Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting
The national language is an assimilation instrument for fostering racial unity in a multi-ethnic society. Nonetheless, ethnocentrism always plays a crucial role in upholding the national language across ethnic groups in Malaysia. A study in Malaysian higher education institutions (HEI) was conducted...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
USIM Press
2024
|
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117234/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117234/1/117233.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848867195791081472 |
|---|---|
| author | Mohd Tohar, Siti Nor Azhani Ab Halim, Adlina Mat Yacob, Siti Nor Baya |
| author_facet | Mohd Tohar, Siti Nor Azhani Ab Halim, Adlina Mat Yacob, Siti Nor Baya |
| author_sort | Mohd Tohar, Siti Nor Azhani |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The national language is an assimilation instrument for fostering racial unity in a multi-ethnic society. Nonetheless, ethnocentrism always plays a crucial role in upholding the national language across ethnic groups in Malaysia. A study in Malaysian higher education institutions (HEI) was conducted on 407 undergraduate students from Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Selangor (UNISEL), and Multimedia University (MMU) using stratified random sampling to determine the differences in upholding the national language based on ethnic groups through three key dimensions, namely, i) fluency in speaking in the national language, ii) recognition of the importance of the national language, and iii) sophistication in the use of the national language. The results showed that there were significant differences in the upholding of the national language among the various ethnic groups. It was found that the Chinese students do not uphold the national language as much as the Malay and Indian students. This indicates that ethnicity plays a major role in determining the future of upholding the national language as the language of Malaysia. As Malaysian citizenship, ethnocentrism toward language should be managed to ensure assimilation of a multi-ethnic society through the most important medium, the Malay language as the national language of Malaysia. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:32:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-117234 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T14:32:39Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | USIM Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-1172342025-05-05T06:34:17Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117234/ Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting Mohd Tohar, Siti Nor Azhani Ab Halim, Adlina Mat Yacob, Siti Nor Baya The national language is an assimilation instrument for fostering racial unity in a multi-ethnic society. Nonetheless, ethnocentrism always plays a crucial role in upholding the national language across ethnic groups in Malaysia. A study in Malaysian higher education institutions (HEI) was conducted on 407 undergraduate students from Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Selangor (UNISEL), and Multimedia University (MMU) using stratified random sampling to determine the differences in upholding the national language based on ethnic groups through three key dimensions, namely, i) fluency in speaking in the national language, ii) recognition of the importance of the national language, and iii) sophistication in the use of the national language. The results showed that there were significant differences in the upholding of the national language among the various ethnic groups. It was found that the Chinese students do not uphold the national language as much as the Malay and Indian students. This indicates that ethnicity plays a major role in determining the future of upholding the national language as the language of Malaysia. As Malaysian citizenship, ethnocentrism toward language should be managed to ensure assimilation of a multi-ethnic society through the most important medium, the Malay language as the national language of Malaysia. USIM Press 2024-05-31 Article PeerReviewed text en cc_by_4 http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117234/1/117233.pdf Mohd Tohar, Siti Nor Azhani and Ab Halim, Adlina and Mat Yacob, Siti Nor Baya (2024) Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting. Sains Insani, 9 (1). pp. 14-23. ISSN 0127-7871 https://sainsinsani.usim.edu.my/index.php/sainsinsani/article/view/607 10.33102/sainsinsani.vol9no1.607 |
| spellingShingle | Mohd Tohar, Siti Nor Azhani Ab Halim, Adlina Mat Yacob, Siti Nor Baya Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting |
| title | Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting |
| title_full | Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting |
| title_fullStr | Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting |
| title_short | Ethnicity versus national language: a study in Malaysian universities setting |
| title_sort | ethnicity versus national language: a study in malaysian universities setting |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117234/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117234/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117234/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/117234/1/117233.pdf |