English Language Used in Malaysia
English Language Standard That Malaysians Would Be Able to Relate to (That Would Ensure That They Are Internationally Intelligible.)
This paper focuses on language, in terms of the English language used in Malaysia, the characteristics of this Malaysian English and the standard of the Malaysian English with comparison to other countries.
Introduction:
The 'Standard English is a general term for a form of written and spoken English that is considered the model for educated people. There are no set rules or vocabulary for "standard English" because, unlike languages such as French, English does not have a governing body to establish usage. As a result, the concept of "standard English" tends to be fluid. A rough rule of thumb used in some parts of the world, particularly those that are (or were) members of the Commonwealth of Nations, is to follow pronunciation and old usage guides of the BBC, otherwise known as Received Pronunciation or the Queen's English. '(Cited in http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Standard_English) Therefore, 'It is plain now that no one can claim sole ownership of English.'(Crystal, 1998: 130) cited in Gill 2004:27.The English used in Malaysia is now the 'Second Diaspora' where the 'seeds' of English were spread widely across diverse socio-cultural environment. (Krachu, 1992: 230) cited in Gill, 2004:27. As a result, a variety of English was born which Malaysia 'have adopted and used the English language as a language for social and international communication. (Gill,2004:27)
The development 'of varieties of Malaysian English reflects identity and the pragmatic need to have a means of communication that is internationally intelligible' .(Gill, 2004:28). Now, before going in detail, it is essential to first look at the historical background of Malaysia, on how Malaysia was able to adapt to this variety of English.
Historical background of Malaysia:
Malaysia, a multinational country in Asia, was once empowered by the British and the English language was then used as the official language of administration and communication between the governmental bodies in the nation. However, after independence in 1957,Bahasa Melayu soon replaced English as the next official and national language of the country though the carefully planned language policies by the authorized governmental bodies and institutes. English was then used only as the second most important language in the country next to Bahasa melayu. It became a learning subject in schools while Bahasa melayu was used as the main medium of instructions. 'as a result of this language policy which was strongly held together by political factors and the urgent need to create a national identity, many Malaysians speak a variety of English described generally as Malaysian English.' (Gill,1998 :21)
Characteristics of Malaysian English:
Therefore, as a result of the degradation of the English language, a majority of Malaysians who were from various ethnicity backgrounds and whom had their own mother tongue to deal with caused ' a natural cross fertilization between Bahasa melayu, English and various other ethic language such as Tamil and Cantonese led to the nature of changes in the development of the English language.'(Gill,2000:39) the English language 'could not help but be influenced by the various other languages and developed into a number of varieties.'(Gill,2000:39)
In other words, English in this context is described as 'the second Diaspora' meaning that English, a language that was spoken by the natives of the language originally had gone through a number of changes in ' lexicon semantics and phonology' (Gill ,2000:39) in Malaysia and had changed order to suit its new socio-cultural and linguistic surrounding, and in this context to be spoken by the other races whom are not natives of the language. As time went by, this new variety soon gain recognition to be spoken widely by the various races in Malaysia as a tool of communication. However, although Malaysians had 'adapted and used the language for various functions and purposes and it had 'acquired an unparalleled functional and societal depth '(Krachu,1994:3)'(Gill 2000:39) but Malaysian still has to understand that 'the main value for English language for Malaysians for international communication.
There is a need for speakers to be internationally intelligible to nurture and sustain the synergy between various countries for political and diplomatic, trade and economic, scientific and technological purposes.(Fong :1997)(cited in Gill,2000:40) in order to face and meet the challenges of globalization.
'The enhancement of he role of Bahasa Melayu and the corresponding reduction in the role of English led to a drastic decrease in the amount of exposure to English. '(Gill, 2004:39). 'English could not but be helped be influenced by the various other languages developed into a number of varieties.'(Gill, 2004:39).
There are two main varieties in Malaysia. One is the institutionalized variety and the other is the performance variety.
'The institutionalized varieties in Malaysian context are those of Malaysian English and these varieties have developed and grown in the cultural and linguistic context.( lexico-semantics and phonological varieties as there was an urgent need to speakers to be internationally intelligible to nurture and sustain the synergy between various countries for political and diplomatic, trade and economic , scientific and technological purposes.'(Fong:1997) cited in Gill, 2004:40'( Gill, 2004:43) Accordingly to Krachu, 1992b: 55 (cited in Gill 2000:43), some of the characteristics of the institutionalized English variety in Malaysia is:
1. They have an extended range of uses in the socio-linguistic context of a nation
2. They have an extended register and style range
3. They have undergone a process of nativization in the registers and styles both in formal and contextual terms.
(Cited in Gill, 2004:43)
Standard Malaysian English:
The 'performance variety'.(cited in gill, 2004:43)is commonly known as the standard Malaysian English . 'This is the same variety that had been used to 'establish a rapport between the Malaysians of different ethnicity ad it has given all Malaysians a strong sense of identity. It is used in informal social contexts and it exists on one end of the continuum.'(Gill, 2004:43) and it is also used as an international language for Malaysians. It has a highly restricted functional range in specific contexts.'(Krachu,1992:55) cited in Gill, 2004:43
It is important to know the differences and the functions between the institutionalized variety with the performance variety when dealing with international communication as 'one has to be sure of the variety used is acceptable and intelligible for international communication.' (Gill, 2004:43)
In 'discussing an acceptable standard of Malaysian English, Baskaran classified Malaysian English into three categories, known as the acrolect, mesolect and basilect categories. And each category is described precisely in the table.
(Source: Baskaran ,1987:53) cited in Gill, 2000:130. )
Acrolect: standard ME, formal use, international intelligibility Mesolect:
- Dialectal Me, informal use, national intelligibility Basilect:
- Patois ME,
- Colloquial use, patois intelligibility and currency
- Phonology Slight variation
- Tolerated as long as it is internationally intelligible
- More variation tolerated, including prosodic features especially stress and intonation Extreme variation - both segmental and prosodic with intonation so stigmatized - almost intelligible internationally.
- Syntax No deviation tolerated at all.
- Some deviation is accepted although it is not as stigmatic as broken English.
- Intelligibility is still there. Substantial variation/deviation.
- National intelligibility.
- Lexis Variation acceptable especially for words not substitutable in an international context(to give a more localized context)
- Lexicalization quite prevalent even for words having international English substitutes. Major Lexicalization heavily infused with local language items.
The acrolect is the variety spoken by those whom are able to use English based on the international standards set by the British English speakers. The mesolect variety is the variety used for social communication while the basilect variety is the variety used within a certain speech community as it is in other words broken English which can only be understood if spoken by a certain community for a certain purpose only. The native speakers of the language use the acrolect category.
Now at the moment, the educated Malaysian crowds in the urban areas are conversing in the mesolect category while in the rural areas across Malaysia, people are still conversing in the basilect category. Therefore, it is accurate to say that Malaysian are somewhere between the basilect and the mesolect category. And now the question is if the currently spoken English could be worked out and be recognized as the standard variety for Malaysia ; that reflects Malaysian identity and at the same time facilitates international intelligibility.'(Gill ,1999:223), meaning 'an additional category called acro-mesolectal.' (Gill 1999:223).
In order to 'attain a certain standard with regard to the linguistics aspects of the language-the syntax, the lexis and the pronunciation, it is important to get a message across effectively and accurately.'(Gill, 204:45)
Therefore, both the lectal classification and international framework should work together for the purpose of working out acceptable standards of performance varieties of English, making it a standard variety.
Therefore, the process of codification is truly important and necessary to ensure that the spoken English is accepted globally and not just in a local setting or society. Meaning that grammatically speaking the rules should be constructed in such a way that it would be easier to detect and follow the rule and forms as trying to get Malaysians to sound like native speakers is impractical. The English language in Malaysia should be nativitized accordingly to the economic, technology and social needs of the nation and to give a strong sense of identity to the multi ethnic social groups in the country.
As Prof.Dr.Saran Kaur Gill mentioned in one of her lectures (Gill, 2002) based on a case study that she had done many years ago about a number of students who were asked a question that if given a chance, whom would they like to sound like? These questions were asked before students were allowed to listen to a tape script of these speakers.
• an educated British English speaker with a standard accent?
• an educated Malaysian who speaks English with a Malay accent and makes almost no grammatical mistakes?
• an educated Malaysian who speaks English with a Chinese accent and make almost no grammatical mistakes?
• an educated Malaysian who speaks English with an English accent and makes almost no grammatical mistake?
• an educated Malaysian who speaks English with an unmarked accent , that is an accent which is neither strongly Malaysian or strongly RP, and who makes almost no grammatical mistake?
Source: (Gill 2000, :61-62)
The results of the study were rather shocking as most students, before listening to the actual tape script chose an educated British English speaker with a standard accent as their prime model or target in learning English, in other words, the educated British English speaker was assumed to be the 'perfect' speaker as ' the British English was considered to be the most desirable model of English.'(Wong ;1987:33)(Cited in Gill 2000:66). However, after listening to the tape script, the students preferred the educated Malaysian who speaks English with an unmarked accent, that is an accent which is neither strongly Malaysian or strongly RP, and who makes almost no grammatical mistake as it was easier to understand and comprehend.
One case study that was discussed in class, in groups, in relation of implementing English as a foreign language medium in schools and colleges as a national strategy. The main reason to do that was :
1. To enhance the quality of the Finnish education. : The Finnish students needed to be exposed to the English language, in order to keep up with the rest of the world.
2. To enhance the chances of having graduates in ' international environment.'(The societal change was taking place in the country due to globalization. International companies were interested in investing in and out of Finland. Job opportunities were available to the Finnish students, but only to those who had international intelligibility.
3. The student's exchange programs .:Students were coming to Finland to study. Therefore, the colleges and universities had to change their language policies in order to cater for the international environment, meaning that, English needed to be used in order to assist these students in their studies..
And this implementation of the new language policy was done through:
1. Internationalization strategy: the government targeted initially at the higher learning institutions to implement the language change in order to expose the national students to the language, to enable students to choose the subjects to be learned either in English of Finnish, to promote student exchange programs between countries and to enhance the quality of Finnish education through internationalization.
2. Expansion of international collaboration. All sectors in the country were dealing with nationalization and internationalization collaboration, by working hand in hand with the government and supporting each other in terms of opinions, finance in implanting the change, to utilize language skills, international capabilities and intercultural skills in order to work or to perform in a multicultural environment.
3. Teaching in English : subjects were taught in both the Finnish and English language, and students were given the chance to choose the medium.
4. New internationalization strategy : the ministry came up with a anew strategy by setting up a new working group to draw up the new internationalization , due to the era of globalization, by learning from each other and through international cooperation by attracting foreign students and by collection of fees.
The Finland's efforts to implement the English language in schools and universities is if compared to Malaysia, meets the main agenda that is enable international intelligibility amongst the speakers of the English language.
Conclusion:
'It is important for Malaysians to be able to use the Malaysian English not only for the purpose of performance or social communication in informal social contexts, but Malaysian too should be able to use the language for international intelligibility. This can be done by the nation's linguistic policy makers 'by translating the pragmatic policies into action and further implemented , by encouraging and convincing Malaysians the value and need to acquire competency in English. '(Gill, 2004:50)
References:
1. Gill, S .K 2002 International communication: English Language Challenges for Malaysia, Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia press
2. Gill , S. K. Winter 2003/ spring 2004 English Language Policy Changes in Malaysia: Demystifying the Diverse Demands of Nationalism and Modernization . In Asian Englishes, 6(2):10-25
3. Abdullah Hassan 1994. Language Planning in South East Asia: Kuala Lumpur. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
4. Asmah hajj Omar. 1992. The Linguistics Scenery in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur : Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
5. Crystal, David. 1987. 'Australian English'. David Crystal, ed. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 350-353.
6. The North-American Influence on Australian English Jordi Bultó Gonzalez© 1998
This paper focuses on language, in terms of the English language used in Malaysia, the characteristics of this Malaysian English and the standard of the Malaysian English with comparison to other countries.
Introduction:
The 'Standard English is a general term for a form of written and spoken English that is considered the model for educated people. There are no set rules or vocabulary for "standard English" because, unlike languages such as French, English does not have a governing body to establish usage. As a result, the concept of "standard English" tends to be fluid. A rough rule of thumb used in some parts of the world, particularly those that are (or were) members of the Commonwealth of Nations, is to follow pronunciation and old usage guides of the BBC, otherwise known as Received Pronunciation or the Queen's English. '(Cited in http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/Standard_English) Therefore, 'It is plain now that no one can claim sole ownership of English.'(Crystal, 1998: 130) cited in Gill 2004:27.The English used in Malaysia is now the 'Second Diaspora' where the 'seeds' of English were spread widely across diverse socio-cultural environment. (Krachu, 1992: 230) cited in Gill, 2004:27. As a result, a variety of English was born which Malaysia 'have adopted and used the English language as a language for social and international communication. (Gill,2004:27)
The development 'of varieties of Malaysian English reflects identity and the pragmatic need to have a means of communication that is internationally intelligible' .(Gill, 2004:28). Now, before going in detail, it is essential to first look at the historical background of Malaysia, on how Malaysia was able to adapt to this variety of English.
Historical background of Malaysia:
Malaysia, a multinational country in Asia, was once empowered by the British and the English language was then used as the official language of administration and communication between the governmental bodies in the nation. However, after independence in 1957,Bahasa Melayu soon replaced English as the next official and national language of the country though the carefully planned language policies by the authorized governmental bodies and institutes. English was then used only as the second most important language in the country next to Bahasa melayu. It became a learning subject in schools while Bahasa melayu was used as the main medium of instructions. 'as a result of this language policy which was strongly held together by political factors and the urgent need to create a national identity, many Malaysians speak a variety of English described generally as Malaysian English.' (Gill,1998 :21)
Characteristics of Malaysian English:
Therefore, as a result of the degradation of the English language, a majority of Malaysians who were from various ethnicity backgrounds and whom had their own mother tongue to deal with caused ' a natural cross fertilization between Bahasa melayu, English and various other ethic language such as Tamil and Cantonese led to the nature of changes in the development of the English language.'(Gill,2000:39) the English language 'could not help but be influenced by the various other languages and developed into a number of varieties.'(Gill,2000:39)
In other words, English in this context is described as 'the second Diaspora' meaning that English, a language that was spoken by the natives of the language originally had gone through a number of changes in ' lexicon semantics and phonology' (Gill ,2000:39) in Malaysia and had changed order to suit its new socio-cultural and linguistic surrounding, and in this context to be spoken by the other races whom are not natives of the language. As time went by, this new variety soon gain recognition to be spoken widely by the various races in Malaysia as a tool of communication. However, although Malaysians had 'adapted and used the language for various functions and purposes and it had 'acquired an unparalleled functional and societal depth '(Krachu,1994:3)'(Gill 2000:39) but Malaysian still has to understand that 'the main value for English language for Malaysians for international communication.
There is a need for speakers to be internationally intelligible to nurture and sustain the synergy between various countries for political and diplomatic, trade and economic, scientific and technological purposes.(Fong :1997)(cited in Gill,2000:40) in order to face and meet the challenges of globalization.
'The enhancement of he role of Bahasa Melayu and the corresponding reduction in the role of English led to a drastic decrease in the amount of exposure to English. '(Gill, 2004:39). 'English could not but be helped be influenced by the various other languages developed into a number of varieties.'(Gill, 2004:39).
There are two main varieties in Malaysia. One is the institutionalized variety and the other is the performance variety.
'The institutionalized varieties in Malaysian context are those of Malaysian English and these varieties have developed and grown in the cultural and linguistic context.( lexico-semantics and phonological varieties as there was an urgent need to speakers to be internationally intelligible to nurture and sustain the synergy between various countries for political and diplomatic, trade and economic , scientific and technological purposes.'(Fong:1997) cited in Gill, 2004:40'( Gill, 2004:43) Accordingly to Krachu, 1992b: 55 (cited in Gill 2000:43), some of the characteristics of the institutionalized English variety in Malaysia is:
1. They have an extended range of uses in the socio-linguistic context of a nation
2. They have an extended register and style range
3. They have undergone a process of nativization in the registers and styles both in formal and contextual terms.
(Cited in Gill, 2004:43)
Standard Malaysian English:
The 'performance variety'.(cited in gill, 2004:43)is commonly known as the standard Malaysian English . 'This is the same variety that had been used to 'establish a rapport between the Malaysians of different ethnicity ad it has given all Malaysians a strong sense of identity. It is used in informal social contexts and it exists on one end of the continuum.'(Gill, 2004:43) and it is also used as an international language for Malaysians. It has a highly restricted functional range in specific contexts.'(Krachu,1992:55) cited in Gill, 2004:43
It is important to know the differences and the functions between the institutionalized variety with the performance variety when dealing with international communication as 'one has to be sure of the variety used is acceptable and intelligible for international communication.' (Gill, 2004:43)
In 'discussing an acceptable standard of Malaysian English, Baskaran classified Malaysian English into three categories, known as the acrolect, mesolect and basilect categories. And each category is described precisely in the table.
(Source: Baskaran ,1987:53) cited in Gill, 2000:130. )
Acrolect: standard ME, formal use, international intelligibility Mesolect:
- Dialectal Me, informal use, national intelligibility Basilect:
- Patois ME,
- Colloquial use, patois intelligibility and currency
- Phonology Slight variation
- Tolerated as long as it is internationally intelligible
- More variation tolerated, including prosodic features especially stress and intonation Extreme variation - both segmental and prosodic with intonation so stigmatized - almost intelligible internationally.
- Syntax No deviation tolerated at all.
- Some deviation is accepted although it is not as stigmatic as broken English.
- Intelligibility is still there. Substantial variation/deviation.
- National intelligibility.
- Lexis Variation acceptable especially for words not substitutable in an international context(to give a more localized context)
- Lexicalization quite prevalent even for words having international English substitutes. Major Lexicalization heavily infused with local language items.
The acrolect is the variety spoken by those whom are able to use English based on the international standards set by the British English speakers. The mesolect variety is the variety used for social communication while the basilect variety is the variety used within a certain speech community as it is in other words broken English which can only be understood if spoken by a certain community for a certain purpose only. The native speakers of the language use the acrolect category.
Now at the moment, the educated Malaysian crowds in the urban areas are conversing in the mesolect category while in the rural areas across Malaysia, people are still conversing in the basilect category. Therefore, it is accurate to say that Malaysian are somewhere between the basilect and the mesolect category. And now the question is if the currently spoken English could be worked out and be recognized as the standard variety for Malaysia ; that reflects Malaysian identity and at the same time facilitates international intelligibility.'(Gill ,1999:223), meaning 'an additional category called acro-mesolectal.' (Gill 1999:223).
In order to 'attain a certain standard with regard to the linguistics aspects of the language-the syntax, the lexis and the pronunciation, it is important to get a message across effectively and accurately.'(Gill, 204:45)
Therefore, both the lectal classification and international framework should work together for the purpose of working out acceptable standards of performance varieties of English, making it a standard variety.
Therefore, the process of codification is truly important and necessary to ensure that the spoken English is accepted globally and not just in a local setting or society. Meaning that grammatically speaking the rules should be constructed in such a way that it would be easier to detect and follow the rule and forms as trying to get Malaysians to sound like native speakers is impractical. The English language in Malaysia should be nativitized accordingly to the economic, technology and social needs of the nation and to give a strong sense of identity to the multi ethnic social groups in the country.
As Prof.Dr.Saran Kaur Gill mentioned in one of her lectures (Gill, 2002) based on a case study that she had done many years ago about a number of students who were asked a question that if given a chance, whom would they like to sound like? These questions were asked before students were allowed to listen to a tape script of these speakers.
• an educated British English speaker with a standard accent?
• an educated Malaysian who speaks English with a Malay accent and makes almost no grammatical mistakes?
• an educated Malaysian who speaks English with a Chinese accent and make almost no grammatical mistakes?
• an educated Malaysian who speaks English with an English accent and makes almost no grammatical mistake?
• an educated Malaysian who speaks English with an unmarked accent , that is an accent which is neither strongly Malaysian or strongly RP, and who makes almost no grammatical mistake?
Source: (Gill 2000, :61-62)
The results of the study were rather shocking as most students, before listening to the actual tape script chose an educated British English speaker with a standard accent as their prime model or target in learning English, in other words, the educated British English speaker was assumed to be the 'perfect' speaker as ' the British English was considered to be the most desirable model of English.'(Wong ;1987:33)(Cited in Gill 2000:66). However, after listening to the tape script, the students preferred the educated Malaysian who speaks English with an unmarked accent, that is an accent which is neither strongly Malaysian or strongly RP, and who makes almost no grammatical mistake as it was easier to understand and comprehend.
One case study that was discussed in class, in groups, in relation of implementing English as a foreign language medium in schools and colleges as a national strategy. The main reason to do that was :
1. To enhance the quality of the Finnish education. : The Finnish students needed to be exposed to the English language, in order to keep up with the rest of the world.
2. To enhance the chances of having graduates in ' international environment.'(The societal change was taking place in the country due to globalization. International companies were interested in investing in and out of Finland. Job opportunities were available to the Finnish students, but only to those who had international intelligibility.
3. The student's exchange programs .:Students were coming to Finland to study. Therefore, the colleges and universities had to change their language policies in order to cater for the international environment, meaning that, English needed to be used in order to assist these students in their studies..
And this implementation of the new language policy was done through:
1. Internationalization strategy: the government targeted initially at the higher learning institutions to implement the language change in order to expose the national students to the language, to enable students to choose the subjects to be learned either in English of Finnish, to promote student exchange programs between countries and to enhance the quality of Finnish education through internationalization.
2. Expansion of international collaboration. All sectors in the country were dealing with nationalization and internationalization collaboration, by working hand in hand with the government and supporting each other in terms of opinions, finance in implanting the change, to utilize language skills, international capabilities and intercultural skills in order to work or to perform in a multicultural environment.
3. Teaching in English : subjects were taught in both the Finnish and English language, and students were given the chance to choose the medium.
4. New internationalization strategy : the ministry came up with a anew strategy by setting up a new working group to draw up the new internationalization , due to the era of globalization, by learning from each other and through international cooperation by attracting foreign students and by collection of fees.
The Finland's efforts to implement the English language in schools and universities is if compared to Malaysia, meets the main agenda that is enable international intelligibility amongst the speakers of the English language.
Conclusion:
'It is important for Malaysians to be able to use the Malaysian English not only for the purpose of performance or social communication in informal social contexts, but Malaysian too should be able to use the language for international intelligibility. This can be done by the nation's linguistic policy makers 'by translating the pragmatic policies into action and further implemented , by encouraging and convincing Malaysians the value and need to acquire competency in English. '(Gill, 2004:50)
References:
1. Gill, S .K 2002 International communication: English Language Challenges for Malaysia, Serdang: Universiti Putra Malaysia press
2. Gill , S. K. Winter 2003/ spring 2004 English Language Policy Changes in Malaysia: Demystifying the Diverse Demands of Nationalism and Modernization . In Asian Englishes, 6(2):10-25
3. Abdullah Hassan 1994. Language Planning in South East Asia: Kuala Lumpur. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
4. Asmah hajj Omar. 1992. The Linguistics Scenery in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur : Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
5. Crystal, David. 1987. 'Australian English'. David Crystal, ed. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 350-353.
6. The North-American Influence on Australian English Jordi Bultó Gonzalez© 1998
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