This study analyses the political party of Barisan Nasional's victory in the llth Malaysian general election 2004, looking at the way it manipulated and utilized language or discourse in order to retain and gain political power. Using a critical discourse analysis framework, this article holds that discourse is able to portray social practices, such as the striving for political power. This study also holds that political-power striving is a part of the organization's discourse management. The discourse chosen for this study is the Barisan Nasional's 2004 general election manifesto. The finding shows that the striving for political power by Barisan Nasional is manifested through textual features and discursive properties of discourse. The discursive properties are shown by certain processes in the production, distribution, consumption, force of utterances, and semiotic aspect of the discourse. The textual aspects of the discourse, on the other hand, are shown by certain features of grammar, vocabulary, and the generic structure tenet of the discourse.
Negeri Sembilan, as one of the states in Malaysia, has been greatly influenced by the Minangkabau culture, in particular the Perpatih custom which led to the socalled misunderstanding that Negeri Sembilan Malay language (NSML) resembles or is similar to the Minangkabau language. This article aims to describe the distinctive phonological features of Negeri Sembilan language to mark its identity and therefore prove that it is free from the Minangkabau linguistic influence. This study utilises the Swadesh word list of 100 words to test pronunciation. Thirty informants were involved and they are speakers of the Negeri Sembilan Malay language and speakers of the Minangkabau language both in Malaysia and Sumatera. The research was conducted in Kuala Pilah, Rembau, and Beranang in Malaysia, while in Indonesia the data was collected in Paya Kumbuh, Bukit Tinggi, and Padang. Based on the 100 words tested, this study observed 17 pronunciation patterns in Negeri Sembilan language that are distinct from the Minangkabau language, specifically they are 10 vowel sounds patterns and 7 consonant sounds patterns. From these 17 patterns, 13 only occur in NSML and the remaining 4 patterns occur in both NSML and the Minangkabau language. Hence, it can be concluded that the Negeri Sembilan language has its own distinctive phonological identity, thus distinguishing it from the Minangkabau linguistic features.
Discourse analysis as a sub-discipline of linguistics is useful in understanding the teaching and learning process and practices of a language. In line with that, this article applies discourse analysis framework in discussing the classroom pedagogical discourse practices of English language lessons at primary school level in Malaysia. The discussion is based on three case studies conducted in the state of Melaka. The pedagogical discourse in the classrooms was observed, audio recorded and later transcribed and analysed. The pedagogical discourse analysed focuses on the teachers’ and students’ practices. Among the teachers’ practices identified were questioning, accepting and explaining where as the students’ practices were answering and listening. These pedagogical practices are discussed in relation to their types, place of occurrences in the discourse and their related examples. The discussion hopes to give details on how linguistics, especially discourse analysis, benefits in language pedagogy and at the same time, enlightens the practices of English language lessons in the classrooms
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