So I'm sitting at the foot of my bed, completely frustrated, having spent the past ten minutes pondering how I should start this article. Write 'Interesting and Captivating' beginings to lure the readers, they said. Easier said then done, mind you. Well, for lack of any better ideas, I am settling for the simple yet catchy, "AYO! JUST READ THIS LAH YOU!"

Usage of Manglish, or Mangled English is a widespread phenomenon in our country. Be it at the hawker stall, in school and even in local magazines, Manglish marks its territory. I'm positive even the best of us have been caught using expressions such as 'lah' and 'got meh'?

Here are some common and not-so common Manglish terms. Test yourself on how many you recognize and find out how much of a true Malaysian you really are.

1) "liao" - Means 'already'. Eg. "No more liao."
2) "maluation" - embarrassment, from "malu" + "-ation"
3) "aiksy/lan si" - arrogant, overconfident.
4) "gostan" - reverse a vehicle (apparently from the nautical term "go astern")
5) "kantoi" - to get caught
6) "got" - Used as a literal translation from the Malay word 'ada'. Eg. "You got anything to do?" 'got' is also substituted for every tense of the verb to have. Eg. "I got already/got/will got my car from the garage."
7) "one" - Used as an emphasis at the end of a sentence. Eg. "Why is he so liddat one?"
8) "meh" - Used when asking a question, especially when one is skeptical of something. Eg. "Got meh?"

However, in our progressing Malaysian society, many of us hypocritically, aware or otherwise, tend to look down upon those who don't speak, so to say proper English, having the preconception, or perhaps misconception that people who speak Manglish often are less learned.

Exhibit A.

Person A: 'Can la! I can be trust wan lah! You don't worry me, I very geng wan!'

As opposed to

Person B: 'It can be done, trust me. Don't worry, I am capable of handling it.'

Naturally, one would have greater expectations and trust in Person B, who, from the way he speaks, sounds assured, able and educated. Hence the intriguing underlying question, "Is Manglish a sign of ignorance or is it part of our Malaysian culture?"

This I find a difficult question to answer. On one hand, I do agree that the ability to use proper English, essentially in formal matters and in written work justly grants us credibilty and acknowledgement, primarily on the international level. Therefore, mastering the command of the Enlgish Language is an integral part of Malaysia's education system.

However, while in conversation from day to day, I am of the strong opinion that usage of Manglish should not be an embarrasment or an indication of callowness. On the contrary, I am immensely proud of our own unique jargon of the English language. After all, the Australians too have their own dialect of English, with terms such as, 'cactus', which means non-functional, ie. That computer is totally cactus! And 'buggered', meaning broken, ie. Adam buggered your watch! Not to mention 'arvo' which means, good afternoon!

Although admittedly, one of the reasons I chose this topic is so that I could slack off and revert to our colloquail (or one could say, endearing) usage of the English language, I am an ardent believer that Manglish is what gives Malaysians character. It might not be the classiest, nor the most refined, but it is unique and colourful, and most of all it is ours. I shall end this article with a heartfelt MALAYSIA BOLEH-LAH!