Of language and dialects

I just came back from my Indonesian friend, Keisha's house since she need some help with her Information Age essay.

Anyway, I always thought she stayed in Cyberia with her friend but it turned out it was her aunt's place. I clicked on her doorbell and her maid opened the door for me. I remembered what Tante Yati said that most Indonesian have maids so it wasn't quite a suprise about it. Most of the Indonesians living here also brought their maid along with them from back home.. I wonder why they don't employ those who are already here. Hurm..

Nevertheless, her aunty and her mom came back a few hours later which I must admit, shocked me since I thought this is just her aunty's place; I didn't expect her to live here along with Keisha's mom! Anyway, I was hungry and her aunties brough back some very thick murtabak and asked me to help prepare the dishes. She must've though that I'm Indonesian too since she speak to me in Bahasa Indonesia throughout the way. Thank God I somewhat understood what she said!

Later I was back at helping Keisha with her work. I spoke to her in English and that must've tipped her aunt because she asked Keisha whether I was Malaysian. Then I overheard her mother and her aunt conversing on the couch behind me. They were whispering so God knows how I overheard them.

Aunt: Eh, itu orang Malaysia iya?
Mum: Iyak, Keisha bilang dia orang Malaysia.
Aunt: Tadi aku ngomong Indonesia sama dia. Dia ngerti kok?
Mum: Pasti, pasti ngerti. Teman-temannya rame orang Indonesia..

I tried my best not to laugh or turn around and smiled at them though I really felt like. I think most Malaysian could possibly grasp some if not all what Indonesian are saying nowadays since we are very much exposed to Indonesian material through our media. Imagine the makciks who spend their evenings watching sinetrons, they could possibly speak perfect Indonesian after the season ends don't you think?

Anyway, after finishing the work with Keisha I told her about what I overheard and she laughed. She agreed that if we really try, slowly but surely we could both understand each other when we speak in our different yet same mother toungue. I remember a friend of mine telling me that for you to learn Indonesian easily is to see it as a dialect, not as another language entirely just like how you percieve Kécék Kelaté and Cakap Utara. Nevertheless, most Malaysians are still being ignorant of these beautiful dialects and dismiss them as being kampung compared to the standard Malay which is actually derived from the dialect of Riau as being more urban. I wonder why..

Sometimes I just feel lucky to be here in Cyberjaya since I am able to be both in Malaysia yet still be able to engage people of different cultures.

Labels: friends, social