As I watched the Oscar-nominated Everything Everywhere All at Once and every tired sigh of “hai-yah” uttered by its star, Michelle Yeoh, a shy smile spread across my face. It’s just so Malaysian. “Hai-yah”, we huff at any minor inconvenience. “Hai-yah,” we use in lieu of a “no problem”, or a “don’t say that”. It’s rare to hear it as part of everyday speech in a Hollywood blockbuster. It genuinely took me aback as I watched it in the cinema.
Intonations that usually appear in Asian accents are often exaggerated for effect on-screen. It’s a scream of “HAIII-YAH!” while performing a martial arts move. Or the nasally “hai-yaaaah” schtick used by comedians like Nigel Ng when playing his YouTube character Uncle Roger. Most Asians are accustomed to hearing our accents being mocked. Even in Crazy Rich Asians, a 2018 romcom literally set in southeast Asia, Ken Jeong and Awkwafina’s accents are so deeply exaggerated that it makes me cringe.
