What I want to do I do not do : On bi-and multilingual repertoires and linguistic dislocation in a border town

Ding, Seong Lin and Chee, Wei Han (2023) What I want to do I do not do : On bi-and multilingual repertoires and linguistic dislocation in a border town. Multilingua-Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, 42 (3). pp. 315-338. ISSN 0167-8507, DOI https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2021-0096.

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Abstract

Language problems and language barriers are challenges facing not only immigrants but also minorities and people in rural/semirural areas. This study examines individuals' bi- and multilingual repertoires, language practices and attitudes in a Hokkien-speaking community in Kangar, a semirural town of northern Malaysia bordering Thailand. Through questionnaire surveys and interviews, we investigate how these notions can be used as a means to understand/reflect bilingualism and multilingualism and, more importantly, the potential disparity between what people want to do/say and what people eventually manage to do/say. While there is a shift in language practice from a local- and ancestral origin-induced pattern towards a more ``global'' and ``pan-Chinese'' paradigm, the findings also reveal the linguistic ``dislocations'' of the Hokkien-speaking community across ALL generations regardless of ethnicity. The language issues in the community reflect-and are likely to be reflections of-society at large. The vast contrast between individual/societal linguistic aspirations and the actual linguistic repertoire/communicative competence among the locals indicates the need to redress an absence of major efforts to close urban-rural/city-town/dominant-dominated social divides across the (language) education landscape at the national level.

Item Type: Article
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: bi- and multilingualism; language attitude and ideology; language practice; linguistic dislocation; linguistic repertoire
Subjects: P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
Depositing User: Ms Zaharah Ramly
Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2024 08:02
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2024 08:02
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/39610

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