Zaim Al-Amin
0428 hours, Wednesday
8th February, 2006
Ampang - Petaling Jaya
http://zacknina.blogspot.com
http://transcendentia.blogspot.com
http://www.malaysiakini.com/rentakini/46011

Salam & salutations,

Re: Article for my Transcendentia Column, Rentakini (Lifestyles) Section,
Malaysiakini

Title: Of Hek-Eleh & Poyo Giler, or, Bukan Cintan Ori

If you had trouble appreciating the title, then just blame the generation gap.
Or then again, perhaps it's actually a sign of serious aging in process (though
I'd rather conveniently subscribe to the former).

I was listening to my four kids having conversation during our family dinner the
other day, and trust me it was a revelation of sorts. I was equally amused and
horrified at the same time; bearing witness to blatant abuses to the Malay
Language. Sometimes I too struggled to grasp the meaning of some supposedly
`new' words and phrases that I once thought I've duly mastered. For example:
"Hek-eleh ... poyo giler ..."

For the uninitiated, the word `poyo' here could mean anything between uncool,
not phat, square, boring, nerdy, ugly to being a downright jerk. Gross, I hear
you say? Well, come to think of it, perhaps it could mean that too, and more.
Hence its brazen youth by the Rakan Muda Generation. What is immediately evident
is the reaction it brings; it seems that one would prefer to be called `lembab'
or even `bodoh' rather than `poyo'. Maybe to them being a `poyo' makes one The
Ultimate Social Pariah.

I still recall how my father used to strictly monitor the types of magazines
that I read, for fear of getting infected by the dreaded symptom (then) referred
to as `Pencemaran Bahasa' (language pollution). So, understandably it is
particularly frustrating now for me, as a father, to actually have to listen to
my own kids proudly brandishing their `Bahasa Melayu XP Version 5.2 (Updated
2006)'. Of course, who are you to complain. To them, you are just an `Otai',
which is actually an adulterated version of `Old Tie'.

If you think having to hear the kids resort to using such language is awful
enough, then maybe you haven't heard enough after all. As if to add salt to
injury, the Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka has actually decided to announce that the
words `Ori' (from the English word `original') and `Cintan' (used to be a
colloquial word to mean `amorous') are now officially accepted as full-fledged
authentic Bahasa Melayu words.

Makes you wonder what is the prevailing criterion for a word to be accepted as
such.

Granted, Bahasa Melayu as a language does face the dilemma most minor languages
have; it suffers from inadequate vocabulary. Thus began the almost feverish
borrowing from other languages since more than two decades ago. Hence words like
`imunisasi' (immunisation) and `polarisasi' (polarisation). Globalisasi and
Melayu Global (later glokal, for `global and local'). The possibilities were
endless, and people were gleefully adding to their new found vocabulary. But
when words like `ori' gets in, any self-respecting linguist couldn't help but
frown.

I don't have anything against borrowing, or more precisely, adopting words from
other languages, except for the obvious fact that we already have words such as
`asli' to sufficiently mean `original'. And come to think of it, I've never once
used the word `ori' to denote that meaning. So why the haste to announce it as a
new `Malay' word?

I'm sure my 80-year-old Grandma, for one, would fume like a locomotive if she
knows this. After all, she's been using words such as `senalar' (frequent),
kebelai (hungry), peghosah (disturb) etc. for as long as she could remember...so
why on earth aren't those words accepted yet?

I was still watching my kids and listening to what sounded like Double Dutch to
me. One of them caught my gaze. "Hek-eleh …", he said, without really meaning
anything at all. I smiled at him and, absent mindedly blurted "…poyo?" Almost
simultaneously, they all laughed approvingly. "Tau takpe", another one said and
lovingly put her hands around me.

There you are, I told myself. Tau takpe … (meaning: If You Know, Then It's Okay)
…


Cheers & best regards,
Zaim Al-Amin