Sorry I don't Speak Malay

I got into a cab the other day and the elderly Chinese cabbie started speaking to me in Malay. This has happened to me a couple of times in Singapore. My mom's generation and the cabbie's Chinese generation all spoke Malay. Malay or at least Pasar Malayu or colloquial Malay was a common language among the different ethnic groups in Singapore. Malay, unlike Tamil or Mandarin, was much easier language to pick up and the text is in English. Today the unifying language is English. My mom and my aunts were all tri-lingual - they spoke English, Tamil and Malay. I am embarrassed to say that I only speak English and Tamil. I am bilingual but many of my friends in my generation are unfortunately monolingual - they only speak English. Within a space of one generation we have lost one and even two languages. How sad.

My dad stressed heavily that I study the Tamil language. He said language is the doorway into an entire culture, people and mindset. No amount of translation will unlock all the hidden chambers that language can transport you into. He was right on the mark. When I travelled in Tamil Nadu people spoke very little when I spoke in English. When I switched to Tamil my whole world opened up and many opened up to me and shared so many stories and practices and rural traditions.