Article Sphere Logo
Main Article Categories
Alternative Medicine
Arts And Entertainment
Automotives
Beauty
Business
Communications
Computer And Technology
Disease And Illness
Finance
Food And Beverage
Health And Fitness
Home And Family
Home Based Business
Insurance
Internet And E-Business
Legal
News And Society
Pets And Animals
Product Reviews
Real Estate
Recreation And Sports
Reference And Education
Self Improvement
Shopping
Travel And Leisure
Women Health And Fitness
Women Interests And Issues
Work At Home
Writing And Speaking
All 511 Categories
  
"Languages" Article
 Article Directory Home Reference And Education Languages

Malay Proverbs from Head to Toe

By Expert Author: Wan Yee
View Summary | Submitted: 2007-04-22 | Word Count: 559 words | Views: 34 view(s)
 Wan Yee

In the past, tyrants claimed heads on whims. Nowadays, spoilt children rule as little tyrants in their homes. They are never happy with anything given by you. Give them a piggy back ride on your shoulders, they will want to ride on your head next. That's how a Malay proverb describes brats :" shoulders given, head demanded".

Folks who are not in favour of administering the cane may opt to reason with the brats. While this is the prerogative of parents, we know it is not easy to get through to unresponsive ears. Sometimes it's like talking to a wall that only an electric drill can penetrate. Therefore the Malay saying:" drilling words into the ear" to illustrate advice given on a regular basis.

Fortuantely not everyone is a brat. It is possible to talk many people into performing tasks that they normally dislike. The right kind of persuasion is as powerful as great physical strength since " a sweet mouth breaks the bone". When executed gently, it is said to make one happy to "thresh" his "bone" on your behalf - a Malaysian way of denoting working extremely hard.

On the othe hand, the very irresponsible way of using one's mouth is " the forked tongue of a monitor lizard". Famous in Malaysia when referring to capricious folks. Among all reptilian creatures that flicker forked tongues, why choose the monitor lizard? When you feed fresh meat to a monitor lizard in captivity, it would rather wait another two days to partake its meal rotten. Most probably due to its preference for foul- smelling food plus its relatively huge size which comes with a tongue more conspicuous makes it a suitable symbol of a big stinky liar.

"Little palms spread out with a sieve" is the Malaysian way of expressing a million thanks. Why not just take a pail to collect from the benefactor? The sieve in this proverb is used to winnow out the chaff, leaving only valuable paddy grains. So in the eyes of the grateful person, everything he has received is good.

A fast and efficient worker is liken to a common cockroach. However, a child who has "hands of the cockroach" is one whose hands are always restless. Most mothers can tell you how fast a toddler can lay his hands on almost everything and does his restlessness remind you the way a darn cockroach roaming all over your stuff? The only way to stop both is a...slap!

What happen to people who "talk to the knees"? Knees can never respond intelligently so it means speaking to fools. Why are knees compared to fools? That would be like asking why "talk to the hands". One thing for sure, the expression "talk to the knees" shows contempt but not as rude as "talk to the hands" and it is not racist.

"Feet up, head down" extols industriousness, apparently a farmer who has to bend his back to cultivate the field. A person whose head is down whenever his feet are up works continuously to earn a living. This brings us to the toe and the end of a brief discussion on proverbs the Malaysian flavour without touching a single Malay word on your part.

About the Author/Author Bio

Wan is an ordinary Malaysian who cannot help observing idiosyncrasies in Bahasa Malaysia and is currently uploading them to Enjoy Learning Bahasa Malaysia. There is an online quiz for Malay proverbs at www.bahasa-malaysia-simple-fun.com/peribahasa.html Copyright 2007 - Wan Yee. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, give author name credit and follow all of Articlesphere.com terms of service for Publishers.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/Malay-Proverbs-from-Head-to-Toe/86104

Article Tags: reference and education, languages, peribahasa, proverb, bahasa malaysia, malay language, bahasa melayu, language, language learning
 
 
This article has been viewed 34 time(s).

More "Languages" Related Articles
 

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Languages" article category.

People interested in the above article "Malay Proverbs from Head to Toe" are also interested in the related articles listed below:
Spanish language largely spoken by the natives of Spain originated from 'Vulgar Latin' or popular Latin which covers the popular dialects and sociolects of the Latin language. It also drew influences from the language 'Basque' which is spoken by people who live north of Spain and some even from 'Arabic' which is from the southern Iberian Peninsula.
Malta has fast become one of Europe's premier EFL destinations, as the island's ties with the English language, coupled with its fantastic natural resources have made this an attractive location for agents and private students alike. With its rich history of been visited, and often invaded by empires throughout the ages, Malta, as a nation, has learned well the importance of resilience, communication, and adaption to new cultures, and cultural influences.
Of all the languages in the world why has English become the desired form of global communication? Maybe it is because English at its most basic level is extremely easy to learn.
Companies providing language translation service are getting more and more attention today. As the competition in the business landscape is getting fierce, business owners can no longer afford to ignore the global market. Sadly, however, many of these business owners who regularly acquire the help of translation companies don't really know if they are getting the service they deserve. These owners believe that a translation company that knows their required language is already enough, not knowing that what they are doing is highly dangerous.
According to several surveys held over the years, the words people consider to be their most favourites of all times seem to relate one way or another to individual experiences. Especially positive words of encouragment.

 View Languages Popular Articles | View Languages Top Authors
Article Directory Home Reference And Education Languages

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!
(Search in 23 languages: English, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, German,
Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Greek,
Swedish, Romanian, Polish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Czech, Croatian, Bulgarian)
 
 
(We serve worldwide - Locations updated as at Sunday, 07 September 2008 01:44 am , Singapore)
United States of America, USA . United Kingdom, UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) . Canada . Afghanistan . Albania . Algeria . American Samoa . Andorra . Angola . Anguilla . Antarctica . Antigua & Barbuda . Argentina . Armenia . Aruba . Australia . Austria . Azerbaijan . Bahamas . Bahrain . Bangladesh . Barbados . Belarus . Belgium . Belize . Benin . Bermuda . Bhutan . Bolivia . Bonaire . Bosnia-Herzegovina . Botswana . Brazil . British Virgin Islands . Brunei Darrusalam . Bulgaria . Burkina Faso . Burundi . Cambodia . Cameroon . Cape Verde . Cayman Islands . Central African Republic . Chad . Channel Islands . Chile . China . Christmas Island . Colombia . Comoros . Congo . Congo (Dem. Rep.) . Cook Islands . Costa Rica . Côte d'Ivoire . Croatia . Cuba . Curacao . Cyprus . Czech Republic . Denmark . Djibouti . Dominica . Dominican Republic . East Timor . Ecuador . Egypt . El Salvador . Equatorial Guinea . Eritrea . Estonia . Ethiopia . Falkland Islands and Dependencies . Faroe Islands . Fiji . Finland . France . French Guiana . French Polynesia . Gabon . Gambia . Gaza . Georgia . Germany . Ghana . Gibraltar . Greece . Greenland . Grenada . Guadeloupe . Guam . Guatemala . Guinea . Guinea-Bissau . Guyana . Haiti . Hawaiian Islands . Honduras . Hong Kong . Hungary . Iceland . India . Indonesia . Iran . Iraq . Isle Of Man . Israel . Italy . Ivory Coast . Jamaica . Japan . Johnston Atoll . Jordan . Kazakhstan . Kenya . Kiribati . Korea (North) . Korea (South) . Kuwait . Kyrgyzstan . Laos . Latvia . Lebanon . Leeward Islands . Lesotho . Liberia . Libya . Liechtenstein . Lithuania . Luxembourg . Macau . Macedonia . Madagascar . Malawi . Malaysia . Maldives . Mali . Malta . Marshall Islands . Martinique . Mauritania . Mauritius . Mexico . Micronesia (Federated States) . Midway Islands . Moldova . Monaco . Mongolia . Montserrat . Morocco . Mosquito Coast . Mozambique . Myanmar (Burma) . Namibia . Nauru . Navassa Island . Nepal . Netherlands . Netherlands Antilles . New Caledonia . New Zealand . Nicaragua . Niger . Nigeria . Niue . Norfolk Island . Northern Mariana Islands . Norway . Oman . Pakistan . Palau . Palestine . Panama . Papua New Guinea . Paracel Islands . Paraguay . Peru . Philippines . Pitcairn Islands . Poland . Portugal . Puerto Rico . Qatar . Reunion . Romania . Russia . Rwanda . Ryukyu Islands . Saint Helena . Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . Saint Pierre & Miquelon . Saint Vincent & The Grenadines . Samoa . San Marino . São Tom?& Príncipe . Saudi Arabia . Senegal . Serbia . Seychelles . Sierra Leone . Singapore . Slovakia . Slovenia . Solomon Islands . Somalia . South Africa . Spain . Sri Lanka . Sudan . Suriname . Swaziland . Sweden . Switzerland . Syria . Taiwan . Tajikistan . Tanzania . Thailand . Togo . Tonga . Transkei . Trinidad & Tobago . Tunisia . Turkey . Turkmenistan . Turks and Caicos Islands . Tuvalu . US Virgin Islands . Uganda . Ukraine . United Arab Emirates . Upper Volta . Uruguay . Uzbekistan . Vanuatu . Vatican City (Holy See) . Venezuela . Vietnam . Wake Island . Windward Islands . Yemen . Yugoslavia . Zaire . Zambia . Zimbabwe
Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.
Template Design by Internet Marketing Singapore | Internet Marketing
302 Found

Found

The document has moved here.

Apache/2.2.9 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.9 OpenSSL/0.9.8b DAV/2 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 Server at www.articlesphere.com Port 80