Capturing Bilingual Practices of the Bidayuh
This paper discusses an anthropological framework to examine language shift among the Bidayuh, a polyglossic community located in the south-western part of Sarawak, Borneo. The framework captures speakers’ variations in language choice patterns and their bilingual- /multilingual practices. Langua...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Global Council on Anthropological Linguistics
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/43953/1/5-2-1-Capturing-the-bilingual-practices-of-the-Bidayuh-1-3.pdf http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/43953/ https://jala.pub/v5-i2/ |
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| Institution: | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | This paper discusses an anthropological framework to examine language shift among the
Bidayuh, a polyglossic community located in the south-western part of Sarawak, Borneo. The
framework captures speakers’ variations in language choice patterns and their bilingual-
/multilingual practices. Language choice data was collected through interviews with 61
respondents, and participant observation of language choice of the respondents in various
settings.
The results of the study indicate that language shift is primarily a consequence of subtractive
bilingual practices. Taking the Bidayuh language situation as an example, the paper contends
that speakers’ bi-/multilingual practices are central in the assessment and prediction of language
shift in communities. Considered in this light, the macro-view of language choice patterns of a
community as primary evidence of the progression of language shift in communities should then
be considered with caution. |
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