GANU KITE

Just thinking about this makes me laugh!

"Hello, Jasmine ada?" and I hear a loud yell in the background calling out for Jasmine while a stomping feet rushes to the phone. "Hello?" I slowly replied, "Jas, mintak tolong sikit boleh tak? I need to brush up on my loghat T'ganu la, I'm so bad at this. Tolong I list down perkataan yang tak wujud dalam kamus Bahasa Malaysia tapi wujud dalam kamus orang Terengganu boleh tak?"

You know what Jasmine replied to this odd request?

"Weh, mak you kan orang T'ganu, gi la tanya dia! Semangat betul telefon sampai rumah nak mintak tolong ajar hahahaha (she laughed so hard. I was so embarrassed.)

I was 11 years old, she was 12. This was my front house neighbour in ss18 Subang Jaya. A girl I befriended since I was 7, my childhood buddy, Jasmine Mokhtar.

Well yes, I was embarrassed but I was so determined to learn and Mak never taught me a single word except for when she sees something pretty then she'll say "Oh molek nye, comei comei".

As soon as we ended the conversation, I quickly turned to my stepmother and said "Mummy, I'm going over to Jasmine's, bye!" This happens on a daily basis (without fail), I would cross the road to Jasmine's house after school and we'd spend time doing absolute nonsense (like playing 'guess who' the board game). More often than not, I would always and I mean ALWAYS catch her watching Hindustani movies as I enter her home. You know, It's amazing what foreign language movies can do to your kids. I asked Jasmine once "Jas, you paham ke diorang cakap Hindustan? Kalau takde subtitle you boleh paham tak?" She confidently said "Paham! senang jer, kalau dah tengok selalu mesti boleh paham punya" - The ever so easily amused me was so impressed with her ability to comprehend the tongue twisting Hindustani language.

Jasmine has 2 older sisters and like me, she's the baby of the family. A unique husky voiced as a child, she is a bright girl who never fails to score academically. Once I came to her house after school, I saw an exam paper on history marked 100% in a red pen being pushed down by a magnet on the refrigerator. "That's my mother's doing, you know I would never do that", she clarifies as she saw my eyes locked on that piece of paper stuck on the fridge. Jasmine's parents are both from Terengganu, with her dad's hometown in Gong Kapas, Kuala Terengganu they never fail to spend a week of celebrating Hari Raya with their loved ones there each year. I could take her absence for 2 days maximum during the raya period, come day 3, I'd be bored to my skull.

I leave it to you to imagine the lingo atmosphere in the Mokhtar's house. Although they live in Subang Jaya but this is one family who speaks and breathes loghat Terengganu behind closed doors. Allow me to help you visualize, Jasmine's mama would go "Jah, mu doh makang blom?" while Jasmine replies "Doh la ma, tak emboh doh, perok se'eh doh." - Go figure.

After much persuasion from me, Jasmine still felt that it was a little awkward to teach me some T'ganu words. "Susah la nak ajar orang, benda ni bukan boleh main ajar camtu jer. Dia keluar naturally, kalau tanya I sekarang pun I takleh nak pikir perkataan apa yang nak diajar" said the 5ft 4 inches 12 year old girl. Somehow her eldest sister who I fondly call "Kak Mima" overheard the mini commotion and said to me, "Its ok Nawwar, I'll teach you a word or two. Do you have a pen and paper?"

I thought to myself "Oh the joy!!!!! Yahooooo!!"

The ever so soft spoken kak Mima is my brother's age, 8 years older than I am. They say the older ones bully the younger ones right? Well not in the Mokhtar's family. Jasmine bullies her eldest sister and teases her to death. Kak Mima is one of the most soft spoken person I have ever known, sometimes I wonder how on earth can she be a school prefect with this gentle character. Sorry, I tend to swerve when I tell stories.

Now back to my list of Terengganu words that do not exist in Kamus Bahasa Melayu.

1. Gobok - Almari
2. Bakpe - Kenapa
3. Peng - Ais
4. Bok - Buku
5. Molek - Cantik
6. Dok - Tidak
7. Gerek - Basikal
8. Hok - Yang mana
9. Kabo - Beritahu
10. Ghoyak - Cakap
11. Kekgi - Kejap lagi
12. Lening - Sekarang
13. Nebeng - Melampau
14. Se'eh - Terlalu kenyang
15.Tak emboh - Tak nak
16. Sokmo - Selalu
17. Pitih - Duit
18. Komang - Takde class, kodi


Now that I'm actually reading it like this, this loghat does sound a little odd. Much like the Sarawakian language perhaps?

ps : Mu tok soh kabo sape sape k? Blajo diang diang doh.