Sabtu, 1 Ogos 2009

The Contradiction Technique in the Malay's Utterances

As what I had mentioned earlier that the indirectness is one of the technique in Malays utterances. To me it an idealistic approach, because the Malays especially are very polite and always talks to the strangers using low note. The contradiction technique is applied in amicable as well as antagonistic situations. In the first type of situation, contradiction serves to supress one’s self-pride or feeling of self-importance, because such attitudes are not condoned by society as they are contrary to the teachings og Islam. Contradictions of this nature can be seen when someone or someone’s kind or belonging is praised. In contradicting, the person is supposed to nullify the cause of the praise.
For example it is not customary for Malays to praise their hostess’ cooking. If in the course of the conversation, the praise is blurted out, the hostess should not say “thank you” ( as in Western culture ), but insted she should neutralise it by saying something that contradicts it. Usually one hears somethng like this:
1) Tak adalah, mana sedapnya. ( No, it’s not delicious at all )
Acclaiming the physical beauty of someone in his or her presence ia also considered an embarrasment to the person concerned. If such a thing happens the person concerned or the one close to him would contradict it then and there. Smiling and responding with a “ thank you” would be considered as riak ( having self-importance ) I once tried this test on a kampung mother who had a very beautiful little girl. I said to her that her girl was just lovely, and she quickly said to me:
2) Cantik apa ? Huduhlah! ( Beautiful? She’s ugly ! )
That was said with sincerity. In this case there are two cultural explanations. Firstly, the lady did not want to appear riak. Secondly, there is a custom among the Malays that it is a tabooto say how beautiful such and such a child is, because once reference to its beauty is made, it is believed that evil spirits will come looking for it for their pray. The evil spirits’ role in this may no longer be current among modern Malays but the rule of not directly referring to the physical beauty of children and also of grown-ups still lives on.
The contradiction phenomenon based on the cultural explanations above is also seen in the choice of names people used to give to their children. A lady by the name of Cik Doh or Cik Huduh ( huduh = ugly ) may not be ugly at all but may be really beautiful, and so is one by the name of Cik Wok ( Wok being a contraction of buruk “ old, ugly, bad “).
Shunning riak or being humble is also often seen when Malays refer to themselves or to what belongs to them. In a social interaction, especially when one party is a supplicant to the other, the former will refer to himself in the most humble manner, such as orang yang hina ( a lowly person ), orang kecil ( an unimportant person ), and so on, whereas in fact he is none of these. In the same manner, when a Malay invites you to his house, he refers to it as a pondok ( hut ). When you finally get to the pondok, you find thet it is a mansion.
Also when he gives you a present, he doens’t say. “Here is something nice which I got for you from such and such a place”. Instead, he will say, “ Here is a small thing for you. I don’t know wheather you’ll like it”
Cotracdiction also occurs in an antagonistic situation. The speaker can use the contradiction tecnique on himself or his interloctur. In this case he may either be sarcastic or ironical. For example, on witnessing a failure in an undertaking by someone, especially one who boasts so much, a Malay will say;
3 ) Hai orang pamdai-pandai! Pandai ini, pandai itu’Tulah jadi macam tu! Kita ni bodoh !” ( Well, arent they clever! Clever in this, clever in that. That’s why it’s like that! And we are but stupid ! )
It has been said before that contradiction technique is said to negate positive features or attributes for cultural reasons. Similarly and for a similar purpose, negative features or attributes may be given contracdictions. To me, all this tecnique which a normal practices among the Malays should be given some exposure to all Malaysians, in order to explain how nice and polite the Malays in dealing and accepting other races as their brothers.

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