Malaysian English: phonology

In considering the sociolinguistic profile of Malaysia it is important to study the ethnic diversity so characteristic of this nation. This diversity is a consequence of several phases and aspects of conquest or colonization and settlement. Thus we have the indigenous Malay speakers (Austronesian speakers) with their Austroasiatic counterparts (the aboriginal tribes) and the settler populace – by way of the Chinese, Indians, Arabs and Eurasians.

The Austronesian speakers are the Malays in West Malaysia (with Bahasa Malaysia as their language) whilst the Kadazans of Sabah and the Dayaks of Sarawak are the major Malay groups in East Malaysia (with Kadazan and Iban as their languages respectively). The Austroasiatic speakers are the Malays in West Malaysia (the majority of whom are Negritos). There are many smaller groups of speakers speaking among themselves a host of languages of the Austroasiatic group. The language most commonly spoken among these groups is Temiar. However, all the languages spoken amongst these people have now been categorically classified as aslian – from the term asli ‘aborigine’ originally assigned to them. For purposes of conciseness, the umbrella term Malays would be used to include both the Austronesian and Austroasiatic speakers who form altogether about 55% of the total population of Malaysia.

The settler population of Malaysia is mainly found in the Chinese, Indians, Arabs and Eurasians, with a sprinkling of Thais and Europeans. Of these, the Chinese and the Indians are the majority groups who are represented constitutionally on a pro rata basis. The Chinese form the second biggest portion of the population. They constitute about 30% of the total population of Malaysia. Just as the Malays have a kaleidoscope of minority racial groups with their equally diverse language groups, the Chinese also have a variety of dialectal groups. The main dialectal groups are the Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew and Hainanese peoples. The official Chinese language is Mandarin (also known as Kuo-Yu), which is used for all official purposes and in the media.

The third largest group in the composite population of Malaysia is the Indian community. It forms about 10% of the Malaysian population and is just as heterogeneous as its Malay and Chinese counterparts. The majority of the Indians are Tamil-speaking followed by the Malayalis, Telugus, Punjabis, Bengalis, Gujaratis and Singhalese.

The minority groups like the Thais, Eurasians (a blend of Europeans and Asians) and Arabs are all designated under the term others in the Constitution, their proportion totalling about 5% only. The Thais and Arabs use their own language; whilst the Eurasians and those who inter-marry use mainly English or Malay.

Education has been significant in determining the importance of the various languages of the nation. With the National Education Policy as well as the New Economic Policy (of equal rights and opportunities for all the constituent ethnic groups) there has emerged an attempt to unify the various races of the nation by an official and national language. The official national language – that used as the medium of instruction in education at all levels and that used in oral and written communication in the various channels of officialdom – is Bahasa Malaysia. Previous to 1967, both English and Bahasa Malaysia were official languages. But since 1967, English has been accorded the status of a strong second language, whilst Bahasa Malaysia remains the official national language.

The languages accorded vernacular status are the Chinese language (Mandarin) and Tamil, with Iban in Sarawak and Kadazan in Sabah. These languages represent the majority languages of the major ethnic groups (Chinese, Indians, Dayaks and Kadazans). Thus Mandarin is used as an overall representative language of the Chinese via the media, for religion and for purposes of vernacular education in national schools where provision is made for pupils to have instruction in their own languages – if there is a substantial enough number of pupils requesting such instruction (these are termed pupils’ own languages – P.O.L.).

The situation is similar where the Indians are concerned. The official representative language of this subgroup is Tamil. Thus the media mostly caters for Indians in this language – through films, radio broadcasts via a special network, certain allotted television programmes and the dailies. In matters of religion too, Tamil is the predominant and official language used – both in the temples of the Hindus (where some of the verses are, however, in Sanskrit) and the churches of the Indian Christians. There are, however, small, rather insignificant deviations from this norm in the other Hindu temples (Punjabi or Bengali Hindu temples) using Punjabi/Urdu and Bengali/Gujarati respectively, and Malayali Christian churches (termed Syrian Christian or Orthodox Christian) using Malayalam as their language of worship. There are some Indians who are Muslim by religion and these are almost entirely Malay in their way of life. Thus Malay is their language both in the official and unofficial domains of life.

The status of English as a strong second language means that meetings, conferences and any such liaison with an international audience would warrant the use of English as the official language. The Government, therefore, deems it important to use English as a language of international communication whilst maintaining Bahasa Malaysia as the official language within the country. This tolerant and rational policy is further extended to the other major languages as well, in that there are provisions in the media for both Bahasa Malaysia and English as well as Chinese and Tamil – on a pro rata basis.

In the field of education, as outlined earlier, the official medium of instruction is now Bahasa Malaysia at all levels – primary, secondary and tertiary, whilst English is used as second language in all schools. In the universities, some courses are given in English, with other designated courses being given in their respective languages.

With the various official statuses accorded to the four basic languages in the country (Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese-Mandarin and Tamil) along with the diverse range of languages in actual currency amongst the people of Malaysia, it is unsurprising then that the average Malaysian is at least bilingual, if not conversant in three or more languages.