The Preservation of Language Diversity

Language is a mirror and marker of image and self identity. With the implementation of official language policies, researchers, politicians and various linguistic communities have expressed major concern over the preservation of language diversity, particularly amidst forecasts that almost half of the six thousand languages currently spoken could disappear during the twenty-first centry.

New data confirms the theory that although cultural identities remain even when language shift has taken place, the implementation of official language policies has a significant bearing on the language diversity within a country.

Norizah Ardi, Ph.D, from the Malay Studies department of the Academy of Language Studies, tested the theory by examining the attitudes and use of Bahasa Melayu amongst Thai university students in the University of Walailak and Prince of Songkla University in Southern Thailand.

Bahasa Melayu is a language of the minority groups living in Southern Thailand and for most of the Muslim Thais, it is their mother tongue. Universities in Southern Thailand, in particular University of Walailak and Prince of Songkla University, offer Bahasa Melayu as a foreign language course to their students.

Norizah analysed these students’ attitudes towards Bahasa Melayu by examining their motivation to study the language based on domain analysis such as the family, the neighbourhood, friendship, administration and management, business and religion.

The study reveals that the Thai Muslims use Bahasa Melayu in all six domains of which the most frequent usage is within the family domain. It is profoundly found that the speakers mostly code-switch between Bahasa Melayu and the Thai Language and vice versa. There are two varieties of Bahasa Melayu used by the respondents, namely Standard Malay (as used in Malaysia) and another variety which is known as the Patani Dialect. The use of Bahasa Melayu, whether of the standard or the dialectal variety, depends on the domain and event, and whether these are formal or informal.

The study indicates that although the students’ attitudes towards Bahasa Melayu are positive in nature, the use of the language is limited. The bilingual characteristic of the respondents and the country’s language policy which stipulates that only the Thai Language (the National Language) is to be used in official functions bears strong implications on the use of Bahasa Melayu. As such the role and use of Bahasa Melayu is only limited to those functions within the family circle and religious related matters.

Nevertheless, what this research further implicates is that through the daily use in interaction amongst its speakers, a language develops and renews itself. There is no evidence to suppose that the young generation would lose interest in Bahasa Melayu and would eventually not speak their mother tongue, although Thai is the national language.

Languages are a vulnerable part of our cultural heritage. Understanding how language policies have affected language use will help understand whether current changes in language policies will have a huge impact on the preservation or disappearance of linguistic diversity in the country.

Dr Norizah Ardi can be contacted via norizah@salam.uitm.edu.my

-budaya masih diperjuangkan, dan mustahil ia akan pupus dengan mudah. tetapi bahasa jika tidak diperjuangkan, tidak diamalkan, dan tidak dipelihara dengan sewajarnya akan terkubur dan terus dilupakan.