll do away with the 1000 words essay.

What I want to say here is in regards to languages that we use in our daily life. No, don't get me wrong. I am not going to condemn you guys out there who uses vulgarities in your daily conversation with your friends. 

I think most non-Malays will say that the Malay language is a useless language because you can only use it in Malaysia. But here's the deal, the same people (that I know) who says Malay is impractical because you can only use it in Malaysia, is learning Japanese. I wonder if they notice this or not, Japanese would also be impractical cause you can only use it in Japan! 

So, I think the issue here when these people learn the language is not whether or not the language is practical, but rather they would like to be associated with the Japanese people, or they want others to stand in awe and amazement when they see that these guys can speak Japanese.

Do not get me wrong, I have nothing against the Japanese language. I had learned it once, and it is kinda fun to learn a new language. However, if you are not good at your own national language, and you refuse to learn it. I have no respect for people like this.

One guy even said, "If the government does some tax reforms, change policies, bla bla bla (all selfish reasons), then I will learn to speak". I was thinking to myself, "Who the heck do you think you are? You delusional boy. You nothing but a speck of dust in this world and you are speaking with such arrogance."

I believe every Malaysian should learn how to speak the Malay language well. Language is something that enables people to connect and mingle. It enables communication. It is NOT so that we can show off! People with the mentality that Malay is a language that is off a lower class should be stoned. It is people like that who contributes to racism in Malaysia that they so often complain about. It's easy to blame the government, but what are we doing about it?

Look yourself in the mirror before pointing fingers at others. Do yourself and the rest of Malaysia a favour and contribute to the betterment of society.

Cheers,
Ben

2 comments:

Jenjen said...

well said Ben! i only have one thing to add...nowadays the bahasa is no longer the beautiful bahasa of olden. Many words are actually direct translation from English words...this is sad indeed. It renders the language meaningless. But i fully agree with all that you have written :)

Unknown said...

Thanks Jenjen. I agree with you, too many borrowed words. The irony is, English is also a language which heavily borrowed from others as well, if I'm not mistaken. =P