Deconstructing "lah"

I haven't been writing in this blog for over two weeks now. Not because I'm such a lazy bum--well, partly yes--but I've been expending some of my long scribbles on the forum created by the Malaysian Student Association (MSA) or, depending on who you ask, Malaysian Secular Association (to differentiate itself from the Malaysian Islamic Students Association--MISA), at UW-Madison. Anyway, this guilt of not posting anything in the past couple of weeks is bearing down heavily in my mind, and I do feel the need to at least put something up. Below is just a musing by a French expatriate in Malaysia in the Rentakini section of MalaysiaKini on the usage of the word "lah." Next up, my decontruction of another colloquial "beb," which prelim discussion commenced last night at Denny's after the weekly Friday night soccer game. Sorry, this is an inside joke only Madisonian Malaysians (particularly guys) know about.

Lah? Ya, lah!
Guillaume Pagnoux | Mar 3, 06 12:13pm

Most Malaysians don't know its origins of their semantical affix "lah" for sure. Like most legends whose starting point is often lost in transmission, most people use myths to convey a meaning deeper than the original story, with every generation adding a layer of meaning to the symbol, enriching it with sometimes complex articulations of often simple truths.

Yet for sure, "lah" has something of the legendary about it, akin to the Greek myth of Midas who could turn everything he touched into gold. The "lah" word is the almighty Malaysian hero able to capture all things Malaysians and able to "Malaysianize" everything he touches. Borrowed from the old Malay by the Chinese and Indians who've then taken it into the English language which the three races share, the word "lah" is the bridge between all Malaysians, all things Malaysians and between Malaysians and the rest of the world.

Thus the "lah", used only in this part of the world (Malaysia and Singapore) makes "Manglish" (Malaysian English) very unique and foreigners newly arrived in this country will find it quite baffling at first. Sure, these Malaysians are speaking English but what on earth is that strange musical note that they place at the end of their sentences every so often?

Lah, lah, lah

Malaysians love their "lah". Only a Malaysian born and bred in Malaysia will know how to use it. Just going "lah, lah, lah" after every first or third word doesn't quite qualify. You can't say "hello lah" for example.

An article in the Malaysian Trade Quarterly (Jan-March 1995) states that many foreigners have the mistaken notion that adding a “lah” to the end of every sentence lets them get away with a fairly good impression of a Malaysian accent. This is hardly the case. The use of "lah" is, in fact, quite an art for those who were not born into the language.

Here are a few sophisticated variations of its use, to have an instant Malaysian flavour in your mouth - try saying the following sentences aloud:

"I tell you-lah how many times-lah but you never listen lah."

"No fun-lah, you!" (You're really no fun at all!)

"You see-lah, like that also you cannot do!" (Can't you even do such a simple thing?)

"I don't know what to say-lah. This kind of things very hard to say one."

"I'm so fed-up one, you know lah. I explain how many times in simple English lah, still cannot get through one."

(Editor’s note: 'one' is another colloquialism whose application is subject to a set of even more esoteric rules)

Pass the dictionary

Yet this requires more than a crash course on its correct usage. Being used rather often to make the language and hence the relationships more at ease and less formal, can't be learnt formally. Like my beautiful French cheeses, it is an acquired taste. Like chilli to Malaysians, "lah" is used to add flavour to the language, and if used often should be used sparingly. It is however, an absolute necessity (just like chilli). As a friend coins it: " Lah is like eating... and drinking after that. "

According to a quick survey, "lah" is used to:

· add a tone like in Mandarin and add weight to a word or sentence (it adds up lah)
· add emphasis (No lah)
· add a stamp of familiarity
· add an easy going and casual feeling
· sweeten (Please lah)
· soften (Come lah)
· show adaptation when you are a foreigner (I'm an expat but not a tourist lah)
· add identity to Malaysian English and differentiate the "Menglish" from the 'proper' English spoken by foreigners.

Some illustrations:
· Inviting - Come on-lah
· Convincing - Don't be like that-lah
· Forceful - Shut up-lah
· Apologetic - Sorry-lah
· Fed up - Enough-lah
· Definite - Of course-lah
· Generous - Take some more-lah
· Unyielding - Cannot-lah
· Dumbfounded - What-lah
· Reluctant - Donwan-lah! (A contraction of "don't want-lah")
· Suggestive - Try-lah
· Agreeable - Okay-lah
· Disagreeable - No-lah

Let's recap

"Lah" is capable of adding identity, personality, meaning, emphasis, emotional depth, feeling, warmth and most importanty capable of 'localizing' everything foreign.

Everything you've always wanted to achieve in 'localizing' a global brand seems to be in Malaysia achievable with a “lah”!

Just do it lah.

Nothing is impossible lah.

Always Coca-cola lah!

So why is the "lah" not used that often in advertising in Malaysia?

It is a colloquial word, a three letter word cousin of the bigger four letter word family. And just as the French have their oh-la-la (not oo-la- la) and the Italians their Mama-mia, it certainly sounds too cliche for many brands who would rather take the higher ground and try to differentiate themselves on a more conceptual level than an executional one. However, even if the consumer is not a moron, some consumers can't always grasp our sometimes distant concepts. A little lah could sometimes just do that.

Like that lah...