2015/12/31 by Wang Xiao-mei · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Multilingual Education and Policy #Asian Studies and History #Linguistic, Cultural, and Literary Studies #Mandarin Chinese #Diaspora #Vitality #Language contact #Ethnic group #History #Linguistics #Geography #Chinese language #China #Population #Language shift #Sociology #Anthropology #Gender studies #Demography #Archaeology
paper · doi:10.1017/cbo9781107477186.014
openalex publication_date 2015/12/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Chinese language varieties, including both Mandarin and dialects such as Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien and so on, are widely spoken in Malaysia, where the Chinese diaspora constitutes 24.6 percent of the total population. This chapter reviews the history and current situation of these Chinese language varieties in Malaysia from the following perspectives: (1) the demographic and regional distribution of these varieties, (2) the spread and standardization of modern Chinese since the twentieth century, (3) the role of the Chinese language in education, (4) language contact due to the frequent interaction with ethnic Malays, and (5) the vitality of the Chinese language in Malaysia. The chapter closes with predictions of future developments of the Chinese language in Malaysia.