Lah-Lah

I' m from Borneo.

Yesterday, I saw a blog that interest me.

It is called Life in Lah-Lah-Land. 

This is the post that interest me :

The unique LAH

Lah is unique language feature of Malaysians and Singaporeans. When you speak to a Malaysian, you may notice the suffix "lah" that often occurs in the conversation. 

"Lah" is a suffix in Bahasa Melayu that is meant to add emphasis to a word or phrase.

For example, "Just do it" is "Buat sahaja" in the Malay language. But it will be more forceful if you add the suffix "lah".

"Buat sahaja-lah".

The suffix "lah" is so natural in Malaysian tongue that they even adopt it when speaking English. "Just do it" becomes "Just do it-lah"

Here is a tip: Don't add a "lah" to the end of every sentence - thinking that you are making a good impression of a Malaysian accent. Trust me, you will not get away with that.

The use of "lah" is quite an art for those who were not born into the language.

Here are a few sophisticated variations of its use:

"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?)

Stuck-lah! It has become a part and parcel of our life and will remain that way for a very long time. (wink!)

Here are a few simple variations that you can try to use.

     

Apologise	Sorry-lah
Fed up	Enough-lah
Definite	Of course-lah or sure-lah
Generous	Take some more-lah
Unyielding	Cannot-lah
Reluctant	Don't want-lah!
Suggesting	Try-lah
Agreeable	Okay-lah
Coaxing	Come on-lah
Persuading	Please-lah

Still can't get a hang of it?

Relax-lah! Practise makes perfect.

P/S:

Relax-lah or steady-lah is used when someone is getting a little uptight about something.

Like you - learning to use the suffix "lah". Just kidding!

These words urges the person (in this case, you!) to calm down.

So, make sure you learn these suffix when you travel to our country. :D