Please don't make unsilent letters silent

Some Malaysians just don't care about pronunciation. Or maybe I should say "a lot of Malaysians". This is an observation made throughout a period spanning eight years...in France and in Malaysia.

First there is the word "island". I usually tell my friends that my hometown was Penang, and that I came from the island. (usually I would say something like "Saya dari island", since we were speaking Malay) Each time I said that, they would laugh and go "Ooooo...dari island..." in a mocking manner. I had no idea what they were going on about...until when one day we were walking past an Irish pub, and suddenly one of them said to me, "Hey, that's where you're from!"

[Please tell me, do you get what they mean at this point?]

It took a few seconds for it to click, then I realised that when I said island, they were thinking Ireland. But those two words are NOT homonyms! The S in "island" is silent, but the R in "Ireland" is NOT SILENT!

Then another time I got subscribed to this mobile phone service called Breizh Mobile. (a company from Bretagne; I subscribed to get a phone at 1 or 9 euros, I've forgotten exactly how much) When a friend asked what company I was using, I told her. And then she started saying, "If Malaysians were to hear what company you're using, they would say 'How awful this girl is!'" I racked my brains to understand, and after she had said it a few times I got it that she meant "breast mobile". You're the one that's awful. -_-

One word has an "st" sound at the end, and the other has a "z" sound. Not the same!!

And then, in Malaysia, someone said "people don't like to do spot". (I've forgotten who the "people" referred to were) I said "huh?" And after a few more "huh?"s, he said "sukan". Oh..."sport"! The R is NOT SILENT, for goodness' sake!

Well, that's all for the examples I have at the moment...has anyone else come across situations like this, or is it just me?