This article looks at the language planning that has been carried out since Independence in Malaysia for the promotion of Malay, the national language. After a sociolinguistic outline of the country, the different phases language planning is normally divided into are examined in detail, highlighting both the points that have proven to be successful and those that have not. In the second part of the article the problems that have been encountered during language planning and the reasons why Malay has not succeeded in becoming a full-blown national language which even the non-Malays can identify with are examined. Together with the problems, some possible solutions are put forward that may improve the given situation and make Malay a useful and prestigious language also for the non-Malays, who make up more than one third of the total population, and perhaps even internationally.
This article presents the results of a piece of research on the languages used in places of worship carried out in the Kuala Lumpur area (Malaysia). Seven different places of worship were selected (a mosque, a Sikh gurdwara, two churches, a Chinese temple, a Hindu temple and a Theravada Buddhist temple) and brief interviews were carried out involving people with an official position within those institutions, while at the same time digital pictures were taken of all the signs present within the compounds where the places of worship were located. A brief survey was also carried out to gauge the believers’ attitudes towards the languages used in the signs photographed. After a general introduction on Malaysia and its linguistic repertoire and on the religions found in the country, the methodology employed is described in detail and the results are presented. There follows an in-depth discussion of the results and some general remarks on official language policies and the position of English.
This paper presents the results of a survey carried out in 2008 on language use and attitudes among the Iban and Murut (Lun Bawang) living in the Temburong district of Brunei Darussalam. The article opens with a brief outline of the research conducted so far, a sociolinguistic sketch of Brunei, and an introduction to Temburong and the Iban and Murut peoples, followed by an analysis of the data gathered. The central part of the article compares the results obtained from the younger and the older age groups in the two communities in order to determine the degree of language shift that is taking place toward Malay, the national language. The article closes with some general considerations, including the possible reasons for the situations observed.
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