Originally posted by ants You are from Spore right? I thought S'poreans know some Bahasa. What the heck is the above suppose to mean??? Hi Spyboy, Well you now have a taste of "Singlish" (Singapore-English) and the above is spoken in a rather teasing way as a form of 'joking' relationship. If I may interprete what HoNgHoNg (HH) was trying to convey: Because ants assumes most Singaporeans should be able to speak a little of the Malay language since they are so close to Malaysia where Bahasa (language) Malay is commonly used and Singapore has about 15-20% of its own population comprising the Malay race, HH retorted by saying it was a wrong assumption "you (ants) already said you thought (assumed) only, therefore it can't be a confirmation (it wasn't a confirmed answer, right??), Btw, the Indonesian language is very much like Malay, except perhaps with a little difference in the intonation. Even in Malaysia, one can find Malay spoken perhaps differently by some in the north, south, east and west. Not a few Malays have their roots in Indonesia. HH went on to reiterate that "not all Singaporeans know Malay (bahasa)", which is true. The word "lah" or "lor", which normally comes at the end of a sentence is used as a matter of emphasis and this expression is borrowed from the Chinese dialects, which are many, including Hokkien (most widely spoken here), Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, etc. "Somemore, we are Chinese, we don't use Malay, we use Mandarin and English more often." Here, HH again emphasizes ("somemore" = Furthermore) that she is a Chinese Singaporean (not Malay) and she doesn't speak Malay (simply because she didn't study the language in school) and she uses Mandarin (common Chinese which is used in schools and in public) and English (which is the first language taught in most schools in Singapore). The Chinese make up about 70% of the Singapore population. As mentioned before, they speak a variety of Chinese dialects (the language spoken in the respective provinces in China) brought about by their forefathers when they migrated to Singapore by sea from southern China more than 180 years ago to seek a better life. To make the Chinese understand each other better, a common Chinese language, Mandarin, was adopted and taught in the schools so that Mandarin now becomes the lingua franca among the Chinese. Strangely, the written form of the Chinese language is uniform and understood by all dialect groups. It is the spoken form that varies and is less understood among them.
I'm just assuming.. not confirming that All Sporeans know Malay Language. Just happen that most of the Sporeans i know , knows how to speak a little Malay. Miss Spore alot.. haven't been there for ages... used to go there frequently every year. Hmmm i might want to plan to go Spore this coming June or July. Maybe can play with some of the Bfers. Btw nice pics of Candra.
Ants isn't wrong if he says that at least some Singaporeans understand and can speak at least basic Malay. Being neighbours to the state of Johore, some are bound to be able to speak some Malay. It truly depends on the kind of people you interact with and how much you actually use the language. I have a lot of Malay and indigenous race friends when I was much younger and I tend to speak a lot of Malay back then and I also read a lot of those comics (Gila Gila or Gelihati, anyone?). Most people who speak with me on the phone don't really know that I'm a chinese! In Singapore, official functions as well as the school are mostly conducted in English and Mandarin, it won't be a surprise that many don't know Malay at all. Take this school I work in for instance - a lot of the kids have really good English, a few actually sounded like angmoh! Yet, when it comes to BM... you can make your own assumption... Back to Candra and Indonesia - the language that they speak, it depends on which part of the country you're from. We have janitors here from Jawa Island that I have a heck of an understanding of what they are talking about to each other, while the canteen ladies from Sumatera could be understood easier, though still blurry. The language used in 'Ada Apa Dengan Cinta?', is it the more common national type or is it a slang? Something like the urban or common tongue of Korea vs the village or traditional Korean? Jkusmanto, your view please! I tried listening to the coach of Indonesia when he bellowed out the instructions to Candra/Sigit during WC03 and I could understand nothing! Candra's name is Chen Zhaoliang, isit? I know Alan Budi is Wei Renfang, Susi is Wang Lianxiang. Halim?
Hi Silvia, Thanks a lot for your response. I hope I'll be able to visit Batam Stadium (What is it called in Indonesia - the name?) some day to watch some of Indonesia's national players in action!
HOLY MOLY...are those white hairs I see?..he is only 29 or so isn't he..already with white hair..man, he looks old.
There are hundreds of languages In Indonesia. Like Wilfred said, it depends on which part of Indonesia they are from. Peoples from the parts which close to Malaysia speak mostly a language that simular to Bahasa (Malay). How further to east how bigger the difference. The national language is Bahasa Indonesia which has same root as Bahasa (Malay). e.g. If you go to Java, in general there are 2 languages that mostly peoples speak: Sunda by Sundanis and Java. But you will also hear different Java's dialects, from Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java. Same as Singapore, the Indonesian Chinese speak also many dialects. In Sumatera they speak Hokkien, In Kalimantan (Borneo) they speak Teochew and Hakka. In another parts they speak Mandarin. Chinese community mostly live in Sumatera, Kalimantan and Java. And right : Candra's name is Chen Zhaoliang, but in Indonesia is Tan Sau Liang.
Maybe Indonesia's men double's could be said as a most solid one. Since the era of Christian/Ade Chandra and Tjun Tjun/ Johan Wahyudi are gone in 70's . There were Bobby Ertanto/Hadibowo, Kartono/Heryanto, Eddy Hartono/Rudy Gunawan (in the era of Sidik brothers and Li Yongbo/Tian Bingyi), Rudy Gunawan/Bambang Supriyanto and Rexy/Ricky. All of the doubles were coach by the magic hand of Christian. The last double which coach by Christian were Candra/Sigit and Tony/Halim. But since Christian retire form coaching, Indonesia's double's are also 'retire' from the top. I think the Indonesia's double's are missed a magic touch of Christian.
u r so damn rude..... those r NOT white hair.... those r juz reflective from the flash lights..... i still think he is cute
hi loh...i cant remember the stadium name, i think its called tengku somting...but that stadium is a quite new one....next time maybe we can arrange to watch together if there is execiting tournament gg around.........cheers.....are u gg to jkt to watch the the thomas cup??.................
The stadium's name is "Tumenggung Abdul Jamal Indoor Sports Hall" The area where the stadium 'stand' is Muka Kuning.
By the way, Chandra Wijaya and Sigit Budiarto are back together for the Thomas Cup's simulation match in Batam. Read here
Thanks Silvia. I certainly love to watch the TC, although not for the whole series, maybe about a week up to the Finals. Please let me know if you have a group going to Jakarta as I'll love to join in too! Having someone around who is familiar with the place, culture and the language especially, will be of great help. Hi Jkusmanto, Thanks to you too for getting me the Batam stadium name. I'm sure you must be an Indonesian. What are you doing overseas? Won't you return to watch the TC in Jakarta?
Yes Loh, I am an Indonesian Chinese. At this moment I stay in Belgium, I am working here. Actually I am planning to back to Jakarta for holiday this summer. As you know, summer holiday in Europe is in July and August. So, it will be difficult to arrange for TC/UC which hold in May.
