Assignment 4: What is Malaysian English and how did it develop in Malaysia?

Given the need to address

issues of standards with linguistic realities in workplace, which sub-variety of English should Malaysian
adopt? Why?

Introduction

The spread of English around the world has resulted in the emergence of new varieties of
English. The contact of English with such diverse language resulted in the development of regional-
contact varieties of English, e.g., Indian English, Malaysian English, Singaporean English, Philippines
English, Nigerian English, and Ghanaian English(Kachru 1965). As for Malaysia, the country has its own
unique relationship with English language, where the language has been known in the country for more
than a century. Due to the historical relationship and the pragmatic needs of English in today’s globalize
world; English is widely use in Malaysia as the language for social interaction and the language of
business. In the present linguistic realities in Malaysia, English language has been adapted into
Malaysians’ cultures and creating a variety of English known as Malaysian English.

The History of English in Malaysia

The arrival of English in Malaysia can be traced back as early as nineteen century via the
colonization of British Empire. The British took over the local administrative affairs and governed the
Malay states. The colonial period gave English language a prominent status as the official language in
administration and trade. After Malaysia gained its independence from the British Empire in 1957, the
need of national identity and unity through Bahasa Melayu dethrone the status of English as the official
language of the country. English became a second language subject in Malaysian schools and Bahasa
Melayu acts as the main medium of instructions. ‘As a result of this language policy which was strongly
held together by political factors and the urgent need to create a national identity, many Malaysian
speak a variety of English described generally as Malaysian English’(Gill,1998 : 21)

The pragmatic needs of the nation to compete at international level paved the road to the
revitalization of English in 2003 where English was used as the medium of instructions in teaching
science and mathematics. This policy was short lived as it ended in 2010 as the result of political agenda
in response to various pressures by local organizations. Although English is no longer used as the
medium of instructions, the use of English in Malaysia is growing as English language is the prominent
language in the field of knowledge, economy, business and technology. Furthermore, people in urban
area use the language widely as their means of social interaction especially in the workplace.

The Malaysian English

The term Malaysian English refer to the nativization of English language into the local socio-
cultural context. Nativization is a term referring to the process which creates a localized linguistic
identity of a variety (cf. Kachru 1986). Malaysia is a multi-racial country with the variety of mother-
tongues spoken by various ethnic groups. The process of nativization of English in Malaysia develops
through the influence of local languages such as Bahasa Melayu, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tamil. The
English language could not help but be influenced by various other languages and developed into a
number of different varieties (Gill,2000:54). It is clear that English in the Malaysian English context has
been adjusted to meet the local need. Gill (1999) traces the development of Malaysian English into
three phases:

I. Dependent – The starting point of English in Malaysia where the use of the language
depended on the colonial master.

II. Independent – the expansion phase of English language into Malaysian culture. This phase
provided recognition and strong sense of confidence for the use of the variety of Malaysian
English as a means of communication within the country for intra-national communication.

III. Pragmatic Post-Independence – This phase indicates the use of English by Malaysian in
global context for the purpose of development.

The Standards of Malaysian English

In addressing the issue of standards of Malaysian English, we need to relate it with the main
purpose of a language which is the means of communication. ‘language is not a fixed commodity, it is a
means of communication that reflects cultures, emotions of expression and emotion of various speech
communities’(Gill, 2000:68). Malaysian English is now in the Pragmatic Post-Independence phase which
indicates that the variety of Malaysian English must be able to meet the need of international
communication. Therefore, the need of the language to be internationally intelligible is important in
discussing the issues of standard.

In exploring the standards of Malaysian English, Baskaran (1987) classified Malaysian English
varieties into three categories of lectal varieties (cited in Gill, 2000:45,130):

Features of Sociolects of Malaysian English

Acrolect: standard ME, formal use, Mesolect:Dialectal Me, informal use, Basilect:Patois ME, Colloquial use,
International Intelligible national intelligibility patois intelligibility and currency

Phonology Slight variation More variation tolerated, including Extreme variation - both segmental
Tolerated so long as it is prosodic features especially stress and and prosodic with intonation so
internationally intelligible intonation. stigmatized – almost unintelligible
internationally.

Syntax No deviation tolerated at all. Some deviation is accepted although it Substantial

is not as stigmatic as broken English.  variation/deviation. (National
(Intelligibility is still there.) intelligibility.)

Lexis Variation acceptable especially  Lexicalization quite prevalent even for Major Lexicalization heavily infused
for words not substitutable in an words having international English with local language items.
international context(to give a substitutes.
more localized context)

Based on the development of Malaysian English discussed earlier, the standard of Malaysian
English must be placed at a point where it serves the pragmatic need to be internationally intelligible
and reflect the identity of Malaysia.

Linguistic Realities in Workplace

 The flow of Foreign Direct Investment into Malaysia and the influence of English as the language
of trade, science, technology, and knowledge spread the use of English in Malaysian workplace. The
English used in Malaysian workplace is best described as Malaysian English. Scholars researching
workplace English have described it as nativised variety (cf. Nair Venugopal 2000). This is the evidence of
the linguistic realities of English in Malaysian workplace.

Normally, English is used as the mean of communication between colleagues, superiors and
clients. But, the main value of English in Malaysian workplace is for international communication so that
they will stay competitive globally. For this reason, ‘the variety of the language that they use must be
acceptable and appropriate for a particular function to which it is used’ (Gill, 2000:74). The new dilemma
pertaining to the selection of sub-variety emerged due to the pragmatic need of the language.

We have discussed about the issues of standard and intelligibility. These issues are the crucial
factor in order to resolve the dilemma in selecting the sub-variety suitable for Malaysian workplace.

Which Sub-variety of English Should Malaysian Adopt?

The communication process in workplace involved different types of audience. To achieve a

successful communication process, one must have the ability to carter different audiences. Thus, ‘there
is acceptable of sub-variety of Malaysian English in workplace (Gill, 2000:83).

A research entitled ‘Standards and Linguistic Realities of English in The Malaysian Workplace’
shows that there is an acceptability of the sub-varieties of Malaysian English according to the different
audiences in Malaysian workplace. This research shows that a number of speakers in workplace fell in
the mid lectal range of Malaysian English. It is between acrolect and mesolect varieties. For that reason,
a new category (the acro-mesolectal category) included.

The results of the research show that the speakers of mesolect and acro-mesolect sub-varieties
of Malaysian English are acceptable to give oral presentation to colleagues and superiors. When it
comes to international audiences, only acrolect and mesolect speakers regarded as acceptable to deliver
oral presentation. Therefore, Malaysian English is acceptable and in order to make it intelligible, one
must able to speak more than one sub-variety of Malaysian English. Those who ‘ are not able to switch
to the higher level varieties ( the acro-mesolectal and acrolectal) need to be made aware that they can
be disadvantaged in professional domain’(Gill, 2000:83).

Conclusion

It is clear that Malaysian English is accepted in Malaysian workplace but the speakers must
adjust their sub-varieties of Malaysian English according to their audience. The ability to switch to higher
level of varieties is crucial for Malaysian maximized the benefits of English. Based on the discussions in
this paper, it is clear that Malaysian need to adapt both Mesolect and acrolect sub-varieties.