Kedah
Personally I like the Kedah dialect for four main reasons: 1. Not much prefix and suffix in colloquial usage. The only one they are particular about is using "per-" instead of "-kan" to make a verb causative. Easier for folks who rather not struggle with the idiosyncrasies, inconsistencies and idiocy of rules pertaining to prefix and suffix. 2. Omission of "s" and "l". I have many students who are world class lazy bums. Whenever they see "s", they deliberately pretend not seeing it so as not to read it or, they drag another 10 seconds to finish words like "habi----------s". "L" is the hardest, when they feel like it, they will say "sambiL" perfetto. Most of the time, it's "sambiR" Even the substituted "R" sounds sadly reluctant. Thank God, I can tell them with a good conscience :" Ah...your reading is perfect ( then I utter pianissimo ...in Kedah )." They can face the consequences later. 3. Preference of simple sentences to compound sentences. Again, perfect for lazy bums. 4. Adapt/adopt/mutilate/Malayanize English words, e.g.: Kerja "Hell" = Working for the Health Department “Dresa” = Dresser in the hospital "Sentri-boat"= Central Board "Po-res"= Forestry Department Ha, quite similar to our Sabah Malay language, we have slightly transformed English words such as : "sikul" ( school ), "aisbuks" ( ice-box) and, "sot" ( short-circuit ). Honorary Titles By now, we should address the legendary Mahsuri of Langkawi as "Tuk Chik". The Father of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, some of our younger ones should address as "Tuk Chei". Both titles are respectful way of saying "great grandmother" and "great grandfather", respectively. The "Chei" in "Tuk Chei" is pronounced as "Chai". As I explore the what they call the Northern Malay dialect, I began to wonder if the Tunku had ever asked anyone :" Hang ( You ) nak perjuang merdeka?" instead of the standard Malay I assumed he used.
Classification The Kedah dialect is spoken in the state of Kedah, Penang, Perlis and Northern Perak. It is called Kedah dialect because most of its speakers are found there. There are 4 sub-dialects: 1. Perlis-Langkawi 2. Northern Kedah 3. Penang and, 4. Coastal Kedah which is the dominant sub-dialect, considered the standard Kedah plus the royal dialect. White-Blood Women Okay, that's about all I want to say on the language. Next, I want to share another discovery. Mahsuri is not the only white-blooded woman. The other woman is said to be the daughter of Sultan Sulaiman Shah the seventh Sultan of Kedah. Her name was not given so I'd just call her the white blooded princess. It was during a time Acheh menace loomed over Kedah, the Raja of Acheh proposed to marry the princess to his son. Understandably no father would want his daughter to marry the enemy. So Sulaiman sent Acheh a fake princess instead. One day, this fake princess was helping herself to a set of betel-nut yummies. She "accidentally" cut her finger with the betel-nut scissors. Makes me suspicious of an excuse of the part of Acheh to find fault. The Achenese could have pounced on the poor girl to made a slit on her finger. People saw red blood as she bled and screamed foul play. According to scanty historical records, Sulaiman was captured and killed. However, he arranged to have the white blooded princess killed beforehand. White-blooded women are jinxed.
References: 1.Nobat kasih By Muhammad Alyas Abul Jalil 2. Kesan Sejarah dan Tempat-tempat Menarik Negeri Kedah Darul Aman oleh Mohamed Roselan Abdul Malek 3. Ensiklopedia Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu, DBP 4. Draw inspiration from colourful ‘Loghat Utara’, New Straits Times August 19, 2011
Look up for Kedah in Bahasa Malaysia Map
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