Teenager from the US learnt the Malay language in just 14 days

American teen learns Bahasa Melayu in 14 days
American teenager learnt Malay in just 14 days
Image adapted from: The Planet Project

Malaysia is a multiracial country, that’s why most of us can read or speak at least 2 languages. There’s even a term to describe how we’re able to rojak up Malay, Chinese, Tamil, and English into a distinctly Malaysian tongue called “Manglish” because of this.

And since we Malaysians take pride in our multilingualism, it’s always a joy to see others learning our local languages – including a Japanese man who learned Malay during the MCO. Just like how we were impressed then, we’re now similarly wowed by TJ Huizar, a 16-year-old student from the USA who learnt Bahasa Melayu in just 14 days as a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic.

US teenager learnt Malay as a challenge

According to a YouTube video posted on 20th March 2020 on his channel called The Planet Project, TJ is able to speak over 12 languages. This includes English, of course, and Mandarin, as well as other pretty unique ones such as Czech and Persian.

And the list doesn’t stop there, as he also said in the video that he plans to learn Hindi and Haitian Creole too.

On 24th May 2020, he uploaded a video called “Learning a Random Language in Two Weeks (Malay)” – where he added another one of our local languages to his already impressive repertoire.

American teenager learnt Malay in 2 weeks as part of a challenge
Image credit: @theplanetproj

In the video, TJ shared that he wanted to challenge himself to learn 1 language in just 2 weeks, and chose the Malay language by randomly drawing lots from a box.

And while he already speaks plenty of other languages, he was excited to learn Malay as it is a “fascinating” language with simple grammar that’s spoken in several countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. He also “fell in love” with the language after watching Crazy Rich Asians, and even noted that several of the cast members were Malaysians.

American teen learnt Malay in two weeks
Image adapted from: The Planet Project 

The way TJ picked up Malay is impressive too, spending 4-8 hours a day teaching himself the language through a book called Colloquial Malay: A Complete Language Course. And his dedication to learn Malay shows, as he’s able to introduce himself in Malay and count up to ten on Day 1, and had 150 words memorised on Day 2.

When he got to his second week, he also received a lesson on our local foods from a friendly Malaysian girl, picking up terms such as sambal, nasi lemak, and pedas. The last day of his challenge saw him holding a 15-minute conversation with the same Malaysian girl. And his progress was apparent as he was able to understand her and could even respond to her with Malay words off the top of his head.

American teenager learnt local foods in malay
Image adapted from: The Planet Project 

According to an interview he did with Free Malaysia Today, TJ chose to take on the challenge as he had time on his hands with COVID-19 forcing all schools – including his own high school – to close. And he even has a favourite Malay word after learning the language: bersungguh-sungguh (“hardworking”).

TJ also revealed that he plans to visit Malaysia once he is able to, and shared that his favourite Malay food was nasi lemak after trying the dish out in Australia.

Netizens praise him for his hard work

Netizens gathered under TJ’s YouTube video to praise his dedication in picking up a new language during his 14-day challenge, with some even saying that he was inspiring them to learn new languages too.

Several Malaysians also shared their appreciation with him taking on Malay and were quick to cheer on his efforts, including netizen Elly King, who commented: “Hello! I am from Malaysia and a Malay. Your Malay is really good for a beginner!”

Comment 1
Image adapted from: Elly King

Another local netizen NaziehaLi also commented, “Congratulations! You should be proud of your good efforts. We warmly welcome you to Malaysia.”

Comment 2
Image adapted from: NaziehaLi

And to show that he’s still keeping up with the language, TJ responded “Terima kasih!” like a local to a netizen who commented, “So impressive that you can learn Bahasa Melayu so quickly! Clever!”

Comment 3

Image adapted from: OPPP

US teenager learnt Malay in just 2 weeks as a challenge

It’s not an easy task to pick up a new language. This is why we appreciate TJ taking on one of our local languages in the span of just 14 days from across the ocean in America, and with impressive results to boot. He’s also an inspiration to us to stay productive even while COVID-19 has put a pause on many of our activities.

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