Manglish

Manglish is an informal or basilect form of Malaysian English with features of an English-based creole principally used in Malaysia. It is heavily influenced by the main languages of the country, Malay, Tamil, and varieties of Chinese. It is highly colloquial and not one of the official languages spoken in Malaysia.

Manglish spoken in West Malaysia is very similar to and highly mutually intelligible with Singlish of Singapore, a creole of similar roots due to historical reasons. There is generally little distinction between the two creoles although subtle differences do exist, with Manglish vocabulary containing more Malay words while Singlish containing more words from Chinese languages such as Hokkien (Min Nan) and Teochew.

The vocabulary of Manglish consists of words originating from English, Malay, Hokkien, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil, and, to a lesser extent, various other European languages and Arabic, while Manglish syntax resembles southern varieties of Chinese. Also, elements of American and Australian slang have come through from imported television series. Manglish is sometimes historically known as Bahasa Rojak, but it differs from the latter by the use of English as the base language. The term rojak derives from "mixture" or "eclectic mix" in colloquial Malay. The East Coast (Kelantan and Terengganu) and Borneo versions (Sarawak and Sabah) of Manglish may differ greatly from that of the western coast of West Malaysia.

Besides mixing multiple languages, Manglish includes mixing the syntax of each language. Idioms, proverbs and phrases are also often translated directly to English from Malay, Chinese, and Tamil. The accent and vocabulary used is highly dependent on the formality of the context and language dominance of the speaker. The speaker would also vary the quantity of Manglish spoken depending on their counterpart. As a result, foreigners unfamiliar with the region are generally unable to grasp Manglish; it is mostly understandable only to native-born Malaysians and some Singaporeans. Some Malaysians are able to speak their native language fluently but choose to speak Manglish locally in their daily lives and conversations.