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Introduction To Malaysian English

Malaysian English traces its origins to the 18th century British presence in Malaysia. During British colonial rule, English was used in public administration, law courts, and business. After independence in 1957, Malay became the official language and replaced English in government and education. Today, English remains important in private business, higher education, and media, though it has a distinct pronunciation from other varieties influenced by the local languages.

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86 views4 pages

Introduction To Malaysian English

Malaysian English traces its origins to the 18th century British presence in Malaysia. During British colonial rule, English was used in public administration, law courts, and business. After independence in 1957, Malay became the official language and replaced English in government and education. Today, English remains important in private business, higher education, and media, though it has a distinct pronunciation from other varieties influenced by the local languages.

Uploaded by

NEYLA SHAKIRA FADILLAH
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Introduction to Malaysian English

 The use of English in present day Malaysia traces its beginnings back to the British
presence in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Singapore, and Melaka from the
18th century. English was used in public administration, the law courts, and
business. An increasing number of English-medium schools were also established
during the British colonial period. Many of these were Christian mission schools. 
 When Malaysia (then Malaya) became independent in 1957, the Malay language
was made the national and official language. Malay began replacing English in
public administration and the courts, as well as replacing English as the medium of
instruction in national schools and public universities.

Improve: Today, English remains a compulsory subject up to the fifth form (15-16 years
old) in secondary schools. It is also still widely used in the private sector, business, private
higher education, and the media. There is now an increasing number of international
schools, private colleges, and universities where English is the medium of instruction. It is
also common to find both Malaysian print newspapers (e.g. The Star, The New Straits
Times, and The Malay Mail) and online news portals in English (e.g. Malaysiakini and
Free Malaysia Today). Unlike some countries, television programmes and movies in
English are not dubbed in Malay.

Pronounciation Model

KEYWORD  Symbol  KEYWORD  Symbol


 KIT  i  FLEECE  i
DRESS  ɛ  GOOSE  u
 TRAP  ɛ  PALM  ɑ
 BATH  ɑ  START  ɑ
 LOT  ɔ  NURSE  ə
 CLOTH  ɔ  NORTH  ɔ
 STRUT  ɑ  FORCE  ɔ
 FOOT  ʊ  THOUGHT  ɔ

 KEYWORD  Symbol  KEYWORD  Symbol


 NEAR  iə  HAPPY  i
 SQUARE  ɛ  LETTER  ə
CURE  ɔ
POOR   RABBIT  i
uə
 FACE  e  ADDED  i
 PRIDE  ai  BEAUTIFUL  ᵿ
 VOICE  ɔi  PIANO  i
 MOUTH  au  AGO  ɑ
 GOAT  o  BECAUSE  i

Key to Pronounciation: Malaysian English


The pronunciations given are those in use among educated urban speakers of standard
English in Malaysia. While avoiding strongly regionally or socially marked forms, the
pronunciations are intended to reflect some of the features common to the forms of
English spoken in Malaysia, although compromises have necessarily been made. The
keywords given in this key are to be understood as pronounced in such speech.

Improve: All words indicated as being associated with Malaysia are also given British
and American pronunciations alongside the Malaysian pronunciation(s). Where a word is
associated with an additional part of the English-speaking world, further pronunciations in
the appropriate global variety of English are also given.

Vowels

Singapore &
As in…
Malaysian English
i fleece, kit
ɛ dress, trap
ɑ father, start, cup
ɔ lot, hawk, cloth, force, cure 1
u foot, goose
uə poor 1
ə nurse, alpha, letter
iə here
ɛ square
e face
ai price
aʊ mouth
o goat
ɔi choice
In Malaysian English, there is a difference between words such as cure with /ɔ/ and words
such as poor, sure, and tour, all of which have /uə/.

Consonants

  As in…
b big /biɡ/
d dig /diɡ/
dʒ jet /dʒɛt/
f fig /fiɡ/
ɡ get /ɡɛt/
h head /hɛd/
j yes /jɛs/
k kit /kit/
l leg /lɛɡ/
m men /mɛn/
n net /nɛt/
ŋ wing /wiŋ/
p pit /pit/
r red /rɛd/
s sit /sit/
ʃ ship /ʃip/
t tip /tip/
tʃ chip /tʃip/
w win /win/
v vet /vɛt/
z zip /zip/
leisure /ˈlɛʒə/ (or similar)
ʒ

The British and American English sounds /θ/ and /ð/ are treated differently Singapore &
Malaysian English. Singapore & Malaysian English pronounces them as /t/ and /d/
respectively (thing /tiŋ/, though /do/), except word-final /ð/ becoming /t/ (breathe /brit/).

Unlike in many other varieties of English, consonants cannot take on the function of
vowels in Singapore & Malaysian English (there are no ‘syllabic consonants’).

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