Language Vitality among the Bidayuh of Sarawak (East Malaysia)

Abstract

The study begins with a general introduction to Malaysia and its linguistic repertoire, and then focuses on the ethnic group known as Bidayuh living in the Western part of Sarawak (Borneo). The article goes on to outline the methodology employed in our research, based on a survey on language use and attitudes carried out in four different villages in the Bidayuh belt. The results are then analyzed in general terms, showing a high degree of vitality for the Bidayuh language. In contrast, when the answers given by the younger speakers of the language and those provided by the older ones are compared, a pattern of slow but steady ongoing language shift clearly emerges. The article closes with some general considerations, including further comparisons between the results of our research and those of other studies conducted in more urban environments and/or among highly educated Bidayuh. There is some evidence to show a higher degree of endangerment for the Bidayuh language outside the Bidayuh belt.

Ethnic Language Use and Ethnic Identity for Sarawak Indigenous Groups in Malaysia

“…In the family domain, the expected decrease in ethnic language use from the grandparents' generation to their generation was seen, but a more insightful finding from this study is the inverse relationship between the use of the ethnic language and Bahasa Malaysia, showing that "the main competition with ethnic languages is Malay varieties" (Ting and Ling 2012:9). Similar findings were obtained by Coluzzi, Riget, and Wang (2013) on Malay encroaching into the friendship, transactions, employment, and government domains, particularly for the younger Bidayuh. Based on their comparison of the language use of older and younger Bidayuh, they conclude that "Bidayuh is vital (but not safe) only in the Bidayuh belt, but endangered in urban settings far from the heartland villages (2013:389).…”

The Mismatches between Minority Language Practices and National Language Policy in Malaysia: A Linguistic Landscape Approach

“…Coluzzi, Nora Riget and Wang, 2013;Ting and Ling, 2013;Wang and Chong, 2011, among others). The linguistic diversity in Malaysia seems to be threatened as what has taken place in many parts of the world.…”

“…Most children of these indigenous populations enter national schools and learn knowledge through Malay, the national language, which may be one of the factors leading to language shift (Coluzzi, Nora Riget and Wang, 2013;Ting and Ling, 2013). As these minority languages have no official status, there are practically no official efforts in corpus planning towards these languages.…”

Examining Language Development and Revitalisation Initiatives

“…Multilingualism is the norm in Sarawak, with communication among the heterogeneous groups primarily through the medium of Sarawak Malay (Smith & Smith, 2017). In general, being bilingual in one's mother tongue and Sarawak Malay does not necessarily imply eventual language shift, however the Bidayuh community is one that is experiencing an ongoing language shift (Coluzzi, Riget, & Wang, 2013;Norazuna, 2017). For instance, some Bidayuh children, particularly in the urban areas, are no longer using or acquiring Bidayuh as their mother tongue or first language (Norazuna, 2017).…”

“…There is a copious amount of academic research on various aspects of the Bidayuh language and culture, including code-switching (McLellan, 1992;McLellan & Nojeg, 2009), language planning (McLellan, 2002), vernacular education (McLellan & Campbell, 2015), language choice (Dealwis, 2008(Dealwis, , 2010Norazuna, 2010), and language vitality (Coluzzi et al, 2013). Eberhard et al (2019) classify Bidayuh, particularly the three main varieties (Bidayuh-Bau, Bidayuh-Biatah, Bidayuh-Bukar-Sadong) as threatened.…”