The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates
Despite the increasing prominence of English as a world lingua franca, there is little research on how the use of English affects the identities of Malaysian speakers. Asmah Haji Omar observed that interest in language and identity seemed to be confined to studies on national identity. A doctoral...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit UKM
2010
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2324/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2324/1/page1_21.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848809833490284544 |
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| author | Lee, Su Kim, Lee, King Siong, Wong, Fook Fei, Azizah Ya’acob, |
| author_facet | Lee, Su Kim, Lee, King Siong, Wong, Fook Fei, Azizah Ya’acob, |
| author_sort | Lee, Su Kim, |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Despite the increasing prominence of English as a world lingua franca, there is
little research on how the use of English affects the identities of Malaysian speakers.
Asmah Haji Omar observed that interest in language and identity seemed to be confined
to studies on national identity. A doctoral study by Lee Su Kim of the identity of
Malaysian speakers of English found that there was resentment in certain localized
contexts amongst the Malay respondents in the study towards the use of English.
Expressions of resentment and ambivalence towards the use of the English language were
also prevalent amongst the non-Malay respondents within certain contexts. This
paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study which sets out to investigate
the impact of English on the identities of young Malaysian undergraduates in selected
private and public universities in Malaysia. Using qualitative methods, this research study
essentially takes off from Lee Su Kim’s doctoral research study, and aims to explore on a
larger scale the role of English in the identity construction of a younger Malaysian cohort
from both public and private universities. The findings presented here are from a few
selected case studies that provide the qualitative data. The discussion will focus on how
different multilingual Malaysian undergraduates regard English vis a vis the other
languages in their repertoire and how it has affected their identity constructions and
everyday negotiations. Three dominant themes arising from the findings will be
discussed, 1) Multilingualism with English emerging as the dominant language, 2)
English viewed as a pragmatic language and a language of empowerment, and 3) Varying
degrees of ‘othering’. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T23:20:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:2324 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T23:20:54Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Penerbit UKM |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:23242016-12-14T06:31:17Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2324/ The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates Lee, Su Kim, Lee, King Siong, Wong, Fook Fei, Azizah Ya’acob, Despite the increasing prominence of English as a world lingua franca, there is little research on how the use of English affects the identities of Malaysian speakers. Asmah Haji Omar observed that interest in language and identity seemed to be confined to studies on national identity. A doctoral study by Lee Su Kim of the identity of Malaysian speakers of English found that there was resentment in certain localized contexts amongst the Malay respondents in the study towards the use of English. Expressions of resentment and ambivalence towards the use of the English language were also prevalent amongst the non-Malay respondents within certain contexts. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study which sets out to investigate the impact of English on the identities of young Malaysian undergraduates in selected private and public universities in Malaysia. Using qualitative methods, this research study essentially takes off from Lee Su Kim’s doctoral research study, and aims to explore on a larger scale the role of English in the identity construction of a younger Malaysian cohort from both public and private universities. The findings presented here are from a few selected case studies that provide the qualitative data. The discussion will focus on how different multilingual Malaysian undergraduates regard English vis a vis the other languages in their repertoire and how it has affected their identity constructions and everyday negotiations. Three dominant themes arising from the findings will be discussed, 1) Multilingualism with English emerging as the dominant language, 2) English viewed as a pragmatic language and a language of empowerment, and 3) Varying degrees of ‘othering’. Penerbit UKM 2010 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2324/1/page1_21.pdf Lee, Su Kim, and Lee, King Siong, and Wong, Fook Fei, and Azizah Ya’acob, (2010) The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 10 (1). pp. 87-101. ISSN 1675-8021 http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/Gema/GEMA%202010/pp%2087_101.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Lee, Su Kim, Lee, King Siong, Wong, Fook Fei, Azizah Ya’acob, The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates |
| title | The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates |
| title_full | The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates |
| title_fullStr | The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates |
| title_full_unstemmed | The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates |
| title_short | The English Language and its impact on identities of multilingual Malaysian undergraduates |
| title_sort | english language and its impact on identities of multilingual malaysian undergraduates |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2324/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2324/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2324/1/page1_21.pdf |