Growing up in a Malay village in Majidee Johor Bahru, as a teen in the seventies was a great experience. I would not trade it for anything else. I was both a participant and a non-participant linguistic observer, so to speak, remembering how slangs words were used to signify the times. I was an expert user of those terms, as natural as I was a kid from Johor ("budak Johor") so to speak.
It was the period of rock music whose influence came from down south, Singapore .. words reflecting the sociolect of the genre and the generation I was part of became the dominant linguistic marker and mark of communicative competence of my generation ... here are a few ...
" -- gua, lu, lu orang, member, brader, babe, beb, mat, mamat, sambar, cinoni, minah, bini, mak we', ah moi, apek, jam, kepala best, high, fag, kena dam, jam, jamming, merak, jambu, pergi melabor/go to the bathroom, bertelor/too long in the bathroom, goreng, turun johor, terjun singapore, bigoh, sengal, senak, lepak kompleks, jalan Lido, bapok/pondan bukit Timbalan, kena sembor, masuk mentol / masuk mental hospital, masuk tampoi, kena sound, toya, tantun, lipat, kona baring, buat wheelie, slack, fras/frust menonggeng, bertenggek, bikin trouble, feeling sama dia, story, bando'/bandar, rembat, sesah, belasah, bedok, bengang, rewang, penaggah, chelaka, mem, bos, stout, ayam, ... etc. "
Here are those I still remember using in my hanging out days as a JB teen:
- wa/gua ("I" or "me")
- lu (you)
- turun Johor (to go to town)
- pegi "jamming" (to go and play music with your band)
- best (satisfying)
- toya (nerd)
- tantun (not sophistcated in grooming)
- terror (of greatness)
- fag (cigarette .. not faggots, mind you ...)
- rugged (of american-looking)
- kodok (girls)
- chinoni (very cute)
- bond (police/mata mata)
- boss gua (my father)
- mem gua (my mother)
- kerek (arrogant)
- anak Lord (rich man's son/daughter)
- bedok (to beat one up)
-lepak (to chill)
- teranjang (to kick ...)
- stim (to get high)
- kena dam (to get high)
- isap fit (to get high)
- kena barang (to get high)
- bikin kepala best (to get high)
- sedut barang (to get high)
- sedut benda tu (to get high)
- makan pil (to get high)
- tarik itu barang (to get high)
- kena gam (to get high)
- stone (to get high)
-gormal (to lie)
- makan madat (to get high ... used in the 60s)
- makcik (girlfried)
- bini gua (my girlfriend)
- scrambler ( motorbike)
- goreng ( to play the scales .. mad scales .. on your electric guitar)
- wa cakap sama luu ... ( i tell you .../standard expression at the end of conversation ..)
-wa sepak lu bisu (I slap your face till you become deaf)
- wa caya sama lu ( i trust you)
- wa cinta sama lu ( i love you)
- wa sumpah walillah (i swear .. in the name of Allah)
- wa story sama lu ( i'll tell you what happen ...)
- bapok Bukit Timbalan (tranvestite of Bulit Timbalan)
- turun Lido (go hang out at Lido Beach/now Danga Bay)
- anak ABU (anak anak angkatan bawah umiur / underaged unruly kids)
- gua belanja lu ( i pay for your lunc/dinner/movies/jamming session, etc ..)
- wa main toto (i play the Sports Toto)
- wa kena Stout (i drank Guiness Stout)
- wa panas (angry)
-wa menyirap (my blood boiling with anger)
- wa ngan lu kamcheng (we're BFF/great buddies)
- wa tak sombong ( i am humble)
- wa kena kantoi ... celaka .. sial ... ! ( i was caught ... damn damn ..)
- wa hot (angry too)
-wa bengang sama lu ( I was angry at you)
- wa sedih (i am sad)
- wa happy (i am happy)
- wa punya minah (my girlfriend)
- wa clash sama minah wa (i broke up with my girlfriend)
- wa frust menonggeng (i was really broken-hearted/after the breakup)
-wa tobat (I repent/I am not lying)
-wa punya kepala kenoning (my head spinning from that smoke)
- minah Larkin (girl from Larkin)
- minah Tampoi (girl from Tampoi -- stay away ..)
- wa pi Mekah (errr ... quite unlikely ...)
MORE JOHOR-MALAY KILLER SLANG WORDS ... MOSTLY VERBS
- muntah-kedarah (to eat like a pig; seven Big Macs for lunch)
- memberot (to excrete)
- membeseh (to pee/urinate)
- melabor (to excrete also .. modern usage)
- meneran (the process of excreting)
- membeseh (to urinate)
- berendut (to go on a date)
- membuta (to sleep)
- merayau (to roam around)
- manapak (to set foot)
- menogak (to drink beer/toddy)
- menengek (to fornicate)
-meyundal (to do sinful things)
-melados (to smoke a cigarette)
- mengisap (benda tu .. ) (to smoke ganja)
- melalak (to sing like a rock star)
- menackle (to 'tackle' a girl or boy)
- menonong (to walk away rudely)
-melantung (stink to the heavens, usually referring to farts)
- berda'ah (to lie through the nose)
- bergetah (very beautiful girl)
Please add more if you know ...
DR AZLY RAHMAN grew up in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and Masters degrees in six fields of study: Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies, Communication, Creative Non-Fiction, and Fiction Writing. He has written more than 500 analyses/essays on Malaysia. His 30 years of teaching experience in Malaysia and the United States spans over a wide range of subjects, from elementary to graduate education. He is a frequent contributor to scholarly online forums in Malaysia, the USA, Greece, and Montenegro. He writes at Substack and Linkedin
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