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Well I believe Australia and New Zealand also refer to it as petrol. Mentioning gas for your car there would imply LPG or CNG which many vehicles use in those countries.
Baron Carter
-----Original Message-----
‘Gasoline’ is the actual term There have been recent mentions in Mind Our English of the homonyms “petrol” and “patrol”. Understandably, Malaysians are more used to the word “petrol” due to the history of the country. However, the actual term used in the automobile industry is “gasoline”, or gas for short, which has a different meaning to Malaysians. The word “petrol” has French origins. “Gasoline” is the term for octane fuel used in our internal combustion engines. It is the standard used in the industry, much like crude oil being measured in barrels (US) instead of litres (Metric). English is a complicated language and it is of course imperative that our students in schools learn its proper grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, etc. However, I think some MOE readers/contributors should give the rest of the country a break when it comes to proper usage because while they pick on others’ English, others are picking on theirs. I think it’s more shameful if Malaysians can’t speak their own language, more so than if Malaysians can’t speak English. So what if you see a sign in bad English? Laugh it off and let it be. Are Malaysians really that concerned about what foreigners think of our English? I’d rather be more worried about what they think of our civility. – K.Y. Au
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2004/10/22/features/9148313&sec=features |
- [USMA:31383] RE: Good thing he didn't say the standard unit i... Baron Carter
