Gender, Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity, and Language Choices of Malaysian Youths: the Case of the Family Domain

Oct 15, 2026

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This study examines the relationships among gender, ethnicity, ethnic identity, and language choices of Malaysian multilingual youths within the family domain of language use. Five hundred undergraduate students aged 17–25 from different Malaysian ethnic groups participated. A random proportional stratified sampling strategy guided recruitment. Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire covering demographics, language choices in the family domain, and ethnic identity concepts; analyses used SPSS with descriptive and inferential statistics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

1. Introduction

1. 1 Malaysia: A Multilingual Country

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 8 No. 2; April 2017 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | Flourishing Creativity & Literacy | | | Gender, Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity, and Language Choices of Malaysian Youths: the Case of the Family Domain Mehdi Granhemat Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Ain Nadzimah Abdullah (Corresponding author) Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia E-mail: [ain@upm.edu.my](ain@upm.edu.my) Doi:10 .7575/aiac.alls.v. 8n.2p.26 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.2p.26](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.2p.26) Received: 07/01/2017 Accepted: 20/02/2017 Abstract This study examined the relationships between gender, ethnicity, ethnic identity, and language choices of Malaysian multilingual youths in the family domain of language use. Five hundred undergraduate students who belonged to different Malaysian ethnic groups were selected as participants of the study. The participant aged between 17 to 25 years old. To select the participants, a random proportional stratified sampling strategy was developed. A self administered questionnaire survey comprising three sections was used for gathering information about participants’demographic profiles, their language choices in the family domain, and the concepts of their ethnic identity. To make analyses about the most used languages of the participants and the relationships between variables, SPSS software was run. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the participants ’profiles as well as participants’used languages in the family domain of language use. Inferential statistics was used to examine relationships between variables. According to results of the study, in the family domain five codes were mostly used by the participants. These five codes were respectively, the Malay language, mixed use of Malay and English, Chinese, Mixed use of Chinese and English, and English. Furthermore, in the family domain, gender did not exert any influence on the choice of language of the multilingual participants, but ethnicity was found to be a determinant of language choice. Ethnic identity was found to influence the language choices of the Malays as well, but it did not affect the Chinese and Indian participants’ language choices in this domain of language use. Keywords: multilinguals, family domain of language use, choice of language, ethnicity, gender, ethnic identity 1. Introduction In a multilingual country, members of ethnic groups speak their indigenous languages inside their speech communities (Elias, 2008, p. 8) . In such linguistic ecologies, parallel to the indigenous languages, there is often another language that is used in more formal social events such as governmental debates, judicial environments and educational settings (Adams, Matu, & Ongarora, 2012) . This formal language could be the language of the former colonial government, which was introduced to a country during its colonial era. Alternatively, it could be a promoted indigenous language that was selected as result of a language policy of a particular newly established state (Ferguson, 2006; Cooper, 1989) . In the latter case, the selection of the formal language could also be evaluated as a reaction towards colonialism and used for nation building purposes (Cooper, 1989; Fishman, 1975) . 1. 1 Malaysia: A Multilingual Country An understanding of the interwoven multicultural/multilingual social life in Malaysia is normally dependent on a discussion of language choice (Venugopal, 2000, p. 11) . The socio-cultural history of the peoples who comprise Malaysian civil society has clearly influenced the linguistic behavior of Malaysian individuals. Various ethnic groups live in Malaysia, but three ethnic groups, i.e. the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians are considered as

FAQs

What variables does the study investigate regarding Malaysian youths?

The study investigates gender, ethnicity, ethnic identity, and language choices in the family domain of language use.

How were participants selected for the study?

Five hundred undergraduate students from different Malaysian ethnic groups were selected using a random proportional stratified sampling strategy.

What did the results show about language choice in the family domain?

In the family domain, five language codes were mostly used: Malay, mixed Malay-English, Chinese, mixed Chinese-English, and English.

Does gender influence language choice in this study?

Gender did not exert any influence on the language choice of the multilingual participants, while ethnicity was found to be a determinant.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher