One of the greatest things about living in Malaysia is the ability to learn how to speak in multiple languages, given how we live in a community made up of so many different races. In fact, most Malaysians are bilingual, with some able to speak in three, if not more languages and dialects.
It is by this virtue that has also made Malaysia an incredibly popular travel destination for many foreigners, given the general lack of a language barrier between locals and tourists.
Content creator from China claims he can survive in M’sia by just speaking Mandarin
This was recently highlighted by one content creator from China, who applauded Malaysians for their ability to converse in multiple languages while claiming that it was possible to get by simply by speaking Mandarin.
To prove his point, he uploaded a video onto his Douyin account, which is the Chinese counterpart to popular video sharing platform TikTok, where he embarked on a ‘challenge’ to speak only in Mandarin while shopping around in Kuala Lumpur.
His day started on an e-hailing car ride, where he could be heard engaging in a conversation with the driver in Mandarin.
“Sir, how did you know that we could speak Mandarin the moment we got into your car?” he asked.
“Well, because I overheard you speaking in Mandarin earlier.” the driver replied.
He proceeded to then exchange some small talk with the driver and asked what other dialects he could speak in, to which the driver said he could also speak in Cantonese.
As he got out of the car, he said that he almost feels like being back at home when stepping into the mall, as people around him could be heard conversing in Mandarin, and some of the store signs also featured Mandarin characters.
Faced no difficulties, from ordering food to shopping
He proceeded to then attempt to order food at a restaurant only by using only Mandarin. As he walked into the restaurant, he was greeted by the cashier but the cashier was unable to communicate with him in the language.
The cashier then quickly ran towards the back of the kitchen to ask for her colleague’s help, and another staff member emerged to serve him. He was then able to order in Mandarin completely, commenting how easy it was to do so. After his meal, he went over to a retail store that sells eyewear to try and shop using his mother tongue.
He then asked the retail assistants if they could recommend a pair of sunglasses for him that were suitable for island vacations. To his surprise once again, one of the retail assistants, who appears to be a Malay woman, was able to speak fluent Mandarin with no issues before suggesting a few options for him.
From his experience in the mall, he claims that he faced little to no problems interacting with staff only in Mandarin.
“I realised that if you walk into any retail stores, you will be able to communicate with them just by speaking mandarin!”
He proceeded to head back to his hotel and attempt the same trick again, by interacting with a member of the concierge staff. Enquiring about the breakfast rates in Mandarin, the staff member explained all of the relevant information to him in the same language.
Source: 聪哥说留学
He shared that through his time in Malaysia, he realised that while most Malaysians can speak English and Bahasa Melayu, there are also plenty who can converse in Mandarin as well.
His post has since attracted many netizen comments, including locals who explained to him why being a polyglot is incredibly commonplace in the country.
“That’s pretty good, at least you weren’t discriminated.”
Source: Facebook
“Malaysia is really an awesome country because there are 3 different ethnicities and we have the freedom to practice and utilise our culture to express ourselves.”
Source: Facebook
“We learn mandarin to try and elevate our abilities. As Malaysians, the most important thing is to learn how to speak Bahasa Melayu as it’s the official Bahasa Malaysia. If a Malaysian can barely speak Bahasa Malaysia, you can never gain respect from people that originates from different countries.”
Source: Facebook
“Malaysians can speak multiple languages, and it’s easier for us to work internationally too.”
Source: Facebook
“There are plenty of Malay and Indian people in Malaysia that can also speak Mandarin.”
Source: Facebook
Watch the video here.
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