Kristin: What up guys?
I'm Kristin from "Be My Travel Muse."
Ashley: What up guys?
I'm Ashley from "Be My Travel Muse."
Kristin: So, we've been working together for, like, four years now?
Ashley: Yeah.
Kristin: So, Ashley's been actually doing, like, a bunch of really cool behind-the-scenes
stuff on the blog and, like, contributing a lot of really awesome ideas for the last
few years.
We're sitting here in Thailand today and Ashley had a really good idea for a video because
every now and then, she, like, speaks Malay English to me, to, like, give me an example
of what it's like and I really don't understand a word of it.
So yeah, I was born and raised in the greater L.A. area.
Ashley: I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Kristin: So, yeah.
We apparently speak very different English, normally.
Ashley: Yep.
So, let me switch back to my Malaysian accent.
So, Malaysia is a multiracial, multicultural country.
And me, I am a Malaysian Chinese and I have Malaysian Malay friends.
I have Malaysian Indian friends and we all speak English when we speak to each other
just to make things easier, but we, kind of, bring a bit of our own mix into the English
that we speak.
So today, I'm gonna say a few sentences in English or Manglish and have Kristin guess
what they mean.
And let's see how many she can guess right and how many she's gonna...
And the first one is, "Can I tapao this?"
Kristin: Can I tap on this?
Ashley: Tap on this?
Kristin: Can I tap on this?
Ashley: When do you think we use this then?
Kristin: When do you wanna tap on this?
You wanna tap on that?
Ashley: So, "Can I tapao this?" basically means "Can I have this take-away?"
Yeah, when you, like, order food at the restaurant and you want to, like, take-away, you can
just ask if you can tapao this.
So "tapao" is actually a Cantonese word.
It's so common.
It's so commonly used in Malaysia that regardless whether you're a Cantonese speaker or not,
you say that in most restaurants and people understand you.
So, next time you're in a Malaysian restaurant and you wanna pack food away, just to show
that you know what's up, you can just tell them, "I wanna tapao this."
And they'll be like, "Whoa."
Kristin: But in my defense that really seemed like a trick question.
Okay.
Next one.
I'm gonna do better next time.
Ashley: "Why like that one?"
Kristin: Ooh, I like that one?
Ashley: Why like that one?
Yeah.
Why like that one?
Kristin: Wait, like, "Why do you like that one?" or "Ooh, I like that one?"
Ashley: What do you think?
Kristin: I think it's a question.
Ashley: Normally say, "Why like that one" when we're a bit upset.
Like as a traveler, like, if you walk into a hostel room and the room's really dirty
and everything, and the owner comes in, you can just be like, "Why is this room like that
one?"
And they'll know like, "Oh, she's not happy."
It actually doesn't make a lot of sense but it does.
Kristin: Okay.
I have to trust you.
Ashley: The next one is, "Is it very jam now?"
Kristin: Is it very jam now?
Ashley: Yeah.
Kristin: I think that means, like, is it good?
Like, you could say, "Is it very jam now, like a party?"
Like you're asking your friend, "Is it jam now?"
Ashley: That's what she thinks.
Basically, it means, "Is the traffic very bad now?"
Kristin: Oh, traffic jam. Dang, I'm 0 for 3.
Ashley: So, if you're in a cab and you can ask the cab driver like, "Is it very jam now?"
Then the cab driver will tell you.
Kristin: You'd be able to look out the window and see.
Ashley: Well, you have to do better.
This one is a little bit different.
Tell me the differences between "Okay Lah?," "Okay Lor?," "Okay ah," "Okay Meh."
We'll start with "Okay Lah?"
Kristin: I think you put "Lah" at the end of almost everything.
Ashley: Pretty much, actually.
Kristin: The other ones I'm not really familiar with.
So, I think "Lah" is just, like, "I'm finished with my whatever statement I'm making."
Ashley: So, if I say, "Okay Lor?"
What do you think I mean?
Each of these words gives, like, different expression of what you're trying to convey
in your message.
So, like, okay.
So, if you ask me to respond to this email today, and I'm like, "Okay Lah?"
What do I mean?
Kristin: It sounds affirmative.
Like, "Yes I'll do that."
Ashley: Yep.
Like, "I'm good to go.
I'm gonna do it."
But if I say, "Okay Lor?"
Kristin: Oh, like, "I'll get around to it," maybe, yeah, okay.
Ashley: Pretty much.
I mean, "I don't really wanna do it."
And if I say, "Okay Meh?"
Kristin: It sounds like, "Okay man."
But I don't think that's what you're saying.
To me, "Meh" is like, I think you're saying, "Okay," even though you don't have any intention
of doing it.
Ashley: That's pretty close.
Kristin: So, why are you saying, "Okay" at all?
You should say no.
Ashley: We normally use it to ask questions, like if someone suggested something and then
I say, "Okay Meh," it means, like, "Are you sure this is okay?"
Like, as far as, like, Manglish sentences go, these are the really common ones.
But I also want to teach Kristin how to speak like a Malaysian.
It's actually really simple.
We like to say, "Or not," a lot.
Like, "This one can or not?"
"Is this spicy or not?"
"You're crazy or not?"
"Can cheaper a bit or not?"
Kristin: Can cheaper a bit or not?
It's so, like, to the point.
I like that.
Okay.
Or not.
I'm gonna adopt this.
Ashley: And another thing is that we like to say, "One," which actually doesn't mean
anything but we say it anyway.
An example is that, "This restaurant food very nice one.
That mountain view very, very pretty one.
This girl, this American girl, very chun one."
"Chun" means pretty too.
Kristin: I'll take it.
Thailand, very hot one.
Ashley: Your face is sweating.
The next one would be "See first?" or "See how?"
They mean the same thing.
Kristin: Okay, I don't think we're talking about the ocean.
I think we're talking about seeing it.
Like, you wanna see something first before you buy it?
Ashley: Close.
Close.
Kristin: It's gotta be what it is.
Ashley: Close.
Close.
It's not limited to, like, something and not limited to buying things.
Kristin: I think, "See how?" is, like, basically asking, "Oh, how can I see it?"
Ashley: We need to get Kristin to come back to Malaysia.
"See how?" basically, means, "We'll see how it goes."
So, like, if you asked, like, "Do you wanna wake up at 6 tomorrow to see?" which she makes
me do all the time.
Kristin: Yes, I do.
Ashley: Do you wanna wake up at 6 tomorrow to catch the sunrise?
I'll be like...
Kristin: Yeah, to catch the sunrise.
Ashley: "Yeah, See how?"
Kristin: I'm glad that this was not a test.
I didn't really ever think about how English changes so much in different parts of the
world.
I mean, even when I speak to someone from England or Australia, it sounds so different.
We have such different words for things.
So, it's kind of fun seeing how the language evolves in different parts of the world.
If you guys like videos like this, give it a thumbs up and let us know in the comments
and we can make more.
I mean, it would be fun to just explore all the different ways to say things around the
world.
Ashley: Yep.
And shout-out to all my Malaysian friends.
If you have any more Manglish words that you wanna ask Kristin and see if she understands,
leave it in the comments down below, she'll get back to you guys.
Kristin: Okay.
Yeah.
I'll do my best.
Ashley: And we'll make fun of her together.
Kristin: Make sure that you subscribe for new videos every Wednesday and I love you guys.
Bye.