Cross-Cultural Conversations

Observations by a Malaysian studying in Australia

Tongue-twisters For A Thirsty Mouth

Ramadan is upon us, and more than a few bloggers would share and recount the fasting experience on their online journals. As I was browsing through one of them, I came across the word ‘iftar’, a word I can’t say I’m familiar with. Some words have a way of explaining themselves just from the manner in which they are employed and I figured out (read: simply assumed) that ‘iftar’ is the Arabic word for the breaking of fast.

 

The common Malay word for this is ‘buka puasa’. I presume ‘iftar’ is either another addition to the already heavily-borrowing Malay vocabulary, or a symptom of our continuing obsession with Arab-ising the local culture, in the belief that this will make us appear more Islamic. A few years ago, I remember a slight literary furore erupted when one politician/academic (I’m pretty sure it was a politician) suggested that the word ‘Aidilfitri’, a Malay word adapted from Arabic, should be altered to reflect its correct, Arabic pronunciation, to Eid-ul-Fitr.

 

I thought to myself then, what a ridiculous proposal! First, my vowel-loving Malay tongue could not possibly pronounce Eid-ul-Fitr without some physical tongue twisting, and secondly, the word simply could not fit into the general Malay vocab without sounding awkward (Imagine saying, “Eh, tak sabarlah, dah tinggal lima hari je lagi ke Eid-ul-Fitr!”).

 

In the first place, does it really matter if our version of Eid-ul-Fitr is not pronounced “correctly”? The beauty of the word, and spelling of, Aidilfitri, is that it allows us to enrich our language while adapting it to suit our cultural, or rather, literary mores. Although I prefer the word Hari Raya to Aidilfitri, I really don’t mind the latter, and I would not want it to be permanently altered just to suit those Malaysians who are obsessed with the proper Arabic pronunciation.

 

Then again, it all boils down to personal preferences. Just as some women fancy the flowing purdah, and some the basic tudung (scarf) while others would rather not cover altogether, there are those who prefer to receive the divine ‘nur’ rather than a ‘panduan’ (guidance). I probably should just learn to relax and ‘redha’.

 

Selamat Berpuasa dan Berbuka.

 

 

 

posted by: Tembaga2 at 10:28 | link | comments |