INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

Kulliyyah of Languages & Management

Sociolinguistics

ENCO 2102

SEM 1, 2014/2015

Sociolinguistics Research

NAME : NUR FARHANAH ZAINAL (1310062)

SECTION :1
LECTURERS NAME : PROF. DR. NURAIHAN MAT DAUD
 Language Maintenance:
An Examination of Language Usage among the Indonesians living in
Malaysia

Nur Farhanah Zainal

Abstract

Migration is one of the factors that influence the language maintenance of a speech community.

Even though many researchers have studied on the language maintenance among the immigrants

in Malaysia, only a few studies can be found on the Indonesian community (Cheng, 2003; David

& Faridah, 1999; Khemlani-David, 1991; Mukherjee, 2003). Hence, this current study focused

on language maintenance among the Indonesians who are currently living in Malaysia. A set of

questionnaire was used by the researcher to collect the data regarding the role played by

language attitude and practices on language maintenance from 28 Indonesians respondents living

in Malaysia. The result of this study showed that language attitude and practices have positive

relationship with language maintenance. It is recommended that further research be made on

language maintenance between different genders or age groups of the immigrants.

Table of Contents

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 1
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 4

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 7

1.1 Chapter overview .................................................................................................................. 7
1.2 Background of the study ....................................................................................................... 7
1.3 Statement of the problem ...................................................................................................... 9
1.4 Significance of the study ....................................................................................................... 9
1.5 Research question ................................................................................................................ 11
1.6 Research objective............................................................................................................... 11
1.7 Scope of the study ............................................................................................................... 11
1.8 Operational definition ......................................................................................................... 12
1.9 Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................ 13
1.10 Chapter summary and conclusion ..................................................................................... 13

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 14

2.1 Chapter overview ................................................................................................................ 14
2.2 Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory (ELIT) .............................................................................. 15
2.3 Construct development: language attitude, practices and language maintenance .............. 16
2.3.1 Language attitude and the effect on language maintenance ........................................ 16
2.3.2 Language practices and the effect on language maintenance ...................................... 17
2.4 The gap of the study: language maintenance among the immigrants ................................. 19
2.5 Conceptual framework ........................................................................................................ 19
2.6 Chapter summary and conclusion ....................................................................................... 21

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 22

3.1 Chapter overview ................................................................................................................ 22
3.2 Research design ................................................................................................................... 22
 3.3 Scale development............................................................................................................... 24
3.4 Operationalization of the instruments ................................................................................. 25
3.4.1 Questionnaire development .......................................................................................... 25
3.5 Sampling.............................................................................................................................. 25
3.5.1 Sampling frame ............................................................................................................. 25
3.5.2 Sampling technique....................................................................................................... 26
3.5.3 Data collection procedures .......................................................................................... 26
3.6 Data analysis ....................................................................................................................... 28
3.6.1 Data analysis tools ....................................................................................................... 28
3.7 Chapter summary and conclusion ....................................................................................... 29

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................ 30

4.1 Chapter overview ................................................................................................................ 30
4.2 Descriptive statistics ............................................................................................................ 30
4.3 Inferential statistics ............................................................................................................. 32
4.4 Discussion: Language attitude and practices ...................................................................... 33
4.4.1 Language attitude ......................................................................................................... 33
4.4.2 Language practices....................................................................................................... 33
4.5 Chapter summary and conclusion ....................................................................................... 34

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................... 35

4.1 Chapter overview ................................................................................................................ 35
4.2 Implications ......................................................................................................................... 36
4.2.1 Theoretical implications ............................................................................................... 36
4.2.2 Practitioner implications .............................................................................................. 36
4.3 Limitations .......................................................................................................................... 36
4.4 Recommendations for future research................................................................................. 37

References ..................................................................................................................................... 38
Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 43
 Appendix 1: Gantt chart of research activities .......................................................................... 43
Appendix 2: Questionnaire........................................................................................................ 44
Appendix 3: Charts for demographic data ................................................................................ 51

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 The model of conceptual framework for the research 17

Figure 2 Research Design 20

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Demographic data of the respondents 28

Table 2 Result for reliability analysis for language practices 29

Table 3 Result for reliability analysis for language attitude 29

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Chapter overview

This chapter examines and discusses selected core problem and potential contributions of

this study on the examination of language usage among the Indonesians living in Malaysia. It

elaborates the background to the problem and context of the research, outlines the focus and

scope of the research, and explains the motivation for conducting this study. The issue discussed

by previous researches concerning the language maintenance among the immigrants is

addressed. The chapter then summarizes the contributions of the study and discusses the

importance of the present research.

1.2 Background of the study

Language is one of the main aspects in culture and it plays an important role in portraying

ones identity (Ochs, 1993). Language is one of the major determinants in indicating ones

background as well as origin. It has also been considered as a vital tool for communicating and

socializing with people (Schieffelin & Ochs, 1986). It is used by people regardless of age, gender

and races. Even the disable people who are mute and deaf possessed their own language which is

known as the sign language. Language can be acquired, shifted and also loss due to many

reasons and one of them is migration to a new place (Song, 2010).

Most people acquired, shifted or loss their native languages when they moved to a new

place as they tried to adapt with the new environment and connect with the local people (Tseng
& Fuligni, 2000). In order to be accepted by the major population in a society, some tend to

perceive their native language negatively and neglect the importance of preserving the origin

language inherited from their ancestors. Hence, it can be seen that ones language may shift to

other language as a result of migration to a new surrounding that is different from the ordinary

environment.

According to Fishman (1972), the language used in the communities that apply more than

one language depends greatly on two main indicators which are change or stability in the actual

language usage. Nevertheless, the speech communities that employ more than one language

normally categorized the various languages under low or high variety language (Ferguson,

1959). The high variety languages are the languages used by majority of the population whereas

the low variety languages will be the ones used by the minority groups. Based on Giles (1977)

and Kibrik (1991), the high variety language typically possessed a greater opportunity to be the

language used at home.

Besides that, individuals who married with partners from the same language community

will be likely to preserve the low status language compared to those who involved in mixed

marriages (Giles, 1977; Kibrik, 1991). For instance, Malaysia comprises of various people from

different ethnic groups and some of them can even trace their origin to the neighbors countries

like Indonesia. This has occurred due to the migration of the Indonesians to Malaysia and some

of them have married with the local people and successfully built a family. Notwithstanding,

there are some of the Indonesian communities who still practiced their language and culture

mostly due to localization of the community in particular areas in Malaysia (Yusuf, Pillai &

Mohd Ali, 2013). Thus, it clearly shows that language may be shifted or maintained due to

various reasons such as usage of the language at home and marriage.

1.3 Statement of the problem

Despite a growing number of researches focused on language maintenance and shift

among the immigrants in Malaysia (Chinese, Bengali, Sindhis, Portuguese), the Indonesian

community has received little attention in the literature related to this issue (Cheng, 2003; David,

1991; David & Faridah, 1999; Mukherjee, 2003). Hence, the researcher has considered it

necessary to perform a research on the topic of language maintenance among the Indonesians

who are living in Malaysia.

1.4 Significance of the study

This present study will have both theoretical and practical significances to the previous

scholars as well as the practitioners, which is specifically focusing on the Indonesian community

living in Malaysia. First and foremost, this study will contribute to the Ethnolinguistic Identity

Theory by Giles and Johnson (1987) as it will discover the language usage of the Indonesian

communities living in Malaysia.

Secondly, this research will provide an important understanding on the role of language

practices as well as attitudes in preserving the native language among the minority groups.

Specifically, this study will complement the research done by Pillai, Soh and Kajita (2014) on

the relationship between language maintenance and the language practice among the minority

group of Malacca Portuguese in Malaysia. While the past study has investigated the language

practices and maintenance among the Malacca Portuguese, this study will explore the language
maintenance among the Indonesian community presently living in Malaysia. Therefore, this

research is crucial as it will be conducted to fill the gap of the previous research.

Thirdly, from the practitioners standpoint, this research is very important to enlighten the

Indonesians regarding the importance of practicing and preserving the native language. It is

undeniable that Indonesian language is categorized under the low variety language in Malaysia

due to the usage that has been limited to only the minority group. However, the Indonesians need

to maintain their origin language and be aware of the importance of preserving it as language

played a significant role in portraying ones social identity (Ochs, 1993; Reyhner & Tennant,

1995). Hence, this research will be of great importance to the Indonesians communities who are

staying in Malaysia as it assists in increasing their awareness to preserve their native language.

Finally, this research will also assist the Indonesians to realize that in order to preserve

their native language, they need to possess positive attitudes towards the language. This is

essential to maintain and preserve the language which is needed by the speakers in order to learn

and know their historical background (Schleppegrell & Achugar, 2003). The lack of the native

language will make it difficult for the elders to teach the young generations regarding their

history, beliefs, values as well as the cultural norms of their communities. As a consequence, this

may lead to a cultural gap for all future generations. Thus, this study will aid the immigrants

specifically the Indonesians to maintain and preserve the existence of their cultural values and

beliefs through language maintenance by enhancing their attitude towards their native language.
1.5 Research question

This current research will be guided by the following research questions:

1. What is the role played by language attitude in maintaining the native language of the

Indonesians currently staying in Malaysia?

2. What are the language practices that facilitate the maintenance of native language

possessed by Indonesians who are living in Malaysia?

1.6 Research objective

The first objective of this research is to explore the role of language attitude in

influencing language maintenance among the Indonesians currently staying in Malaysia while

the second objective is to investigate language practices that assist in maintaining the native

language among the Indonesians living in Malaysia.

1.7 Scope of the study

It is worth noting that with the aim to achieve clarity and focus, a few aspects have to be

excluded in this study. In this research paper, the researcher will examine the language usage

among the Indonesians living in Malaysia. It is important to note that the population will be

selected from the states in Peninsula Malaysia and not from the states of Sabah and Sarawak. As

such, it may not be appropriate to generalize the result of this study to the whole Indonesians

population living in Malaysia.

 This current study will also be focusing on the language attitude and practices among the

Indonesians in influencing the maintenance of the native language. Hence, this study would not

take other factors into consideration such as the age, gender and educational level of the

individuals when selecting the samplings. The findings of the study should be interpreted within

the boundaries of the stated contexts.

1.8 Operational definition

In this current study, several important terms will be defined operationally by the

researcher and one of the terms is language maintenance. According to Habtoor (2012), language

maintenance can be described as the situation in which the speech communities continue to apply

their native language despite of living in the conditions that might influence them to shift to the

host language of the new place. Then, the second term which is language attitude can be

understood as the speakers disposition whether favorable or unfavorable towards the language

that they possessed (Bartley, 1969). The next term that the researcher deems to highlight in this

research is language practices, which can be referred to as the usage of heritage language during

the existed opportunities and activities which required them to apply their heritage language

(Yoshida, 2007). These three terms that have been defined will be used frequently throughout

this study.
1.9 Theoretical framework

This current study will be conducted by the researcher based on Ethnolinguistic Identity

Theory (ELIT) (Giles & Johnson, 1987). This theory will address the relationship between

socially ethnic groups and their usage of language in social contexts. Giles and Johnson (1987)

mentioned that it was necessary for the speakers to make up their minds whether to maintain or

loss their origin language. Hence, it can be understood that speakers played a major role in

personally deciding the maintenance of the traditional language. The researcher aims to examine

the language attitude and practices of the Indonesians in influencing the maintenance of the

Indonesian language. This present research will be using this theory in guiding the development

of the questionnaire as well as the collection of data in answering the two research objectives that

have been mentioned earlier.

1.10 Chapter summary and conclusion

In a nutshell, it cannot be denied that language is importance in socializing with others.

Through the variety of studies that have been conducted by past researchers, it can be seen that

language may be maintained or shifted due to many reasons and some of them are due to

language attitude and language practices. Hence, this study has been made to examine the

language usage among the Indonesians living in Malaysia. The findings of this study will be

significant to both the researchers and practitioners in the future. The next chapter of this

research will discuss in detail about the theory used in this research as well as the previous

researches on the role of language attitude and practices in maintaining the native language.
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Chapter overview

The previous chapter provided an overview of this study motivation for investigating the

language maintenance and highlighted the importance of addressing this issue from the aspects

of research, theory, and practice. This chapter continues with a review of the literature that

summarises and synthesises the existing evidences on the issues of language maintenance among

the immigrants around the world. This literature review aims towards exposing the current state

of the mentioned issue and identifying the key gaps in the field of language maintenance that

required further investigation.

The first section of this chapter describes the theory used in this research (Section 2.2)

while the next section develops the construct for this study regarding the language maintenance

of the immigrants (Section 2.3). Then, Section 2.4 discusses the gaps identified in the literature

of other past scholars regarding this issue. An outline of the previous studies done by the

scholars is necessary to provide a basis for further development of the concept. In the

meanwhile, Section 2.5 includes the proposed conceptual framework developed for the current

study and the formulation of the hypotheses. Finally, the researcher concludes with the summary

of this chapter and a brief introduction of the next chapter (Section 2.6).
2.2 Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory (ELIT)

Based on Giles and Johnson (1987), Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory (ELIT) focuses on

the relationship between ethnic groups and their language usage in social contexts. They stated

that the speakers need to set their minds whether to maintain or loss their heritage language.

Therefore, it can be seen that speakers play an important part in determining the maintenance of

the traditional language.

Originally, ELIT was formulated to address the issues of the speakers in the ethnic group

who employed certain language strategy, at a certain time for a particular reason during the

encounter with the members from different groups (Giles & Johnson, 1987). In the context of

language maintenance, the speech community from the minority group may learn the dominant

language along with the heritage language or may face conflict with the dominant groups

language, identity as well as attitude formation towards the language. Thus, this theory provides

the understanding of the crucial variables included in maintaining the heritage language in social

settings.

One of the matters discussed by Giles and Johnson (1987) under this theory was finding

the reasons why some languages possessed by the minority groups managed to survive while

others experienced language loss when facing demographic changes. Besides that, the scholars

also addressed on the reasons for language erosion related with situations, language strategies as

well as attitudes towards the language (Hildebrandt & Giles, 1983). Hence, it shows that this

theory outlines the suitable concept for identifying the role of language attitude and language

practices in influencing language maintenance. Further examination of how language attitude

and practices influence language maintenance may help to explain more on the relationship

between those variables.

2.3 Construct development: language attitude, practices and language maintenance

2.3.1 Language attitude and the effect on language maintenance

The previous scholars have identified many factors contributed to the maintenance of low

variety languages such as a large population of the minority groups within the areas, sense of

loyalty and pride in the heritage languages, high status given to the languages as well as positive

attitude towards the languages (Fishman, 2001; Hinton & Hale, 2001). Hence, it can be seen that

there are many variables that can contribute to the maintenance of low variety languages.

The previous study conducted by Spolsky (2004) revealed that it is possible to receive a

result on the differences in the speakers views towards their heritage language. The scholar also

reported that the speakers views as well as attitudes on the language may be to the extent of

extreme opposites. The finding of his study has been supported by King and Fogle (2006) when

they discussed that some of the speakers may perceive their traditional language as a valuable

gift that must be inherited by their offspring.

In addition, their research also discovered that the old generation passed their traditional

language to the offspring in order to preserve their identity and to maintain their cultural

heritage. Other than that, they also disclosed that the old generation viewed the traditional

language as a contributor for the youth in receiving better job in the future.
 Nevertheless, there are some groups from the speech communities who viewed the

traditional language negatively. Some of them perceived that language was not related with the

transmission of the cultural heritage (Schpbach, 2009). Therefore, they did not see the relevance

in maintaining their heritage language.

Besides that, they even perceived the language as a useless thing as a consequence from

the geographical and social restriction (Schpbach, 2009). From the past findings, it can be seen

that even though the speakers realized that they are different from the dominant groups in the

community, it did not necessarily lead to the transmission of the heritage language to the young

generation and maintenance of the language within the speech communities of the minority

group.

In the meanwhile, King, Fogle and Logan-Terry (2008) highlighted three types of

attitudes among the parents that affect the language maintenance. They are the designation of

particular languages for particular purposes, attitudes about language learning and attitudes about

the usage of heritage language. From the result revealed by King et al. (2008), the researcher can

concluded that attitude towards the heritage language played a major role in maintaining the

traditional language.

2.3.2 Language practices and the effect on language maintenance

According to Spolsky (2004), language practices can be understood as the language used

within the family and it may include much more than what the speakers realized. Some of the

areas covered are sounds, grammar, words, speech formality as well as the prescribed rules on

the usage of language that is appropriate for particular context. In the context of this study, the

researcher applied the definition of language practices given by Yoshida (2007) which can be
understood as the heritage language usage in the activities done during the speakers everyday

activities.

Past researchers have disclosed one of the major factors that assist the effort of

maintaining the heritage language is by using it with the family members (Fishman, 1991;

Spolsky, 2004; Schwartz, 2008). Fishman (1970) has obtained the similar result in the past years

as he reported the failure in transmitting the heritage language from the first generation to the

second and third generation may result in language loss. Thus, the decision regarding the

language usage within the family domain may affect the survival of the heritage language

possessed by the immigrants when they are living with the dominant group who employed

different language in their conversation (Spolsky, 2005).

In the meanwhile, Edwards and Newcombe (2005) have investigated on the same issue

and suggested that the speakers who used the heritage language with their parents at home were

tend to repeat the similar process with their children later. Therefore, it shows that the decision in

using the native language at home will affect the current as well as the future generations.

Apart from that, the existence of opportunities and activities that enable the speakers

from the minority group to apply their language also aided in preserving the native language. For

instance, Yoshida (2007) mentioned that activities like singing and watching films have assisted

the Japanese communities to maintain their language. Hence, the practices of the heritage

language in daily activities may influence the survival of the language among the immigrants

who are living in the areas which employed different dominant language.
2.4 The gap of the study: language maintenance among the immigrants

The past literature offered numerous examples on the studies of language maintenance

among the immigrants that are living with the dominant group who used different languages

(Cheng, 2003; David, 1991; David & Faridah, 1999; Mukherjee, 2003). Nevertheless, only a few

studies have discovered the language maintenance among the Indonesian immigrants who are

living in Malaysia (Yusuf et al., 2013).

Heritage language is one of the important aspects in preserving ones social identity

(Ochs, 1993; Reyhner & Tennant, 1995). Hence, the speakers from the minority groups need to

be aware and concerned about this matter. The loss of the heritage language may result in the

difficulty for the young generation to learn about their historical background, beliefs as well as

values. Therefore, it is crucial for this research to be conducted to increase the Indonesian

communities awareness regarding this issue and to fill the gap of the past researchers.

2.5 Conceptual framework

Based on the research made by King et al. (2008), language attitude played a major role

in determining the maintenance of heritage language among the immigrants. Hence, to further

test the relationship between language attitude and the effect on language maintenance, the

researcher proposed the following hypothesis:

H1: Positive attitude towards the heritage language will assist in maintaining the language.

In addition, previous studies have investigated that language practices may aid in

maintaining the heritage language. This has been discussed by Yoshida (2007) in his paper when
he stated that the activities like singing and watching drama have assisted the Japanese

immigrants to preserve their traditional language despite of living with the community who

applied English as the dominant language. Therefore, in this present study, the researcher

attempts to discover the language practices that facilitate in maintaining the heritage language

among the Indonesian immigrants living in Malaysia. Thus, the following hypothesis is

proposed:

H2: Language practices assist in language maintenance of the minority group.

Based on these hypotheses, the researcher develops a new model that shows the

relationship between the role played by language attitude and practices in maintaining the low

variety language.

Positive
Language relationship
attitude

Language
maintenance

Language
practices
Positive
relatonship

Figure 1: The model of conceptual framework for the research

2.6 Chapter summary and conclusion

In a nutshell, it shows that the language attitude as well as practices can influence the

language maintenance of the immigrants categorized under the minority group. This current

study is made to fill the gaps of the previous researches regarding this issue on the Indonesian

immigrants who are living in Malaysia. Ethnolinguistics Identity Theory (ELIT) has been

selected as the theory to guide this research. In the next chapter, the researcher will discuss the

research design, the scale development as well as the selection of the sampling for this study.

The following chapter will also outline, explain and justify the measures used and the data

collection procedures as well as the method of the data analysis.

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Chapter overview

This chapter presents the methodology used to investigate the research question and

hypotheses discussed in Chapter 2. The research design is first discussed in Section 3.2. Then,

the scale development is discussed in the next section which explains in detail about the scale

selected for the measurement questions of this research (Section 3.3). This is followed by an

operationalization of the instruments that consists of the development of the questionnaire

(Section 3.4). The sampling issues that describe the sampling frame, type, and strategy as well as

data collection procedures are then presented in Section 3.5. Next, the data analyses are

presented in Section 3.6. Essentially, the data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social

Sciences (SPSS) programme. The chapter ends with the ethical considerations and summary of

this chapter (Section 3.7).

3.2 Research design

This study is conducted to test the hypotheses and to answer the research questions

regarding the role of language attitude and practices on language maintenance of the Indonesians

in Malaysia. The Gantt chart is constructed by the researcher (refer to Appendix 1) and the

research design will be illustrated briefly in the figure 2 below:

 Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Phase 5

Introduction Literature Research Findings and Conclusion

review Methodology discussion

Figure 2: Research Design

The researcher started with writing the introduction in Phase 1. The problem statements,

research question and objectives as well as the significances of this study were explained in this

part. Besides that, the theoretical framework and the important terms used in this research are

also discussed by the researcher in this phase. In the meanwhile, phase 2 discussed on the works

of previous scholars regarding the topic of this research. This research used secondary level of

information in the literature review chapter. The researcher also formulated hypotheses for the

research question based on the findings of previous scholars and the hypotheses were tested by

the researcher in this study.

Then, in phase 3, the method of data collection and data analysis that were used for this

research were explained by the researcher. The type of this current study is a communication

study as the researcher gave questions to the subjects and collected the responses from them.

Furthermore, this research applied quantitative methods to collect the relevant data in achieving

the objective of this study. This helped to ensure the validity and the reliability of the findings at

the end of this research.

A set of questionnaire was used to collect the data in answering the research question of

this study. The part for measurement questions in the questionnaire was modified by the

researcher to suit the current sample for this study. This current research applied the cross-
sectional study on the actual environment conditions of the university students. The researcher

analyzed the data collected from the questionnaire by using the SPSS software.

In phase 4, the researcher presented the findings of the research in answering the two

research question for this study. The researcher compared the result obtained by the past

researchers on this issue and discussed the result in the fourth phase. Lastly, in phase 5, the

conclusion was drawn for this study. The researcher also included the limitation and the

implication of this current research. This phase was ended with the recommendation suggested

by the researcher for the future studies.

3.3 Scale development

The researcher has selected quantitative method for this study and the data was collected

by using survey method. The approach that has been chosen by the researcher is personal

interview survey. This study applied multidimensional questions and the researcher has chosen

the nominal and interval scales for the measurement questions. The first part of the measurement

question is multiple choice- multiple response scale, hence the researcher applied nominal scale

for that set of questions. Next, the second part of the measurement question is in the form of

Likert-scale, thus the researcher selected to use the interval scale. Lastly, the demographic

questions at the end of the questionnaire applied the nominal scale as the researcher deems to

classify the respondents into some classifications based on some characteristics such as gender

and age.
3.4 Operationalization of the instruments

The survey consists of 3 aspects. The first and second aspects consist of 22 target

questions in measuring the effect of language attitude and practices on language maintenance.

Then, the third aspect consists of characteristics questions in collecting the socio-demographic

information of the respondents. The 10 demographic questions contain the questions such as

gender, age as well as educational level of the participants for this current study.

3.4.1 Questionnaire development

The survey comprised of 32 questions altogether and it was modified by the researcher to

suit the current sample for this study which is the Indonesians living in Malaysia. For ensuring

the participants were fully understand the questionnaire, the set of question was given in the form

of bilingual with the usage of Malay language followed by the English language.

The first 11 target questions attempt to identify the practices involved by the Indonesians

in maintaining their native language. The second part of the target questions comprises of 11

items aim to explore the respondents attitude towards their heritage language.

3.5 Sampling

3.5.1 Sampling frame

When discussing about the sampling, it is deemed necessary to first determine the

sampling frame and specify the target population for this study. This is crucial as it will affect the

aim of this research, the design of the study as well as the accessibility of the respondents to
answer the measurement questions for this research (Coolican, 2004). To explore the role of

language attitude and practices on the language maintenance, the researcher has selected a study

sample representative of Indonesians immigrants in Malaysia.

The researcher has decided to conduct this study on the Indonesians sample as there were

only few researchers (to the best of the researchers knowledge) investigating the language

maintenance among the Indonesians in Malaysia compared to other immigrants such as

Portuguese and Sindhis (Cheng, 2003; David, 1991; David & Faridah, 1999; Mukherjee, 2003;

Yusuf et al., 2013). Hence, this study has been designed to explore the language maintenance

among the Indonesian immigrants in Malaysia.

3.5.2 Sampling technique

The researcher attempts to study the role played by language attitude and practices on

language maintenance among the Indonesians living in Malaysia. Therefore, the researcher has

chosen to use purposive sampling for this research. The data for this current research will be

collected from only the Indonesians immigrants who have been staying in Malaysia.

3.5.3 Data collection procedures

Prior to the data collection, a pilot study was conducted before the researcher collects the

exact data for this research. This study which is also known as pre-study can be understood as a

small-scale study carried out to evaluate the time, cost as well as the condition for the large-scale

data collection. It is also necessary to predict the appropriate sample size and improve the design

of the study before conducting the real data collection. One of the main aims of conducting pilot
study is to increase the practicability of the research as well as to clarify the items and layouts of

the measurement questions (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007).

The quantitative data for this research was collected by conducting an interview survey to

the Indonesians who are living in Peninsula Malaysia. The survey was conducted to 28

Indonesians from both genders. When conducting the interview survey, the researcher briefed

the respondents about the aim of the study and the identity of the researcher. The respondents

were informed that the data collected will be treated with strict confidentiality and will be

reported anonymously. Moreover, the potential respondents were asked to provide basic

demographic information such as age and gender and not personal information like name and

identification number. The participants were also informed that their participation is voluntary

and they may refuse if they do not feel like to answer the questionnaire.

During the data collection process, the respondents ticked the boxes for the 11 items on

language practices that they have involved in maintaining their native language. In the next part,

they decided whether they agree or not with the items on language attitude towards their heritage

language by indicating their level of agreement with each statement on a 5-point Likert scale,

ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree). Finally, they were needed to answer the

demographic question by selecting the answers given and filling in the answers that suit their

particular information.

All ethical considerations were observed during the process of data collection. The

confidentiality of the data was assured and the private information like the age and educational

level will not be disclosed to the public. The findings of this study only showed the descriptive
statistics of the demographic information and they will be presented in a form of a summary

result, not an individual result.

3.6 Data analysis

The data collected by the researcher was keyed in into Statistical Package for Social

Science (SPSS) and was analyzed by the software. The researcher analyzed the questions by

using descriptive as well as inferential analysis.

3.6.1 Data analysis tools

Descriptive statistics

The researcher will find out the frequencies and percentages of the demographic

information such as gender, age, educational level and occupation of the respondents for this

study. This will clearly show the summary of the characteristics of the respondents in the form of

pie and bar charts. The researcher also will note the frequency, percentage and mean for each

item in the demographic questions. Hence, this statistics will disclose and categorize all the

respondents based on the answers that they have chosen.

Inferential statistics

The target questions in the study will be analyzed by using reliability analysis. This is

necessary to measure the reliability of the measurement questions for this research. The

reliability results for both questions on language attitude as well as practices will be presented in

the next chapter.

3.7 Chapter summary and conclusion

The chapter highlighted the methodology of collecting and analyzing the data for this

research. It included the research design, sampling, data collection as well as data analysis. In

addition, the procedures taken to ensure the ethical issues were also discussed in this chapter.

The next chapter continues to report the findings and discussion for this current study on

language maintenance among the Indonesians living in Malaysia.

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Chapter overview

The results of this study obtained by using quantitative method is disclosed and explained

in this section. The researcher presents the result for descriptive statistics in the first section

which is Section 4.2 followed by the result for reliability analysis in the next section (Section

4.3). This chapter also discusses the findings obtained by the researcher and the analyzed results

by comparing them with the previous studies conducted by the scholars (Section 4.4). The

researcher ends this chapter with a brief summary on the findings of this study (Section 4.5).

4.2 Descriptive statistics

The researcher analyzed and presented the demographic data of the respondents on the

gender, age, occupation, educational level as well as language used by the respondents in the

charts (refer Appendix 3) and table (Table 1). From the table below, it can be seen that majority

of the respondents were female (n=19). In addition, it can also be seen that most of the

respondents age were 46 years old and above (n=13). The number of respondents who are still

studying has been the highest (n=9) and the level of education obtained by most of the

participants was SMA or SPM (n=11). The table also revealed that most of the respondents

maintained their heritage language which is Indonesian language (n=17).

 Item Frequency Percentage Mean
(%)

Gender 1.32
Female 19 67.9
Male 9 32.1

Age 2.14
18-25 9 32.1
26-45 6 21.4
46 and above 13 46.4

Occupation 3.89
Student 9 32.1
Cleaner 2 7.1
Cafs worker 4 14.3
Businessman 2 7.1
Housewife 3 10.7
Rubber tapper 2 7.1
Teacher 2 7.1
Government 1 3.6
Not working/retired 3 10.7

Level of education 3.93

SD/UPSR 5 17.9
SMA/SPM 11 39.3
Sijil/Diploma 2 7.1
S1/Degree 5 17.9
S3/PHD 1 3.6
None 4 14.3

Language used 1.39

Indonesian 17 60.7
Other languages 11 39.3

Total 28 100%

Table 1: Demographic data of the respondents

4.3 Inferential statistics

The researcher conducted reliability analysis on both questions regarding language

attitude and practices. The result obtained was presented in the table below (Table 2 & 3). From

the table, it can be seen that the 11 items measuring language practices are reasonably reliable

(p-value = .691) while the 11 items measuring the language attitude are strongly reliable (p-value

= .932).

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.691 11

Table 2: Result for reliability analysis for language practices

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.932 11

Table 3: Result for reliability analysis for language attitude

4.4 Discussion: Language attitude and practices

4.4.1 Language attitude

The analysis of the data showed that most respondents portrayed positive attitude towards

the Indonesian language as most respondents answered agree for all the 11 items. This explained

the reason why most of the participants are still using the Indonesian language even though they

are currently living in Malaysia which possessed Malay as the dominant language of the

communities (n=17).

The finding of this study regarding language attitude is similar with the result obtained by

King and Fogle (2006). They proposed that the attitude and perception possessed by the speakers

may influence the transmission of the heritage language to their offspring. As a result, the

heritage language can be maintained by the minority group.

4.4.2 Language practices

The finding of this study also revealed that majority of the speakers involved in the

activities to maintain their heritage language and the most popular activity among the speakers is

communicating with others who shared the similar native language. The result is parallel with

the findings of the study conducted by Spolsky (2004) and Yoshida (2007). They suggested that

the usage of heritage language within the speech community as well as in daily activities like

watching drama and listening to music can assist the maintenance of the language.
4.5 Chapter summary and conclusion

The chapter highlighted the findings and discussion for this current study. It includd the

descriptive and inferential statistics as well as discussion for the findings obtained by this present

research and other studies conducted by the past scholars. The next chapter continues to report

the conclusion for this study, the implications as well as the recommendations for future

research.
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION

4.1 Chapter overview

This chapter highlights the general discussion and implications of the findings as well as

the suggestion for future research. This chapter starts with summarizing the research findings

followed by the implications of those findings on the theory and practical aspects (Section 4.2).

It proceeds by discussing the limitation for this current research and concludes with

recommendation for the future research in different areas of social anxiety disorder (Section 4.3

and Section 4.4).

As mentioned earlier in the introduction, the aims of this study were to investigate the

role played by language attitude and practices on language maintenance. The result of this study

showed that both variables have positive relationship with language maintenance. Hence, the

hypotheses that have been formulated earlier can be accepted. According to Hinton and Hale

(2001), languages that are seen as symbols of a people are more likely to be transmitted from

generation to generation. Their study on the revitalization of the national indigenous languages,

Welsh and Maori, was the evidence that has supported their statement. Thus, it can be concluded

that the perception possessed by the people who are using a language played a significant factor

in ensuring the survival of the language.

4.2 Implications

4.2.1 Theoretical implications

This current study has some implications on the theory aspect and the first one is the

implication towards Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory (Giles & Johnson, 1987). This can be seen

as this study suggests that language attitude and practices can influence the language

maintenance of the Indonesians living in Malaysia. Then, this study also provides further

understanding on the role played by language attitude and practices in maintaining the native

language of the minority group as this study will complement the study done by Pillai et al.

(2014) on the language maintenance of the Malacca Portuguese group.

4.2.2 Practitioner implications

This study has some implications towards the practitioners and one of them is

enlightening the Indonesians on the importance of practicing the heritage language. This can

assist in the effort of maintaining the heritage language of the minority group. In addition, this

research will also increase the awareness of the Indonesians on the importance of possessing

positive attitude towards their heritage language as this can also aid in the survival of the

language.

4.3 Limitations

There are some limitations that need to be highlighted in this research. One of them is the

time limitation as the period to conduct this research is quite short for this kind of study. A
longer time is needed to find a larger number of respondents to answer the questionnaires and to

gather the data from all states in Malaysia. Therefore, the current result is not completely suitable

to depict all of the Indonesians living in Malaysia as an assumption cannot be made from the

results obtained from just merely 28 respondents. However, despite these drawbacks, the

findings revealed that language attitude and practices have positive relationship with language

maintenance.

4.4 Recommendations for future research

All in all, this study suggested that language attitude and practices influenced language

maintenance among the Indonesians in Malaysia. A further investigation of the relationship

between the language attitude and practices on the language maintenance specifically within

different genders or age groups should be considered in the future. It can be that differences in

genders will result in different language maintenance among the Indonesians in Malaysia. Other

than that, researcher also suggested for an investigation on the language maintenance between

different ethnics of Indonesia such as Jawa, Banjar and Bawean.

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Appendix

Appendix 1: Gantt chart of research activities

No Research Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week
Activities 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1 Research
title decided

2 Introduction
developed

3 Literature
review
developed

4 Methodolog
y completed

5 Findings and
discussion
completed

6 Conclusion
completed

7 Appendices
completed

8 Research
submitted
Appendix 2: Questionnaire

Language Maintenance:
An Examination of Language Usage among the Indonesians living in
Malaysia

For Further feedback You May Contact

Nur Farhanah Zainal

English for International Communication

Kulliyah of Languages and Management

International Islamic University Malaysia

farhanahzainal131@gmail.com

017-6611203
Dear Sir/Madam,

I am conducting a research entitled Language Maintenance: An Examination of Language

Usage among the Indonesians living in Malaysia.

This study is dealing with the language maintenance of the Indonesians who are living in
Malaysia. The aim of this study is to explore the role of language attitude in influencing
language maintenance among the Indonesians currently staying in as well as to investigate
language practices that assist in maintaining the native language among the Indonesians living in
Malaysia.

The first objective of this research is to

Nur Farhanah Zainal

English for International Communication

Kulliyah of Languages and Management

International Islamic University Malaysia

farhanahzainal131@gmail.com
 Arahan:

Terima kasih atas kesudian anda melapangkan masa untuk menjawab soal selidik
ini. Saya sedang melakukan kajian untuk mengkaji pengekalan bahasa Indonesia
dalam kalangan warga Indonesia yang bermaustatin di Malaysia. Sila jawab setiap
soalan dalam soal selidik ini dengan membulatkan jawapan yang paling tepat. Tidak
terdapat jawapan yang dianggap betul atau salah. Anda tidak perlu mencatit nama
anda di dalam soal selidik ini. Segala data atau maklumat yang diberikan adalah
dianggap sulit dan akan digunakan bagi tujuan penyelidikan ini sahaja. Sila baca
arahan dan soalan dengan teliti. Segala kerjasama dari pihak tuan/puan dalam
menjawab soal selidik ini didahului dengan ucapan jutaan terima kasih.

Instruction:

Thank you for taking your time to answer the questions in this survey. Please give
the best answers that best describe your thoughts or feelings towards the given
statements. In this aspect, there is no right and wrong answer. Please do not write
your name on this questionnaire. Your answer will be used only for research
purpose and will remain strictly confidential. Your cooperation is highly
appreciated.
 Aktiviti yang membantu mengekalkan bahasa utama.
Bahagian 1
(Practices that assist in maintaining the heritage language)

Tandakan aktiviti-aktiviti yang membantu anda mengekalkan bahasa/dialek anda

Please tick the language practices that help you to maintain your heritage language. You CAN
tick MORE than ONE.

No. Aktiviti (Activity)

1 Menonton filem (Watching film)

2 Menonton drama (Watching drama)

3 Menonton dokumentari (Watching documentary)

4 Menonton berita (Watching news)

5 Mendengar lagu (Listening to song)

6 Bertutur dengan orang yang memahami bahasa saya

(Communicating with those who understand my language)

7 Membaca doa (Reading supplication)

8 Membaca suratkhabar (Reading newspaper)

9 Membaca majalah (Reading magazine)

10 Membaca novel (Reading novel)

11 Mendengar ucapan/syarahan (Listening to speech)

Bahagian 2 Pandangan/sikap terhadap bahasa utama
(Attitude towards the heritage language)

Senarai di bawah adalah kaji selidik mewakili pandangan dan pendapat anda terhadap
pandangan/sikap terhadap bahasa utama. Sila nyatakan tahap persetujuan anda untuk
setiap sifat dengan membulatkan SATU dari lima alternatif.

Listed below are a series of items that represent your opinion on the attitude towards the
heritage language. Please indicate the degree of your agreement or disagreement with each
characteristic by circling ONE of the five alternatives.

1 2 3 4 5
Sangat setuju Setuju Neutral Tidak Sangat tidak
Strongly agree Agree Neutral setuju setuju
Disagree Strongly
disagree

Pandangan/sikap terhadap bahasa utama (Attitude towards the heritage language)

No Item Skala (Scale)

12 Bahasa Indonesia penting untuk kejayaan 1 2 3 4 5

akademik saya.
(Indonesian language important for the
success in my academic)

13 Jika saya menggunakan Bahasa Indonesia 1 2 3 4 5

saya boleh mendapat pekerjaan yang lebih
baik.
(Indonesian language helps me to get a better
job)

14 Bahasa Indonesia dipandang tinggi di 1 2 3 4 5

peringkat antarabangsa.
(Indonesian language is well known at the
international level)

15 Bahasa Indonesia adalah bahasa yang indah. 1 2 3 4 5

(Indonesian language is beautiful)

16 Saya merasa selesa apabila menggunakan 1 2 3 4 5

Bahasa Indonesia ketika berbicara
(I feel comfortable when using Indonesian
level in conversation)
17 Saya bangga berbicara menggunakan Bahasa 1 2 3 4 5
Indonesia.
(I feel proud when using Indonesian language)

18 Bahasa Indonesia adalah merupakan salah satu 1 2 3 4 5

identiti diri saya.
(Indonesian language is one of my identities)

19 Saya mahu berbahasa Indonesia dengan fasih. 1 2 3 4 5

(I want to be fluent when communicating in
Indonesian language)

20 Saya berasa malu jika saya tidak boleh 1 2 3 4 5

berbahasa Indonesia.
(I feel embarrassed when I cannot speak in
Indonesian language)

21 Mereka yang berketurunan Indonesia mestilah 1 2 3 4 5

belajar Bahasa Indonesia.
(Those who originated from Indonesia must
learn the Indonesian language)

22 Saya dipandang tinggi jika boleh bertutur 1 2 3 4 5

dalam Bahasa Indonesia dengan baik.
(I am respected when I can speak fluently in
Indonesian language)
 Bahagian 3 Maklumat Umum Responden
(General Information of the Respondent)

Sila bulatkan dan isikan maklumat yang paling releven:

Please circle and fill in the most relevant information:

23. Jantina (Gender)

1. Perempuan (Female) 2. Lelaki (Male)

24. Umur (Age): ......................................

26. Warganegara (Nationality): ..................................

27. Bermaustatin di (Living in):

1. Bandar (Town)
2. Pinggir Bandar (Suburb)
3. Pedalaman (Rural)

28. Tinggal di negeri (Living in state): .......................................

29. Bekerja sebagai (Occupation): ...................................

30. Tahap tertinggi pendidikan formal (The highest level of education): ..................................

31. Keturunan (Origin): ............................................. (e.g.: Melayu Riau, Jawa, Banjar)

32. Bahasa yang digunakan (Language used): ..........................................

Terima kasih di atas penyertaan anda dan kerjasama yang telah diberikan kepada saya uuntuk
soal selidik ini.

Thank you very much for your time and cooperation in answering this survey.
Appendix 3: Charts for demographic data

Male

Female
Other
languages

Indonesian
 INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

Kulliyyah of Languages & Management

Sociolinguistics

ENCO 2102

SEM 1, 2014/2015

Sociolinguistics Research

NAME : NUR FARHANAH ZAINAL (1310062)

SECTION :1
LECTURERS NAME : PROF. DR. NURAIHAN MAT DAUD
 Language Maintenance:
An Examination of Language Usage among the Indonesians living in
Malaysia

Nur Farhanah Zainal