Bilingualism and Malay Language Planning in Singapore

Copyright © 2018 by Dr. Mohamed Aidil Subhan.

Cover designed by Nurul Syafini Subhan.

ISBN:                  Softcover                  978-1-5437-4593-1

                            eBook                       978-1-5437-4592-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

Contents

Glossary

Foreword

Preface

Chapter 1 – Bilingualism and Language Planning

Introduction

Bilingualism

Bilingual Education

Language Planning

Singapore’s bilingual language policy and Malay language planning

Conclusion

Chapter 2 – Bilingualism and Malay Language Planning

Introduction

Reviews and Reports Enhancing Bilingualism and Impacting the Malay Language

Report of the All-Party Committee of the Singapore Legislative Assembly on Chinese Education 1956

Report on the Ministry of Education, 1978: Assessment of the Bilingual Policy

Improving Primary School Education Report 1991

Malay Language Steering Review Committee, 1999

The Mother Tongue Language Curriculum and the Pedagogy Review Committees

Report on Primary Education Review Initiative (PERI)

Mother Tongue Language Review Committee 2011

Conclusion

Chapter 3 – Status Planning

Introduction

Status Planning

Status Language Planning for Malay

Status of Malay

Impact of Bilingualism on Status Planning

Conclusion

Chapter 4 – Corpus Planning

Introduction

Corpus Planning

History of Corpus Planning for Malay

The Role of MABBIM in Corpus Planning

Standardization of Malay

Need for Standardization

Issues with the Standardization of Spoken Malay

Sebutan Baku and its Implementation in Singapore

Corpus Planning for Malay in Singapore’s Bilingual Framework

Conclusion

Chapter 5 – Acquisition Planning

Introduction

Acquisition Planning– Definition

Process of Acquisition Planning for Malay

Overt Language Planning Goal

Method Employed to Attain Language Planning Goals

Conclusion

Chapter 6 – New Malay Language Pedagogy

Introduction

Language shift

Nurturing Active Learners and Proficient Users

Issues Pertaining to Language Acquisition Planning

Conclusion

Chapter 7 – Further Directions in Malay Language Planning

Introduction

An Accounting Scheme for the Study of Language Planning

Accounting for Malay Language Planning based on Cooper’s Framework

Effect of Bilingualism on Malay

Positive Effects of the Bilingual Policy

Negative Effects of the Bilingual Policy

Pedagogical Approach to Supporting the Teaching and Learning of Malay in an English-knowing Bilingual Context such as Singapore

Mother Tongues as Cultural Ballast

Overall Effects of the Bilingual Policy on the status, corpus and acquisition planning of Malay

Effects on the Status of Malay

Effects on the Malay Corpus

Effects on the Acquisition of Malay

Conclusion

References

List of Tables

Table 1   Haugen’s (1983: 275) revised language planning model, with additions

Table 2   Phases of educational policy and reports, and effect on Malay

Table 3   Cooper’s Acquisition Planning Model

Table 4   Dominant Home Language of Resident Malay Population Aged Five and Over (in %)

Table 5   Language Used by Malay Parents with their Children

Table 6   Student Use of Malay with Relatives and Friends

Table 7   Differences between Deep and Surface Learners

Table 8   Accounting scheme for the study of language planning

Table 9   Accounting scheme for Malay language planning

Table 10  Fishman’s Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS)

Table 11  Percentage of Students Who Prefer to Read and Write in English

List of Diagrams

Diagram 5.1-   Differentiated Instruction Model

Glossary

Acquisition planning – Language-in-education planning and matters pertaining to language teaching and learning.

Bilingualism – the ability to converse or communicate in two languages. In Singapore, this normally consists of English and one mother tongue, namely Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil.

Cambridge General Certificate in Education Advance Level (GCE A Level) – Pre-requisite for entry into university.

Cambridge General Certificate in Education Ordinary Level (GCE O Level) – Pre-requisite for entry into pre-university education.

Corpus planning – The planning of a language in terms of its written form, spelling, grammar, a key component of terminology and other linguistic matters.

Cultural ballast – The mother tongue, namely Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil acting as cultural defence against the ever-widening use of English.

Institute of Language and Literature (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka) – Institute dedicated to language and literature set up under the Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka Act to promote the use of Malay within Malaysia.

National Language and Cultural Institute of Singapore (Dewan Bahasa Kebangsaan dan Kebudayaan Singapura) – Institute set up in 1960 under the purview of the then Ministry of Culture, Singapore. Tasked with promoting the Malay language and strengthen Malayan culture among Singaporeans. The Institute ceased operations in 1970 due to the changing emphasis on English.

Diglossia – A situation where two language varieties (a high variety and a low variety) are used within a country or region.

Domain – A sphere of activity representing a combination of specific times, settings and social roles.

Heritage Language – A language spoken in homes where it is not the dominant language of the country or region.

Junior College – Two-year pre-university education equivalent to US 12th grade.

Language Planning – The development of policies or programs to direct or change language use.

Language Policy – Means by which government agencies or interest groups set out their intentions to safeguard, develop, or promote a language.

Malay Language Council of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia (Majlis Bahasa Brunei, Indonesia dan Malaysia – MABBIM) – Regional organization tasked with preserving, protecting, and promoting the Malay language. The three official members are Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, represented by their respective Ministers for Education. Singapore sits as an observer, represented by representatives of the Malay Language Council of Singapore (MBMS).

Malay Language Council of Singapore (Majlis Bahasa Melayu Singapura – MBMS) – Government agency under the purview of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, tasked with advising the government on issues pertaining to Malay and to helping preserve and protect it.

Malay Language Learning & Promotion Committee (MLLPC) – Government agency under the purview of the Ministry of Education Singapore set up to plan the learning and promotion of Malay and to disburse funds to that ends.

Models of bilingualism - Constructs devised to help us understand the effects of bilingualism.

Mother Tongue – Pre-determined ethnic language, based on the father’s ethnicity.

Parity Theory – Policy whereby what is given to one ethnic language (mother tongue) is also provided for in the other languages.

Primary Education – Basic 6-year education equivalent to US 1st-6th grade.

Standard Pronunciation (sebutan baku) – A form of pronunciation of Malay that emphasizes a single sound for each letter and pronouncing the language as it is spelled.

Secondary Education – Intermediate 4-5 years high school education equivalent to US 7th-11th grade.

Status Planning – Planning level of usage of and attitudes toward a language.

Types of Bilingualism – Categorization based on the different characteristics of bilingualism.

Foreword

Looking at nations of insular Southeast Asia, one gets a picture of their search for language-derived identity at the time they became sovereign nations. Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines found within their own native milieu one which became their national language. The first three countries happened to share the same language, Malay, but in different varieties, with Indonesia giving a new name in consonance with the name of the nation, bahasa Indonesia. The Philippines had Tagalog, which is now better known as Filipino, a name change analogous to that of bahasa Indonesia.

The national language in each of these countries is given a major role in the governance of the nation and in its education system, even in countries (Brunei and the Philippines) where bilingualism consisting of national language and English rules the day. But in terms of the status and role of their national language, these four countries can be grouped together in one and the same category. At a glance, in choosing Malay as the national language, Singapore appears to belong to the same category as her four neighbours. However, the difference lies in the fact that her concept of national language is not equal to that in those of these other countries. In Singapore national language really means only the language of the national anthem, whereas in the other countries national language is given a broader role than that.

With the national language appropriately placed in a nationalistic role, i.e. in the wordings of the national anthem, Singapore goes on to recognise four speech systems within her boundaries as official languages, these being English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. In Singapore as in Malaysia, in terms of conceptualisation, national language is a different entity from official language, but the meaning given to each of these two concepts in one country is not necessarily repeated in the other. Another similarity is that Malay in both countries is given the status of official language, showing that in this very language there is a combination of two functions – one is symbolic (national), and the other is communication in officialdom. Here ends the similarity in the language policies of Malaysia and Singapore.

Each of the four official languages of Singapore has its own significance in the life of the citizens. It would be a cliché to say that English has the most highly rated standing in terms of socio-economic well-being of the people of Singapore, and there is little wonder why it is made the first language of Singapore, with the term first language having the signification of the most important language in the country. Applied linguists are baffled by this term, because in their academic discipline first language means one that is the earliest to be acquired by a child. And the meaning as given in applied linguistics may not have been the objective of the policy when it was formulated, as the policy also provides for the teaching of the mother tongues of the three main ethnic groups – Malay, Chinese and Indian. And mother tongue is always understood to be a first language of the child.

Over the years it appears that English has evolved to be a first-acquired language by a Singapore child, regardless of ethnic group. The rigour in its implementation as the first (meaning the most important) language is supported by its role as the medium of instruction in the schools, and this particular role has made English no longer a non-native tongue but a first language in every sense of the word. The multilingual policy which also provides for the teaching of mother tongue and the acquisition of another language among the three mother tongues should result in school children having the ability to function in three languages, presumably with varying degrees of proficiency, with English getting the highest score, followed by the mother tongue, and in the third place the other language.

A couple of years ago when I was given the honour to conduct a course on Bilingualism at one of Singapore’s universities for the degree of Master of Arts, I was not surprised to read in the assignments (based on students’ field research on bilingualism among Singaporeans) that English had become a home language in a great many families of all the three ethnic groups, side by side with the mother tongue. Such families can claim to have two home languages, and this sort of situation is nothing new, as it exists in multilingual regions where ethnic groups with different languages live side by side, as in the border region of Kedah-Thailand where Malays known to the local people as Samsam have Malay and Siamese as home languages. Whether English will ultimately replace the original home language in Singapore families, which may eventually be a mother tongue in the family, will be determined through time given that the social factors causing the change are already at work.

Socio-economic factors seem to be a powerful determinant in instilling the belief that knowing English is a sure way to success for oneself as well as for the country. And English occupies that powerful position especially after the last world war due to it being the language of the world’s superpower, i.e. the United States of America. But the politico-economic situation of the world may not be in that status quo forever. We now see the rise of China as a challenge to America. If language is concomitant with socio-economic power, it will not be long before the Chinese language becomes a goal to be achieved among countries of the world in their struggle to succeed in trade and commerce and in technology. This social and linguistic change in world order has been predicted generally by political watchers.

In this volume, Bilingualism and Malay Language Planning in Singapore, Dr. Mohamed Aidil Subhan, who has been researching on language policy and planning this number of years, shares his observation of the immanent spread of Chinese as a lingua franca, following the path taken by English over the last century. As far as Singapore is concerned, the implementation of Chinese in the schools as a mother tongue of Chinese students, as well as an elective by the non-Chinese, has already paved the way for the adoption of Chinese as another super-power language. When this happens, there would have to be planning for the acquisition of the language for students to reach an attainment level that will be adequate for the use of the language for whatever type of purpose suitable in reaching the nation’s goal. If the academic disciplines currently taught in Chinese as a mother tongue and as an elective to non-Chinese are considered to be limited to soft subjects like literature and history, the extension of the use of Chinese in the teaching of subjects like the sciences, mathematics, economics, ICT and others would be a sure way to instill in future Singaporeans the ability to use Chinese at a higher level than they have now, that is if they have not done it yet. For the Chinese, whose first language is English, the extension of their proficiency in Chinese into new domains would be an opening into a new history in their bonding with the language of their ancestors. For the non-Chinese, for example the Malays, they will be in pursuit of a bigger challenge to attain the level of proficiency of the same level as the native speakers of the language.

This volume focuses on Malay language planning and the bilingual situation which Malays in Singapore have to be part of. Singapore had once been the centre of the spread of Malay literature, specifically the new type of literature like the novel, the short story, and modern prose form. The newspaper in Malay was given its beginning in Singapore, mainly due to the introduction of the printing machine, and it was also modern technology that introduced the radio and broadcasting to the Malay world, and it had its first station in Singapore. All this goes to show that Singapore was the nerve centre for the development and spread of Malay, and the variety identified with Singapore was that of the Johor-Riau dialect. Until today this is the variety still in use as community speech system in the Riau-Lingga islands and the eastern provinces of Sumatera, namely mainland Riau and the Province of North Sumatera.

Politics has changed the Malay language situation in Singapore, especially after 1965, as seen in its language policy planning, which has affected its significance even in the life of its native speakers. With English as first language, and Chinese as de facto second language, a reversal to its former role as a variety of Malay with its own standing in the region, will require a special effort both in its acquisition planning as well as in planting a conviction among the Malay population that it would not be an impossible task. The reason for my saying this is that Singaporeans themselves will have to be authors and creators of literary and intellectual artefacts in Malay as attestation to the target of the planning. At the same time, they will have to take cognizance of the presence of a continual linguistic and literary power of Malaysia and Indonesia. Although these two neighbours have a close working relationship in the development of their language and literature, they have respect for each other in maintaining their own identity in their own variety of Malay. When identity resides in linguistic form, it stretches on to literature as well as any other type of text produced by users of that particular form.

Malay language planning in Singapore is entering a phase of a renewal of its glorious past – or to quote Dr. Mohamed Aidil, a renaissance. What this means is that Malays will have to maintain their ability to function in their mother tongue, which should also be a vehicle of intellectuality and creativity, two qualities which are the hallmarks of Malay writings from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. That was the period prior to the modern era which saw a phenomenal growth of the Malay language through its literature and other genres. And as these writings were rendered in the Jawi script, it is clear to us that the coming of Islam to the Malay world was the most important factor that brought about this development, that is by giving literacy to the Malays, a skill which was denied to them before they became Muslims. The Jawi script did not restrict them to texts of the Islamic faith. With the Jawi-based literacy Malays began recording as much as they could narratives of various genres – native folk tales, and stories from other religions which came to their knowledge, such as those from Ramayana and Mahabharata of Hinduism, and the Jataka Tales from Buddhism, to mention a few. The great number of kitab in Malay written by Malays themselves for the purpose of teaching the tenets of Islam to the common folks may no longer be known to present-day Malays in Malaysia and Singapore, but they are still in use as texts for the teaching of Islam to Malays in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The language of the kitab is simple, as they were written for the comprehension of ordinary folks, although the translation of verses in Arabic may be baffling due to the word-for-word translation.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, Malaysia with the recommendation of a group of linguists embarked on a complete standardisation of the national language, Malay. The thinking behind this was that a fully standardised variety of Malay would bring prestige to the language (which could be called King’s Malay, analogous to Queen’s English). Thus was born the bahasa baku. As far as grammar was concerned, there was already a manual-cum-reference text which was widely used in schools. What was left to be done was the pronunciation, which was based on the way the language was spelt. Thus the sebutan baku came into being. The school had to change overnight to sebutan baku, replacing the erstwhile standard pronunciation. This took place in 1988. Only one TV station complied with the ruling in using the sebutan baku. People were confused with what they termed an outer space pronunciation. As for writers of creative literature, they were not happy in having to follow the rules of the grammar of the school manuals, which restricted their style, hence their creativity. However, the unnatural variety of standard Malay lasted for ten years, as its end came when the Cabinet Ministers made a ruling that standard Malay should revert back to the variety in use before 1988.

Today in the media, Malaysia adopts a pluricentric view, where TV and Radio stations can use the standard variety of the region where the station is located. And leaders appear to do well in their communication with the people when they are given this freedom of choice. This stance is an indication that Malaysia recognises that the Malay language could not have charted its history being a language of governance, diplomacy, and the spread of Islam, and having a large corpus of fine literary works and epistolary, if there had been only one centre of development. Just looking at the Malay Peninsula alone, there have been many centres of the development of the Malay language and literature, with each sultanate having its own, particularly before the formation of the Federation of Malaya in 1948. (See Asmah Haji Omar, Pluricentricity and Identity in the Malay World, in Rudolf Muhr/Benjamin Mesnitzer (eds.), Pluricentric Languages and New Dominant Varieties Worldwide: New Pluricentric Languages- Old Problems, Frankfurt a. M/Wien u.a.: Peter Lang, 2018, pp. 45-60).

The bahasa baku of Malaysia during its short life span appeared to have brought a whiff of change in the linguistic form of the Malay language of Singapore. In an interactive radio talk on a working visit to Singapore in 2012, I was asked by listeners, mostly Malay parents of school-going children, why their children were speaking a language that was strange to them. They were in a sense correct in pointing to Malaysia for that linguistic influence. And I had to inform them that Malaysia had realised the mistake she made and had abandoned that form of speaking in 1998.

The attitude of these parents should be taken as a feedback in the development of a variety of Malay that is specific to Singapore. While most Singaporeans speak the Johor variety of Malay at home, the variety they use officially appears to be that of the baku-type. It is normal in interactions using Malay in any part of Malaysia for speakers to shift from one variety to the other, for example from the national to the local standard, and from the local standard to a non-standard variety of the same dialect area. The use of local standard varieties is given a slot in the five o’clock news every day on TV1. From the Malaysian experience with bahasa baku, one can deduce that a variety of speech system is one that evolves from the users themselves. It is not one that is artificially invented and handed