As long as I can remember, filling out forms in Malaysia has never been a problem for me. Academic forms, office-related forms, scholarship forms, income tax forms and even online forms.
But when I started applying for overseas scholarships, things became a little complicated. What's a first name and last name anyways? Add in family name, middle name, given name and initial (single or double) and it becomes even mindblog... I mean mindboggling.
Is last name the same as family name? Coz first name is usually family name (苗字) in Japan. I have 3 words to my name, but according to the American system, one has to go to middle name. But if I do that, my name gets screwed up coz 2 collectively are my given names.
I bet over the years while filling up foreign forms, I have had various versions of my name. In Malaysia, it's just one LONG space for your FULL name. I guess you'd say we've mastered the art of making things easy when you have so many races living in the country.
The other thing is native language. I'm Chinese by descent but no doubt Mandarin is probably my worst language considering my proficiency of the Japanese language at the moment. I'm also Malaysian by nationality and I can speak as well as a native Malay but I'd have to say my command of English is the best so far.
So is native language the one you were brought up to speak? Or the one which is defined by your ethnic origins? Or could it be the one that you speak so well that you are mistaken for a native speaker?
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