... well, at least in M'sia. Out of the available questions (5W1H), "how" and "why" are those we frequently have problems dealing with. Why? (lol...) Well, the answers are typically:
1. long. One or two word answers are rare, if not impossible (unless your answer is the universal 2-word: don't know, or the modernised version: dunno, or the even more modernised version: idk (which incidentally stands for I Don't Know, if you are wondering)).
2. lots of thinking must be done in order to answer them.
3. there might be more than 1 answer. Very frequently, I'd say, as compared to the other question types (who, when, what...). For example:
Q: Who is the father of this child?
A: John. (one word answer. Easy. And only 1 definite answer.)
Q: Why the child's father isn't David?
A: ...... (the dreaded why question. You need to think for a good reason, or reasonS. So, more than one answer, and you need to think hard and answer very carefully.)
Q: How in the world that the child looks more like David but is borne by John's wife?
A: ...... (refer to the previous question. "How" questions are equally hard to answer) And if you have noticed, in the encyclopaedia/general interest section of bookstores, there are books dedicated entirely to the compendium of "how's" and "why's". For instance: The book of How, 1000 Why's, Kids Why Questions, or even the "Dummies" series (eg. French for Dummies, HTML for Dummies...) etc. Rarely, we have books of what's and who's. That just vindicated my point: why's and how's are tough nuts.
Ok, back to the story. So what are the toughest How/Why for M'sia? Here:
Well, as mentioned above, how's and why's usually come with answers that are hard to cough out. However, there are easier answers to them in this case. Let me illustrate my answers with real life scenarios rather than just slapping the answer here directly.
1. long. One or two word answers are rare, if not impossible (unless your answer is the universal 2-word: don't know, or the modernised version: dunno, or the even more modernised version: idk (which incidentally stands for I Don't Know, if you are wondering)).
2. lots of thinking must be done in order to answer them.
3. there might be more than 1 answer. Very frequently, I'd say, as compared to the other question types (who, when, what...). For example:
Q: Who is the father of this child?
A: John. (one word answer. Easy. And only 1 definite answer.)
Q: Why the child's father isn't David?
A: ...... (the dreaded why question. You need to think for a good reason, or reasonS. So, more than one answer, and you need to think hard and answer very carefully.)
Q: How in the world that the child looks more like David but is borne by John's wife?
A: ...... (refer to the previous question. "How" questions are equally hard to answer) And if you have noticed, in the encyclopaedia/general interest section of bookstores, there are books dedicated entirely to the compendium of "how's" and "why's". For instance: The book of How, 1000 Why's, Kids Why Questions, or even the "Dummies" series (eg. French for Dummies, HTML for Dummies...) etc. Rarely, we have books of what's and who's. That just vindicated my point: why's and how's are tough nuts.
Ok, back to the story. So what are the toughest How/Why for M'sia? Here:
1. Why Bahasa Melayu is not as important as English?
2. How to make Bahasa Melayu to be used as lingua franca or internationally accepted language?
2. How to make Bahasa Melayu to be used as lingua franca or internationally accepted language?
Well, as mentioned above, how's and why's usually come with answers that are hard to cough out. However, there are easier answers to them in this case. Let me illustrate my answers with real life scenarios rather than just slapping the answer here directly.
Scenario #1:
On an advertisement, I saw this: Woksyop remaja (meaning Teenage Workshop in English).
My humble comment:
The last time I checked, workshop is called "bengkel" in BM. By the way, woksyop is not a valid word, unless DBP/Dewan Bahasa Pustaka has integrated the word into the Malay lexicon.
Scenario #2:
A commentator for the 16th Asian Games 2010 opening ceremony was commenting on the superb song composed by a notable composer. He was speaking in BM and this was what he said: ...... sebuah lagu yang dikompos (I am not sure of the spelling since this word does NOT exist) oleh ......
My humble comment:
Erm, dikompos? You meant the song was "decomposed"? What, the song is degradable and has turned into fertiliser? The correct word is "digubah" (gubah=compose, di- prefix is a passive voice indicator. So digubah=be composed by. See more at Scenario #4). God. My family was laughing so hard when we heard him saying that.
Scenario #3:
On the canopy of the market, it writes: Pertanian Adalah Perniagaan. (translate: Agriculture[pertanian] is[adalah] business[perniagaan])
My humble comment:
For non-Malay speakers out there, this is actually a very very very very basic grammar mistake and also very very very very much found all over the country. It is like "He are a boy" or "The dishes are washing me" kind of basic grammar mistake. The thing is "ialah" should be used in place of "adalah" although both means the same. "Adalah" is reserved for predicates that are NOT nominal (or nouns). In other words, "ialah" is followed by nouns or noun/nominal clauses. Only adjectives/adverbs/other non-nominal clauses are preceded by "adalah". "Perniagaan"(business) is a noun, so it's IALAH.
Scenario #4:
On a banner: Pakaian di jual disini (Apparels/clothes[pakaian] are sold[jual] at this place/here[sini]).
My humble comment:
TWO grammar errors, very common but basic: the di- conjugation. When "di-" is added as prefix in front of a verb, it means "being done by". In English, it is called the passive voice. In other words, di- is a passive voice indicator. So, if the Malay verb "beli" (buy) is used in passive voice, "beli" becomes "dibeli" (be bought). However, if "di-" is NOT used as a conjugated form, meaning if it is used INDEPENDENTLY, it is a preposition, corresponding to "in/at" in English. Example: Saya tinggal di Malaysia (I live in Malaysia). The "di" is NOT attached. It stands alone. So, the sentence above should be "Pakaian dijual (is sold) di sini" (at this place). Please, this is a fundamental rule, so get it right. Distanced or attached, please use accordingly.
Scenario #5:
A minister was commenting on the performance of some government department: "The prestation of the ......"
My humble comment:
What in the world is "prestation"? A pre-station? It turns out to be the Anglicised (made English) version of "prestasi". "Prestasi" means "performance" in English. In BM, many -si ending borrowed words from English are derived from English words that end with -tion. Example: communication - komunikasi, dedication - dedikasi, generation - generasi... But there are also a number words with -si ending which are NOT -tion ending words in English. Prestasi is one of them. So, by assuming prestasi is a BM version of the nonexisting "prestation" is a blunder.
Conclusion:
If you want to upgrade the status of BM into a world recognised language, please at least do the following:
1. Standardise the grammar. Don't change the grammar rules as you wish.
2. Standardise borrowed words.
3. Standardise NATIVE words. As my memory recalls, train in BM alternates between "kereta api" and "keretapi" for years and I think it finally settles for the former. Don't change spellings according to your fickle whim please. Language is not your shirt/dress where you can change it as you like.
4. When on broadcast, especially on national TV, please ensure the use of proper BM. At least avoid using seriously broken BM. If the broadcast allows faulty BM to be aired, audience will think that it is alright to speak/write as such. I can assure you that during my days in high school, I have heard a lot of complaints from my BM teachers about students using wrong BM grammar because they thought the grammar was correct, at least according to what they'd heard/seen.
5. Boost the country's performance standing economically, socially and politically. Stay abreast of other nations, not at rest. You want people to acknowledge your language, show them that you are worth being acknowledged.
I love my country. But it really could need some major revamping.
1. Standardise the grammar. Don't change the grammar rules as you wish.
2. Standardise borrowed words.
3. Standardise NATIVE words. As my memory recalls, train in BM alternates between "kereta api" and "keretapi" for years and I think it finally settles for the former. Don't change spellings according to your fickle whim please. Language is not your shirt/dress where you can change it as you like.
4. When on broadcast, especially on national TV, please ensure the use of proper BM. At least avoid using seriously broken BM. If the broadcast allows faulty BM to be aired, audience will think that it is alright to speak/write as such. I can assure you that during my days in high school, I have heard a lot of complaints from my BM teachers about students using wrong BM grammar because they thought the grammar was correct, at least according to what they'd heard/seen.
5. Boost the country's performance standing economically, socially and politically. Stay abreast of other nations, not at rest. You want people to acknowledge your language, show them that you are worth being acknowledged.
I love my country. But it really could need some major revamping.
Composed by,
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