By C C Pung
Justice of Peace
The pharmacist told me I should take my prescription with ‘air sejuk’ (cold water).
I responded ‘you mean room temperature?’ She agreed.
My curiosity aroused, I asked ‘is there a Malay equivalent to describing ‘room temperature’?
She exchanged glasses with a fellow worker who answered sheepishly ‘suburb bilik’?
It was word for word a correct translation, but funnily, all three of us broke out laughing.
I have never heard the phrase used,, and I think they too.
It got be thinking about languages and vocabulary and how important they are.
Is there really no Malay word for room temperature water?
There’s hot and cold (panas and sejuk) that I know, and the ‘air suam’ which is hot water with some ice dunked into it ot equal amount of hot water mixed with not hot water.
Words in their native form have intrinsic meanings and nuances and depth that are lost when the same words are used in other languages.
With Malaysia’s wide practice with a dating foreign words, alter the spellings to make them ‘Malay’, the elements of richness, depth and breadth are lost.
I can think of the English word ‘love’ than has Greek origin and is understood in its many variations from romantic, to agape to love between siblings, parents, and relationships in between.
But when presented in the May equivalent ‘cinta’, much is lost especially the notion that l-o-v-e is an action word and it manifests only when actions are taken to demonstrate it.
A carpenter can’t perfect his craft is he lacks command of his tools and can’t distinguish one kind of joinery to a tongue-and -groove.
A journalist is limited in his writing capacity if he can’t name a grammatical mistake nor identify flaws in syntax and metaphorical applications.
Some people see jargon in the negative.
It is so when they are used excessively with an arrogant motive. But jargon are better than an ignorant practitioner.
I don’t usually drink cold water.
So the pharmacist’s instruction to take my prescription with ‘cold water’, and at night, was just bad proposition.
I believe she’s thinking how to instruct her next customer. 😜😜
