Imagine one day going to a country where synonyms-yes synonyms-were killed off.

Imagine if in conversation and writing, it was now legitimate to use only the word ‘sholat’ and not the word ‘sembahyang’ for to pray; or only ‘saum’ for to fast, and not ‘puasa’. Imagine if we could no longer use the word ‘Cina’ for China or Chinese, and could only use the word ‘Tionghoa’. Imagine if we could refer to the gender of our mother