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ALUMNI
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Bazuki, right, with his family at home when he was 15 in his village town of Kota Bharu in the northeast of Malaysia’s peninsula. The painting on the wall is of his family’s residence, made by his very own father, Muhammad Daud, third from left, with acrylic.
W H AT I S M Y My first language is my own local dialect, “loghat Kelantan.” Loghat Kelantan is a Malay dialect used by local people in the northeast of Malaysia’s peninsula and in the southern part of Thailand. Why do I write in English? A few years ago, my Facebook post which I wrote in Malay was “liked” by my respected lecturer Professor Dr. Jason Shih. I felt bad about it. I was quite sure that Dr. Shih did not understand a word of it. Dr. Shih is an American. Then I decided to write in the most common language that I know. Of course, I speak Bahasa Melayu (Malay), Malaysia’s national language. I took up Mandarin, attending two-hour classes twice a week for one year. Nope, “wo bu Mandarin”, except for “ni hen piau liang.” English is a language that I learned. I think I have enough English to communicate quite comfortably. I speak better than writing, but both also can lah! I enjoy Manglish (Malaysian English). I am not very comfortable with writing
LANGUAGE ?
English. When I write, there is always room for improvement, and I keep writing hoping to improve and it is a never-ending story. But when I speak... I just speak lah!, I don’t have to think, it flows, done is done! When I write for Reuters, I write Reuters style. When I write for other than Reuters, I try to write the Associated Press style. When I write for myself, I use American English. I write the simplest English, I want my writings to make sense for 10-year-old kids too. I like to listen to South African English, it just sounds “correct.” When I was in school, my architecture lecturer Mr. Michael Pitts asked me whether I still speak my mother tongue. I said, of course, I can speak the language I grew up with. I was on a floor plan drawing and Mr. Pitts quickly pointed at the word “lobby” and asked me “what is a lobby in your language?”. I confidently said “lobi” and Mr. Pitts gave me a wide smile while saying, “I told you that you’ve lost your own language!” Well Mr. Pitts, my Malay language had
borrowed the English word “lobby” for “lobi” for my Bahasa Melayu! I did not get a chance to explain that to Mr. Pitts. A few years ago, I asked a group of young photographers what do they want from me as an “otai”, a Malaysian slang word “old-timer.” Most of them answer I want a new camera, a flashy bag, a new flash, an ultrasonic lense, etc, except for one who says, “Saya nak belajar cakap English Bang.” Wow... he says he wants to learn to communicate in English. I wish I could speak more languages. Too bad, I’ve lost my Mandarin. I must use the language, or otherwise, I lose it. Speaking other languages does NOT make me less Malay. ~ Bazuki is a creative person. An architect-turned-photographer, Bazuki enjoys Thinking Eyes - picture making and graphic designing. Bazuki is the Class of 1990, School of Architecture, College of Design. Bazuki lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Bazuki is at bazuki.com.