Impact of language planning on language choice in friendship and transaction domains in Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

This paper shows that language planning in government-controlled domains has a spill-over effect in domains where language use is not regulated by language policies. Language planning in post-colonial Malaysia can be broadly divided into three phases: status planning whereby English was replaced by Bahasa Malaysia as the official language; remission in status planning whereby English was allowed restricted status as the medium of instruction for science and mathematics; and reinforced status planning for Bahasa Malaysia as a tool for unity. By ensuring that Malaysians are proficient in Bahasa Malaysia, the government has engendered the voluntary use of Bahasa Malaysia and its varieties for inter-ethnic communication in the friendship and transaction domains. There is a gradation in language use from the lower to the upper end of the transaction domain for inter-ethnic communication as follows: Bazaar Malay in the market, Sarawak Malay in shops, and Bahasa Malaysia in hotels. The role of English as a language for inter-ethnic communication is gradually being supplanted by Bahasa Malaysia, leaving English to function in domains such as law, the private sector, and higher education. The prominence of these two languages in the national and international arena, respectively, reduces the priority given to ethnic languages in friendship and transactional domains.

Keywords:

• language planning
• language choice
• Malaysia
• national language
• friendship domain
• transaction domain

Notes

The Malaysian education system provides 11 years of compulsory education: 6 years in primary school from Primary One to Six (ages 7–12); and 5 years in secondary school from Form One to Form Five (ages 13–17). At the end of Primary Six, students sit for a standardised nation-wide Primary School Assessment Test (Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah, UPSR). The results are used for streaming students in Form One. Students changing the medium of education (e.g. from Chinese in primary school to Bahasa Malaysia in secondary school) attend 1 year of Transition Class before entering Form One. At the end of lower secondary school education, Form Three students sit for the Lower Secondary Assessment (Peperiksaan Menengah Rendah, PMR; formerly LCE). At the end of Form Five, students sit for the MCE (SPM). Those who obtain good results can proceed to Form Six for 2 years of pre-university education.

Divisions 1–3 use the total marks from six subjects. To obtain Division 1 in the MCE examination, the total aggregate of the six subjects cannot exceed 24 and the candidate must obtain credits in both Bahasa Malaysia and English. In the new open certification system introduced in 2000, overall grade reporting and subject grouping requirements are no longer practised.

National schools in Malaysia are public schools financed and administered by the federal government. The teaching and non-teaching staff of the school are recruited by the Ministry of Education which has education departments at the federal, state, and district levels to implement the educational policies. The national-type schools in Malaysia are government-aided schools which are partially financed by the government. These schools have a board of directors which are responsible for generating some funds for the running of the schools. The national-type schools follow government administrative procedures and policies.