Language maintenance in Malaysia

Abstract

Language use is deeply connected to the socio-cultural identity of an ethnic group. In Malaysia, the Chinese are the second largest ethnic group, speaking a wide range of Chinese language varieties. Although the Malaysian Federal Government has explicitly allowed the use of Mandarin Chinese through the national education system, this encouragement is undermined by other socio-political influences that discourage the public use of Chinese community languages such as Penang Hokkien, Cantonese, and Hakka. Widespread language shift from Chinese community languages to Mandarin Chinese is evident, especially among the younger generation. A combination of social, cultural, and political influences has motivated this shift and disrupted the patterns of community languages in many Malaysian-Chinese families. This situation raises questions about the role and status—and ultimate survival—of Chinese community languages in Malaysian society. The field of language maintenance and language shift has attracted much attention from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Many early studies of language maintenance and language shift in various countries have focused on examining demographic factors. Other areas of analysis include (1) using the concept of domain to describe social spaces of language use, (2) subjective factors such as motivation, attitudes, and beliefs, (3) language planning and policy, and (4) linguistic landscape. In order to provide a holistic picture of the language situation of the Chinese community in Penang, where the study took place, I developed an ecological framework that drew together three key components: language use, language perceptions, and language planning and policy. Conceptualising this study within the ecological framework, which assumes that ecological links exist between language, speakers, and the environment (Haugen, 1972), I applied a case study approach within a qualitative paradigm. The study drew on semistructured interviews, which were conducted with 46 participants, aged 30 and above, from three different groups: (1) official actors, (2) community-based actors, and (3) grassroots actors, as primary source and photographs of the linguistic landscape as secondary source. Haugen’s (1972) ten ecological questions were used to organise and frame the analysis of the interview transcripts. The first finding demonstrates that participants in this study are keen to maintain Chinese community languages and use them actively in their everyday life. They also use Mandarin Chinese widely but due to the influence of globalisation, they regard it as a language for goal achievement and career preparation. The second finding suggests that the participants’ continuous use of community languages is motivated by the fact that they acknowledge the value of these languages and hope that they will be maintained in the future. They predict that Penang Hokkien will continue to be the lingua franca of the Chinese in Penang even as Mandarin Chinese is becoming increasingly dominant. When assessing the vitality of languages in Penang, it can be seen that in addition to the national and official language of Bahasa Melayu, dominant languages—English, Mandarin Chinese, and Tamil—are given considerable support by the Penang Government in the public space. However, there is little evidence of Chinese community languages displayed in the landscape, mainly because these languages have survived through speech rather than writing. The third finding shows that various organisations at macro level (Malaysian Federal Government and Penang Government), meso level (communities), and micro level (parents) have made efforts to support the maintenance of Chinese community languages in Penang. However, these efforts vary due to socio-political pressures. By investigating language use, language perceptions, and planning efforts from macro to micro levels, this study presents a holistic account of the current role, status, and vitality of Chinese community languages in Penang. Its findings show there is a discrepancy between the perceptions of community-based and grassroots actors about the role and status of community languages and the reality of today’s language situation. This leads to the conclusion that in advocating for the survival of these community languages in Penang, there is a need to move beyond simple promotional campaigns towards a comprehensive approach that includes participation from the macro, meso, and micro levels of society.