LINGUISTIC : MALAYSIAN ENGLISH (MANGLISH).

 Definition: Manglish is the version of English language as spoken in Malaysia. (similar to

Singapore English or Singlish).
 English was first introduced in Malaysia since the British colonial. But after independence
(1957), Bahasa Malaysia was adopted as national language, the role of English language become
more restricted. And while English is widely used, many Malay words have become part of
common usage in informal English or Manglish.
Example:
- suffixing sentences with lah,( the suffix has no specific meaning & usually used to present a
sentence as rather light-going and not so serious)
"Don't be so worried-lah".
 Theoretically, English as spoken in Malaysia is based on British English and British spelling is
generally followed, but the influence of American English modes of expression and slang is
strong, particularly among Malaysian youth.
 English in Malaysia is strongly influenced from Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, & Tamil (the
major dialects and languages spoken in Malaysia).
 Speakers of Manglish from the country's different ethnic groups tend to intersperse varying
amounts of expressions or interjections from their mother tongue – be it Malay, Chinese or
Indian.
 Malaysian people uses English as a direct translation from Malay language. Ex : “On the switch”
(Please put on the switch), “Off the switch” (Please put off the switch)
 Grammatical mistake : to indicate the singular, plural, past tense etc.
For example, the words “Open”, “closed” and “sale”. Wrongly add “ed” to open, omitting the
“ed” from closed or adding an “s” to sale.
 English words are also mixed with Malay.  “Suasana glam” was used at the recent Anugerah
Industri Muzik by MC Awal Asyari to refer to the glamorous event.
 Examples of Malaysian slang used in English :
- “Lah” = often used at the end of sentences. It is used to affirm a statement (similar to “of
course”). Eg: “Don’t be lazy lah!”.
- “Nah” = derived from the Malay expression “nah”. Eg : “Nah, take this!”.
 Examples of Chinese slang used in English :
- “Ma” = used to affirm a sentence, but not as strongly as “lah”. Eg: “She’s like that ma..”
- “Meh” = used when asking question, especially when one is skeptical of something. Eg :
“Really meh?”

Manglish: Much of Manglish grammatical structure is taken from Chinese dialects. Many also
claim the structures have also been borrowed from the Malay language, but the amount of
borrowing from Malay dwarves in comparison to the borrowing from Chinese.

Consider this phrase: "Why you so like that one?"

In normal English, it means: "Why are you behaving like that?".
In Cantonese, a similar phrase would be rendered: "tim kai lei kum keh?" Literally: "why you like
that"
In Malay, a similar phrase can be given, i.e. "Kenapa engkau macam itu?" but it would not sound
very natural.
Note: The "one" in the sample phrase does not literally mean the numeral one, but is used more
as a suffix device