Jawi, an endangered orthography in the Malaysian linguistic landscape

Coluzzi, Paolo (2022) Jawi, an endangered orthography in the Malaysian linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism, 19 (4). pp. 630-646. ISSN 1479-0718, DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2020.1784178.

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Abstract

Jawi is the orthography in which Malay has been written since the Middle Ages, when it was adapted from the Arabic script. Introduced by Muslim traders, it was adapted to Malay phonology using diacritics that modified six letters. It was used until the Roman script (Rumi) brought in by European traders and colonisers began to supplant it in the nineteenth century. In spite of that, Jawi still appears in the linguistic landscape of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Pattani (Thailand). For this article snapshots have been taken of different shop signs using Jawi in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Kota Bharu (Malaysia). After an introduction to the structure and use of Jawi and the multilingual and `multiscriptal' linguistic landscape in Malaysia, the significance of Jawi in the Malay Archipelago and its mainly symbolic use in the linguistic landscape are discussed. To complement the analysis, a quantitative survey carried out among a sample of Malaysian undergraduate students and a qualitative one among a small sample of teachers and lecturers in one Malaysian university on their attitudes towards the use of Jawi are also discussed. The article closes with some considerations and suggestions for the possible revival of Jawi.

Item Type: Article
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: Arabic script; Jawi; Linguistic landscape; Malay
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
Divisions: Faculty of Languages and Linguistics
Depositing User: Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim
Date Deposited: 30 Aug 2023 04:13
Last Modified: 30 Aug 2023 04:13
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/41030

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