English Malay Dictionary

The local lingo

While Malay language classes are compulsory at this private university, some foreign students have found appreciation in the language and are keen to learn further.

AFTER only two years in Malaysia, Iraqi student Ali Haidar can confidently converse in Malay, and even introduced himself in the language, saying: “ Selamat Pagi. Nama saya Ali Haidar. Saya dari Baghdad, Iraq. Saya ada dua adik perempuan, dua adik lelaki. ”

(Good morning. My name is Ali Haidar. I’m from Baghdad, Iraq. I have two younger sisters and two younger brothers).

Ali, 21, is among the many international students who have learnt the language during their studies in Malaysia.

He learnt the language from scratch, after arriving in the country in 2009 to pursue a degree in Information Technology (IT) at Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten).

Remarkably, the former Al Kwarzme High School student from Baghdad could not speak English either, and had to take lessons in it as well for a semester.

At Uniten, Malay is a compulsory subject. Ali took Malay lessons for one semester and earned an A grade.

“I can understand and speak. It is not difficult, because I like to learn the language.

“It is easy for an Arab to learn Malay as there are 1,000 Arab terms in the Malay language,” Ali said in an interview recently.

However, he admitted that there were a lot of subtleties in the language which could only be learnt through social interaction, such as the formal and informal terms to refer to oneself.

“When I spoke using the word ‘aku’ in class, the teacher corrected me,” he said with a grin.

Ali, a self-sponsored student, said he has also made many Malay friends.

“During holidays, I follow my Malaysian friends back to their hometowns. I have been to Terengganu, Malacca, Kelantan, Johor Baru, Kuala Perlis, Langkawi and Penang. The food I really like in Kelantan is the ‘budu’.

“International students with Malaysian friends find it easier to learn the language. If you have lots of Malay friends, then you can easily pick up the language,” he said.

Ali added that there were many advantages of speaking Malay.

“If you speak in Malay at the wholesale or night market, you are going to get lower prices,” he laughed.

Digotetso Matema, also known as Dee, is 21, and hails from Mathabhane, Botswana. He said he faced many difficulties in the early stages of learning Malay.

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