November 24, 2006
(1 votes)
Loading ...Salad Language A.K.A. Bahasa Rojak
via Language Log:
The Associated Press reports that Malaysia’s Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Rais Yatim, has announced a crackdown on the misuse of the national language of Malay. Anyone displaying Malay signage that is deemed incorrect by government authorities can be fined up to 1,000 ringgit ($271) after a first warning. The Star, The New Straits Times, and the national news agency Bernama provide more detail on the draconian measures, which will be enforced by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), the agency charged with formulating Malaysia’s language policies.
The particular offense that will be penalized is the commingling of Malay and English, which the AP notes is sometimes referred to as “Manglish” (a blend of Malay and English which implicitly suggests that any such mixture is a mangled version of one language or the other). Locally, such Malay-English mingling is usually referred to as bahasa rojak, or “salad language” (rojak being a spicy mix of fruits and vegetables popular in Malaysia).
salad language…yummy!!!
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