A Journey of Malaysian English (Part 3)

Question to ponder:
Why is English considered important to climb the socioeconomic ladder?
(Post your answers under comments section of this post)

English in the colonial and post colonial era was a necessity for Malaysians to climb up the socioeconomic ladder. Thus, during that period, many middle to upper class Malays, Chinese, Indians and other minority races sent their children to English medium schools for their education. So in just one generation, English has become the first language of certain Chinese, Indians & Eurasians. (Though only a small percentage)

This division in the language capability has divided the people into English speaking vs non-English speaking, elites vs no-elites, haves vs have-nots. This divisive nature was in tandem with the policy of the British colonial government, divide & rule which resulted in irreconcilable pluralism.

Reference: Cultural Diversity Lecture Notes

Click here to read A Journey of Malaysian English (Part 2).
In Part 4, we'll discuss more on the types of Malaysian English dialects.

Further Reading:
TOM McARTHUR. "MALAYSIAN ENGLISH." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com.

A Journey of Malaysian English (Part 2)

In Part 1, We talked about how English was introduced to Malaysia during the British colonialism. Though the Malay Sultanates did not like the idea of rural Malay kids enrolling in English schools because the schools were run by Christian missionaries, it was a different case altogether for the Malay aristocrats.

The Penang Free School is the first English School in Malaysia that was started in 1816 (It's still around!). As the population grows, more schools were built ranging from the Straits Settlement of Penang, Perak, Selangor, Malacca and Singapore. This has benefitted the urban people as they received education from these English schools.

In the rural areas, the government built Malay schools for the local Malays because of different religions. Even though bright Malay children were given scholarships to enter English schools after four years in Malay schools, this privilege did not increase the number of Malay children studying in English schools.

In the 1920s, The Malay College was established in Kuala Kangsar for the sons of Malay aristocrats. Children of commoners were not common sight in this education institution. It was an elite school that further accentuated the division between the elites and non-elites. Only the upper class children receive English medium education.

This elitist trend in education via English language for the Malays was later extended to the Malay Girls College in KL, 1948. The objective of setting up an English school for the Malay girls is to prepare them to be potential partners to the boys as they can match their English language proficiency level. Though these colleges may sound like a place for stucked-up higher class children, the schools proved themselves to have academic excellence.

Thus, in that time, it is not hard to differentiate between the upper and lower class among the Malays, whether they are from the city or from kampungs (villages). We just have to check their English proficiency.

Reference: Cultural Diversity Lecture Notes

Question to ponder:
How things have changed now. Do we still use one’s English proficiency level to judge one's social class?

*Part 3: English affects socioeconomic status.

Assignment

Instructions: Conduct out an interview with a person who went through education during the colonial and post colonial days. Place focus on their English language learning experience. Compare his/her English language learning experience with yours. Share in class next week.

A Journey on Malaysian English (Part 1)

In this post, we will learn about how English was brought into Malaysia during the colonial period.

English is a world wide language that can no longer only be identified with a single race or country. Widely used in international diplomacy and commerce, it is also one of the main language used in cultures and subcultures. As from previous post, I've discussed briefly on how English is brought to Malaysia during the colonialism, trade and Christian missionary activities. Now, I'll bring you on the journey on how English was spread in Malaysia.

Back in the late 18th century, the British East India Company had started trading in Malaysia. The British traded in English with the locals with the help of translators. Seeing how abundant our natural resources and spices were available, the rule of British colonialism came soon after that. Obviously, English was the medium of British colonial administration.


The teaching of English was confined to the specially selected group of Malays who are aristocrats. This difference in education target groups resulted the division of the spread of English according to geographical and racial axes. Some said this was done for the purpose to segregate the different races in aid for the continuation of British colonialism.

Later on, the Christian missionaries set up schools to plant the seeds of knowledge among the general populace. The purpose of Christian conversion among the children was carried out in English. However, the missionary schools were only allowed in urban areas among the Chinese and Indians. The Malay Sultanates forbid the missionaries to conduct their activities among the Muslim Malays who mostly lives in rural areas. Thus, English was not widely spoken in Malaysia.

Another reason that contributed to limited English speakers in Malaysia was the restricted location in urban areas and higher fees. Hence, English speakers among the locals were only limited to the rich Chinese and Indians living in the city and the specially selected Malay aristocrats.

Reference: Cultural Diversity Lecture Notes

Question to ponder:
Why would the Malay Sultanates forbid English schools for Malays who live in rural areas? In that case, how come the Malay aristocrats get to study in English schools?

A Dialogue of 'Nah' Usage

Ali : Aiyo! The weather these days very hot lah. Cannot tahan.
Abu: Nah, drink this! Very refreshing.
Ali : Coconut juice from Uncle Lim?
Abu: Yah, nice and cold with plenty of ice . You owe me 1 Ringgit.
Ali : Nah, take it from my wallet.

The 'Nah' here is used when giving something to another person. In the above dialogue, the 'nah' can be said in a friendly buddy manner.

Ah Seng: You want to die izit?
Ah Kao : No... no... I'll return the money as soon as I can.
Ah Seng: Your soon is not soon enough leh!
Ah Kao : Take my watch first.
Ah Seng: I don't want your watch. No value! Nah, take this! (*punch*)

The 'Nah' here also means 'to give'. It is used in a threatening manner. It often meant to sound rude or impolite.

According to Malay vocabulary, the word 'nah' is commonly used to give things to another person in a impolite manner. Some said that the 'nah' is derived from the Chinese expression "拿", which means 'take'.