Orang putih ke Melayu?
I'm still here, blogging in the early dark hours of the day ... The little fella has yet to make an appearance. Well, there's still 9 days to go before its due :)
Why do I blog in English?
Malay is my mother tongue though I've finished a degree with subjects mostly in Arabic and the rest in English. I love to write poems in Malay, though I do have some pieces in English and maybe one? in Arabic (its not that good though).
Indeed, I am better in Malay when it comes to expressing my thoughts and feelings in those poetic notes. Erm, puitis sangatkah? Tidak. I don't think I'm much of a poet. I've too little writings in comparison to the other poetic artists or even friends and even lieawulf! ;) I would consider my writings as notes on life and observations, unnecessarily poetic, but usually in poem-form ... sort of!
Aduh! Saya sedikit hairan bila al-akh Zaid Akhtar mengajukan pertanyaan kenapa saya berbahasa Inggeris di blog dan ke manakah puisi-puisi Melayu saya? Saya masih menulis dengan bahasa ibunda, berpuisi (mungkin) dengan bahasa yang pertama saya kenali di dunia nyata. Puisi-puisi saya juga masih memenuhi blog usang ini. But I do blog in English (I do write in Malay occassionally) for a few reasons:
- I need to practice the language, especially after graduating from the university ... well, language is a bit BIODEGRADABLE ;) you might lose it by time without practicing (its even very rusty already) ... I am currently living in an English speaking world, but I don't have the chance to mingle much to effectively practice it outside so the least I SHOULD BE DOING is this? :)
- I have many non-Malay, non-Malaysians friends. I want them to be able to understand my writings, like my dearest brother luqmanlee ... he used to visit my old blog to leave messages without having the chance to understand my musings. Isn't that a disadvantage for da'wah? (if the content is relevant).
- I believe many of my Malay speaking friends whom are internet-savvy are also multingual, bilingual: Malay+English at least! But some of my English speaking friends know very little Malay or none at all! Hence, let's do justice to everyone :)
I'm communicating with my son in Malay though I do read and teach him in English. I'm hoping that when it's time to go back home, my son will be able to speak both Malay and English well.
I can't help it. He's a Malay just like we are. So are his grandparents. I don't want him to come home like some Malay-tetapi Orang putih? children that do not even speak a single Malay word nor understand it!
I know, many people are proud to have fluent English speaking children (even if they are totally ignorant about their own language and culture), but I have to say that I'm not going to be proud to have a child instilled ONLY with values and a worldview adopted by the West. We are what we are. This is my view though. I know that sometimes people regard me as a weirdo for not being too excited living and bringing up a family in this Mat Saleh/Orang putih's country.
I'm a Muslim, and I hope to bring up a child with Islamic values and worldview, and that will be a priority. If he speaks English well, alhamdulillah, as we should benefit that from our stay here. But please Handzalah, learn Malay well (and InshaALlah Arabic too), as there's nothing wrong about being one!
Erm, there are studies suggesting that children might be confused and refuse to communicate when there's too many languages used at home. But the findings are not definite (well as far as I've read :)). Some suggest that one parent should use only one language. I do agree. But I also think Muslims are born to be at least bilingual because all of us speaks Arabic! ;) hehe in our prayers 5 times a day at least!
ALlah Knows Best! :)
Why do I blog in English?
Malay is my mother tongue though I've finished a degree with subjects mostly in Arabic and the rest in English. I love to write poems in Malay, though I do have some pieces in English and maybe one? in Arabic (its not that good though).
Indeed, I am better in Malay when it comes to expressing my thoughts and feelings in those poetic notes. Erm, puitis sangatkah? Tidak. I don't think I'm much of a poet. I've too little writings in comparison to the other poetic artists or even friends and even lieawulf! ;) I would consider my writings as notes on life and observations, unnecessarily poetic, but usually in poem-form ... sort of!
Aduh! Saya sedikit hairan bila al-akh Zaid Akhtar mengajukan pertanyaan kenapa saya berbahasa Inggeris di blog dan ke manakah puisi-puisi Melayu saya? Saya masih menulis dengan bahasa ibunda, berpuisi (mungkin) dengan bahasa yang pertama saya kenali di dunia nyata. Puisi-puisi saya juga masih memenuhi blog usang ini. But I do blog in English (I do write in Malay occassionally) for a few reasons:
- I need to practice the language, especially after graduating from the university ... well, language is a bit BIODEGRADABLE ;) you might lose it by time without practicing (its even very rusty already) ... I am currently living in an English speaking world, but I don't have the chance to mingle much to effectively practice it outside so the least I SHOULD BE DOING is this? :)
- I have many non-Malay, non-Malaysians friends. I want them to be able to understand my writings, like my dearest brother luqmanlee ... he used to visit my old blog to leave messages without having the chance to understand my musings. Isn't that a disadvantage for da'wah? (if the content is relevant).
- I believe many of my Malay speaking friends whom are internet-savvy are also multingual, bilingual: Malay+English at least! But some of my English speaking friends know very little Malay or none at all! Hence, let's do justice to everyone :)
I'm communicating with my son in Malay though I do read and teach him in English. I'm hoping that when it's time to go back home, my son will be able to speak both Malay and English well.
I can't help it. He's a Malay just like we are. So are his grandparents. I don't want him to come home like some Malay-tetapi Orang putih? children that do not even speak a single Malay word nor understand it!
I know, many people are proud to have fluent English speaking children (even if they are totally ignorant about their own language and culture), but I have to say that I'm not going to be proud to have a child instilled ONLY with values and a worldview adopted by the West. We are what we are. This is my view though. I know that sometimes people regard me as a weirdo for not being too excited living and bringing up a family in this Mat Saleh/Orang putih's country.
I'm a Muslim, and I hope to bring up a child with Islamic values and worldview, and that will be a priority. If he speaks English well, alhamdulillah, as we should benefit that from our stay here. But please Handzalah, learn Malay well (and InshaALlah Arabic too), as there's nothing wrong about being one!
Erm, there are studies suggesting that children might be confused and refuse to communicate when there's too many languages used at home. But the findings are not definite (well as far as I've read :)). Some suggest that one parent should use only one language. I do agree. But I also think Muslims are born to be at least bilingual because all of us speaks Arabic! ;) hehe in our prayers 5 times a day at least!
ALlah Knows Best! :)
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