Malaysia Accent Lesson 2 - "ar"
Saturday, April 22, 2006
HEY HEY!! How are your holidays?? Well, mine was great! Had some paintball bullets shot at me and also had some sunshine warming me up (while you guys were in your beds hoping that your blankets would keep you warm). *Evil laugh* I’m kidding!! I hope you guys had an amazing holiday as well! Even if it were just staying in bed all day long, you definitely would have got your beauty sleep which you were deprived of before the break.
I know that it has been awhile since “Malaysia Accent 1” but fear not for Pakcik Win is here! Now then, for this lesson, we shall learn how to use another commonly used expression – “ar”. Now then, the suffix “ar” is apparently derived from the Chinese expression “a”.
Well, “ar” is usually used at the end of a question.
eg. “Who is that ar?” “What is that ar?” “When is it ar?” “Where is that ar?” “How is that possible ar?” “Really ar?” “You sure ar?”
Of course, there are other ways to using “ar” and not constricted to short short questions as above.
eg. “What do you think of my new handphone ar?”
or even “Is that girl pretty ar?”
or even “Melbourne University got flooded ar?”
Then again, “ar” can also be used when it is NOT a question! Usually in situations where you are giving someone a warning you would use “ar” at the end of the sentence or when there is a pause in the middle of the sentence.
eg. “Don’t come near me ar! I’m warning you! If you come near me ar, I will.. I will.. I will throw this pot of cold water at you then you will freeze to death!”
Not to forget, “ar” can also be used to refer to someone or something, well, anything! Of course, as I said above, it has to be when there is a pause in the middle of the sentence.
eg. “My sister ar, she sucks! Stealing my bras all the time!”
or “That dog ar, it almost was knocked down by that fat boy riding the bicycle”
or even “The tallest building in the world ar, it almost fell on me! Luckily ar, I can run like The Flash!”
HAHA!! So how’s that for the second lesson of Malaysia Accent? Don’t forget to stay in tune for the Malaysia Accent 3!! But before that, time for some exercises!
Exercise 2
Answer 'True' or 'False' for the usage of the suffix 'ar' below.
a) “You remember that girl or not ar? Her name is Angeline Jolly!” *drools*
b) “I know that dog ar! The stripes.. It is Scooby's dog!” *scratches head*
c) “I hate my lecturer ar! He smells like cow dung all the time!!”
d) “I bought my car from him ar. It is still quite new although it is fifty eight years old.”
e) “That boy ar, he reminds me so much of Bread Pit! So handsome!!” *drools a second time*
Gosh, that was tough!! Not the exercise! But choosing the questions! Why? That’s because almost every sentence could be inserted with “ar”!! Don’t believe me?
From Exercise 1
a) "Hey, I know you ar?”
b) "That book is mine ar. You better give it back!"
c) "Oh my goodnes! You won the bid on ebay for that bag you wanted ar?"
d) "My phone spoilt ar? Why I cannot call out ar?"
e) "That fella ar! He banged into me and I dropped my phone. $%^&*Curse cursE)(&^%@"
Just changing the suffix “lah” to “ar” and changing some words and expressions, the sentence still makes sense but the meaning changes!!
Anyway, not to forget, the answers to Exercise 1 is as below.
a) False, “lah” in this case should not be used as a question. It should have been - "Hey, I know you lah! I used to come over to your place for dinner!" *winks*
b) True
c) False, “lah” is just not appropriate at all times!! - "Oh my goodness! You won the bid on ebay for that bag you wanted!"
d) True
e) True
I know that it has been awhile since “Malaysia Accent 1” but fear not for Pakcik Win is here! Now then, for this lesson, we shall learn how to use another commonly used expression – “ar”. Now then, the suffix “ar” is apparently derived from the Chinese expression “a”.
Well, “ar” is usually used at the end of a question.
eg. “Who is that ar?” “What is that ar?” “When is it ar?” “Where is that ar?” “How is that possible ar?” “Really ar?” “You sure ar?”
Of course, there are other ways to using “ar” and not constricted to short short questions as above.
eg. “What do you think of my new handphone ar?”
or even “Is that girl pretty ar?”
or even “Melbourne University got flooded ar?”
Then again, “ar” can also be used when it is NOT a question! Usually in situations where you are giving someone a warning you would use “ar” at the end of the sentence or when there is a pause in the middle of the sentence.
eg. “Don’t come near me ar! I’m warning you! If you come near me ar, I will.. I will.. I will throw this pot of cold water at you then you will freeze to death!”
Not to forget, “ar” can also be used to refer to someone or something, well, anything! Of course, as I said above, it has to be when there is a pause in the middle of the sentence.
eg. “My sister ar, she sucks! Stealing my bras all the time!”
or “That dog ar, it almost was knocked down by that fat boy riding the bicycle”
or even “The tallest building in the world ar, it almost fell on me! Luckily ar, I can run like The Flash!”
HAHA!! So how’s that for the second lesson of Malaysia Accent? Don’t forget to stay in tune for the Malaysia Accent 3!! But before that, time for some exercises!
Exercise 2
Answer 'True' or 'False' for the usage of the suffix 'ar' below.
a) “You remember that girl or not ar? Her name is Angeline Jolly!” *drools*
b) “I know that dog ar! The stripes.. It is Scooby's dog!” *scratches head*
c) “I hate my lecturer ar! He smells like cow dung all the time!!”
d) “I bought my car from him ar. It is still quite new although it is fifty eight years old.”
e) “That boy ar, he reminds me so much of Bread Pit! So handsome!!” *drools a second time*
Gosh, that was tough!! Not the exercise! But choosing the questions! Why? That’s because almost every sentence could be inserted with “ar”!! Don’t believe me?
From Exercise 1
a) "Hey, I know you ar?”
b) "That book is mine ar. You better give it back!"
c) "Oh my goodnes! You won the bid on ebay for that bag you wanted ar?"
d) "My phone spoilt ar? Why I cannot call out ar?"
e) "That fella ar! He banged into me and I dropped my phone. $%^&*Curse cursE)(&^%@"
Just changing the suffix “lah” to “ar” and changing some words and expressions, the sentence still makes sense but the meaning changes!!
Anyway, not to forget, the answers to Exercise 1 is as below.
a) False, “lah” in this case should not be used as a question. It should have been - "Hey, I know you lah! I used to come over to your place for dinner!" *winks*
b) True
c) False, “lah” is just not appropriate at all times!! - "Oh my goodness! You won the bid on ebay for that bag you wanted!"
d) True
e) True
posted by Purring Tiger at 10:26 pm
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5 comments
"and don't forget, you can even use 'ar' entirely on it's own
e.g:
A: ar?
B: ar what?
A: ar lah!
B: =_=|||"
"even in the bedroom, the word 'ar' has numerous uses. Pretty versatile, it is.
Interesting to note that the same person- "Malaysian person" drooled over both Bread Pitt and Angelina Jolly.
Says a lot about Malaysians and Bisexuality.
Truly proud to be Malaysian.
B"
"assuming the same person said all the sentences, of course..
B"
"Houng very skillfully used 5 words and an emoticon to say nothing."
"In the context of wh-clauses, 'ar' or 'ah' are arguably more appropriate suffixes than 'lah'. As mentioned in your previous post, 'lah' is frequently utilised as an added emphasis on the preceding object or adverb, or appended to the end of the sentence for the purpose of verbal drama-queen histrionics. However, exceptions apply, particularly in Bahasa Melayu, where, for instance, a frequently occuring example would be "Kenapalah?" or "Macam mana lah?" The adulteration of the English language in Malaysia with Malay influences somewhat justifies such utilisation of the 'lah' suffix. Even so, scholars of Bahasa Melayu themselves are said to be divided over the more appropriate use of the suffix, and it is highly recommended that one should peruse the latest edition of Tatabahasa Dewan for a resolution of this issue.
It may be interesting to note that the subtle phonetic quality between 'ah' (which arguably possesses the same meaning as 'ar'?) and 'lah' could have contributed to the mistaken assumption that the terms are interchangeable."