scholarly journals The patterns of language choice at the border of Malaysia-Thailand

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Mohammad Fadzeli Jaafar ◽  
Norsimah Mat Awal ◽  
Mohammed Azlan Mis ◽  
Norhayati Lateh

Any activities conducted at the boundary area between countries will only be successful if the community of speakers has mutual understanding in terms of language, especially those involving business. This study focuses on a community in the northern part of Malaysia near the Thailand border where majority of people are bilingual in Malay and Thai. This study aims to investigate the patterns of language used by speakers in the Malaysia-Thailand border, in the context of language maintenance and language shift. Both countries use different languages; with Malaysians use Malay and the Thais use Thai language. In this cross-border context, activities pertaining to business, visit or personal matters will have an impact on the development of the two languages. This study presents the findings on the language choice from a survey involving 202 respondents that was conducted in two border towns at the Malaysia-Thailand border, namely Rantau Panjang (Malaysian side) and Golok (Thailand side). By utilizing the domain concept that was introduced by Fishman (1972), this study focuses on two domains namely, business and family. In addition to the questionnaire, participant observations and interviews were also conducted as supplements. The data on the patterns of language choice were analyzed statistically. The findings show that although Malaysians and Thais speak two different languages, Kelantanese dialect, which is a variety of the standard Malay, was the most dominant language at the border. This study also found that age was a significant factor in determining the patterns of language use. The younger generations were using Kelantanese dialect and Thai language in domains where older people would only use Kelantanese dialect. This points to the occurrence of language shift at the border. However, the community at the Thai side of the border tends to choose Kelantanese dialect in their daily activities, which seems to indicate language maintenance in this area. These findings suggest that language can serve as a marker of identity, especially for those communities in Golok as most of them are originally from Malaysia. Finally, this study has contributed empirical data on language usage at the Malaysia-Thailand border.

Author(s):  
I Made Suastra ◽  
I Ketut Tika ◽  
Ni Luh Nyoman Seri Malini ◽  
I Made Sena Darmasetiyawan

This research aimed to discover Balinese language shift pattern in its language usage. Specifically, the research sought to comprehend and analyzed Balinese language shift based on bio-linguistics diversity that comprises of 1) contexts of Balinese language use in Denpasar, and 2) social as well as a cultural aspect that affect Balinese language shift. The research location is in Denpasar, which classified into four different regencies, they are West, East, North, and South Denpasar. Further representation of the data will be decided based upon quantitative data obtained on four regencies. Techniques of data collection will be done in the form of observation and questionnaires, with additional interview and note taking. The sample taken will be on Balinese speakers in youth and mature age. Representation and proportion of the sampling will be 50 for each location. The analysis will be done in qualitatively and quantitatively with both formal and informal method. By using the concepts of language choice, sociolinguistics, and bio-linguistics diversity, Balinese language shift model can be discovered. This language shift model will prove beneficial to the system and mechanism of language inheritance in formal and informal contexts, in the effort to maintain cultural diversity and ethnic identity of a multilingual community.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Stolberg

AbstractIt is well known that migration has an effect on language use and language choice. If the language of origin is maintained after migration, it tends to change in the new contact setting. Often, migrants shift to the new majority language within few generations. The current paper examines a diary corpus containing data from three generations of one German-Canadian family, ranging from 1867 to 1909, and covering the second to fourth generation after immigration. The paper analyzes changes that can be observed between the generations, with respect to the language system as well as to the individuals’ decision on language choice. The data not only offer insight into the dynamics of acquiring a written register of a heritage language, and the eventual shift to the majority language. They also allow us to identify different linguistic profiles of heritage speakers within one community. It is discussed how these profiles can be linked to the individuals’ family backgrounds and how the combination of these backgrounds may have contributed to giving up the heritage language in favor of the majority language.


1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonia Rubino ◽  
Camilla Bettoni

Patterns of language use by Sicilians and Venetians living in Sydney are here presented with particular attention to the maintenance of Italian and Dialect under the impact of widespread shift to English. Data gathered by questionnaire self-reporting are analysed according to four main variables: domain, linguistic generation, gender and region of origin. Results suggest that the original Italian diglossia between the High and the Low languages is well maintained, as Italian occupies the more public, formal and regionally heterogeneous space in the community, and Dialect the more private, informal and homogeneous one. Among the subjects’ variables, generation predictably accounts for the greatest variation, as both languages are used most by the first generation and least by the second. However, the original diglossia holds well also among the second generation. With regard to gender and region of origin, it would seem that, compared to men, women maintain both languages slightly better, and that, compared to men and Sicilians respectively, both women and Venetians maintain slightly better the original diglossia. We conclude that the position of Italian, although more limited, seems somewhat more solid than that of Dialect, and suggest some reasons for it.


Author(s):  
M. Rosyidi

The language shift and maintenance are two phenomena which take place in tandem and inseparable. The language shift represents a cumulative result of language choice. This study will reveal several causes that make Sasak language start to be left aside by youth’s generation and the related effects towards Sasak language as a local wisdom of Sasak tribe. The study pries the primarily concerned issue using ethnography study in order to reveal the perspective owned by the subjects. The data which are gained through this study comprise both linguistic and non-linguistic data. The data in the form of comments, perspectives, or shared paradigm are analyzed using match method. Furthermore, ones in the kind of dialogue are analyzed using communicative components. This study concludes that the domination of Indonesian language use tends to decrease the domain where Sasak language is commonly used. Such this situation foreshadows that diglossic situation has threatened.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadi Sahputra ◽  
Busmin Gurning ◽  
Syahron Lubis

This qualitative study is designed to find the Acehnese speakers’ attitude in maintaining Acehnese at the eastern coast of Serdang Bedagai Regency. The subjects are thirty intra-marriage Acehnese speakers living long time the districts. Questionnaire is used to find out their daily attitude in communicating and to gather the data about what language they use in the communications and interaction with their husband or wife, children, brothers and sisters, neighbors, and colleagues. Interview is used to find out the positive and negative attitude. These attitudes are influenced by some factors which are analyzed and can be maintained Acehnese at the eastern coast of Serdang Bedagai Regency, living in Acehnese multi-ethnics, use Acehnese in their family every day, and having pride of their own language, use Acehnese to their neighbors and their colleagues. Currently, the existence of Acehnese is the speakers of Acehnese are at the level of safe but in their children or their generation is at the level of unsafe and it leads to the language shift to a dominant language, that is, Indonesian language as well as Malay language and Javanese language or other local language which are the major population, which dominate the use of vernacular. This is due to the weaknesses of vernacular speakers or the loss of belonging to their own language. Key words: attitudes, language maintenance, language shift, maintainability, vernaculars


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong Lin Ding ◽  
Kim Leng Goh

ABSTRACTThis article explores religious impact on language maintenance and language shift in two Hakka communities in Malaysia. While research has shown a trend towards language shift in these communities, whether religious institutions can play a role in heritage language maintenance remained unclear. The key findings are as follows: (i) language use patterns differ among various religious groups; (ii) this difference is due mainly to religious practices, that is, whether a heritage language is used as the ‘language of religion’; and (iii) most religious institutions, except Taoist temples and Basel churches, seem to fuel shifting. However, the tendency to move towards the ‘bi-language of religion’ threatens even the efforts of Basel churches. The study indicates interesting possibilities regarding religious impact but also shows, paradoxically, that the priority of Hakka-based religious institutions is to promote their religions, not to sustain the threatened heritage language. (Language maintenance, language shift, religious impact, Hakka Chinese community)*


2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanjiang Yu

It has been widely accepted that parental language beliefs play a crucial role in language maintenance. Studies show that Chinese immigrants are not exempted from language shift although they are frequently reported cherishing their language as an important part of their culture. This paper attempts to find out how parental language beliefs reflect their daily language behaviour. Eight recent Chinese migrant families had 60 minutes of conversation recorded each month for one calendar year. Their language use has been analyzed and compared with the information gathered from a home language use questionnaire. Results show that there is a substantial gap between parental language beliefs and their actual language behaviour. Although the parents state they strongly support mother tongue maintenance, within 28 months, the use of mother tongue had dropped significantly and there is very little evidence showing much effort from the parents to prevent this from happening. This could be either because they want their children to keep their first language but do not know how to do this, or, their language beliefs are different from their behaviour. This should raise methodological issues regarding how to interpret parental language beliefs properly in the research area.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Teresa Ong

Language maintenance and language shift are vital subfields in sociolinguistics. In Malaysia, past studies have observed a shift from Chinese dialects to Mandarin Chinese in the language use of many young generation Chinese, which has led to the endangerment of some dialects. This situation draws attention to the role and survival of Chinese dialects in Malaysian society, and thereby creates a need to discuss the reasons for maintaining them. However, this is not merely a question of continuing to speak Chinese dialects. More deeply, we need to have conversations about who we are, where our ancestors originated from, and how we can make Chinese dialects more worthwhile for maintenance. This article seeks to elicit support for the language maintenance of small language groups across the globe.


1997 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Hulsen

The results are presented of a study in which sociolinguistic language use patterns and structural characteristics of the language of three generations of Dutch immigrants to New Zealand were investigated. Language maintenance is defined as the maintenance of the L1 at one or more levels of language use, while language shift can be defined as the change in language use by an individual or a group of speakers. In a sociolinguistic questionnaire, the subjects had to report on their use of the Dutch language in domains inside and outside the home. An oral interview was conducted to establish the amount of structural language loss. The results were found to support the hypothesis based on earlier work (e.g. De Bot & Clyne, 1994; Folmer, 1991) that predicted a high level of intra- and intergenerational language shift. Structural-linguistic language loss was found to be limited, which is also in line with other findings.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
I Made Suparta ◽  
I Nyoman Kardana

[Title: The language use by Bigesnese community at Senganan Village, Tabanan, Bali] This research is about language use by the Bugisnese community at Senganan Village, Penebel District, Tabanan as a minority ethnic group in Bali. The research discusses the use of languages among the different domains and factors causing the language shift at Senganan Village. Theory used in this research is the theory of bilingualism, the theory of language choice and the theory of language shift. The result shows that the use of Bugisness language is not found on different observed domains, such as domains family, religion, neighborhood, administration, and education. The use of Balinese and Indonesian dominated their language uses in all domains. Thus, it can be concluded that Bugisnese language is not used anymore by the community or its use has already shifted. The factors causing the shift of Bugisnese language at the village is internally related to the attitude of the speakers covering unsustainable transfer of the mother tongue and the unfaithfulness to the mother tongue, and externally it deals with the factor consisting of geographic environment of the village surrounded by villages of which people mostly speak Balinese language.


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