Essay: Lost in Translation

Lost….in Translation

“People keep repeating their mistake as they think it is correct.”

When words come out from your mouth, what do you expect? Do you want to see people inspired? Do you want to see the world change? If you want to see people reaction first, look at yourself. Please mind your own English if you want to inspire people with language.

What is wrong with our English? No basics in grammar. A direct translation from our native language amplifies our mistakes. Nowadays English is used widely in many fields because it is known as an international language. Do you agree if I said English is the king of the world? A king is an important figure in a monarchy. In a chess game, the king plays as an active role. Absolutely, it is important to learn English. I mean right English, not the one you called ‘bahasa rojak’. Since our national language or mother tongue is Malay, we tend to mix it with English.

As shown in the new educational show ‘Oh! My English’ better known to local as OME, we can see the differences between these two languages. Definitely it is impossible to translate for example ‘buah hati’ is the love of my life where as a literal translation would be ‘fruit heart’, which some would find it hilarious. Not all words in both languages have the same meaning and we should not take it as a joke every time. Learning grammar is part of parcel of the English language. ‘Oh! My English’ is loved by everyone. They find it hilarious as they can relate to it, in Malaysia ‘Manglish’ in the order of the day. So, boys and girls try not to repeat your errors.

People keep repeating their mistakes as they think it is right. However, do they even try to correct it? How can they do that, when they don’t even realize their own errors? It has become a fad, corrupted the English Language especially in this age of digital technology where a simple ‘you’ has now become the letter ‘u’.

[“Me, Lin and Raiha are going to the library”, says Farisha.]

Sounds familiar? The correct sentence is “Lin, Raiha and I are going to the library”.

Please take it seriously! Although English is not rated as the most learned language, Mandarin dominates the chart but English is widely used meaning it still rules the world. We should have at least a basic command of English, as a simple as greetings, ‘Good morning’ is not hard to say. To be fluent in the language, one should start from home. Parents can have a conversation with their children in simple English such as, ‘Thank you’.

After learning English you will realize it is an easy language compared to other languages. English is much easier and simpler. In Mandarin, you might be facing the difficulties in pronunciation of the word if you are a ‘newbie’. We are lucky because our tongue can accept English. But, still practice makes perfect. The words will smoothly come out from our mouth.

The first step in learning the language is to cure for the weakness in our language should be started by us. Stop pointing finger at your teachers, school, parents or even the government for your weaknesses. The learning process is different for each individual. Learning the English language slowly is not a mistake but we should see it as our necessity. In 2007, Milan was the first to observe the ‘International Day of Slowness’. Our day will be the longest day of the year. The aim is to celebrate the idea of stepping out of the fast lane by doing less and taking your time on it. So, be inspired and take your time polishing your language.

Credits:
Librarian MaeMae
en.wikipedia.org