Malay is one of Singapore’s recognised languages, alongside English, Mandarin and Tamil. And while it was never on my radar before, it’s been hard to miss it on a recent trip to the Southeast Asian city state.
Picking up bits and pieces of Malay has been a lesson in learning via immersion. Not the usual kind, though. In this case, it’s immersion without intention. I didn’t plan to learn Malay on this trip at all. Instead, it’s been seeping in with me barely noticing. Quite simply, I’ve been spotting the same words and phrases so often, that I’m remembering them without even meaning to.
Malay has a beautiful rhythm to it; it’s surprised me how much I’ve enjoyed assimilating these distinctive-sounding new words and phrases into my memory, and it’s given me a real fascination for the language I didn’t have before. To share that newfound love, I’ve collated a few of my favourite bits of Singaporean Malay realia below. I hope they give you a feel for the shape of the language too, whether you’re learning it actively or otherwise!
Malay on the MRT
Singapore’s public transport network, the MRT, has rich pickings for Malay learners. It’s replete with public information notices, all of which have to be in the country’s recognised languages. It’s very often the language of do’s and don’t’s (very Singapore!), but it’s also simple, clear and full of basic, reusable vocabulary.
Harap jangan naik bila lampu berkelip
Multilingual sign, including Malay, on the Singapore MRT
jangan – don’t
You see this everywhere, although the harap – also meaning ‘hope’ in Malay – converts it into the slightly politer please don’t.
naik – climb, ascend
bila – when
kelip – flash, blink
The ber- prefix in Malay can be used where we might use a present participle in English; hence, berkelip – flashing.
Jangan berdiri dekat pintu
A Malay sign on the Singapore MRT
Another jangan here – you do get used to don’t on public transport!
diri – stand
Again, we have the ber- prefix here; it can be used in a stative sense, so maybe this is something like ‘be standing’.
dekat – close, near
pintu – door
Keselamatan di tangga bergerak
Multilingual sign, including Malay, on the Singapore MRT
keselamatan – safety, security
Arabic learners might spot the root of this word – it’s ultimately from salaam, with Malay word formation morphology around it. The pattern ke-an is used in Malay to form abstract nouns like those ending in -ness in English.
di – on, at
tangga bergerak – escalator
Literally ‘moving stairs’. We see that ber- prefix again on bergerak, moving.
Sembilan sembilan sembilan
No visual for this one. That’s because I only ever experienced it as a tannoy announcement. It’s the repetition really makes it stick, wedged in, as it was, between swathes of otherwise unintelligible words that blended into one.
Sembilan sembilan sembilan simply means 999 – the emergency number in Singapore (as in the UK). Incidentally, nine is now also the only Tamil word that I know, after repeated exposure to oṉpatu oṉpatu oṉpatu in the same multilingual announcements!
What Next?
My unintentional Malay lessons have piqued the appetite for some proper lessons in the future. While it’s not a language that the course book publishers cater for hugely well, there are some great resources out there, including a trusty Colloquial. There’s also Teach Yourself, of course,
But doesn’t the whole accidental learning exercise underscore the serendipity of polyglothood, the routes that lead us to our language adventures? So often, you don’t choose the language – the language chooses you.
Have you ever found yourself memorising words and phrases in a language without really meaning to? Maybe it was while travelling, like my story; but perhaps closer to home, too. Please share your ‘accidental language learning’ stories in the comments!
