When Engineering English Meets Bahasa Melayu

Alert : This post is not in any way to offend our national language

Bahasa Melayu is beautiful, rich, and precise. But sometimes, when technical English gets translated very correctly, it can sound… unintentionally funny.

Many years ago, I received a report that was beautifully written in Bahasa Melayu. As I went through it, one particular phrase caught my attention "papak konkrit."

I may never have scored a “B” in Bahasa Malaysia, but this wasn’t everyday language, this was "Technical Bahasa". Still, I didn’t want to embarrass myself (or rather felt like an "idiot" 😅 ) by being seen as someone who didn’t understand the national language.

Back then, the internet wasn’t as sophisticated as it is today. A quick search led nowhere and only added to the confusion.

In the end, I bought a "Kamus Kejuruteraan". That’s where I finally found the meaning of the term.

1) Concrete slab = Papak konkrit - (To engineers: a structural floor element.
To others: sounds like a giant cracker.)

Some other classics:

2) Beam = Rasuk - (Nothing to do with someone get "possessed", not kayu, not a pole, please don’t cut it.)

3) Column = Tiang - (No, not a lamp post.)

4) Footing = Tapak (Not where you stand. Where the building stands.)

5) Pile = Cerucuk - (More than just a stick driven into tanah.)

6) Retaining wall = Dinding penahan - (Not just “menahan angin”. Menahan tanah yang "marah".)

7) Shear force = Daya ricih (Sounds harmless. Actually breaks buildings.)

8) Bending moment = Momen lentur (Invisible. Expensive if ignored.)

9) Load-bearing wall = Dinding galas beban (Remove this and your renovation becomes a documentary.)

10) Settlement = Mendapan (Not sedimen (sediment). It’s your house slowly saying goodbye.)

The terms are correct. The confusion happens when the technical imagination doesn’t come with the translation. That’s why we often speak in two languages:

Bahasa untuk komunikasi, English untuk survival.

No language is weak, only context is missing. Respect the language. Respect the structure. And please… don’t knock down the "dinding galas beban" 😉