NOT every grandchild in a family may be fluent in the state dialect spoken by their grandparents, as standard Bahasa Malaysia and English become increasingly ingrained in the speech of younger generations.
She says state dialects are still used in everyday life and in informal settings at home, although their use among the younger generations is increasingly influenced by standard Bahasa Malaysia and English.
“Malays generally retain their dialects, but when it comes to teaching or explaining certain things, standard Malay is often used, while mixing it with English has also become a habit.
“At home, we usually use our state dialect with our grandchildren, but not extensively. It tends to be used when speaking with grandparents,” she says.
Education is another factor, she adds, which has contributed to the younger generations’ greater exposure to standard Bahasa Malaysia as it is the main language used in schools, alongside English.
“For education or official matters, standard Malay is normally used.
“In informal settings, we are also accustomed to mixing in English so the proportion of dialect used is lower and ultimately depends on how much a particular family uses it,” she says.
In some cases, she adds, the younger generations can still understand their family dialect but are not necessarily confident or fluent in speaking it them-selves.
“If grandparents speak frequently with their grandchildren, more Malay dialects will be used compared with standard Bahasa Malaysia. But the situation is different if the grandmother speaks one dialect and the grandfather another.
“That difference causes the grandchildren to be more inclined to use standard Malay when communicating,” she says.
According to Nik Safiah, the influence of local dialects remain strong in certain areas, especially on the East Coast, compared with the greater tendency to use standard Malay on the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
“On the East Coast, children and grandchildren are still surrounded by people who use the local dialect, so they continue to speak it well, except when they go to school.
“For the states on the West Coast, however, there is a greater tendency towards the use of standard Malay, ” she says.
Nik Safiah says a mother’s use of language also tends to have a significant influence on their child’s speech, as children generally communicate more with their mothers in their daily lives.
Whatever it is, state dialects would not necessarily become extinct, she adds, even as everyday speech becomes increasingly mixed with standard Bahasa Malaysia and English.
“From my observation, dialects will endure. Dialects do not have a written form and exist only in speech, but they will not die out even when they become mixed with standard Malay.
“Dialects are an inherent part of a language. People will not abandon them.
“They may become diluted by the influence of other dialects, but they will not disappear,” she says. — Sinar Harian/MIA
