The power of English

[Randy Tong]

The first line is the Malay word,which mean "Don't sit here".

But because of a typo, the sentences turn to other meaning.

[Junilu Lacar]

Tidak betul, lah! The Malay part of that sign says "Please don't sit here" so obviously, a couple of things got lost in translation.  

[Randy Tong]

You know Malay language?

[Junilu Lacar]

Saya tahu sikit. (I know little bit) -- more than 20 years ago, I worked in Singapore at a logistics company (syarikat pengangkutan) so I had to pick up some phrases. I remember words like cepat, turun, naik, wang (quick/fast, down/unload, up/load, money) which the drivers were always using when they talked to me. I helped with the dispatching and they always had to wait for their permits for crossing over to Johor Bahru. I was also in charge of paying them, so that's why I still remember wang -- they were always asking about their money.

I actually still remember quite a few more words/phrases now that I think about it: di mana, sebelum, belum datang, sudah datang, ini macham, tak tahu, tak boleh pakay -- that last one (I can't do it) was one phrase I always heard from the drivers, usually in reference to the money they were getting paid vs the jobs they were asked to do. They liked to complain a lot.  

[Tim Holloway]

One Malay word that almost everyone knows, even if they don't know the meaning: orang for man. As in orang-utan "man of the jungle".

[Junilu Lacar]

Actually, it's orang hutan, man (orang) of the forest (hutan). To westerners, it sounds like orang-utan.

[Tim Holloway]

To Europeans it seems that the best time to pronounce an "h" is when it isn't there (and vice versa).

[Junilu Lacar]

Yeah, the first time I heard them say "schedule" really threw me for a loop. And then there's the phantom "r" they tack on, like at the end of "umbrella".

[Tim Holloway]

Well, Americans know it's really "skedyule", because otherwise we'd be going to shool, and the Germans already laid claim to "cookies" over "biscuits".

But it's "umbreller" in Kentucky, where they use worshing machines.

The "H" quirk, though, It's not so much English (unless you're Cockney), but Italian, Spanish, and I believe French.

[Stephan van Hulst]

Junilu Lacar wrote:I worked in Singapore at a logistics company

Is this the place where you had your database SNAFU? :P

[Junilu Lacar]

Stephan van Hulst wrote:Is this the place where you had your database SNAFU? :P

If you're referring to the time I found markup being generated in stored procedures, no, that was here in the US. That's the code that made me lose my hair. I still had a thick head of hair in Singapore.