Languages of Malaysia
 Life in Malaysia |
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The indigenous languages of Malaysia belong to the Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian families. The national, or official, language is Malay which is the mother tongue of the majority Malay ethnic group. The main ethnic groups within Malaysia comprise the Malays, Chinese and Indians, with many other ethnic groups represented in smaller numbers, each with its own languages. The largest native languages spoken in East Malaysia are the Iban, Dusunic and the Kadazan languages. English is widely understood in service industries and is a compulsory subject in primary and secondary school. It is also the main language spoken in most private colleges and universities. English may take precedence over Malay in certain official contexts as provided for by the National Language Act, especially in the states of Sabah and Sarawak, where it may be the official working language.
Malaysia contains speakers of 137 living languages,[1] 41 of which are found in Peninsula Malaysia.[2] The government provides schooling at the primary level in each of the three major languages, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Within Malay and Tamil there are a number of dialectal differences.[3] There are a number of Chinese languages native to the ethnic Chinese who originated from southern China, which include Yue, Min and Hakka Chinese.
Contents
Malay
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The official language of Malaysia is known as Bahasa Malaysia. It is a standardised form of the Malay language.[4] There are 10 dialects of Malay used throughout Malaysia.[3] Malay became predominant after the 1969 race riots.[5] A variant of the Malay language that is spoken in Brunei is also commonly spoken in East Malaysia.
Other indigenous languages
Citizens of Minangkabau, Bugis or Javanese origins, who can be classified "Malay" under constitutional definitions may also speak their respective ancestral tongues. The native tribes of East Malaysia have their own languages which are related to, but easily distinguishable from, Malay. Iban is the main tribal language in Sarawak while Dusun and Kadazan languages are spoken by the natives in Sabah.[6] Some of these languages remain strong, being used in education and daily life.[3] Sabah has tenth sub-ethnic languages, Bajau, Bruneian, Murut, Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, Rungus, Bisaya, Iranun, Sama, Suluk and Sungai. There are over 30 native groupings, each of which has its own dialect. These languages are in danger of dying out, unlike the major ones such as Kadazandusuns which have developed educational syllabuses. Iban also has developed an educational syllabus.[7] Languages on the peninsular can be divided into three major groups, Negrito, Senoi, and Malayic, further divided into 18 subgroups.[3] The Semai is used in education.[7] Thai is also spoken in northern parts of Peninsular especially in Northern Kedah and Langkawi, Perlis, Northern Perak, Northern Terengganu, and Northern Kelantan.[8]
English
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Malaysian English, also known as Malaysian Standard English (MySE), is a form of English derived from British English, although there is little official use of the term except with relation to education. English was used in the Parliament briefly upon independence (then as Federation of Malaya), prior to a gradual and complete transition to the Malay language, and continued to be used today for specific terminologies with permission. Malaysian English also sees wide usage in business, along with Manglish, which is a colloquial form of English with heavy Malay, Chinese, and Tamil influences. Most Malaysians are conversant in English, although some are only fluent in the Manglish form. The Malaysian government officially discourages the use of Manglish.[9] Many businesses in Malaysia conduct their transactions in English, and it is sometimes used in official correspondence. Examinations are based on British English.
English was the predominant language in government until 1969.[5] English served as the medium of instruction for Maths and Sciences in all public schools per the PPSMI policy, but reverted to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in 2012.[10] The Parent Action Group for Education and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called for science and math to be taught in English again.[3][11][12]
Chinese Languages
As a whole, Standard Chinese (Mandarin) and its Malaysian dialect are the most widely spoken forms among Malaysian Chinese, as it is a lingua franca for Chinese who speak mutually unintelligible varieties; Mandarin is also the language of instruction in Chinese schools and an important language in business.[3]
As most Malaysian Chinese have ancestry from the southern provinces of China, various southern Chinese varieties are spoken in Malaysia (in addition to Standard Chinese (Mandarin) which originated from northern China and was introduced through the educational system). The more common forms in Peninsular Malaysia are Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, and Hokchew.[8] Hokkien is mostly spoken in Penang, Northern Perak and Kedah whereas Cantonese is mostly spoken in Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur. In Sarawak, most ethnic Chinese speak either Hokchew or Hakka while Hakka predominates in Sabah except in the city of Sandakan where Cantonese is more often spoken, despite the Hakka origins of the Chinese residing there.
As with Malaysian youths of other ethnicities, most Chinese youth are multilingual and can speak at least three languages with at least moderate fluency - Mandarin, English, and Malay, as well as their native Chinese language and/or the dominant Chinese language in their area. However, most native vernacular Chinese languages are losing ground to Mandarin, due to the prestige of Mandarin and its status as language of instruction in school. Some parents speak exclusively in Mandarin with their children. Some of the less-spoken language such as Hainanese are facing extinction.
Indian languages
Tamil and its Malaysian dialect are used predominantly by Tamils, who form a majority of Malaysian Indians.[13] It is especially used in Peninsular Malaysia. Other south Asian languages such as Punjabi, Malayalam and Telugu are also spoken.
Creoles
A small number of Malaysians have Eurasian ancestry and speak creole languages, such as the Portuguese-based Malaccan Creoles.[14] A Spanish-based creole, Zamboangueño, a dialect of Chavacano, has spread into Sabah from the southern Philippines.[15]
Sign languages
Sign languages include Malaysian Sign Language and the older Selangor Sign Language and Penang Sign Language. No sign language is used in the education of the deaf. Instead, Manually Coded Malay is used.
List of languages
Indigenous languages and dialects in Peninsular Malaysia
Indigenous languages of Malaysian Borneo
Other languages recognised as "Bumiputera"
| Language | Code | Speakers | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acehnese | ace | 81,000 (ethnic population) | Chamic (Austronesian) |
| Banjarese | bjn | 1,241,000 (ethnic population) | Malayic (Austronesian) |
| Buginese | bug | 1,128,465 (ethnic population) | South Sulawesi (Austronesian) |
| Cham | cja | - | Chamic (Austronesian) |
| Javanese | jav | 4,300,000 (ethnic population) | Javanese (Austronesian) |
| Kerinci | kvr | - | Malayic (Austronesian) |
| Mandailing | btm | - | Northwest Sumatran (Austronesian) |
| Minangkabau | min | - | Malayic (Austronesian) |
Malaysian Chinese languages
| Language | Code | Speakers | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cantonese | yue | 1,355,541 | Sino-Tibetan |
| Foochow | fzho | 249,413 | Sino-Tibetan |
| Hakka | hak | 1,679,027 | Sino-Tibetan |
| Hainanese | nan | 380,781 | Sino-Tibetan |
| Hokkien | nan | 1,848,211 | Sino-Tibetan |
| Mandarin | cmn | 958,467 | Sino-Tibetan |
| Min Bei | mnp | 373,337 | Sino-Tibetan |
| Teochew | nan | 974,573 | Sino-Tibetan |
Malaysian Indian languages
| Language | Code | Speakers | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gujarati | guj | 28,000 | Indo-European |
| Hindi | hin | - | Indo-European |
| Malayalam | mal | 14,236 | Dravidian |
| Punjabi | pan | 185,000 | Indo-European |
| Tamil | tam | 2,743,922 | Dravidian |
| Telugu | tel | 40,000 | Dravidian |
| Urdu | urd | - | Indo-European |
Foreign languages
- Arab
- African
- European
- East Timorese
- Cambodian
- Indonesian
- Burmese
- Bangladeshi
- Filipino
- Thai
- Indian
- Iranian
- Pakistani
- Nepali
- Korean
- Japanese
- Chinese
See also
References
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