Manglish Kills Articulation

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The worst would be 2 languages in 1 sentence! That is unforgiveable...

 have attended many events, both Government related and private, and not to my surprise, many speech givers frustrate me. Why? Because they fail to identify the profile of their audience and hence, their delivery of the speech is rendered ineffective. At last, key messages are not conveyed. Perhaps I am not an expert content wise but I do want to point out certain salient observations that frustrate me.

In my opinion, speech articulation in Malaysia should follow these guidelines:

1. Decide whether the speech should be in English Language or Bahasa Malaysia.

2. If you want to suddenly say something in a different language, you must repeat it back in the initially chosen language per No. 1 above.

My observation is that many people use 2 languages interchangeably (for example, Malaysian English or "Manglish") but not "overlapping"ly. You must overlap so that messages intended are conveyed completely in the intended initially chosen language.

If you really have to speak in the other language, complete your speech in the intended language first, then talk in the other language with a view of driving it as a casual less formal component with an prior request to do so. For example, "Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, benarkan saya berbahasa Inggeris". It is a courteous gesture that does not require you to get permission from the floor... unless of course... if you have a Sultan or Rais Yatim as your VIP... then you should wait for them to allow you.

The worst would be 2 languages in 1 sentence! That is unforgiveable... really. How can we expect others to listen to us when we cannot even speak properly? The so called "Manglish" kills articulation. We need to rectify this. Percakapan kita kena berketerampilan - Our communication needs articulation.

* kopihangtuah

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