Notes from Malaysia
September 29th 2006 02:38
* The phrase for “welcome”, “selamat datang”, is like a big grin; at any rate, it gives more opportunity to grin.
There is something intrinsically polite, even friendly, about languages whose commonest words are polysyllabic.
* Malaysia is memorable, among other things, for its laidback speaking lah, for sudden contrasts between hot and cold (waves of heat), for humidity you can see, for drab, sun-bleached, but varied colours, for how much the Australian dollar can buy, for trench toilets, for low water-filled toilets where your shit slips effortlessly into the water, for casual ethnic diversity and ingrained racism, for religious seriousness, for opulence, on the one hand, and deformed, amputated beggars on the other, for overemployment, for servants in the background, for seriousness about money matters, for street-level hustling, for obsessiveness with “the international” -- caucasian models in the advertising, imitations of Western culture --, for unfamiliar fruits, for too much food, for different designs of everyday objects (expressing different concerns, intentions), and for its mix of architecture (at least English, Chinese, Islamic -- pure white mosques among the skyscrapers -- different styles within the same building).
* Prominent multiculturalism: Signs and announcements in multiple languages. Government advertising carefully and brightly inclusive. Music stores with language-specific sections. Accustomization to tourism.
* In the shopping centres: Often huge and swarming with activity. Sometimes, lost-in-translation seas of foreign words and unfamiliar packaging competing for attention. Capitalist variety and crowding. And all the brands -- familiar names like banners, floating above the water, suggesting whole cultures and lifestyles with them. Sometimes, astonishing expansion: what would a Nando’s or Pizza Hut look like if its merchandising were given space and free rein?
* In the markets: Crawling, life-filled, mess of humanity -- any sort of adventure -- varied experiences -- cheap banquets of exotic food, menus shoved in your face -- everyone’s hustling for a buck. You want ten not-yet-released movies for $5, you got it. You want a boxload of the latest CDs, you got it. All the detritus of world culture washes up on the streets. “Gucci” purses, “Rolex” watches, techy gadgets, local handcrafts. Come on, just take a look. Melting pot, hodgepodge of Chinese, Japanese, English, American, Arabic -- endless diversity and fragmentation.
There is something intrinsically polite, even friendly, about languages whose commonest words are polysyllabic.
* Malaysia is memorable, among other things, for its laidback speaking lah, for sudden contrasts between hot and cold (waves of heat), for humidity you can see, for drab, sun-bleached, but varied colours, for how much the Australian dollar can buy, for trench toilets, for low water-filled toilets where your shit slips effortlessly into the water, for casual ethnic diversity and ingrained racism, for religious seriousness, for opulence, on the one hand, and deformed, amputated beggars on the other, for overemployment, for servants in the background, for seriousness about money matters, for street-level hustling, for obsessiveness with “the international” -- caucasian models in the advertising, imitations of Western culture --, for unfamiliar fruits, for too much food, for different designs of everyday objects (expressing different concerns, intentions), and for its mix of architecture (at least English, Chinese, Islamic -- pure white mosques among the skyscrapers -- different styles within the same building).
* Prominent multiculturalism: Signs and announcements in multiple languages. Government advertising carefully and brightly inclusive. Music stores with language-specific sections. Accustomization to tourism.
* In the shopping centres: Often huge and swarming with activity. Sometimes, lost-in-translation seas of foreign words and unfamiliar packaging competing for attention. Capitalist variety and crowding. And all the brands -- familiar names like banners, floating above the water, suggesting whole cultures and lifestyles with them. Sometimes, astonishing expansion: what would a Nando’s or Pizza Hut look like if its merchandising were given space and free rein?
* In the markets: Crawling, life-filled, mess of humanity -- any sort of adventure -- varied experiences -- cheap banquets of exotic food, menus shoved in your face -- everyone’s hustling for a buck. You want ten not-yet-released movies for $5, you got it. You want a boxload of the latest CDs, you got it. All the detritus of world culture washes up on the streets. “Gucci” purses, “Rolex” watches, techy gadgets, local handcrafts. Come on, just take a look. Melting pot, hodgepodge of Chinese, Japanese, English, American, Arabic -- endless diversity and fragmentation.
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