Joe Fernandez Oct 25, 10 12:14pm
Former Sabah attorney-general Herman Luping, is not surprised that a Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP or Language and Literary Agency) study has concluded that Malay is replacing native tongues in the state. Malay is a reference to the standard Johor-Riau Bahasa Malaysia and the local Malay-based Bahasa Sabah which plays a more prominent role than the former in the state.
Eighty percent of the Dusuns for example, along with the Kadazans (urban Dusun) and the Muruts, no longer speak their native tongues or the standard Kadazandusun based on the Bundu-Liwan dialects, according to the DBP study. The Dusuns are the largest ethnic group in Sabah and are in a separate linguistic group from the related Murut grouping.
“The survey is correct in its findings,” said Herman (right). “If you go to even the interior areas like Tambunan and Keningau, the rapid switch to Malay among the Dusuns and Muruts has been dramatic.”He attributes this to parents dropping their native tongues and the Kadazandusun over the years, even when communicating with their children at home.
The former state AG was taking up the cudgels on behalf of maintaining “ethnic identity” following the on-going debate in the local media on the DBP study, which is actually an update on an earlier study.
Herman wonders whether the Dusuns and Muruts will become “extinct as an ethnic group one day, as a result of the loss of their mother tongues.
“The mother tongue can identify a person belonging to his or her ethnicity in this multiracial community,” said Herman. “Without their mother tongues, ethnic groups will risk becoming extinct.”
He did not dwell on the decline of Bahasa Malaysia, generally, as a language following its corruption by the English language.
The DBP study does not make a reference to this issue since the scope was confined to reconciling the status of the Malay language in Sabah vis-à-vis local dialects and languages, with specific reference to the Dusun and Murut communities.
“The mother tongue can identify a person belonging to his or her ethnicity in this multiracial community,” said Herman. “Without their mother tongues, ethnic groups will risk becoming extinct.”
He did not dwell on the decline of Bahasa Malaysia, generally, as a language following its corruption by the English language. The DBP study does not make a reference to this issue since the scope was confined to reconciling the status of the Malay language in Sabah vis-à-vis local dialects and languages, with specific reference to the Dusun and Murut communities.
Other natives like the Bajau and Suluk, generally Muslims, were not highlighted in the study. The DBP study also does not make a distinction between Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Sabah.
Grandparents as part of the problem?
Keeping the focus on the home, Herman sees even grandparents as part of the problem, rather than the solution. This is particularly true in Penampang, the KadazanDusunMurut heartland in the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu.
He cites the “corrupting” role of the master of ceremonies during the Tadau Kaamatan - Harvest Festival - and traditional wedding ceremonies as a case in point. The emcee begins the ceremony by saying, for example, “Tuan-tuan and puan-puan, marilahlah sekarang ini menggagong tokou no dii (ladies and gentlemen, come, let's beat the gong).
He is just not able to understand why such things should happen when 90 percent of those present at such ceremonies would be either Dusun or Murut, or both.
Grandparents as part of the problem?
Keeping the focus on the home, Herman sees even grandparents as part of the problem, rather than the solution. This is particularly true in Penampang, the KadazanDusunMurut heartland in the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu.
He cites the “corrupting” role of the master of ceremonies during the Tadau Kaamatan - Harvest Festival - and traditional wedding ceremonies as a case in point. The emcee begins the ceremony by saying, for example, “Tuan-tuan and puan-puan, marilahlah sekarang ini menggagong tokou no dii (ladies and gentlemen, come, let's beat the gong).
He is just not able to understand why such things should happen when 90 percent of those present at such ceremonies would be either Dusun or Murut, or both.
“When they want to make a toast, they will use the Chinese 'yam seng', dragging out the words for as long as possible until they run out of breath,” said Herman. “This is actually shameful, if you really think about it. The younger people just laugh and think that it's all a big joke.”
Often there are two emcees at most traditional functions and wedding ceremonies, Herman concedes, but what happens in practice is that the emcee who is supposed to say everything in Kadazandusun ends up using only Malay.
Often there are two emcees at most traditional functions and wedding ceremonies, Herman concedes, but what happens in practice is that the emcee who is supposed to say everything in Kadazandusun ends up using only Malay. “He or she starts off well in Kadazandusun and eventually seems to be unable to keep Malay out of the announcements,” said Herman. “Soon, everything is in Malay and Kadazandusun is forgotten.”
Being more comfortable in Malay, rather than in Kadazandusun, appears to be a peculiar problem too among those who play a role as masters of ceremonies.
One reason for the declining use of native tongues at home, Herman said, is that “parents are very ambitious for their children”. “Parents see Malay as the language spoken in the schools even outside the classroom,” he said. “They want their children to be able to communicate well with others and do well in Bahasa Malaysia in examinations.”
Herman opines that action must be taken by the Dusun and Murut communities, in tandem with the state and federal governments, to arrest the alarming decline in mother tongue use among native communities in Sabah. He does not make a distinction between native dialects and languages and Kadazandusun.
While efforts to preserve native tongues depend on usage at home and by the church in worship, Kadazandusun is a different matter altogether. Herman is not sure whether efforts to promote the language at the school and university level are bearing fruit.
He cites his own efforts in promoting Kadazandusun in the state, including a recent talk he gave at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
Being more comfortable in Malay, rather than in Kadazandusun, appears to be a peculiar problem too among those who play a role as masters of ceremonies.
One reason for the declining use of native tongues at home, Herman said, is that “parents are very ambitious for their children”. “Parents see Malay as the language spoken in the schools even outside the classroom,” he said. “They want their children to be able to communicate well with others and do well in Bahasa Malaysia in examinations.”
Herman opines that action must be taken by the Dusun and Murut communities, in tandem with the state and federal governments, to arrest the alarming decline in mother tongue use among native communities in Sabah. He does not make a distinction between native dialects and languages and Kadazandusun.
While efforts to preserve native tongues depend on usage at home and by the church in worship, Kadazandusun is a different matter altogether. Herman is not sure whether efforts to promote the language at the school and university level are bearing fruit.
He cites his own efforts in promoting Kadazandusun in the state, including a recent talk he gave at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
“Some 90 percent of the 100-odd people who turned up were Chinese orpeople of other races. So, this shows that we are not interested in our own language and culture,” said Herman. “Only the organising committee members were Dusuns and Muruts.”
UMS has a Kadazandusun chair, headed by noted Australian academician Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan, but the criticism against the chair, according to Herman, is that it has not made much headway in promoting the language at the university level. Most of the allocations for the chair, Herman charged, are used for other purposes, such as holding talks on customary laws.
He notes that the Kadazandusun Language Foundation (KLF) has been somewhat active on a modest scale in producing books and helping in promoting the language as a subject worthy of study among all in the state. However, the NGO has not been able to help address the shortage of teaching staff and the lack of material in Kadazandusun.
Elsewhere, the State Archives Department has an ongoing programme under which young people speak and sing in public in Kadazandusun.
The language is also taught in schools and a student can sit for it as an examination subject in the UPSR (Year Six) and PMR (Form Three) examinations. The language has not been made compulsory.
Fully-dedicated radio channel proposal
Herman wants the state and federal governments to initiate a fully-dedicated radio channel in the Kadazandusun and Murut languages. “At present, Radio Televiysen Malaysia devotes only one hour daily to Kadazandusun and or Murut,” said Herman. “This is too short.”
He points to New Zealand, where Maori is used alongside English as an example for Malaysia to learn from. New Zealand only has 500,000 native language speakers, out of a total population of four million.
“The Maoris in New Zealand are fewer in numbers than that of the Dusuns and Muruts in Sabah, who make up 3.2 million people,” said Herman. “Even the whites in New Zealand will introduce a speaker in Maori first, before doing the honours in English.”
UMS has a Kadazandusun chair, headed by noted Australian academician Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan, but the criticism against the chair, according to Herman, is that it has not made much headway in promoting the language at the university level. Most of the allocations for the chair, Herman charged, are used for other purposes, such as holding talks on customary laws.He notes that the Kadazandusun Language Foundation (KLF) has been somewhat active on a modest scale in producing books and helping in promoting the language as a subject worthy of study among all in the state. However, the NGO has not been able to help address the shortage of teaching staff and the lack of material in Kadazandusun.
Elsewhere, the State Archives Department has an ongoing programme under which young people speak and sing in public in Kadazandusun.
The language is also taught in schools and a student can sit for it as an examination subject in the UPSR (Year Six) and PMR (Form Three) examinations. The language has not been made compulsory.
Fully-dedicated radio channel proposal
Herman wants the state and federal governments to initiate a fully-dedicated radio channel in the Kadazandusun and Murut languages. “At present, Radio Televiysen Malaysia devotes only one hour daily to Kadazandusun and or Murut,” said Herman. “This is too short.”
He points to New Zealand, where Maori is used alongside English as an example for Malaysia to learn from. New Zealand only has 500,000 native language speakers, out of a total population of four million.
“The Maoris in New Zealand are fewer in numbers than that of the Dusuns and Muruts in Sabah, who make up 3.2 million people,” said Herman. “Even the whites in New Zealand will introduce a speaker in Maori first, before doing the honours in English.”
