A Culture Shock in Malaysian English! What Is “Muck”? 😂

This is a story from when Erik and I went for a health check-up in Malaysia.

It was about two years after I had returned to Malaysia, and we decided to have a health check-up together.

In the morning, we went through various examinations, including:

• Blood tests
• Height and weight measurements
• X-rays And in the afternoon, it was time for a consultation with the doctor.

While looking at the test results, the doctor gave us various pieces of advice about our health.

Then suddenly, the doctor said:

Doctor:

“You should drink more muck.”

Erik:

“What is muck?”

Then the doctor said…

“Whaaaat!? You don’t know what MUCK is!?!?!”

She was absolutely shocked 😂😂😂

Then the doctor searched for “muck” on the computer.

“This is it!”

she said, showing us the screen.

And there it was…

🥛 MILK

Erik and I:

“WHAT!?!? You mean MILK!?!?”

We were completely shocked and confused 🤣🤣🤣

Erik asked again just to make sure.

Erik:

“You call milk ‘muck’?”

Doctor:

“Yes!”

😂😂😂😂😂

Erik lived in Japan for about 15 years, so while he was there, he didn’t have many opportunities to hear the way Malaysians speak English.

After returning to Malaysia, he experienced many moments of linguistic culture shock, thinking:

“Wait… you pronounce it like THAT!?”

🤣

This “Milk = Muck” incident was one of them! 😂

Even though it’s the same English language, pronunciation and expressions can be very different depending on the country or region.

And that’s one of the fun parts of living overseas, isn’t it? 😊

Living in Malaysia brings so many unexpected language-related culture shocks that you would never experience in Japan.

After returning to Malaysia from Japan, where he had lived for 15 years, Erik found himself experiencing culture shock from the English spoken in his own country all over again 🤣🇲🇾

Have you ever heard Malaysian English and thought, “Wait… what did you just say!?” 😂

Please enjoy this story together with the AI comic! 😊

🌴 Tabiniko Family Comic Series

📖 Episode 4

“Aya’s Shocking Incident Files in Malaysia ④”