Malaysian Mandarin
Malaysian Mandarin (simplified Chinese: 马来西亚华语; traditional Chinese: 馬來西亞華語; pinyin: Mǎláixīyà Huáyǔ) is variation of Mandarin (Putonghua) spoken in Malaysia by ethnic Chinese but very much different in tone. The difference can be as similar as British English and Malaysian English. Malaysian Mandarin and Singaporean Mandarin are very close, the language was widely used in films created by Singaporean movie director Jack Neo.
Malaysian Mandarin speakers seldom translate local terms or names to Mandarin when they speak. They would prefer to say, for instance, the street name "Jalan Bukit Kepong" to better communicate with local Malaysians, whereas a citizen of China would most probably pronounce it as "Re-lan Wu-ji Jia-tong" to communicate with Chinese citizens.
In comparison with Chinese, Taiwanese or even Singaporean Mandarin, Malaysian Mandarin is clearly distinguished by its relatively tonally 'flat' sound as well as its extensive use of glottal stops and 'rusheng' which often replace what would be in standard Mandarin 1st and 4th tones. This results in a distinct 'clipped' sound compared to other forms of Mandarin.
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[edit] Some Differences between Malaysian Mandarin and Putonghua (Mandarin in China)
- Jalan Bukit Kepong - 惹兰武吉甲洞 rělán wǔjí jiǎdòng
- Raja Abdullah - 拉惹亚都拉 'lārě yàdūlā
- Kuih Talam - 达兰糕 dálán gāo
- Roti Canai - 印度人的面包 Yìndùrén de miànbāo
[edit] Early Ming and Qing immigrants
The majority of ethnic Chinese people living in Malaysia came from China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, between the 15th and early 20th centuries. The majority were speakers of Hokkien (Min Nan), Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, and Hainanese. In the 19th century, Qing immigrants to Malaya had no single common dialect and were mostly uneducated peasants, and they tended to cluster themselves according to the ethno-linguistic group, usually corresponding to their place of origin, and worked with relatives and other speakers of the same dialect. In 1879, according to Isabella Bird, a visitor to the tin mining boomtown of Taiping, Perak, "five dialects of Chinese are spoken, and Chinamen constantly communicate with each other in Malay, because they can't understand each other's Chinese".[1]
The Chinese dialects spoken in Malaysia have over the years become localized, as is apparent from the use of Malay and English loan words. Words from other Chinese dialects are also injected, depending on the educational and cultural background of the speaker (see Education in Malaysia and Rojak Language). Mandarin in Malaysia, too, has been localized, as a result of the influence of other Chinese variants spoken in Malaysia, rather than of Malay. Though it was discouraged in teaching at the local Chinese school and was regarded as mispronunciation.
[edit] Examples
- Angela, 你们不是应该要拿那个 'form' 先, 然后才去四楼那个 'counter' 的 meh?
- 刚刚从 Taman Chempaka 回来, 它的 traffic '死伯' (泉漳片闽南)够力, 它 '敢敢' 跟你塞两个多小时 '那种', 现在 '讲真的' 我很 'Sian' 了.
- 那个黑色 body 的跟它 '马是' 同样的, 我看你们重 '砍' 了, 又.
[edit] See also
Variants of Mandarin Chinese:
- Standard Mandarin
- Singaporean Mandarin
- Taiwanese Mandarin
- Regional differences in the Chinese language
[edit] References
- ^ [The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Languages & Literature by Prof. Dato' Dr Asmah Haji Omar (2004) ISBN 981-3018-52-6.]
[edit] External links
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