Extras: Going Back to My Home Kampong

I am. 
For two weeks beginning 23rd April 2012 (It's my birthday FYI).


But why did I write kampong instead of kampung (italicised)?


It is because kampong is accepted in English as a valid word, borrowed completely. Validate here. But they adapted the spelling kampong instead of kampung. I suspect it has to do with how they pronounce it. Kampung will sound [kaym-pang] from their tongue, while kampong will sound very similar to our kampung [kaym-pong]. But I guess, mat salleh who has been here long would pronounce like us, kampung [kahm-poong].


But there are no worries as to how to translate it. Copy directly. That's acceptable too. But be careful, because the more acceptable spelling of kampong in Malay is kampung.


Now, don't fret over it and get more confused. Go have some tea.


I'll have my favorite coffee for now, Kopi Che Nah, the pride of Teluk Intan.

Grammar Matters: antara / di antara

Malay speakers (and writers) these days, have become more and more complacent. At least that was what the facilitator in our class opined the other day. Interestingly, as she stressed out later, when speaking or writing in English we take a more careful approach, so as to not make a mistake. Why didn’t we do the same in Malay?

Arguably, complacency? We take being born Malay, or born into a Malay speaking environment for granted.

The fact that the English equivalent is pretty vague doesn’t help either. My suggestion is use your common sense and rule of thumb when translating. In English, there are ‘between’, ‘among’ and ‘amid’ (sometimes ‘amongst’ and ‘amid’ but they don’t carry any different meaning, just a variation of spelling). The following is what dictionary.com describes ‘between’ and ‘among’ (I left 'amid' because it is very similar to among):

Among expresses a relationship when more than two persons or things are involved. Example: Three children were among the passengers killed in that accident.

Between is used when only two persons or things are involved. Example: I sat between Anok and Uchop.

Using this and a reference from Blog Cikgu Azemi, I gathered that there are similarities. He says:

Antara menunjukkan perbandingan. (shows comparison)

Di antara menunjukkan kedudukan/tempat. (shows position/place)

Based on that, it can be safely said that ‘antara’ is the Malay equivalent of ‘among’, and ‘di antara’ is that of ‘between’. But Cikgu Azemi’s explanation has some variation. Here is how the examples given above should be translated, and a few more examples from me too:

E: Three children were among the passengers killed in that accident.

BM: Tiga kanak-kanak antara yang terbunuh dalam kemalangan itu.

E: Shih Li, Qamar and Alaudin are among the students selected from class 5 Beta.

BM: Shih Li, Qamar dan Alaudin adalah antara pelajar yang dipilih daripada kelas 5 Beta.

E: I sat between Anok and Uchop.

BM: Saya duduk di antara Anok dan Uchop.

E: Shah Alam lies between Klang and Petaling Jaya.

BM: Shah Alam terletak di antara Klang dan Petaling Jaya.

But Cikgu Azemi says, when comparing two persons or things, use 'antara', because there is no subject between the two objects. Example: Antara Adnan dan Zamzuri, Adnan nampak lebih pendiam. Although in English we still say, Between Adnan and Zamzuri, Adnan seems the quieter. Now in this sentence: Perbualan di antara Shakinah dan Mashitoh berlarutan sehingga tiga jam. (The conversation between Shakinah and Mashitoh extends to three hours). 'Perbualan' (Conversation) is the subject and it sits between the two objects, that is why we use ‘di antara’. Whereas in the former example, Adnan and Zamzuri are the objects, and Adnan (the subject) does the verb 'nampak' (seems).

Also when using 'antara', do not pluralise the object because 'antara' has already indicated a plural subject e.g. antara pelajar ---not- antara pelajar-pelajar, antara negara Eropah -not- antara negara-negara Eropah. Also 'di antara' are two words, always.

Hmmm… among all of you who can understand what you’ve just read? How about a chat between you and your spouse, that can help, I suppose. 

Provided that it didn't extend to three hours and later create an invisible wall between you and your spouse.


That will be very bad, and do not point those fingers on me.

FYI: Revisited: Ministry of Defence's "Poke the eye"

Remember the Defence Ministry’s guideline on attire some time ago?
The poor chap who translated the Malay term ‘menjolok mata’ into ‘poke the eye’ must have now laid dormant in some rabbit hole or something, hoping he would find a new ‘parallel universe’ there.

The strange thing is, ‘menjolok mata’ isn’t even the right term. What? Yes, according to Kamus Dewan it is ‘mencolok mata’. The following explanation can be found at http://appw05.dbp.gov.my/dokumen/pedoman%20bahasa.pdf
Menurut Kamus Dewan (1994: 245), kata mencolok mata bermakna 1. mencucuk mata; 2. (bahasa kiasan) tampak jelas, kelihatan jelas benar, 3. membangkitkan marah orang yang melihat, menyakitkan hati, memberi malu.

Kata menjolok pula bermakna 1. menusuk (merodok) sesuatu dengan galah dll. supaya gugur, menusuk ke dalam lubang dll. 2. memasukkan jari tangan ke dalam lubang hidung (kerongkong dll.); 3. memancing-mancing keterangan dll.; daripada orang, mengajuk atau menduga hati.

Jadi, antara mencolok mata dengan menjolok mata, yang tepat ialah mencolok mata, iaitu bahasa kiasan yang bermakna tampak jelas atau kelihatan jelas benar. Contoh penggunaannya:

• Kakitangan kerajaan dilarang memakai pakaian yang mencolok mata.

This is what I understand. It has to be that the difference is whether the action is physical or not. You can still poke someone’s eye (‘menjolok mata’) provided that it means you use something for example your fingers to do that. This may be the result:

You must have very strong fingers. Can I borrow them?

As for something that you wear, for example, they are so skimpy that your labia are nearly visible or in case of a man, your ‘wrinkled fruit’, they are so distastefully worn, that it is a sore to your eyes and makes you uncomfortable especially when you can't avoid but look at them. You may look like this when it happens:

Not long ago (circa the turn of the millennium) Spritney Bears and Kristina Akugila involved in a media tussle as to who wears the most ‘mencolok mata’ outfit, in other words, it means the least put on. 

Here to remind you, ‘mencolok mata’ is not limited to skimpy outfit only or outfit only. Another example: Sampah yang dilambakkan di tepi jalan raya itu mencolok mata. (The rubbish heaped on the roadside is a sore to the eye)

I do apologize if some examples I gave above are distasteful. So, can we say ‘mencolok perasaan’ (hurting one’s feeling)?

Any expert out there?

FYI: Being Technical Vs Being Sensible

A lot of Malay words, standing alone or within a phrase, are initially and generally accepted as the correct term for its English equivalent. But as we progress, confusions seem to rise as to its exact meaning or when a variation suddenly appears as a result of re-classification (for example a disease that expands into several sub-diseases in the same family). A very good example of this is diabetes.

A generally accepted term for Diabetes in Malay is Kencing Manis. As you may know now, diabetes is not just kencing manis as in 'your urine is sugar-laden' or 'your urine is sweet as gula-kabung, ants just love them'. We are now informed about the various types of diabetes (mainly Type 1, 2 and 3. Know about them HERE). But, I am not going to delve deeper into what they are.


DBP recognised this long ago. That's why now diabetes is the Malay translation of diabetes. The problem is, can all the people in the general population, in this case Malaysians, actually comprehend that diagnostic term especially when a doctor is supposed to relay the bad news? Tell diabetes mellitus, diabetes insipidus or maybe diabetes berkaitan obesiti, to a Makcik or an Ah Soh or an Achii their 70's, mostly who at best graduated a night reading class circa the sixties a-la P. Ramlee movies. What you get from them is this: Mouth agape, eyes blinking and nervous hands wiping off sweat with tissues or the end of their selendang.


That's why doctors and translators alike address the issue sensibly by telling an uninformed person a more generally understood term of certain words to avoid an unnecessary new coronary-related disease being diagnosed at the same time. Bahasa Melayu translators would normally use diabetes as diabetes in formal translation texts, by reason that those who read it has a certain degree of knowledge to it. In a text known to be distributed to a lesser informed population, we are advised to include terms that minimize confusions.


Did you notice that these days over teh tarik, we sometimes refer diabetes as diabetes and not kencing manis in our normal Bahasa  Basahan conversation? Did you realize also teh tarik is a big contributor to Type 2 Diabetes.. he he..


Well, time and sensibility made us well aware and informed.


Tell me if you agree.

Translate this: Policy

Browsing through the ever so reliable Gerbang Maya DewanBahasa Dan Pustaka, it can be deduced that the word ‘policy’ has two definitive translations. They are:

English: Policy

Bahasa Melayu: 1. Polisi, 2. Dasar.

You may wonder though, which one should one use? Are they interchangeable? Unfortunately, they are not interchangeable, as I found out later, from a very established translator friend, Shakira Zain. She informed me these two words can only be used in these circumstances, respectively:

Polisi – is to be used ONLY in articles related to insurance. Polisi will always be a noun (kata nama). Don’t go clever (memandai-mandai) and create a new word like ‘mempolisikan’.

Dasar – for all other usage. In this case it is always a noun too.


But, for other meanings, it can be a noun or a verb, and with affixes, the derivation (kata terbitan) can be a noun, verb, adjective and so on. For example: berdasarkan (based on), dasar lautan (ocean bed).

The confusion that could arise from this is that you may have stumbled upon, somewhere that says, for example, Polisi Syarikat XYZ Berhad. What follows then, is a list of the company’s policy. This is an example of a wrong usage of the word polisi. It should be ‘Dasar Syarikat XYZ Berhad’ because it is not about ‘an insurance policy’ or anything related, but a policy that may mean, among others, a guideline to performing at a workplace.

Easy way out, eh? Senang-senang je terjemah ikut bunyi...

Of which... had I been given the power to police this wrong usage of the word polisi, I will knock on every door of every company here in Malaysia, and give them my own 'personal policy' on it. And it may contain some very colorful terms, and the colors are not going to be beautiful.

Erm.. by the way, can you do that for me, please? Maybe until I received my Kad Kuasa Polis Bahasa. Can ar? 

Can...? 

Thanks….

Translate this: Roadshow

Would you say... that you wouldn’t have known it until someone told you, as was in my case? It is only until recently that I know...


Roadshow is translated as Jerayawara.


We don’t see it that frequently though, maybe that’s why, but the Malay word for it is right here > Gerbang Maya Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka.


Here is an example of a very popular roadshow that has become a household name in Malaysia. It's purpose though, remains vague:



Here is a cut and paste from PRPM on its meaning:
Jerayawara
persembahan, pameran, ceramah dsb yg diadakan oleh seseorang atau se­kum­pulan orang (penyanyi, ahli politik dsb) yg ber­­kunjung dr satu tempat ke tempat lain dgn tujuan memberikan hiburan, menjelaskan sesuatu isu kpd orang ramai, mempromosikan sesuatu dsb: persatuan itu melaksanakan program pendedahan dan pendidikan, termasuk beberapa siri ~ yg meliputi seminar dan pa­meran.

But I couldn’t fine the meaning of jeraya in PRPM which prompted me to scour the Internet. Then, I stumble upon a link that took me to a very established English-Malay translator who goes by the name of Mek Yam. She pointed out the origin of jeraya, which is a slang in Sarawak meaning jalan raya (road). Fair enough, I thought. What about wara? Well that's an easy one because PRPM has its meaning. It’s pemberitahuan, pengumuman, pengisytiharan.


Personally, I feel like the resulting word is plucked out of the wind. But they do have a solid explanation to it. And it is way much better than if we were forced to use a stupido-and-lazyo-sounding ‘rodsho’.

Translation Tips #1: Read thoroughly

This is not a tip, but actually a rule. Once you get your text it should be the first thing that you do.


If it's a very long text, for example containing 5000 or more words, it is OK if you just read the first few paragraph because the rest of the text would normally be written in the same mood. Once you get yourself in the mood, you'll find it really easy to work on.


But here is a tip: Make this website your main reference - Gerbang Maya Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka

They are the forerunner in championing the rights and status of Bahasa Melayu in Malaysia, and they are the ones who attend any conference pertaining to Malay Language within and around Nusantara (Malay Archipelago).