十 Subject I Love

Happy Valentine's Day in advance!

── Normally, I do not celebrate Valentine's Day as I feel it is just like any other day; nothing extraordinary going on. However, this year is an exception, thanks to #subjectlove challenge! Now, I would to clarify that, whilst I love all 10 subjects I am taking equally, the subject I have chosen for this blog plays the most significant role in my life. I would love to express my love for my prime method of human communication : ──

بهاس ملايو‎

/məˈleɪ/

          The very first language I was introduced to is Malay since it is recognized as a national language. This is also the key to scholarships as well as ission to sixth forms & local universities in my country.

According to Wikipedia, it is a major language of the Austronesian family spoken in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

During my early years, I did not struggle much with Malay as I had complete Malay immersion! I used to watch multifarious Indonesian television series ranging from fantasy to slice of life. Indonesian is related to Malay so there wasn't any language barrier. The downside of this activity was that my Malay was partially influenced by Indonesian to the point where I could not differentiate some words! I once forgot the Malay word for 'able to/can' which is 'boleh'. Instead, I wrote 'bisa' which is 'can' in Indonesian but 'venom' in Malay!

My classmates, on the other hand, could only perform decently in Malay, but they could not top my Malay. As a child, I seldom felt proud of this as I was more worried about them. How were they going to survive in the future!? Alas, it was foolish of me to excessively worry. Fast forward to the present, they are doing better.

In my country, it is compulsory to learn Jawi characters (similar to Arabic characters) alongside Malay from Year 1~Year 8 (I do not if kindergarteners are taught Jawi). Jawi questions used to be my lowest scoring question in an exam. However, when I was Year 8, for the sake of a distinction in Malay, I worked hard and as a result, I scored full marks for that section!

"Bersusah-susah dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian."

Suffer now, enjoy later.

Malay still plays an important role in my life, even though English is way more emphasized in my school. This situation is humorous. I am attending a Chinese school that prioritizes English more than Chinese, and when it is compared to Malay, Chinese is ranked the lowest.

If you are fluent in Malay, then you can learn the dialects as well as Indonesian! As far as I am concerned, there is no difference between Malaysian and Malay or even if there is any, it shouldn't cause much hindrance. As a native to my country, I would like to learn all indigenous languages before death! Few months ago, I started picking up Indonesian (after years of negligence), French and Dusun, but I halted any effort this year as I have to focus more on my O levels. I hope I can get high distinction for my O Levels. Wish me luck!

There is not much materials to aid one in learning Malay so, one of the best ways to learn this language is to communicate with native speakers! I have not come across any language-learning application which offers Malay language. So, do not hesitate to approach me or other native speakers if you are interested in learning this wonderful language!

───Sources───

Pictures 一 Canva

Edits 一 Me

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