How to Deal with Animals in Bahasa Malaysia?

Especially one of the most adorable animals, a baby orangutan....

Discovery in a Chicken Coop

"She's an infant. She's thin,dirty with chicken manure and frightened. Apparently, a hunter kills her mother which left her straying into a field. The owner of the field captures her and keeps her in a crampy chicken coop. By the time she is rescued, she has been inside the chicken coop for 6 months tied to a chain around her little neck."

In the little story above, I insist on making the baby orangutan the subject of my sentences because I want to make your heart bleed for her. However, this technique is a bit challenging in Bahasa Malaysia.

A Baby Orangutan Cuddles up Close to ... Buy From Art.com

Dealing with Animals in Bahasa Malaysia without Personal Pronoun

In English, I can use "it" to refer to my baby orangutan. In Bahasa Malaysia, I do not have the equivalent of "it" as a personal pronoun for her. So I rewrite the story this way:

Penemuan Di Dalam Reban

"Ini seekor anak orangutan. Anak orangutan ini kurus, dikotori tahi ayam dan ketakutan. Nampaknya selepas seorang pemburu membunuh ibunya, anak orangutan ini merayau ke sebuah ladang. Pemilik ladang itu menangkapnya dan membelanya di dalam sebuah reban ayam yang sempit. Apabila diselamatkan, anak orangutan ini telah dikurung di sana dengan rantai yang dililit pada lehernya, selama 6 bulan."

The "it" Dilemma for Animals in Bahasa Malaysia

I can use "nya" a short form of third person personal pronoun when referring to "ibunya" ( its mother) and "lehernya" ( its neck) also, " menangkapnya" ( capture it) and " membelanya" ( keep it) as an object, though. But I have to use only "anak orangutan" as a subject. The best I can do is to refer it as "he" or "she" ...

When Baby Orangutan Talks!

The story has to be something like this:

"Anak orangutan itu kurus, dikotori tahi ayam dan ketakutan ketika pegawai perhutanan menemuinya di dalam sebuah reban ayam. Dengan pilu IA menceritakan nasibnya yang begitu malang. IA terpaksa merayau ke sebuah ladang untuk mencari makanan bersendirian setelah seorang pemburu membunuh ibunya. Pemilik ladang itu menangkapnya dan membelanya di dalam reban.' Sudah enam bulan aku dikurung di sini,' kata anak orangutan ketika pegawai membuka rantai yang melilit lehernya. Syukurlah akhirnya IA diselamatkan."

The principle is when an animal is personified, then it merits the personal pronoun "ia" which is a synonym of "dia" ( he or she ), normally granted to humans.

When Referring to Pongo Pygmaeus

Do you know what on earth is pongo pygmaeus? I didn't...until I met a lady who is crazy for it. She even nicknamed herself Pongo- after the scientific name for orangutan. Honestly I have no idea how to pronounce pongo pygmaeus. After all it is a highly technical term used to classify the orangutans. So I guess if I address the orangutan as pongo pygmaeus in the story, it can go this way:

"Pongo pygmaeus ini masih anak kecil. IA kurus, dikotori tahi ayam dan ketakutan. Nampaknya selepas seorang pemburu membunuh ibunya, IA merayau ke sebuah ladang. Pemilik ladang itu menangkapnya dan membelanya di dalam sebuah reban ayam yang sempit.Apabila diselamatkan, IA telah dikurung di sana dengan rantai yang dililit pada lehernya, selama 6 bulan."

Reviewing the Strategies of dealing with Animals in Bahasa Malaysia

1.You just have to stick to orangutan.

2. Master the skill of using "nya" and passive voices.

3. Make the orangutan talk or

4. Make the context highly technical.( Which I would interprete as stuffing scientific jargons into my story) :)))

Source of Inspiration

Just log onto Dewan Bahasa Pustaka and refer to Kamus Inggeris-Melayu Dewan for "it" and Kamus Dewan for "ia".

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