MALAYSIAN ENGLISH Vs STANDARD ENGLISH

Communication is one of the most important aspects in our daily life. In fact, most of the
activities we do are directly or indirectly related to communication. People around the world
speak English and the rest sometimes seem to or are trying to. At the same time, English is
spoken in many different varieties and accent. The British introduced English to Malaysia more
than two centuries ago. It became the most important language as days passed and it is often
associated with power and prestige among these people. English was made the second language
in conjunction with the promotion of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language. Then,the
importance of English increased. Today, Malaysians speak Standard English and Malaysian
English. But some of us are confused with Standard English and Malaysia English. What is
actually meant by Standard English and Malaysian English and how exactly it differs?This
question should have strike on everyone mind. Standard English is also known as Standard
Written English or SWE, is the form of English most widely accepted as being clear and proper.
It is regarded as the most appropriate and most commonly used form of English around the
world. It is also acknowledged as the model of speech and writing of educated speakers. While
on the other hand, Manglish is a Malaysian speaking style, just like the Singaporean English,
Singlish. This is a distorted use of English that is mainly spoken between the locals and
sometimes is also referred to as a rojak language. So, how is Standard English differs from
Malaysian English?
In Malaysia, we regard Malaysian English as bahasa rojak. Rojak is a malay word, loosely
translated actually means a mixture of. Same goes to in Malaysian context. We regard our
English as rojak English. Malaysians, are very lucky to have many different races speaking many
different languages and still staying together peacefully under one nation. These local languages
mentioned being basically Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Using the English language with a mixture
of the Malay words, Chinese dialects and Tamil. For example, in an informal communication,
people more often than not used the word lah , aaah and aiyoo. Lah' is used to emphasise,
Aaah' is usually followed by a question mark and Aiyoo' is often accompanied by the
exclaimation mark. For example, Aiyoo, why u so late? and faster lah. This kind of Manglish
spoken sentences are only understood by Malaysians and not tourists. How is the possible for
tourist to understand if the English is spoken in this manner.The main point on how Malaysian


English differs from Standard English is the words spoken which are used in the speaking of
English language. In Standard English we use words which can be understood by everyone
whereby in Malaysian English, we mix all the languages into English whereby only Malaysians
can understand the whole meaning of the sentence.
Besides that, Standard English differs from Malaysian English in terms of pronunciations of
words. As I have explained in the above context, Malaysia is a well diverse country with their
different dialects. So, English is a second language in this country. If compared to the British, the
one main language spoken there is English. But here in Malaysia, the English spoken here is
mixed with many dialects spoken by the different ethnics in Malaysia. Thus, one thing we need
to bear in mind here that most of the pronunciation mistakes which relates to our mother tongue
interference. Malaysian pronounce words differently with different accent. For instance,
Malaysians pronounce Wednesday as wed-nes-day but its actually wenz-day, question as ques-
tion but its actually ques-chen, Malaysians pronounce procedure as prou-si-dear but suppose it
should be pronounce as pre-si-jer and many other words. At the same time, In Malaysian
English, the last syllable of a word is sometimes not pronounced with the strength that it would
be in British English. So, here we can see Malaysian English differs in terms of pronunciation of
words, whereby it is mostly affected by the interference of the different dialects in Malaysia.
Standard English also differs from Malaysian English in terms of grammar. There are many
Manglish grammatical structures taken from Chinese dialects and many claim that the structure
is taken from the malay language. For example, the phrase "Why you so like that one? in
standard English it means "Why are you behaving in that way. For example "I haven't seen you
in a long time" in standard English becomes "Long time no see in Malaysian English. Certain
extent the word used in Srandard English and Malaysian is different. With the variety of
influences Malaysian English is gradually forming its own vocabulary. Typically, these words
are based on other English words but most of the time the Malaysian speaker is unaware that
these words are not the words from the standard use of English or even from British or American
English. For example, one of the most used words in Malaysia is hand phone but it is actually a
mobile phone or a cell phone. Moreover, Malaysians use brinjal, but the right use of that
vegetable is eggplant or Aubergine, the standard word for MC is actually sick note and as


another example, gostan which is commanly used in Malaysia is actually reverse or backwards in
Standard English
In conclusion, we should minimize the usage and avoid speaking Malaysian English in formal
situation. On the other hand, Standard English should always be uphold and give more priority.
English is becoming the main communication language everywhere around the world. Thus, the
difference between Malaysian English and Standard English can be lessened if there is a
commitment from every individual to improve the standard of English in Malaysia.