Malaysia, being a multi-lingual and multi-cultural country, has evolved a unique melting-pot cultural identity.
Linguistic influences from the various races living closely together has blended together with our colonial heritage, creating a unique Malaysian English dialect complete with its own system of grammar rules and quirks.
The suffix ‘lah’ is a prime example of a uniquely Malaysian evolution of the English dialect we speak over here.
But one area of language that gets very little attention is exclamations. Exclamations are common in every language and serve to vent one’s feelings when mere words are not enough. They are the shortcut words that let everyone know exactly how we feel about something.
In Malaysia, our cultural melting-pot has cooked up some exclamations that are unique to only Malaysia that are known to no other language in the world.
We’ve got plenty of uniquely Malaysian exclamations but if we categorized them all, it would be quite a lengthy list. So we’ve selected a sampling of just six that are commonly used by just about all Malaysians. Here they are:
ADOI! / ah-doy, ʌˈdɔɪ /
An expression of pain, dismay or grief, or sometimes even intense pleasure. Used when feeling incredibly geram about something, like playing with very cute babies or getting stuck in a jam when rushing to an important meeting. Comes from the Old Malay ‘aduh’, but it has evolved in this region into the ‘adoi’ we know and love.
Example of usage:
“I explain to you so simple already! Like that also cannot understand, ah? Adoi!”
“Adoooi, your baby looked so cute just now when she spilled coffee on you!”
AISEHMAN! / ı-say man, ʌɪ seɪ mɛːn /
An expression of disappointment, indignation, or disbelief. This is a hangover from British colonial times, when the British gentleman masters would exclaim “I say, man!” when the wrong wine was served with their meals, or other such crises occurred.
Example of usage:
“Aisehman, how can you serve thosai but don’t have chutney?”
AIYOH! / ı-yoh, ʌɪˈjəʊ /
A multipurpose term used to express concern, consternation, dismay, frustration, surprise, exasperation, etc. Depending on how it is said, it can express a range of emotional intensity from mildly amused to intense frustration. Although it is sometimes used in Chinese dialects, it is not pronounced or used in quite the same way as it is here in Malaysia. Some speculate that the Malaysian version is a melding of the Tamil ‘Aiyoyo!’ and the Chinese ‘Aiya!’ If this is true, this word certainly has a uniquely Malaysian melting-pot flavour.
Example of usage:
“Aiyoh! When the traffic light is yellow, it means go faster OK!”
“Aiyooooh! One more mark and I would have passed the driving test!”
CHUP! / chuup, tʃʊp /
Normally used by kids who need a quick time out in games. Malaysian adults also use it as shorthand for a variety of purposes, from calling for a timeout mid-conversation in order to make a quick digression, to booking a place in a queue. Surprisingly, ‘chup’ actually appears in the Oxford dictionary. It is defined it as an Indian exclamation used to tell someone to “shut up”, derived from the Hindi word ‘cuprao’.
Example of usage:
“Chup! Just now when you said that my report was a total screw up, are you saying I need to do it again?”
“Eh, chup this place for me, ok? I go to toilet first.”
SHIOK! / sh-yok, ʃɪɒk /
Used to express intense enjoyment, extreme satisfaction or to describe any experience that gives high levels of pleasure. Although it sounds similar to the English word ‘shock’, it is highly doubtful that the English had anything to do with the birth of this term. Some scholars (I kid you not, smart people have actually researched this!) think it is derived from the Punjabi/Arabic word ‘shauk’ which means ‘fondness’, ‘longing, or ‘desire’.
Example of usage:
“Wah, dam shiok ah, reading this article!”
“Heh, don’t shiok sendiri lah!”
TOKKOK! / tok-kok, tɒk kɒk /
A derisive word used to dismiss what someone is saying as rubbish, nonsense, or an unfounded statement. It can also be used in a more casual manner to describe chit-chat or small talk, similar to “shooting the breeze”.
While it may sound extremely rude and sexually suggestive, its origins are actually very tame and safely within polite English norms. ‘Tokkok’ is a colloquial corruption of “telling cock and bull stories”, shortened to “talking cock” and further corrupted to its present form.
Example of usage:
“You have a pilot’s license? Don’t tokkok lah!”
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