Discourse Particles in Malaysian English (original) (raw)

Ethnic and gender variation in the use of Colloquial Singapore English discourse particles

English Language and Linguistics

Discourse particles are among the most commented-upon features of Colloquial Singapore English (CSE). Their use has been shown to vary depending on formality, context, gender and ethnicity, although results differ from one study to another. This study uses the Corpus of Singapore English Messages (CoSEM), a large-scale corpus of texts composed by Singaporeans and sent using electronic messaging services, to investigate gender and ethnic factors as predictors of particle use. The results suggest a strong gender effect as well as several particle-specific ethnic effects. More generally, our study underlines the special nature of the grammatical class of discourse particles in CSE, which is open to new additions as the sociolinguistic and pragmatic need for them develops.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Discourse Particles in Filipino Computer Mediated Communication

As the English language continues to evolve through time, many of its structures and functions changed, which made it even realizable that the smallest unit in a discourse can play a crucial role in communication. Hence, this present study is an attempt to investigate the phenomenon and further delve into the discourse-pragmatic functions of discourse particles (DPs) in digital genres, particularly on Facebook, since DPs are commonly used by Filipino youths when posting and commenting online. Thirty tertiary-level students from different universities in Metro Manila, Philippines, were selected to participate in the present study. Using both qualitative and quasi-quantitative methods, results revealed a surprising number and interesting types of combined English and Filipino Relational DPs having several micro functions. Generally, they serve as a device that can let the interlocutors convey their emotions, relationships, and attitudes towards the receiver of their message. Discourse particles have crucial and prominent implications in the way Filipinos, particularly the youth, express their message, gain understanding of the received message, and establish speaker-receiver relationships and attitude on Facebook.

Indonesian discourse particles

2021

The aim of the present paper is an analysis of four most frequent Colloquial Indonesian discourse particles (lho, kok, sih and dong) and the comparison of their occurrences in both spontaneous spoken conversations as well as in written texts (articles from a youth magazine). The author's motivation for choosing the terms discourse particles (instead of for example pragmatic particles) is explained and a new definition of the phenomenon is proposed. First the particles' meanings as given in various dictionaries are presented, it is followed by examples from spontaneous conversations. Next, examples from written text are given, followed by an analysis of possible differences and similarities in meaning. Finally, the possible particles' meanings are presented as sample sentences using the explication method. In the Conclusions, the author makes an attempt at answering the question whether the discourse particles in Colloquial Indonesian can be considered to be a separate word class.

The sociolinguistic status of Malaysian English

Grazer Linguistische Studien, 2019

Background. Malaysia as a multilingual country has creoles and semicreoles which derive from varying competence in the various languages. One such variety is Malaysian (vernacular) English (ME), a semi-creole variant of English. While a similar variety of Singapore English ("Singlish"; SE) has been often described, ME has been more often omitted. However, the sociolinguistic situation of ME and SE is not the same. Material and method. Speakers of ME with Chinese L1 have been asked to produce sentences and dialogues. These data have been collected, transcribed and analyzed. This paper makes introductory remarks about the analysis. Analysis. ME diverges from English (EN) in many ways; substratal influences from Chinese languages (Ch.) and Malay (ML; including vernacular forms) can be identified. Conclusions. ME converges with local languages (Ch., ML) at all levels of grammar and blends into the Malaysian brand of Chinese languages and participates in what is called bahasa rojak (lit. language salad, language mixing). The actual realizations of ME utterances also depend on the level of linguistic competence in Standard English. The function of ME in multilingual Malaysia is that of a dialect and sociolect of English, providing a specific identity for multiethnic citizens, while Standard English is the educated, formal register. In this respect, ME is equivalent to Mandarin Chinese which partially adapted to the Malysian linguistic scenery and increasingly forms a roof language for the South Chinese languages .

Ethnolects and registers in Malaysian spoken vernaculars

Elena Kkese (ed.) 2023, Revisiting second language sociolinguistics: Case studies from across the globe, pp. 180-202. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing., 2023

Background. The multi-ethnic situation in Malaysia translates into a multilingualism with ethnic vernaculars and high convergence between the varieties, including spoken English, Malay, Chinese, and South-Sinitic idioms (disregarding many other languages here). Loanwords, syntactic structures and shared function words lead to communicative practices termed bahasa rojak ('language mix'). Material and method. In order to assess ethnolectal differences in the use of shared languages, the Malay function word kena is analyzed in the speech of ethnic Malays and Chinese, both in Bazaar Malay / Colloquial Malay / Baba Malay and in English. Analysis. Kena serves two functions, (a) as a modal verb 'must', (b) as a passive marker. It is used by Malays and Chinese in Bazaar Malay, but with some usage differences based on slightly different semantic interpretations of the word. For Chinese speakers, an alternative passive with the verb 'give' or 'kasi' is transferred onto English and Malay, respectively, obviously from a South Sinitic construction, but Malay speakers don't use this structure. Conclusions. It seems that spoken Malay and English are influenced by the longstanding presence of South Sinitic varieties. The two ethnic groups show small ethnolectal differences when speaking Malay or English. Due to the influence of education, younger speakers seem to reverse the achieved convergence to some degree in favor of the standard forms of the languages involved.