PBW 2053

World Englishes
Final Assessment: Mini Research Project

Title: Malaysian Undergraduate students' attitudes toward Malaysian English

Group: 2E

Instructor : Monaliza Hj Sarbini

Group Members : 1. Chelsea Cher Anak Hawel (79051)
2. Nurul Asyikin binti Junnaidi (80841)
3. Qistina Nasha Binti Mohd Khairudin (80999)
4. Liriek Jamie (79898)
5. Nur Danisha Binti Juanidi (80580)
6. Nor Azlinda Binti Muhammad Azwin Kevin
(80424)
Introduction

The current usage of Malaysian English dates back to the 18th century with the arrival
of the British in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Singapore, and Melaka. The legal system,
business, and public administration all used English. During the British colonial period, more
and more English-medium schools were established. These schools tended to be Christian
mission schools. Fast forward, English is now a language spoken by about two billion people
worldwide. It has many unique varieties that have been influenced by the various
communities that have adapted it over time (Tan Ai Lin et al., 2018). The Malay language
was declared the national and official language of Malaysia (then Malaya) upon its
independence in 1957. English started to be replaced by Malay in government offices, courts,
and as the primary language of instruction in public universities and national schools. English
is still required in secondary schools today through the fifth form (15–16 years old).
Additionally, it is still widely used in the media, business, private higher education, and the
private sector. So, is Malaysian English a source of pride for the country or is it merely a
functional tool, only useful for informally exchanging ideas? How do the undergraduates feel
about Malaysian English here? 

The purpose of this study is to investigate how Malaysian undergraduates feel about
Malaysian English. Additionally, it seeks to ascertain the degree to which Malaysian
undergraduates view Standard English, Malaysian English as a subset of it, and the
significance of Standard English. Most Malaysians are able to speak English because it is
taught in schools, though some are more proficient than others. Because they spoke English
at home growing up, a small minority of Malaysians of different ethnicities consider English
to be their mother tongue. Fluent English speakers from Malaysia can easily switch from the
more formal variety of English to the regionalized variety of everyday Malaysian English.
For instance, they might use the more formal form of English in a business setting, but they
might switch to Malaysian English when speaking to friends and family. However, Standard
English and the Malay language are more often used in official settings and conversations as
it is considered more accurate and polite so how would our fellow undergraduates feel about
the usage of Malaysian English? 
Aim & Objectives

The current survey was conducted to learn about undergraduate students' attitudes toward
Malaysian English. This survey asks about their Malaysian accent, the Malaysian English,
and how important standard English is to them. The objectives can be summarised as
follows: 

i. To study undergraduates’ stance towards Malaysian English

ii. To identify the importance of Standard English to Malaysians

Methodology

A survey was chosen as the main method to collect data related to the issue. The
survey was divided into 2 parts which are part A and part B. Part A was the first section of
the survey to gain a brief overview of the respondents’ biographies. The respondents aimed
for the survey were undergraduates of any local university in Malaysia from both female and
male genders. The age range of said respondents was between 18 to 26 years old. Meanwhile,
the races of the aimed respondents included those from Malay, Chinese, Indian, and
Bumiputera ethnicities. Respondents were then required to state their institution's name
before proceeding to the next section.

Part B was the main section where 15 statements related to the issue were provided
for the respondents to respond. The respondents are required to indicate their responses to the
statements given on the linear scales provided. The scales were in the form of a 5-point Likert
scale where respondents could rate between 1 to 5 in which point 1 represented the feeling of
“Strongly Disagree” and point 5 represented the feeling of “Strongly Disagree”. The
statements provided focuses on the respondents' attitude towards their Malaysian English,
their familiarity to it, their feelings to it and their views on it. Some of the statements
provided included are “I speak Malaysian English most of the time.”, “I am confident using
Malaysian English.” and “It is important for Malaysians to use standard English in casual
situations.” 
Data Analysis
Discussion

Due to the country's diversity, Malaysian schools developed a complementary English

dialect for intergroup communication. This variety is distinguished by characteristics present
in the students' native dialects, particularly in those of Malay, Chinese, and Indian origin.
Their spoken and written language clearly reflects this influence (Thirusanku & Yunus,
2012). This explains why, despite only 28.6% of our respondents speak Malaysian English
most of the time, a total of 71.5% of them do.

According to Smith (1981), no matter how different it may be from English as spoken
by native speakers, non-native speakers of the language should never be made to feel
ashamed of their own variety of the language. This is evident in our study, as more than 70%
of our respondents agreed that they are confident, happy, and proud of their Malaysian
English, despite the influence of their native dialects. However, only 57.2% agreed to
continue using Malaysian English on a daily basis. A few of our respondents (14.3%) even
disagreed to continue using Malaysian English. This is most likely due to employers in
Malaysia who value English-proficient employees, which would be difficult to achieve if
Malaysian English was used in writing and speaking all the time (“Malaysians struggling
with English”, 2019).

Many Malaysians are fluent in two dialects of English: Malaysian Standard English
(which is similar to the English spoken by native speakers worldwide) and Malaysian
Colloquial English, also known as Manglish (not understood by foreigners). Malaysian
English is widely spoken among Malaysians and is recognised as a business language in the
country. Almost 80% of Malaysian business premises and urban areas use English as a
medium language (both Malaysian English and Manglish). As a result, more than 15 people
agreed that Malaysian English is proper, correct, and accurate, and that it can even be
considered as standard English.

Even though Malaysian English is fairly understandable within our country and in
some Asian countries (intra-international) such as Singapore and Indonesia, it is completely
incomprehensible to those outside the region. This is due to the fact that Malaysian English
has some culturally associated meanings that those from English-speaking backgrounds are
unable to comprehend. This is most likely why the majority of our respondents (70% to 80%)
agreed that learning proper, standard English and using it in formal settings is important for
Malaysians. Despite the high number of respondents who speak Malaysian English, 57.2%
agreed on the importance of using standard English in casual settings.

Conclusion

This report presented data to study undergraduates’ stance towards Malaysian English
and to identify the importance of Standard English to Malaysians. According to the findings
of the study, Malaysian undergraduates had a favourable and satisfied attitude toward
Malaysian English. They did, however, emphasise the importance of standard English in both
casual and formal settings. Furthermore, there was a majority opinion that Malaysians must
achieve the proper and standard English used by native speakers.
 References

Ismail, N., Ismail, N. & Ramakrishnan, K. M. (2007). Malaysian English versus standard
English: Which is favored? In Academic Conference UiTMJ (ACCON 2007) (pp 1-10).
Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259675483_Malaysian_English_Versus_Standard_
English_Which_Is_Favored

Johnson, D. (2019). What is Data Analysis? Types, Process, Methods, Techniques.

Guru99.com. https://www.guru99.com/what-is-data-analysis.html 

Malaysians struggling with English. (2019, January 24). The Sun Daily. Retrieved from
https://www.thesundaily.my/opinion/malaysians-struggling-with-english-FC433412

Smith, L. E. (1981). English for Cross-cultural Communication, Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Tan Ai Lin, D., Bee Choo, L., Adi Kasuma, S. A., & Ganapathy, M. (2018). Like that
Lah: Malaysian undergraduates’ attitudes towards localised English. GEMA Online®
Journal of Language Studies, 18(2), 80–92. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2018-
1802-06 

Thirusanku J., & Yunus, M. M. (2012). The many faces of Malaysian English. ISRN
Education, 2012, 1-14. doi:10.5402/2012/138928