Sunday, April 7, 2013

Happy Birthday

Assalamualaikum wbt

Don't be surprise. I'm not wishing happy birthday to anybody. I just want to talk a bit about this happy wish.

In English, we always say happy birthday when a person is celebrating his/her annual birth day. It is true and right. I have no problem with that.

But, in Malay, why we always say 'Selamat Hari Jadi'. 'Hari Jadi' is the day you were made. Nobody know when you were actually made.

So, the birthday marked the day that you were born into this world. The actual translation for Happy Birthday is 'Selamat Hari Lahir'. I prefer 'Selamat Ulangtahun Kelahiran' to 'Selamat Hari Lahir'.

Whatever language that you use, please make sure that the translation is done correctly. In this case, it's not the issue of direct translation. I'm not sure how birth = made (lahir = jadi).


1 comment:

Akmall Razlan said...

Yup, direct translation somehow does effect the language. And more reading will help this direct translation problem.

Long Sarah Meninggal Dunia

Assalamualaikum wbt ... Lepas maghrib semalam, terima panggilan dari pak sedara. Dia bagitau jiran dekat rumah dia meninggal dunia. Aku ke...