languages of Malaysia#Other languages recognised as Native

{{main|Malaysian Malay}}

The official language of Malaysia is the "Malay language"{{Sourcetext|source=Constitution of Malaysia|chapter=|verse=Article 152 |range= }} (Bahasa Melayu) which is sometimes interchangeable with "Malaysian language" (Bahasa Malaysia).{{Cite book |title=The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar |year=2005 |isbn=0700712860 |editor-last=Adelaar |editor-first=K. Alexander |editor-link=K. Alexander Adelaar |pages=71 |publisher=Psychology Press |editor-last2=Himmelmann |editor-first2=Nikolaus |editor-link2=Nikolaus Himmelmann}} The standard language is promoted as a unifying symbol for the nation across all ethnicities, linked to the concept of Bangsa Malaysia (lit. 'Malaysian Nation'). The status as a national language is codified in Article 152 of the constitution,{{Cite book |last=Kärchner-Ober |first=Renate |title=Current Multilingualism: A New Linguistic Dispensation |date=2013 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |isbn=978-1-61451-389-6 |editor-last=Singleton |editor-first=David |location=Berlin |pages=299–310 |chapter=Linguistic Quandary in Multilingual Malaysia: Socio-Political Issues, Language Policy, Educational Changes |editor-last2=Fishman |editor-first2=Joshua A |editor-last3=Aronin |editor-first3=Larissa |editor-last4=Ó Laoire |editor-first4=Muiris |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289487264}} further strengthened by the passage of the National Language Act 1963/67. This standard Malay is often a second language following use of related Malayic languages spoken within Malaysia (excluding the Ibanic) identified by local scholars as "dialects" (loghat),

{{cite journal|first=James T.|last=Collins|title=Malay Dialect Research in Malaysia: The Issue of Perspective|journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde|year=1989|volume=145|issue=2/3|pages=235–264|doi=10.1163/22134379-90003253 |jstor=27864031 |doi-access=free}} 10 of which are used throughout Malaysia. A variant of Malay that is spoken in Brunei is also commonly spoken in East Malaysia.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} After the 13 May Incident, English as the main kindergarten to university-level national education medium was gradually replaced with Malay since the 1970s.{{cite book|author1=Barbara Watson Andaya|author2=Leonard Y. Andaya|title=A History of Malaysia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GSBCcNn1fsC|date= 1984|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-38121-9}}{{explain|date=October 2023}} The Education Act of 1996 reiterates that Malay is to be "the main medium of instruction in all educational institutions in the National Education System", with certain exceptions.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

Citizens of Minangkabau, Bugis or Javanese origins, who can be classified as "Malay" under constitutional definitions, may speak their respective ancestral tongues alongside Malay. The native tribes of East Malaysia have their own languages, which are related to but easily distinguishable from Malay. Iban is the main tribal language in Sarawak, while the Dusun and Kadazan languages are spoken by the natives in Sabah.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5i1aMcmLWlMC&pg=PA397 |title=The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-7007-1286-0 |editor-last=Adelaar |editor-first=Alexander |location=London |pages=397– |editor-last2=Himmelmann |editor-first2=Nikolaus P.}} Some of these languages remain strong, being used in education and daily life. Sabah has ten other sub-ethnic languages: Bajau, Bruneian, Murut, Lundayeh/Lun Bawang, Rungus, Bisaya, Iranun, Sama, Suluk and Sungai. There are over 30 native ethnic groups, each of which has its own dialect. These languages are in danger of dying out unlike the major ones such as Kadazan-Dusun, which have developed educational syllabuses. Iban also has developed an educational syllabus.{{Cite news |author=Luke Rintod |date=30 November 2010 |title=Speak Up, Native Language Champions urged |work=Free Malaysia Today |url=http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/sabah-and-sarawak/13511-speak-up-native-language-champions-Urged |access-date=4 September 2013}} Languages on the peninsula can be divided into three major groups: Negrito, Senoi, and Malayic, further divided into 18 subgroups. The Semai language is used in education. Thai is also spoken in northern parts of the peninsula, especially in northern Langkawi and mainland Kedah, Perlis, northern Perak, northern Terengganu, and northern Kelantan.{{Cite web |title=Malaysia |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malaysia/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211108232943/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malaysia/ |archive-date=8 November 2021 |access-date=26 October 2010 |publisher=Cia.gov |type=listed as "Foochow" there}}

{{main|Malaysian English}}

Malaysian English, also known as Malaysian Standard English (MySE), is a form of English derived from British English, although there is little official use of the term except with relation to education. English was used in the Parliament briefly upon independence (then as Federation of Malaya), prior to a gradual and complete transition to the Malay language, and continued to be used today for specific terminologies with permission. English, however, remains an official language in the State Legislative Assemblies and Courts of Sabah and Sarawak.{{Cite web |last= |date=2 February 2011 |title=My Constitution: Sabah, Sarawak and special interests |url=https://www.malaysianbar.org.my/article/about-us/committees/constitutional-law-committee/my-constitution-sabah-sarawak-and-special-interests |access-date=15 February 2022 |website=Malaysian Bar |quote=English has been the official language of the State Legislative Assemblies and Courts in Sabah and Sarawak since Malaysia Day, Sept 16, 1963. Any change of the official language to Bahasa Melayu can only become effective when the State Legislative Assembly of Sabah or Sarawak agrees to adopt federal laws that make Bahasa Melayu the official language.}}{{Cite news |last= |date=5 September 2018 |title=Article 32 of the National Language Act Has No Legal Effect in Sarawak |work=Dayak Daily |url=https://dayakdaily.com/article-32-of-the-federal-constitution-has-no-legal-effect-in-sarawak/ |access-date=14 August 2019}}{{Cite news |last= |date=5 September 2018 |title=S'wak Govt Never Agreed to Change Present Policy on English Usage |work=Borneo Post |url=https://www.theborneopost.com/2018/09/05/swak-govt-never-agreed-to-change-present-policy-on-english-usage/ |access-date=14 August 2019}} Malaysian English differs little from standard British English.

Malaysian English also sees wide usage in business, along with Manglish, which is a colloquial form of English with heavy Malay, Chinese, and Tamil influences. Many Malaysians (particularly those who live in urban areas) are conversant in English, although some are only fluent in the Manglish form. The Malaysian government officially discourages the use of Manglish.{{Cite web |last=Zimmer |first=Benjamin |date=5 October 2006 |title=Malaysia Cracks Down on "Salad Language" |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003643.html |access-date=14 September 2010 |website=Language Log}} Many businesses in Malaysia conduct their transactions in English, and it is sometimes used in official correspondence.

The federal constitution provides that English would continue to serve as an official language for at least 10 years after Merdeka until the parliament provides otherwise.Constitution, article 152(2) The passage of the National Language Act re-iterated the primacy of Malay as an official language for most official purposes, however the act provides for the use of English in certain official contexts. Among these, section 5 provides that English may be used in the parliament and state assemblies with the presiding officer's permission. Article 152(3) of the constitution and sections 6–7 of the National Language Act provide that all federal and state laws must be enacted in Malay and English.

The Malaysia Agreement,which provided for North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore joining the Federation of Malaya provided for the continued use of English in Sabah and Sarawak for any official purpose.Malaysia Agreement, section 61(2) Under article 161(3) of the constitution, federal legislation affecting the use of English in Sabah and Sarawak would not become law in these states unless approved by their respective legislative assemblies. Sarawak has not adopted the National Language Act; meanwhile Sabah has amended its constitution to provide for Malay as "the official language of the state cabinet and assembly".Sabah Constitution, article 11a

English was the predominant language in government until 1969. There is significant tension regarding the status and usage of English in the country, as the language is seen both as a historical colonial imposition and as a crucial skill for academic achievement and global business. English served as the medium of instruction for Maths and Sciences in all public schools per the PPSMI policy, but reverted to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in 2012.{{Cite news |date=8 July 2009 |title=Math and Science Back to Bahasa, Mother Tongues |work=The Star Online |url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/8/nation/20090708144354&sec=nation |url-status=dead |access-date=8 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302232436/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/8/nation/20090708144354&sec=nation |archive-date=2 March 2011}} The Parent Action Group for Education and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for science and maths to be taught in English again.{{Cite magazine |author=Kamila Ghazali |date=2010 |title=National Identity and Minority Languages |url=http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/chronicle/home/archive/issues2010/un_academic_impact/national_identity_and_minority_languages?ctnscroll_articleContainerList=1_0&ctnlistpagination_articleContainerList=true |url-status=dead |magazine=UN Chronicle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102173228/http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/chronicle/home/archive/issues2010/un_academic_impact/national_identity_and_minority_languages?ctnscroll_articleContainerList=1_0&ctnlistpagination_articleContainerList=true |archive-date=2 November 2012 |access-date=4 September 2013}}{{Cite news |author=Mohd Farhan Darwis |date=12 November 2013 |title=Dr Mahathir Calls for Science and Maths to Be Taught in English, Again |work=The Malaysian Insider |url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dr-mahathir-calls-for-science-and-maths-to-be-taught-in-english-again |access-date=3 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018052410/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dr-mahathir-calls-for-science-and-maths-to-be-taught-in-english-again |archive-date=18 October 2014}}{{Cite news |date=9 July 2010 |title=PAGE Hands in Second Memorandum |work=The Star Online |url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/9/nation/6630852&sec=nation |access-date=8 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018051457/http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=%2f2010%2f7%2f9%2fnation%2f6630852&sec=nation |archive-date=18 October 2014 |quote=Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced last year that the policy of Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (known by its Malay acronym, PPSMI) would be scrapped from 2012.}}

The English language is an important aspect of the legal system in the country. The law of Malaysia is commonly taught and read in English, as the unwritten laws of Malaysia continues to be partially derived from pre-1957 English common law, which is a legacy of past British colonisation of the constituents forming Malaysia. In addition, authoritative versions of constitutional law and statutory law (written laws of Malaysia) are continuously available in both Malay and English.

As a whole, Standard Chinese (Mandarin) and its Malaysian dialect are the most widely spoken forms among Malaysian Chinese, as it is a lingua franca for Chinese who speak mutually unintelligible varieties; Mandarin is also the language of instruction in Chinese schools and an important language in business.

As most Malaysian Chinese have ancestry from the southern provinces of China, various southern Chinese varieties are spoken in Malaysia (in addition to Standard Chinese (Mandarin) which originated from northern China and was introduced through the educational system. The more common forms in Peninsular Malaysia are Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, Teochew, and Hokchew. Hokkien is mostly spoken in Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Klang, Johor, Northern Perak, Southwest Perak, Port Dickson, Southern Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Malacca, whereas Cantonese is mostly spoken in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban and Kuantan. In Sarawak, most ethnic Chinese speak Hokkien, Hokchew, or Hakka. Hakka predominates in Sabah except in the city of Sandakan where Cantonese is more frequently spoken despite the Hakka origins of the Chinese residing there.

As with Malaysian youths of other ethnicities, most Chinese youth are multilingual and can speak at least three languages with at least moderate fluency – Mandarin, English, and Malay, as well as their Chinese regiolect and/or the dominant Chinese regiolect in their area. However, most Chinese regiolects are losing ground to Mandarin, due to its prestige and use as the language of instruction in Chinese vernacular schools. Some parents speak exclusively in Mandarin with their children. Some of the less-spoken regiolects, such as Hainanese, are facing extinction.

Tamil and its Malaysian dialect are used predominantly by Tamils, who form a majority of Malaysian Indians.{{Cite book |last=West |first=Barbara A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |date=2009 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=978-0-8160-7109-8 |location=New York, New York}} It is especially used in Peninsular Malaysia. The Education Act of 1996 regulates the use of Tamil as medium of instruction at the primary level in "national-type schools", and also entitles Tamil children to obtain Tamil classes in national primary schools and national secondary schools (which use Malay as medium of instruction), provided "it is reasonable and practicable so to do and if the parents of at least fifteen pupils in the school so request".{{Citation |title=Act 550 – Education Act 1996 |url=http://www.unesco.org/education/edurights/media/docs/b23f75adacffad84dacf9ac5ac431c0e3596ef62.pdf |mode=cs1 |via=UNESCO}}{{Cite web |author=Kamila Ghazali |date=2010 |title=National Identity and Minority Languages |url=https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/national-identity-and-minority-languages |access-date=28 January 2021 |website=UN Chronicle}}

Tamil-speaking immigrants to Malaysia came from two groups, Sri Lankan Tamils who spoke Sri Lankan Tamil dialects such as the Jaffna Tamil dialect, and Indian Tamils who spoke dialect from Tamil Nadu. These dialects reflected class differences, with the Sri Lankan Tamils being more educated and overseeing the Indian Tamils, who primarily served as labourers on rubber estates. These two communities with their very different dialects remained mostly separate in Malaysia, forming two separate Tamil communities. Tamil is becoming less common among the more highly educated Tamil population, being predominantly replaced by English, and in a minority by Malay. Tamil-medium schools are considered less advantageous than English-medium schools, bringing little prospect of socioeconomic advancement. While the Malaysian government provides limited support for elementary Tamil schooling, secondary school is only taught in Malay, and there are no Tamil private schools. Usage of Tamil remains common among the less educated Tamil community, who often continue to live in their own communities on or near plantations, or in urban squatter settlements.{{Cite journal |last=Schiffman |first=Harold F. |date=1995 |title=Language Shift in the Tamil Communities of Malaysia and Singapore: The Paradox of Egalitarian Language Policy |url=https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/540/handouts/sparadox/sparadox.html |journal=Language Loss and Public Policy |volume=14 |issue=1–2}}

One small group of former Tamil speakers, the Chitty, almost entirely speak Malay.

The Malayalees in Malaysia are known to be the second largest Indian ethnicity, after the Tamils.{{Cite web |title=Malayali, Malayalam in Malaysia |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/17433/MY |website=Joshua Project}} Malayalees can be found in the West Coast states, mostly in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johore. They can be classified into three major groups: labourers, traders and government servants and estate clerks. Malayalee labourers were predominantly Hindus from Palakkad and Cannannore regions in Malabar. These communities spoke South Malabar dialect and Kannur dialect. Some of the labourers who were not associated with the Kangani system were placed in estates that had mix ethnicities, mostly Tamils. Thus, these labourers mix around with the Tamils and eventually used Tamil vocabularies in their language. Some have even received formal Tamil education, which eventually lead them to not speaking Malayalam as their first language but Tamil. The Malayalam-speaking traders who came to Malaya were mostly from the Muslim communities in Malabar. They spoke the Moplah dialect, which has influence of Arabic and Persian language. This particular dialect is still used among today's Malabari Muslims. Besides, Malayalees who were employed as estate clerks and semi-professional positions in the Malayan Civil Service consists of Hindus and Christians from Cochin and Travancore, as they were educated. These people spoke Malayalam dialects which are similar to the standard Malayalam spoken today.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} Many youngsters of the Malayalee community are unable to speak their mother tongue fluently because of the usage of English among the educated urban Malayalees and the domination of Tamil, as a lingua franca of the Malaysian Indians.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mllvBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA139 |title=Language, Education and Nation-building: Assimilation and Shift in Southeast Asia |date=2014 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-45553-6 |editor-last=Sercombe |editor-first=Peter |page=139 |location=Basingstoke, Hampshire |editor-last2=Tupas |editor-first2=Ruanni}} Today, there are roughly more than 200,000 Malayalam speakers in Malaysia.

Other South Asian languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Sinhala, Telugu, and Urdu are also spoken.

A small number of Malaysians have Eurasian ancestry and speak creole languages, such as the Portuguese-based Malaccan Creoles.{{Cite journal |last=Hancock |first=Ian F. |date=1975 |title=Malacca Creole Portuguese: Asian, African or European? |journal=Anthropological Linguistics |volume=17 |issue=5 |pages=211–236 |jstor=30027570}} A Spanish-based creole, Zamboangueño Chavacano, has spread into Sabah from the southern Philippines.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pPUeQLcGMOMC |title=Roots of Creole Structures: Weighing the Contribution of Substrates and Superstrates |date=2008 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=978-90-272-5255-5 |editor-last=Michaelis |editor-first=Susanne |location=Amsterdam}}

Sign languages include Malaysian Sign Language and the older Selangor Sign Language and Penang Sign Language. No sign language is used in the education of the deaf. Instead, Manually Coded Malay is used.

File:7-11 Penang Sentral.jpg stores showing common languages in Malaysia: English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil]]

File:"No Admittance" sign in five languages in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.jpg, Sabah, Malaysia. Top to bottom: Malay, English, Chinese, Punjabi and Tamil]]

Estimated number of speakers in Malaysia as of 2019:{{Better source needed|date=May 2020}}

The estimated numbers of speakers of Chinese languages in Malaysia as of 2019 are as follows:{{Cite web |title=Malaysia |url=https://joshuaproject.net/countries/MY |website=Joshua Project}}{{Better source needed|date=May 2020}}

Estimated number of speakers in Malaysia as of 2023:{{Better source needed|date=May 2020}}

• Arabic
• Burmese
• Filipino
• French
• German
• Indonesian
• Italian
• Japanese
• Khmer
• Korean
• Persian
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• Swahili
• Vietnamese
• Tetum
• Thai (Central Thai)
• Turkish

{{portal|Languages|Malaysia}}

• Demographics of Malaysia

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iaQ0CwAAQBAJ |title=Languages in the Malaysian Education System: Monolingual Strands in Multilingual Settings |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-66947-2 |editor=Asmah Haji Omar |language=en}}

{{refend}}

• [http://www.muturzikin.com/cartesasiesudest/4.htm Languages of Malaysia] at Muturzikin.com
• [https://borneodictionary.com/ borneodictionary.com] - Dictionary of Borneo Languages

{{Languages of Malaysia}}

{{Malaysia topics}}

{{Navboxes

|title = Articles Related to Languages of Malaysia

|list =

{{Asia in topic|Languages of}}

{{English dialects by continent}}

}}