Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University

Multilinguals, consciously or unconsciously are often confronted with having to select one linguistic code over another from within their linguistic repertoires. The choice of a proper linguistic code enables effective communication and could also lead to the promotion of solidarity among interlocut...

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Main Author:	Granhemat, Mehdi
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2015
Subjects:	Language and languages
Online Access:	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/57855/1/FBMK%202015%2046RR.pdf
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id	my-upm-ir.57855
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spelling	my-upm-ir.578552017-10-24T04:49:27Z Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University 2015-06 Granhemat, Mehdi Multilinguals, consciously or unconsciously are often confronted with having to select one linguistic code over another from within their linguistic repertoires. The choice of a proper linguistic code enables effective communication and could also lead to the promotion of solidarity among interlocutors. The focus of this study was to describe the language choices of the Malaysian undergraduates in the five domains of language use, i.e. education, family, friendship, religion, and transaction. Furthermore, the study aimed to determine whether individual/social factors, such as age, gender, education background, ethnicity, language proficiency and ethnic identity exert any influence on the choice of languages of the Malaysian undergraduates in the investigated domains of language use. Fishman’s (1968,1972a, 1972) views on domain analysis, Giles and Smith’s (1979, 1973) Social Accommodation Theory (SAT), Tajfel and Turner’s (1986) Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Erikson’s Identity Theory were utilized as theoretical bases in order to conduct the study and answer the research questions. Based on a Random Proportional Stratified Sampling Strategy, a total of 498 undergraduate local students in a Malaysian public university were selected as respondents of the study. The respondents mostly belonged to three main ethnic groups, i.e. the Malays, Chinese,and Indians that together comprise Malaysian society. Also some other ethnic minority groups’ respondents as members of the Malaysian society were included in the study. Data about the demographic profiles of the respondents and the choices of languages in the domains of language use was collected through a self administrated questionnaire survey. SPSS software was used to run analyses such as computing mean scores of the respondents’ used languages. Besides, Chi-Square Test was used to find out the relationships between variables. According to the results, the linguistic situation in Malaysia is similar to a diglossic situation. Results of the study also point to the fact that younger generations of Malaysia are highly proficient in all four basic skills of the Malay language and the majority of them are fluent users of the English language as well. The factor of age was found to be a determinant of language use unless in the education domain. Besides, the factors of education profiles and ethnicity were found to be influential in the choice and use of linguistic codes among the Malaysian youths. But gender was not found to be a determinant of language choice at all. Language proficiency was not a determinant of language choice except in case of the Malay language in the religion and transaction domains. In conclusion, it seems that in multilingual contexts the choice of language is a concomitant of any social interaction. Language and languages 2015-06 Thesis http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/57855/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/57855/1/FBMK%202015%2046RR.pdf application/pdf en public phd doctoral Universiti Putra Malaysia Language and languages
institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
collection	PSAS Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	Language and languages
spellingShingle	Language and languages Granhemat, Mehdi Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University
description	Multilinguals, consciously or unconsciously are often confronted with having to select one linguistic code over another from within their linguistic repertoires. The choice of a proper linguistic code enables effective communication and could also lead to the promotion of solidarity among interlocutors. The focus of this study was to describe the language choices of the Malaysian undergraduates in the five domains of language use, i.e. education, family, friendship, religion, and transaction. Furthermore, the study aimed to determine whether individual/social factors, such as age, gender, education background, ethnicity, language proficiency and ethnic identity exert any influence on the choice of languages of the Malaysian undergraduates in the investigated domains of language use. Fishman’s (1968,1972a, 1972) views on domain analysis, Giles and Smith’s (1979, 1973) Social Accommodation Theory (SAT), Tajfel and Turner’s (1986) Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Erikson’s Identity Theory were utilized as theoretical bases in order to conduct the study and answer the research questions. Based on a Random Proportional Stratified Sampling Strategy, a total of 498 undergraduate local students in a Malaysian public university were selected as respondents of the study. The respondents mostly belonged to three main ethnic groups, i.e. the Malays, Chinese,and Indians that together comprise Malaysian society. Also some other ethnic minority groups’ respondents as members of the Malaysian society were included in the study. Data about the demographic profiles of the respondents and the choices of languages in the domains of language use was collected through a self administrated questionnaire survey. SPSS software was used to run analyses such as computing mean scores of the respondents’ used languages. Besides, Chi-Square Test was used to find out the relationships between variables. According to the results, the linguistic situation in Malaysia is similar to a diglossic situation. Results of the study also point to the fact that younger generations of Malaysia are highly proficient in all four basic skills of the Malay language and the majority of them are fluent users of the English language as well. The factor of age was found to be a determinant of language use unless in the education domain. Besides, the factors of education profiles and ethnicity were found to be influential in the choice and use of linguistic codes among the Malaysian youths. But gender was not found to be a determinant of language choice at all. Language proficiency was not a determinant of language choice except in case of the Malay language in the religion and transaction domains. In conclusion, it seems that in multilingual contexts the choice of language is a concomitant of any social interaction.
format	Thesis
qualification_name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Granhemat, Mehdi
author_facet	Granhemat, Mehdi
author_sort	Granhemat, Mehdi
title	Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University
title_short	Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University
title_full	Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University
title_fullStr	Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University
title_full_unstemmed	Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University
title_sort	language choice and use among undergraduates at a malaysian public university
granting_institution	Universiti Putra Malaysia
publishDate	2015
url	http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/57855/1/FBMK%202015%2046RR.pdf
_version_	1747812186413072384

Language choice and use among undergraduates at a Malaysian public University

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