Breaching the language barrier:
In order to have a fruitful and engaging time with the malay elderly, it is vital that one understands and is able to converse in the malay language. This page aims to bring you a one-stop guide at conversing and understanding basic questions, remarks, and replies. Keep in mind that you represent your school and you should adhere to proper decorum and be respectful at all times.
Before you get started off, it is advisable that you read through this article on conversation. This article provides tips and tricks to keeping a conversation lively, and it also advices you on proper behaviour and etiquette when conversing. I believe it would definitely prepare you for the different reactions and replies, and it will give you tips on how to keep the conversation engaging, lively, and most importantly, flowing.
http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-Conversation-When-You-Have-Nothing-to-Talk-About
Always remember to be polite, patient, and considerate to the elderly!
The basics of the malay language, such as numbers, pronouns and connectors should be known, so this is a list of the basics:
English Malay
1) One
2) Two 3) Three 4) Four 5) Five 6) Six 7) Seven 8) Eight 9) Nine 10) Ten 11) Twelve 12) Twenty 13) Thirty-Three 14) One hundred 15) Two hundred 16) One hundred and forty-four 17) One Thousand 18) Two Thousand 19) One Thousand, three hundred and four 20) I 21) You 22) Him 23) They 24) Himself 25) We 26) Them 27) Us 28) And 29) Then 30) Who 31) What 32) Where 33) When 34) Why 35) How |
1) Satu
2) Dua 3) Tiga 4) Empat 5) Lima 6) Enam 7) Tujuh 8) Lapan 9) Sembilan 10) Sepuluh 11) Dua belas 12) Dua puluh 13) Tiga puluh tiga 14) Seratus 15) Dua ratus 16) Satu ratus empat puluh empat 17) Seribu 18) Dua ribu 19) Satu ribu tiga ratus empat 20) Saya 21) Awak 22) Dia 23) Mereka 24) Dia 25) Kami 26) Mereka 27) Kami 28) Dan 29) Kemudian 30) Yang 31) Apa 32) Di mana 33) Apabila 34) Mengapa 35) Bagaimana |
Introduction and greetings:
Getting to know the elderly you are talking to is a step to getting to know them better and engaging with them, so first-off, you would need to introduce yourself and break the ice with the elderly.
English Malay
1) Hello
2) Good morning 3) Good afternoon 4) My name is ______ 5) I come from Hwa Chong Institution 6) May I know your name? 7) What is your nationality? |
1) Hello
2) Selamat pagi 3) Selamat tengah hari 4) Nama saya ______. 5) Saya dari Institusi Hwa Chong. 6) Nama anda? 7) Apa kewarganegaraan anda? |
Striking a Conversation:
After your greetings, you would want to know more about the elderly. In order to strike a conversation,to engage well with the elderly, it is pivotal that you know basic questions and remarks to get a conversation started. Getting a conversation started could be by the means of a question or a remark, and this will branch out to other topics the conversation would carry out smoothly.
English Malay
1) Its a beautiful day today!
2) The weather is so hot today! 3) It is raining heavily, isn't it? 4) The weather is so cooling today! 5) How was your day? 6) Have you had your meal? (breakfast, lunch) What did you eat? 7) What are your hobbies? 8) What is your favourite food? 9) Do you like music? Which singer do you admire/like? 10) Do you like sports? What kind of sports do you like? |
1) Ini adalah hari yang anda.
2) Cuaca sangat panas hari ini. 3) Ini hujuan lebat. Tidakkah. 4) Cuaca hari ini sejuk. 5) Bagaimana hari mu. 6) Sudahkah kamu makan petang? Apa yang kamu makan? 7) Apakah kesukaan kamu? 8) Apa makanan kesukaan kamu? 9) Apakah kamu suka musik? Siapa penyanyi yang kamu suka? 10) Kamu suka sukan? Sukan apa yang kamu suka? |
Understanding their replies:
After kick starting the conversation through some of the questions above, the elderly is bound to reply. Understanding their replies is important as it prepares you for what to say next and how to respond and how to keep the conversation alive and interactive. In reality, unless you have a total grasp of the malay language, it is almost impossible to understand every word the elderly is saying, thus the tip is to pick out keywords to understand the big picture of what they are trying to say. This is a list of keywords that will be important in understanding the replies you get.
English Malay
1) Yes
2) No 3) I'm fine 4) I ate ___ 5) I like/love 6) Soccer/ Basketball/ Tennis/ Running/ Brisk walking 7) I am feeling cold/ warm. 8) I like to eat _____ 9) I like to listen to _______ 10) Okay 11) What about you? |
1) Ya
2) Tiada 3) Khabar baik 4) Saya makan ______ 5) Saya suka _______ 6) Bola sepak/ Bola keranjang/ Tenis/ Berlari/ Berjalan pantas 7) Saya rasa sejuk/ hangat. 8) Saya suka makan ______ 9) Saya suka mendengar ______ 10) Okay 11) |
Farewell Greetings:
Once the conversation has ended, you can say the following to end the conversation to avoid being rude by leaving the conversation all of a sudden.
English Malay
1) Thank you for your time.
2) We need to go, goodbye. 3) It was a pleasure talking to you. |
1) Terima kasih untuk masa anda.
2) Kita perlu pergi, selamat tinggal. 3) Ia suatu keseronokan berbual dengan. |
Topics for conversation:
In this segment, we have included several examples of common topics that will help facilitate conversation with the malay folks. You can use these samples as a guideline to engaging in a chat with the malay folks.
Here are the topics:
Here are the topics:
Their interest:
In this example, we are exploring into what they like, which includes their hobbies, their favourite food, etc.
English
Student: Hello, my name is ______, and i come from Hwa Chong Institution, may i know your name? Elderly: Hello, i am ______. Student: Nice to meet you, do you have anything in particular that you do in your free time? Elderly: Well, i like to ______ (1). Student: Oh, that's nice. Have you eaten yet? Elderly: Yes I have eaten. Student: What is your favourite food then? Elderly: My favourite food is _______(2) What about you? Student: My favourite food is ________(2). What kind of music do you like? Elderly: I like ________(3) Student: Oh, then do you have a favourite singer? Elderly: Yes, i like _______. Student: Oh I see. Sorry, I have to go now, it has been a pleasure speaking with you. Bye! Elderly: Bye! *(1)Watch television/ Sleep/ Walk/ Run/ Gardening/Read (2)Chicken Rice/ Noodle soup/ Ice-cream/ Economical Rice (3)Jazz/ Pop/ Classical/ Rock |
Malay
Student: Hello, saya nama ______. Saya dari Institusi Hwa Chong. Nama anda? Elderly: Hello, saya _____. Student: Baik untuk memenuhi anda, apa yang anda suka lakukan pada masa lapang anda? Elderly: Saya suka ______ (1). Student: Oh, baik. Awak sudah makan? Elderly: Ya, saya sudah makan. Student: Apa makanan kesukaan kamu? Elderly: Saya paling suka makan _____(2). Bagaimana pula dengan anda? Student: Saya paling suka makan_____(2). Apakah jenis muzik yang anda suka? Elderly: Saya suka _____(3). Student: Oh, adakah anda mempunyai penyanyi kegemaran? Elderly: Ya, saya suka _____. Student: Oh. Maaf, kita perlu pergi, ia suatu keseronokan berbual dengan anda. Selamat tinggal! Elderly: Selamat tinggal! *(1)Menonton televisyen/ Tidur/Berjalan/Main/Berkebun/Baca/ Makan/ Menggunakan komputer (2) Nasi Ayam/ mi sup/ ais krim (3) jazz/ pop/ klasik/ rock |
Surroundings:
English Malay
Student: Hello, my name is ______, and i come from Hwa Chong Institution, may i know your name?
Elderly: Hello, i am ______. Student: Nice to meet you, Its a beautiful day today, isn’t it? Elderly: Yes, it sure is. Student: Singapore has been getting hotter recently, don’t you think so? Elderly: Yes, I really hope it gets cooler. Student: How do you like the surroundings of the home? Elderly: It is great. The air is fresh here. Student: Yes, it sure is. I really love the vibrant coloured flowers! Elderly: I am glad you liked it. Do you like gardening? Student: A little bit. I have watered plants before. Elderly: That is good to hear. Student: Sorry, I have to go now, it has been a pleasure speaking with you. Bye! |
Student: Hello, nama saya _____. Saya dari Institusi Hwa Chong, nama anda?
Elderly: Hello, nama saya _____. Student: Baik untuk memenuhi anda, ini adalah hari yang anda. Elderly: Ya, ia adalah. Student: Sekarang cuaca suhu negara laita yang semakin tiggi, takkah anda tak percaiya? Elderly: Ya, saya behar-behar berharap cuaca suhu akan sejuk. Student: Bagaimana anda suka persekitaran? Elderly:Besar! Udara segar. Student:Ya, saya suka bunga yang berwarna-warni. Elderly: Saya gembira anda suka Student: Agak, saya mempunyai tumbuhan minum sebelum Elderly: Yang baik! Student: Maaf, kita perlu pergi, ia suatu keseronokan berbual dengan anda. Selamat tinggal! |
Life for them now:
English Malay
Student: Hello, my name is ______, and i come from Hwa Chong Institution, may i know your name?
Elderly: Hello, i am ______. Student: Nice to meet you, how are you? Elderly: I am fine. How about you? Student: I am fine too. What do you think of modern singapore now? Elderly: Singapore is very advanced now, you children are very fortunate. Student: Indeed we are. May i know how was life like when you were younger? Elderly: Life was simple then. Life was tough and we were not very well-to-do. Student: I see. Life sure has changed a lot for you. Elderly: Indeed. Student:Thank you for sharing with me your views. |
Student: Hello, nama saya _____. Saya dari Institusi Hwa Chong, nama anda?
Elderly: Hello, nama saya _____. Student: Baik untuk memenuhi anda, apa khabar? Elderly: Khabar baik, bagaimana dengan kamu? Student: Saya baik juga. Bagaimana menurut kamu majunya Singapura sekarang? Elderly: Singapura sangat maju sekarang, generasi baru sangat beruntung. Student: Iya, bolehkah saya tahu bagaimana kehidupan masa kamu muda? Elderly:Hidup sangat sederhana. Hidup dalam kemiskinan Student:Ya, Hidup pasti banyak perubahan untuk kamu Elderly:Ya Student: Terima Kasih telah berbagi dengan saya. |