Why bother maintaining languages? : A discussion based on diminishing Chinese dialects in Malaysia

________ Co esponding au ho ’s email: [email p o ec ed] ISSN: 1457-9863 Publishe : Cen e o Applied Language S udies Uni e si y o Jy äskylä © 2020: The au ho s h p://apples.jyu. i h p://dx.doi.o g/10.17011/apples/u n.202001171301 Discussion No e Why bo he main aining languages? A discussion based on diminishing Chinese dialec s in Malaysia Te esa Wai See Ong, G i i h Uni e si y Language main enance and language shi a e i al sub ields in sociolinguis ics. In Malaysia, pas s udies ha e obse ed a shi om Chinese dialec s o Manda in Chinese in he language use o many young gene a ion Chinese, which has led o he endange men o some dialec s. This si ua ion d aws a en ion o he ole and su i al o Chinese dialec s in Malaysian socie y, and he eby c ea es a need o discuss he easons o main aining hem. Howe e , his is no me ely a ques ion o con inuing o speak Chinese dialec s. Mo e deeply, we need o ha e con e sa ions abou who we a e, whe e ou ances o s o igina ed om, and how we can make Chinese dialec s mo e wo hwhile o main enance. This a icle seeks o elici suppo o he language main enance o small language g oups ac oss he globe. Keywo ds: language main enance, Chinese dialec s, Malaysia 1 In oduc ion Each language spoken ac oss he wo ld ep esen s he unique cul u e o i s use s. The loss o a language symbolises he loss o cul u e. In he p esen day, child en om smalle communi ies a e inc easingly speaking dominan languages a he han hei own communi y dialec s. UNESCO (2003) es ima es ha by he end o he 21s cen u y, app oxima ely 90% o he wo ld’s languages will be endange ed, leading o hei disappea ance. This is a ho i ying si ua ion, which necessi a es he se ious conside a ion o issues a ound language main enance. Malaysia is a mul ilingual, mul ie hnic, and mul icul u al coun y si ua ed in Sou heas Asia (Asmah, 1992). Wi hin a popula ion o 32.6 million (Depa men o S a is ics, 2019), he e a e h ee majo e hnic g oups li ing oge he . The majo e hnic g oups a e Malays, Indigenous people, and na i es o Sabah and Sa awak (69.3%), Chinese (22.8%), and Indians (6.9%), while he emaining 1% a e comp ised o o he e hnic g oups. In e ms o i s linguis ic di e si y, i is es ima ed app oxima ely 134 languages a e spoken in Malaysia (Simons & Fennig, 2018). Despi e Malaysia’s da k p e-independence his o y and pas acial io s, i s g ea es achie emen oday is demons a ed h ough di e en e hnic g oups ha moniously li ing oge he in a poli ically s able coun y wi h a s eadily g owing economy. Apples – Jou nal o Applied Language S udies Vol. 14, 1, 2020, 1–5 2 Apples – Jou nal o Applied Language S udies The Fede al Cons i u ion o Malaysia and he Na ional Language Ac s 1963/1967 s a e ha e e y Malaysian is allowed o each, lea n, and speak any languages o he han he coun y’s sole na ional and o icial language, Bahasa Melayu. This means ha language igh s a e gi en o all e hnic g oups, including he Chinese, o speak hei own dialec s and mo he ongues. Manda in Chinese has been used as he language o ins uc ion in Chinese- medium p ima y schools since he ea ly 20 h cen u y and was o e ed as a subjec in seconda y schools in he 1960s, which e lec s he s a us o Manda in Chinese as he Chinese communi y’s lingua anca (Albu y, 2017; Wang, 2017). In ecen yea s, he en olmen a e o Chinese and non-Chinese s uden s in Chinese-medium p ima y schools has also s eadily climbed (Gill, 2014; “Go e nmen o p esen Chinese schools”, 2013), which indica es ha Chinese- medium educa ion is gaining popula i y in Malaysia. Consequen ly, many o he young gene a ion Chinese a e mo ing owa ds speaking Manda in Chinese a he han Chinese dialec s, such as Hokkien, Can onese, Hakka, Teochew, Hainan, and Taishan (Ting, 2006; Wang, 2016, 2017). This si ua ion is p ima ily due o in luences o globalisa ion, job oppo uni ies, and he ise o China in he wo ld’s economy. Resul ing om such a shi is a decline in he use o dialec s in many Chinese amilies (Ding, 2016; Wang, 2017) – he adi ional domain in which hey a e spoken – which aises ques ions abou he ole and su i al o Chinese dialec s in Malaysian socie y. This si ua ion calls o a discussion ega ding he easons o main ain hese dialec s. 2 Unde s anding a communi y’s his o ical and amily oo s Acco ding o Fishman (1999), language and e hnici y a e closely connec ed because language is he mos i al key o de ining e hnici y. A language symbolises a communi y’s cul u e, his o y, kinship, and pa imony. Fishman (1999) adds ha in he e a o mode nisa ion, only he con inuous use o languages can e oke a sense o belonging o he communi y. Aligning wi h Fishman’s s a emen , W igh (2018) also s a es ha only linguis ic communica ion can e lec a communi y’s iden i y and con ibu es o c ea ing i . In he case o he Chinese communi y in Malaysia, i is necessa y o he young gene a ion o con inue speaking he Chinese dialec s ha we e b ough by hei Chinese ances o s when hey came o Malaya (Malaysia a e independence in 1957), because hese dialec s symbolise hei e hnolinguis ic iden i y, such as Hokkiens, Can onese, Teochews, Hakkas, Hainanese, and Taishanese. Hence, i is impo an o he young gene a ion o know and unde s and hei amily his o y, such as he p o ince hei ances o s came om in China and he e hnolinguis ic g oup hei ances o s belonged o, a he han ollowing he global end o speaking Manda in Chinese, which only claims hei o igin as b oadly Chinese. In addi ion, he con inuous use o Chinese dialec s is linked o showing app ecia ion o hei ances o s, because knowing amily oo s, such as su names, language g oups, and o igin o ances o s, is essen ial in Chinese socie y and will p e en he amily umbilical co d om b eaking. As Chinese g owing up in a mul ilingual coun y, he young gene a ion holds he esponsibili y o pass hei amily his o y on o u u e gene a ions, as poin ed ou by Fishman (1989, p. 2), “as much ealisa ion as possible ha ‘ u h’ is an elusi e handmaiden and is a ely o be ound comple ely in one camp o ano he ”. T. W. S. Ong 3 3 Ha ing mul iple iden i ies This aises he nex poin o luid iden i ies. Simila o o he schola s who conside iden i y as luid, nego ia ed, con ex ually embedded, and cons uc ed h ough in e ac ions (Hall, 1997; King & Ganuza, 2005), Gee (2000) s a es ha people ha e mul iple iden i ies ha a e cons an ly changing in a gi en con ex . To unde s and “how iden i y is unc ioning o a speci ic pe son (child o adul ) in a gi en con ex o ac oss a se o con ex s” (Gee, 2000, p. 101), he de elops a ou -pe spec i e app oach o iden i y based on di e en sou ces o powe : na u e-iden i y, ins i u ion-iden i y, discou se-iden i y, and a ini y-iden i y. Gee (2000, p. 101) emphasises ha hese ou pe spec i es in e wined wi h and a ec each o he when “a gi en pe son ac s wi hin a gi en con ex ”. Le ’s conside o a momen , who Malaysian-Chinese a e when hey speak Chinese dialec s in Malaysian socie y. Fi s , hey would be conside ed as Malaysians due o hei na ional iden i y, and second, hey would be ega ded as ha ing an o igin o Chinese e hnici y in he mul ilingual coun y. Howe e , being ecognised as only Malaysians and Chinese is insu icien o sel - iden i ica ion. As s a ed abo e, Chinese dialec s ep esen he Chinese’s his o y and amily oo s, so i is impo an o Malaysian-Chinese o be u he iden i ied acco ding o hei e hnolinguis ic g oup, which is ei he Hokkiens, Can onese, Hakkas, Teochews, Hainanese, o Taishanese, so ha hey a e able o claim g oup membe ship. These mul iple iden i ies play a ole in de eloping hei pe sonali y and app ecia ion o he communi y while p omo ing he alue o espec ing di e en iden i ies among all e hnic g oups. In ela ion o Gee’s (2000) heo y, hese mul iple iden i ies a e no sepa a ed bu in e wined wi h each o he in he mul ilingual se ing. On a b oade le el, hese iden i ies ep esen who Malaysian-Chinese a e in oday’s globalised wo ld. 4 I ’s a li ing cul u e! In he pu sui o language main enance in a mul icul u al coun y, c oss-cul u al con ac o en akes place. Fishman (1989) s a es ha cul u al change and language shi be ween e hnic g oups a e expec ed due o powe di e en ials. Ne e heless, hese happenings a e na u al, on-going, and common o cul u al con inui y. In addi ion, hey se e o con ex ualise each o he in he gi en se ing. When c oss-e hnic ma iages o mig a ion ake place, a language is o en los , bu he sense o e hnic con inui y emains. Fo example, many na i e Tagalog speake s main ain hei language in he Philippines while becoming Filipinos. In his case, Fishman claims ha he empi ical u h can be undone bu i does no change he phenomenological u h. The phenomenology o change con inues bu i is he empi ical u h ha leads o e i al e o s. Fo he Chinese g owing up in Malaysia, ha ing oppo uni ies o speak Chinese dialec s means being pa o a li ing cul u e. These dialec s ha e cul u al and symbolic alues and a e essen ial in con ibu ing o he es ablishmen o he Chinese communi y’s social class and s a us in mul ilingual and mul ie hnic Malaysia. The con inuous use o Chinese dialec s wi hin he Chinese communi y allow hem o eel close and mo e com o able, and ul ima ely leading hem o o m a social sense o belonging o he communi y and close bond be ween one ano he . Aligning wi h Fishman’s (1989) s a emen , 4 Apples – Jou nal o Applied Language S udies he linguis ic cul u al alues o Chinese dialec s will e en ually lead he Chinese communi y o main ain hei dialec s in he Malay-dominan coun y so hei Chinese cul u e can be kep ali e and hei sense o e hnici y e ained. 5 Closing commen s Ul ima ely, a he han con inue o discuss he easons o main ain Chinese dialec s, we need o mo e on o he p ac ical aspec s. Tha is, we need o ake ac ion o ensu e he con inui y o using hese dialec s in Malaysian socie y so hey do no disappea . Recen s udies (Albu y, 2017; Ting, 2018; Wang, 2017) ha e demons a ed a ou able a i udes owa ds Manda in Chinese as he language ep esen ing he Chinese e hnic iden i y, despi e Manda in Chinese no being a he i age dialec b ough by he Chinese when hey mig a ed o Malaya. The ques ion oday should no be abou which language (Chinese dialec s o Manda in Chinese) he Chinese should speak in Malaysia, as ha is up o he indi iduals. The eal ques ions a e “How do we make mo e space o Chinese dialec s o con inue g owing in mul ilingual and mul ie hnic Malaysia?” and “How do we ensu e no losing such mul ilingual p ac ice in his mode nised and globalised e a?” While I do no ye know he answe s and am s ill sea ching o hem, I ha e hope based on ge ing suppo om all walks o li e o language main enance o no only he Chinese dialec s in Malaysia bu di e en languages in he wo ld. In his way, we can do ou pa o u u e gene a ions. Re e ences Albu y, N. J. (2017). Mo he ongues and languaging in Malaysia: C i ical linguis ics unde c i ical examina ion. Language in Socie y, 46, 567–589. Asmah, H. O. (1992). The linguis ic scene y in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpu : Dewan Bahasa dan Pus aka. Depa men o S a is ics. (2019). Cu en popula ion es ima es, Malaysia, 2018–2019. Ding, S. L. (2016). The ole o pa en s in he i age language main enance in Malaysia. Malaysian Jou nal o Chinese S udies, 5(1), 15–27. Fishman, J. A. (1989). 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