''Bahasa Rojak'' ( Malay for "mixed

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

") is a form of communication in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

formed by

code-switching In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. These alternations are generally intended to ...

among two or more of its many languages as some kind of

pidgin A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified form of contact language that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn f ...

(trade language); '' rojak'' refers to a local salad which also invokes the meaning of "mixture".

History

Rojak language of

can be traced back to 1402, in the early

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

of Parameswara, an international port where more than 80 languages from a variety of cultures were spoken. Worldwide traders, settlers, and original dwellers speaking multiple languages in a conversation was common. According to the '' Encyclopedia of Malaysia'' (''Languages and Literature''), it is a

contact language Language contact occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact with and influence each other. The study of language contact is called contact linguistics. Language contact can occur at language borders, between adstratum ...

, specifically a

, known in modern

as rojak language. The uniqueness of rojak language is in its code-switching style. A person who speaks rojak language may begin with standard Malay, continue with English, then mix one or two words in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

garnished with Tamil, and finish with

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

or some fashionable Japanese words. During Parameswara's time, when two groups of traders without a shared language met, they would try many possible languages in order to best understand each other, and the result would be a pidgin or ''rojak''. In the early 16th century, Portuguese visitor Tome Pires found in Malacca These peoples came to

with ships, and by 1511,

had a population of 50,000 people, including a resident trade community that spoke 84 languages. The British brought in large numbers of immigrants from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

from the late 18th to mid 20th century. The presence of local Malays,

Orang Asli The Orang Asli are a Homogeneity and heterogeneity, heterogeneous Indigenous peoples, indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of Peninsular Malaysia. As of 2017, the Orang Asli accounted f ...

Peranakan The Peranakan Chinese () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (region), Nanyang (), namely the British Empire, British, Portugu ...

s, Portuguese settlers, Siamese Thais, newly arrived Chinese and Indians, Sarawakians and Sabahans, as well as the others resulted in the wide use of mixed language. The P. Ramlee song ''Dengar Ini Cerita'' (1953) notably uses Malay-English code-switching as a plot device between its subjects indicating their different social backgrounds.

Examples

* ''Kau memang teruk la!'' - You're really bad! * ''Tempat makan ni best sangat!'' - This food court is really cool! * ''Nak makan sini ke nak tapau?'' - Do you want to dine here or take away? * ''Jangan susah hati maa, lu punya bos mesti boleh kaw tim punya maa!'' - Don't worry, your boss can surely compromise! * ''Apasal lu buat ini kerja cincai?'' - Why do you do this task sloppily? Colloquial and contemporary usage of Malay includes modern Malaysian vocabulary, which may not be familiar to the older generation, such as: *''Awek'' (means girl, in place of ''perempuan''). *''Balak'' (means guy, in place of ''jantan''). *''Cun'' (means pretty, in place of ''cantik / jelita''). New plural pronouns have also been formed out of the original pronouns popularly nowadays and the word ''orang'' (person), such as: *''Korang'' (''kau'' + ''orang'', the exclusive "us", in place of ''kalian / kamu semua'' (or ''hangpa / ampa'' in Kedah)). *''Kitorang'' (''kita'' + ''orang'', the exclusive "we", in place of ''kami''). *''Diorang'' (''dia'' + ''orang'', the exclusive "they", in place of ''mereka'' (or ''depa'' in Kedah)). In addition, Arabic terms that are originally used in Standard Malay nowadays have been popularly changed where some of the words or pronunciations in the involved terms have been added by the local conservative Muslims by disputing the terms suggested by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), claiming that the involved terms with implementation of the additional words or pronunciations is the real correct terms as same as stated in the Qur'an, where it is predominantly used by the local Muslim netizens in the social media nowadays. The several involved terms in comparison to Standard Malay that is popularly used, such as: *''Ramadhan'' (means the holy fasting month, in place of ''Ramadan''). *''Aamiin'' (means asking Him to verify the prayer (''Du'a''); real term is Ameen, in place of ''Amin''). *''Fardhu'' (means obligatory (''in Islam''), in place of ''Fardu''). *''Redha'' (means accepting, in place of ''Reda''). *''Mudharat'' (means harm, in place of ''Mudarat''). *''Dhaif'' (means poverty, in place of ''Daif''). *''Zohor'' (means mid-day or noon time, in place of ''Zuhur''). *''Hadith'' (means Prophet (Mohamed) terms or speeches, in place of ''Hadis'').

''Jangan lupa diri''

"Jangan lupa diri" ("Do not forget your roots") is a rallying cry commonly heard among Malaysians interested in protecting their linguistic heritage. This statement suggests that, regardless of race, the Malaysian people have their own roots and ancestral origin to protect. In 2002, Tun Dr. Mahathir proposed that English be 'a tool' to obtain knowledge in the sciences and mathematics, as part of

education in Malaysia Education in Malaysia is overseen by the Ministry of Education (Malaysia), Ministry of Education (). Although education is the responsibility of the Government of Malaysia, Federal Government, each states and federal territories of Malaysia, st ...

Controversy

Code-switching between English and Malaysian and the use of novel loanwords is widespread, forming ''Bahasa Rojak''. Consequently, this phenomenon has raised the displeasure of linguistic purists in Malaysia, in their effort to uphold use of the prescribed

standard language A standard language (or standard variety, standard dialect, standardized dialect or simply standard) is any language variety that has undergone substantial codification in its grammar, lexicon, writing system, or other features and that stands ...

. ''Bahasa Rojak'' is widely used, especially by Malaysian urban youths, which has triggered concerns about continued proficiency in the Malaysian (specifically Malay) and English languages being mixed, and consequent risks to job opportunities for new graduates. The

Malaysian government The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia (; Jawi: ), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is a federation comp ...

is promoting the use of standard Malay (''bahasa Melayu (baku)'') since the end of 1980s, especially in the private sector, and discouraging the usage of Bahasa Rojak, similar to the Singapore Government's Speak Good English Movement and its discouragement of the use of the

Singlish Singlish (a portmanteau of ''Singapore'' and '' English''), formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English, is an English-based creole language originating in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact betwe ...

(Singaporean-English) pidgin. For example, Malaysian TV station TV3 in April 2006 changed the name of its carnival ''Karnival Sure Heboh'' to ''Karnival Jom Heboh'' as a result of this concern. Comic magazines are often criticized for using Bahasa Rojak. Words or phrases written in Bahasa Rojak are often printed in boldface to enable readers to identify them. By the end of 2003, '' Gempak'' magazine began using a more formal language style and minimizing use of Bahasa Rojak, including the usage of bold lettering for words deemed colloquial. During the Standard Malay Language Framework Congress held in November 2017, former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed his disappointment at the poor usage of the national language. Despite Malaysia having achieved 60 years of independence, there are still many Malaysians (especially Malays) who could not speak proper Malay despite being born, raised, and educated in Malaysia.

References

External links

Malaysia at the crossroads

SURVEY REPORT
{{authority control Languages of Malaysia English-based pidgins and creoles Malay-based pidgins and creoles Code-switching