The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians
This paper examines the complexities of using English in a bilingual context. It looks at some common forms of repetitions and reduplications that exist among speakers of the Malay and Tamil languages in Malaysia which is easily transferred into their English discourse. While most proficient speaker...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Language Society and Culture, University of Tasmania, Australia
2007
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| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1087/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1087/1/The%2BUse%2Bof%2BRepetitive%2BStructures%2Bamong%2BMalaysians%2B%2528abstract%2529.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848834686969708544 |
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| author | Nadarajan, Shanthi |
| author_facet | Nadarajan, Shanthi |
| author_sort | Nadarajan, Shanthi |
| building | UNIMAS Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper examines the complexities of using English in a bilingual context. It looks at some common forms of repetitions and reduplications that exist among speakers of the Malay and Tamil languages in Malaysia which is easily transferred into their English discourse. While most proficient speakers of English generally recognize it as awkward and inaccurate word use, the message is generally understood and accepted due to the cross cultural mix of the society. Less proficient speakers are either unaware of the awkward structure or ambivalent to its usage. The first part of the article sets out to investigate the various forms of reduplications that exist in Malay and Tamil and how such forms are used in the learners’ discourse. The second part explains the semantic and syntactical organization that enables such forms to be repeated meaningfully. It further explores the reasons for people wanting to retain such repetitive structures despite realizing its inaccurateness and calls for some level of
flexibility in the way English should be used in second language environments. The article has implications
for both bilingual education and socio cultural identities. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T05:55:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | unimas-1087 |
| institution | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T05:55:56Z |
| publishDate | 2007 |
| publisher | Language Society and Culture, University of Tasmania, Australia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | unimas-10872015-10-05T05:04:04Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1087/ The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians Nadarajan, Shanthi AC Collections. Series. Collected works This paper examines the complexities of using English in a bilingual context. It looks at some common forms of repetitions and reduplications that exist among speakers of the Malay and Tamil languages in Malaysia which is easily transferred into their English discourse. While most proficient speakers of English generally recognize it as awkward and inaccurate word use, the message is generally understood and accepted due to the cross cultural mix of the society. Less proficient speakers are either unaware of the awkward structure or ambivalent to its usage. The first part of the article sets out to investigate the various forms of reduplications that exist in Malay and Tamil and how such forms are used in the learners’ discourse. The second part explains the semantic and syntactical organization that enables such forms to be repeated meaningfully. It further explores the reasons for people wanting to retain such repetitive structures despite realizing its inaccurateness and calls for some level of flexibility in the way English should be used in second language environments. The article has implications for both bilingual education and socio cultural identities. Language Society and Culture, University of Tasmania, Australia 2007 Article NonPeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1087/1/The%2BUse%2Bof%2BRepetitive%2BStructures%2Bamong%2BMalaysians%2B%2528abstract%2529.pdf Nadarajan, Shanthi (2007) The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians. The International Journal of Language Society and Culture. http://www.educ.utas.edu.au/ |
| spellingShingle | AC Collections. Series. Collected works Nadarajan, Shanthi The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians |
| title | The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians |
| title_full | The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians |
| title_fullStr | The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians |
| title_short | The Use of Repetitive Structures among Malaysians |
| title_sort | use of repetitive structures among malaysians |
| topic | AC Collections. Series. Collected works |
| url | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1087/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1087/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/1087/1/The%2BUse%2Bof%2BRepetitive%2BStructures%2Bamong%2BMalaysians%2B%2528abstract%2529.pdf |