Factors Related to Language Shift Among the Tindal Population in Ratau, Kota Belud, Sabah
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Catalyst ISSN: 0905 - 6931, Volume 7, No. 1, 2012 Institute Press Factors Related to Language Shift among the Tindal Population in Ratau, Kota Belud, Sabah Jimmy Kijai, Ritha Maidom Lampadan, and Daron Benjamin Loo Abstract This research serves as a preliminary analysis of the language situation of Tindal, a Dusunic language spoken in Kampung Ratau, Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia. For the past several years, it has been observed that the use of the mother tongue of the community, Tindal, has steadily declined while the domain of Bahasa Malaysia (BM), the national language, has increasingly widened. A survey was administered to selected residents of Kampung Ratau to determine language use and their perception of the economic and social functionality of Tindal and Bahasa Malaysia. The results indicate that there is indeed a language shift between the older and younger residents of Kampung Ratau with the older ones predominantly using Tindal while the younger ones primarily use Bahasa Malaysia in their daily communication. Overall, the respondents think Tindal is an important cultural marker to preserve their identity, both in the present and for the future. They agree that the continuous use of Tindal will ensure the longevity of the language. Though the speakers of Tindal do acknowledge the vital role they play in preserving this minority language, they are also aware that a proficient grasp of Malay is necessary. Most respondents view BM as important since it is the accepted medium which allows them to fully function socially and economically. The dilemma for the residents of Kampung Ratau is that they are being torn between preserving Tindal, their mother tongue, and subordinating it to the more dominant Bahasa Malaysia, the national language. This, unfortunately, is a shared concern affecting many other minor ethnic language communities in Malaysia. Key words: language shift, Tindal, Sabah, Bahasa Malaysia Introduction Malaysia has 139 languages of which 98 are spoken primarily in East Malaysia – Sabah and Sarawak (Ethnologue, 2009). The presence of varying tongues in the country led to the need for a selection of alingua franca for communication. Since Malay has always been thelingua franca in the region, and the Malays have long held political dominance in the country, Malay was selected as the sole official language of the newly independent Malaysia (Wong & James, 2000). To achieve integration, the nation’s policy makers decided on a National language. Malaysia’s National Language Policy, as stated in Article 152 of the country’s Constitution, positions Malay or BM as the only national language of the country from the time of Independence (Omar, 1985, p. 41). After joining Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963 to form the Federation of Malaysia, Sabah placed emphasis on acquiring the national language. For the sake of social and economic progress, as well as assimilating into the fast-growing Malaysian culture, Kadazan/Dusun parents began to use BM in their homes (Lasimbang, 1996). According to Lasimbang and Kinajil (2000), by early 1980s, the Kadazan/Dusun community began to see telltale signs of language loss , an early sign of language shift. They attributed this shifting away of the the Kadasan/Dusun language chains to modernization and development (p. 416). Language shift occurs when a particular linguistic community gradually replaces the local dialect with another language which is perceived as more prestigious or dominant (Lee, 2008; Trudgill, 2000). It is a linguistic event that has become a serious concern to sociolinguists and informed community members as it tends to signal eventual language loss and death (Mackey, 1980, p.68). Understanding what motivates such shift might give communities strategies for successful language revitalization efforts; or at the very least, 4 assist them in recognizing when such efforts should be seriously considered and when language should be allowed its own course. In the village of Ratau, in the District of Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia, the use of Tindal, the mother tongue of the community, appears to have declined over the years. Instead, the use of Bahasa Malaysia (BM), the lingua franca of Malaysia, has slowly gained dominance. In this paper, we report the findings of a study designed to examine the attitudes of selected residents of Kampung Ratau about their use of Tindal and BM to determine (a) if there is a language shift, and (b) the factors that may have influenced this language shift. It is hoped that this study will provide some understanding of the dynamics between the uses of BM and Tindal. Tindal is a variety of the Dusunic language family, a subgroup of the Austronesian language family (Ethnologue, 2009). Tindal, which means “people who have come out from the earth,” is a coastal Dusunic language, where it is spoken along the west coast of Sabah, primarily in the Kota Belud area (Robinson, 2006). Tindal is often used interchangeably with the name Dusun. One should note here that “Kadazan” and “Dusun” are terms used by different groups of people who speak varieties of the Dusunic language. In fact, Kadazandusun has been used as a general term for all languages in the Dusunic language family (Lasimbang & Kinajil, 2000, p.415). Literature Review Most literature on language shift examines factors that motivate the shift, and those factors can basically be divided into two categories: internal and external. The internal factors refer to those elements that lie within the speech community while the external ones are those residing outside (David & Dealwis, 2008). In their report of a study on language shift in Sabah and Sarawak, David and Dealwis (2008) listed urbanization, increased mobility, and education as macro level language shift factors. Micro level language shift factors involve exogamous marriages, locality, network density, language attitudes, and the lack of a lingua franca. Crawford (1996), on the other hand, maintains that language shift is mainly internally directed and is reflective of changes in social and cultural values within the linguistic community. However, he readily acknowledges that the internal changes are often a reaction to external pressures, and refers to factors cited by Fishman (1991) as “dislocations”. Dislocations are caused by a number of factors such as demographic factors (mobility and intermarriages), economic factors (employment and commerce), mass media, social identifiers or role models for the young people (Crawford, 1996, pp. 57-58). Macro Level Language Shift Factors Urbanization and Increased Mobility In general, movement from the rural to urban areas is seen as an act of increasing opportunities for better life. In an area where different languages are spoken, such movement usually affects the speakers’ choice of language. The movement is always toward one that is closely associated with socioeconomic progress (Abas, 2005; Borbely, 2000; Holmes, 2008; Morita, 2007). In order to fit into the new environment, ethnic minorities are compelled to adapt to a new lingua franca. This usually results in the narrowing of the use of the mother tongue to home domain only (David & Dealwis, 2008). Ultimately, those working and living in the urban areas find themselves using the dominant language in their social network at the expense of their mother tongue. In relation to socioeconomic factors, Kershaw (1992), who conducted a study on the Dusuns in Brunei, attributed language shift to the changes in the socioeconomic landscape of a speech community. His study revealed that today’s younger generation is not exposed to the “elements” which require the use of the native language. These elements include an agrarian atmosphere in which agricultural occupation was the norm. With more career choices, many Dusuns in Brunei have progressed from being farmers to civil servants. The success of the pioneering Dusuns in ‘upgrading’ their lives is an encouragement to others to follow in their footsteps. Education In a multilingual society, the language chosen as the medium of instructions in educational institutions will attract the efforts of non-native speakers to acquire it. The motivation for such behavior is obvious--to succeed in academics. Based on a study done in Sabah where the medium of instruction in school is BM, 5 Lasimbang (1997) reported that parents, in efforts to ensure that their children will do well in schools, have resorted to communicating to their children in BM as a way to assist them master the language. Martin (2005) observed the same phenomenon in Brunei. Many parents admitted that they used Malay at home instead of their own mother tongue because Malay is the medium of instruction in schools. Other studies concur with this finding (Anonby, 1999; Borbely, 2000; David, 2003, 2008; Morita, 2007). Micro Level Language Shift Exogamous Marriages A number of research studies show that exogamous marriages are influential in shaping the linguistics environment at home. This leads to language shift (Borberly, 2000; David, 2003, 2008; Martin, 2008; Martin & Yen, 1992). In situations where spouses come from different linguistic background, there is a clear need to establish a common language for the home. In some situations, a linguistic compromise is made which often does not include the use of either spouse’s mother tongue. In other situations, one of them will adopt the spouse’s language if it is the dominant one in the society. Both situations involve a lack of mother tongue usage which discourages the maintenance of such language (Lasimbang, 1996). In the case of mixed marriages among the Kelabits, Martin and Yen (1992) discovered that 65% communicated in English while 15% did so in Malay. Among all the respondents, regardless of the ethnicity of the spouses, 45% reported the use of English as a main means of communication, followed by 33% who used Kelabit and 15% who used Malay. In Martin’s (2005) study on the Belait community in Brunei, findings indicated that 95% of the parents stated that Malay was used with their children.