These past two weeks have largely focused on the new topic of family, or keluarga, as well as a substantive review of past content I have learned because of the Thanksgiving break. While family structure and conventions in Malay are roughly similar to English, I was surprised to learn that Malay follows a Muslim convention in naming that indicates that one is the son or daughter of their father using the words bin or binti, respectively. In this sense, a typical name would read [Personal name] bin/binti [Father's name. Melisa informed me that this convention surprisingly also carries over to non-Muslims in the form of [Name] Anak Lelaki/Permpuan (Son/Daughter) [Father's name], though this is changing and the government is allowing non-Muslims to change this name officially if wanted (as it would go on your birth certificate). To learn the names for family members, Melisa provided me with a worksheet that depicted a family tree with characters from the Simpsons. It was really interesting engaging in foreign language learning using a familiar, American cultural icon. Overall, the terminology is somewhat more specific than English, with specific words for older brother and older sister, but not as specific as Chinese.
The indicating words for 'boy' and 'girl' are, as alluded to above, lelaki and perempuan, respectively. These are used after the noun (as all adjectives in Malay are) to modify it, but can also be nouns themselves, as in the case of permpuan tua (old woman). This is something that takes a little getting used to and has only been a little confusing in oral Malay. I was surprised to learn that 'girlfriend' has its own form that does not use perempuan, but instead wanita (woman) to form the word teman wanita. Funnily enough, 'boyfriend' does use the standard lelaki in teman lelaki rather than the word for 'man' or the like. This might have some cultural connotations, e.g. that a girlfriend should be of a certain older age since it is spoken as 'woman.' These subtle linguistic notes are often not recognized by native speakers, but can carry some significance nonetheless.
My language learning goals for this period were somewhat more modest because of both the break (my first one home all semester) and the fact that I have been inundated with schoolwork as of late. The experience taught me that it is important to remain consistent in language learning, and that, whether I like it or not, some concepts or lessons take drilling and rote memorization to master (especially names). I realized that, over the break, I did not take the time to practice my spoken Malay and, as such, struggled with pronunciation more than I would have anticipated upon returning. This is something that I absolutely will need to keep in mind as I wrap up the semester and head into the extended winter break - I cannot merely practice reading in the language when on my own, but have to take the extra effort to speak and recite words, phrases, and sentences orally as well, since this is where I will be able to challenge myself and improve my understandings the most.
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