Discussion of Dialects

My colleagues and I had a very lively and fun discussion today on dialects and telor.....

It all came about when I asked Su who hailed from Terengganu if our new Agong speaks Terengganu-ish at all.

" Beta hukum mung kerak kepala.... "

Ye ke ? Or maybe Sultan Kedah will say

" Beta tak bagi hampa pi KL la ni. Hampa dok diam-diam tang ni. Besok lusa baru hampa pi... na.." He he....

I went to have breakfast with my boss yesterday. I was still busy choosing food when my boss said something to the lady at the cash register. When I went to join him, this lady addressed me but I couldn't understand a word she said. I went "huh ?" and leaned closer. Pekak ke aku ?

She repeated and for some reason I couldn't decipher what she said. Orang mana ni ? I looked inquisitively at my boss and he asked me what was my beverage of choice. Laa... tanya nak minum apa ke ?

For some reason I got annoyed. I know the Malays are enriched with all the different and wonderful dialects, but it is understood that in the name of getting our messages loud and clear, we have to speak in a language that is understood by all. Speak in Bahasa Malaysia if the person whom you were talking to in your mother tongue, screwed her face in incomprehension. That is a clear message that she/he doesn't speak your dialect !!

I would not dream of speaking in Penang-ish ( ye ke ... he he ) to Su because she would definitely retaliate by answering in Terenganu-ish ( if she could actually get what I said ), which I found very foreign apart from the easy ones like mung or ikang or spoong ( ha ha ha ... jangan marah ).