National Anthem Words #12-#16: Lah, Bersatu, Dengan, Semangat & Baru 1) ‘Lah’ is a suffix appended at the end of a word for emphasis. It is very much the ‘lah’ used in Singlish, although in Malay it forms the word itself and is not a separate word. The interesting thing about ‘lah’ is that it can both ‘harden’ and ‘soften’ an expression. It very much depends on the tone and the prosody (patterns of stress and intonation) in a sentence. For example: Forceful (Hard): “What are you still doing here? Go away lah!” (Colloquial Malay: Kenapa kau masih kat sini? Pergilah!) Coaxing (Soft): “He’s inviting you. Go lah.” (Colloquial Malay: Orang kan dah ajak tu. Pergilah.) So when ‘mari’, which is an imperative word (come) becomes ‘marilah’, one can say that the call is emphasised. There’s a ‘mari’ that begins the National Anthem; the ‘marilah’ raises the volume of persuasion by a notch. 2) ‘Bersatu’ is an affixed word, just like ‘menuju’. Both ‘ber—’ and ‘me—’ are used to create verbs, so it’s safe to say that if you see a word with these particular prefixes, it’s a verb. The root word in ‘bersatu’ is ‘satu’ or ‘one’. So ‘bersatu’ means ‘to unite’. Here are other affixed words with the root word ‘satu’: menyatukan=consolidate, unite penyatuan=unification persatuan=association kesatuan=union 3) ‘Dengan’ means ‘with’. We see its use in the following pantun on how one’s wealth should be matched by one’s humility: Cedok air dengan baldi, Cedok nasi dengan senduk; Baik dibawa resmi padi, Semakin berisi semakin tunduk. Scoop water with a pail, Scoop rice with a ladle; Follow the example of the paddy, The fuller the grains the lower it bends. 4) ‘Semangat’ is a word that has its origins in the animist past of the Malays. ‘Semangat’ is believed to be the ‘soul essence’ (energy, vitality) that resides in old trees, rivers, and large rocks. Paddy farmers believe in ‘semangat padi’, a protective being which ensures good harvest, and which can manifest in the form of a woman, a grasshopper, a bird or whirlwind. Certain objects have magical properties because they too have ‘semangat’, such as krises, rings, royal regalia and musical instruments. Humans have ‘semangat’ too, but those whose ‘semangat’ is weak would be susceptible to illness and spirit attacks (like possession). We can trace shifting Malay concepts of the ‘soul’ by examining all the different words used to refer to it. With the advent of Hinduism and Buddhism, we have the concept of an immortal soul that survives physical death, in the word ‘jiwa’ (from Sanskrit: jiva). And with Islam, we have ‘roh’ (from Arabic: ruh), which is the ‘life’ blown into Adam, the first man as well as the human foetus in the womb. The other Arabic word for soul, ‘nafs’, has split into two different words in Malay: ‘nafas’, meaning ‘breath’ and ‘nafsu’, meaning ‘lust, appetite or desire’. Semangat => Jiwa => Roh Animism => Hinduism/Buddhism => Islam Old Malay => Sanskrit => Arabic It should be noted that ‘semangat’, ‘jiwa’ and ‘roh’ form part of the contemporary Malay lexicon, without one more ‘recent’ word displacing another. In fact, a common expression when one is startled is to say ‘kus semangat’ (accompanied by a hand massaging the chest), because such traumatic events were once believed to cause ‘psychic shock’ to the spirit (and cause it to flee the body). In the National Anthem, the word ‘semangat’ has a secular definition as ‘spirit’, like in ‘fighting spirit’. 5) ‘Baru’ simply means ‘new’. The old spelling for the word was ‘bahru’, which is where we get the names for two state capitals: Johor Bahru (New Johor) and Kota Bharu (New City—for Kelantan). In Singapore itself we have Tiong Bahru and Geylang Bharu. We see its use in the following pantun which laments a one-sided match: Pergi ke dusun berhari-harian, Tanah baru hendak dibuka; Macam timun dengan durian, Menggelek luka digelek pun luka. Go to the orchard every day, New land is to be cultivated; Like a cucumber with a durian, It strikes and gets cut and gets cut when it’s struck. (Tomorrow: Mixing up ‘bersatu’ and ‘berseru’.)
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 22:24:59 +0000
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