The Inheritance

VVVB 2493 MALAYSIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH Semester 2 2009/2010

NATIVISATION IN THE INHERITANCE BY KARIM RASLAN: A DISCUSSION

LECTURER: MR. RAVICHANDRAN VENGADASAMY

LISA KWAN SU LI A123040 TESL/2

The Inheritance Nativisation in The Inheritance by Karim Raslan

The nativisation of the English language is the evolution of a distinct variety of the language that is specific or unique to the context and the society it is born in. Language exists as a form of communication; a tool for conveying messages. It only stands to reason that, in order to convey a message to ones own people, one has to use language that is relatable and closer to home, rather than Standard British English. Should the latter be used instead, more often than not the exact meaning or intention that is meant to be brought across to the readers is lost in the process. Raja Rao poses the question that justifies the nativisation of English: How does one convey the spirit (soul) that is ones own in a language that is not ones own? This phenomenon is evident in Malaysian literary works, one of which will be later discussed in detail with examples. This paper will attempt to show several nativisation techniques used by Karim Raslan in The Inheritance which ultimately facilitate the understanding and the significance of the plot as well as its description of characters, and thus better caters to the local reader as compared to foreigners. The story begins with A good death, like a good rain, really brings the toads out of hiding. Here, the readers can infer that someone has died, and what is about to unfold will not be pretty. The readers are introduced to several characters Mahmud, Ahmad and Tajuddeen who are the sons-inlaw of the man who has died. Ayah is one of the wealthiest men around, with a vast mass of inheritance to be passed on but had no sons. While Ahmad is dim-witted and Mahmud charmed his way around, Tajuddeen had been secretly plotting and scheming to take over his father-in-laws wealth and business. Finally, after all his sacrifice and hard work, it is not to be. Ayahs dirty little secret is revealed and Tajuddeen is left with nothing. A second wife appears on the scene with three children three sons who were more likely to inherit the millions that Tajuddeen had had his eye on for the past twenty two years. The nativisation of context in this story is rather evident in both physical and social settings. Places like KL, Tanah Merah, Ulu Sepang, Kepong Baru Utama and Tanjong Malim are mentioned in the text; places where local readers especially in the northern parts of the Peninsular would be able to identify with. KL is not even written in its full name Kuala Lumpur because locals would typically 2

The Inheritance refer to the nations capital as Kay-Ell. If one were to ask, Are you heading up to Kuala Lumpur? that one person would most likely be a foreigner. Therefore, Karim Raslan attempts to refer to familiar places to a local reader in a manner that is common to locals. All the characters in the text are Malay, with names that are typically Malay as well. Ahmad, Mahmud, Tajuddeen, Usman Khalid, Aishah, Aniza and Tengku Kamil are such examples. Karim Raslan wrote when introducing the character of Tajuddeen: Tajuddeen (no one called him Din) was tall and trim. To an outsider, this sentence may not mean anything. However, to a local, especially of the Malay community, the author is trying to imply that Tajuddeen was not only an intimidating and serious person, but someone who may not necessarily be well-liked. How is this so? In the Malay culture, it is common to be given nicknames, or a shorter version of ones name. For example, common ones would include Mat (for Ahmad), Niza (Aniza), Ana (Raihanah) and Zul (Zulkifli). Names like Izzuddin may also be shortened to Din. Such nicknames are used as a form of endearment by family and relatives, or amongst close friends. By saying, no one called him Din meant that he was not well-liked even amongst family and friends, which is an implicated meaning that only local readers would have caught. The social setting here is not only of the Malay community, but more specifically, that of the Kelantanese Malay community. Karim Raslan writes: His in-laws being pure-blooded Kelantanese from Tanah Merah and therefore rather full of themselves, looked down on his honest, if uncompromising, ways. Here, he insinuates that their being Kelantanese Malays explains them being rather full of themselves. It is a known fact in Malaysia that the Kelantanese have a very strong sense of pride and loyalty to their home state. It has been said that a Kelantanese Malay would support a fellow Kelantanese who is Chinese than a non-Kelantanese Malay, should there be a disagreement between the latter two. In even deeper scrutiny, the characters are not only Kelantanese Malay, they are Kelantanese Malay of the upper-class community. They are extremely rich people who have acquaintances who are Tan Sris and Datuks, who breakfasted on croissants and cappuccino, had chauffeurs and owned polo ponies. Names like Tengku Kamil suggested that these people were royal blood or of royal descent. They were showy and lavish, looking down on those below their class, as well as those who 3

The Inheritance were of their class, but refused to show it, like Tajuddeen. Surprisingly, even men of the upper-class community were gossip-mongers, as was displayed by Mahmud in discussing the apparent rocky relationship between Ayah and Tengku Kamil. It was also common for these men to have affairs, which was what happened with Ayah, and Mahmuds attempt to sexually harass the domestic help. Such traits were typical of the upper-class due to the power and wealth that comes with the status. Being Malays, they practised the Muslim religious rites for funerals where the women would mourn and do their ablutions, and religious men from the surau were invited over to conduct the prayers. They also go on umrahs to the Holy Land which is part of the Muslim practice and typical to Malaysian Malay culture ...taking the mother-in-law on her umrahs over the years... Locals better understand the significance of such trips. Karim Raslan also made use of the lexical aspect to inculcate a local flavour to his story. Yeh, geh? and Penang mamaks are borrowed from the Kelantanese Malay dialect. Codeswitching also occurs with words like baju, air suam, lauks, selendang, waris. There is even repetition of words from the Malay language and its English equivalent: Warm water air suam was his customary drink. Local terms that have no English equivalent are also used. For example, nasi lemak, teh tarik, surau, waktu Maghrib, sarong, which gives a picture of the sort of lifestyle they have. Common local terms of endearment for father-in-law and mother-in-law are the same as those for father and mother respectively; hence Karim Raslan makes the characters use these terms; Ayah and Mak. Very Malaysian expressions like Alamak and No-lah also give the story that local taste. Outsiders may not be able to understand why Bata shoes is used in the text. Locals, on the other hand would understand what the author is trying to tell his readers about Tajuddeen, which is the fact that he favours practicality over brand names and fashion which is exactly what Bata shoes are known for. His richer relatives and in-laws who thought otherwise would be seen as snobbish and stuck-up for looking down on Tajuddeen and his choice of Bata shoes. Selekeh is used as slang here. Although it means dishevelled in English, that is not the accurate meaning in the sentence it is found in: Selekeh in all things, he was small and dark with a badly pock marked face and a chin so weak it seemed to rest halfway down his neck. Here, the word does not refer to the way Mahmud is dressed. It means that he treats every other matter similar to the 4

The Inheritance dishevelled haphazard way one dresses when described as selekeh. Local readers would be able to visualize such a description whereas other readers may most likely be in the dark. Another type of nativisation of form is syntactical. One clear example is when Mahmud first plants the seeds of doubt in Tajuddeens head of there being no male heirs (or waris) to Ayahs wealth. Mahmud says: Four daughters eh? No sons uh? Sure uh? (poking Tajuddeen in the ribs as he spoke) Big responsibilities, or is it big money? Such a sentence structure will certainly not be found in any Standard English dictionary for sure, but may be however, heard widely spoken in Malaysia. In addition, umrahs, lauks and salaaming are some words that depict the locals tendency to apply English language rules to their native language. However strange these words may seem, they make sense to the local reader. Allusion (nativisation of literary devices) was used in The Inheritance as well: An accountant by training he had left the profession in the mid 80s in order to steer the deceased mans many companies through the economic squalls of those years. As is true in history, Malaysia suffered a bad economic state during the mid 1980s. This sentence refers to true national situations and events that Malaysians would have experienced at that time. In conclusion, nativisation of the English language in Malaysian literary works by local authors is not merely something out of whim and fancy. As was discussed earlier, these different types of nativisation that can be found throughout the story makes the text that much more relatable to a local reader. A foreigner, or someone foreign to the local scene and its people, may encounter certain difficulties in trying to comprehend parts of the text because of referrals to certain subjects or terms that are uniquely local. These types of nativisation done by the author also aid in the understanding of the text and even particular lexical items used increases its significance to the local reader. Ultimately, such techniques are employed to make the written text more appealing to the domestic reading public.