The day the Malay “Selamat pagi!” and the Uzbek “Salam!” connected. The fun of language that travel taught me [Learning multiple languages in my late 30s]
Hola, this is Teresa. I’m still doing Hippo 2-3 times a week.
The other day, I had the chance to talk with a Malaysian person who was hosting a Hippo member for a homestay. It had been a while since I’d encountered Malaysian English, and the conversation was so much fun.
Malaysian English (also known as Manglish) has moments where its characteristics really stand out. For example, when asked "Can you...?", instead of the usual full sentence response like "Yes, I can," it’s very characteristic of them to answer with "Can!" or "Can! Can!" (they often repeat it twice).
The girls in Brickfields were saying that a lot, too.I remember that well.
This expression is concise, rhythmic, and sounds kind of cute. I think it’s not so much "grammatically correct" English, but rather "Malaysian English" that has become established as a result of reflecting the conversational rhythm and cultural casualness of the Malaysian people.
I instinctively reacted by saying "Very Malay!", but both of them looked at me with blank expressions, like "Huh? Why?" When I explained, they were surprised, saying "Oh, is that how it sounds?", and it was a moment where I felt the fun of language all over again.
Anyway, I had picked up some Malay greetings a little while before spending time with those two. Of course, I didn’t look them up; I used the Hippo style of "learning from sound" by listening intently to other Hippo members speak! lol
Selamat pagi = Good morning (morning until around 10:00 AM)
Selamat siang = Good day (around noon until around 3:00 PM)
Selamat sore = Good afternoon/evening (3:00 PM until sunset)
Selamat malam = Good evening (night)
Malay and Indonesian are said to be so similar that they are called "sibling languages," and the greeting expressions seem to be almost identical.
And what caught my attention here was the "Selamat" part at the beginning.
Wait, this reminds me of something?
My best travel experience of Golden Week 2025.
https://note.com/teresa_hippo/m/me33b076b0f77
Yes, the greeting in Uzbekistan was "Assalomu alaykum." Though more often than not, people just said "Salam" more casually. Geographically, Central Asia and Southeast Asia are completely far apart, but don’t the sounds seem strangely similar??
Oh, could it be an Islamic connection???
"Assalamu alaykum" means "Peace be upon you" in Arabic. It’s a greeting that spread both religiously and culturally, and I realized it had taken root in Central Asia as "Salam" and further away in Southeast Asia as "Selamat."
I learned for the first time this time that Arabic has a concept called a "root," which is like the DNA of a word, similar to the common part "sho" in Japanese words like "kaku" (write), "kaita" (wrote), or "shodo" (calligraphy).
In the case of Arabic, this root seems to be very distinct.
In Arabic, a root is made up of three consonants, and you add vowels, prefixes, or suffixes to create new words. For example, the root S-L-M (س ل م). The meaning is "peace, safety, security." There are so many words derived from this DNA.
salām = peace, greeting
islām = Islam (to follow peace)
muslim = Muslim (one who follows)
salāmah = safety, peace
And selamat, which was borrowed into Malay and Indonesian, is also part of this group. Literally translated, "Selamat Pagi" means "Have a peaceful morning!"
It is quite wonderful that even if the sounds become slightly different in distant lands, the shared sentiment and sound of "wishing for peace when meeting someone" remains.
Oh, this is so interesting!✨
I am happy to have a reason to think about things like this every week.