Malaysia to Levy Fines for Poor Speech

[Scott F. Kiesling]

Good luck to the poor language police that have to enforce
this....
SFK


Malaysia to Levy Fines for Poor Speech 

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 7:52 a.m. ET

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysia will levy fines on those
incorrectly using the national language, and will set up a specialized
division to weed out offenders who mix Malay with English, news reports
said Thursday.

Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim said fines of up to 1,000
ringgit ($271) can be imposed on displays with any wrong or mutated form
of Malay, the Star newspaper reported.

The move was to ensure ''the national language was not sidelined in any
way,'' Rais said, according to The Star.

Fines will be imposed after a first warning, the national news agency
Bernama quoted Rais as saying.

Most Malaysians speak Malay, also known as Bahasa Malaysia, while
English is widely spoken but a mutated form, known as ''Manglish'' -- a
mishmash of English, Malay and other local dialects is commonly used in
the Southeast Asian nation.

The government will attempt to swap commonly used English language words
with Malay substitutes, The Star said.

''It has to be admitted that a mixture of Bahasa Malaysia and English
sometimes cannot be helped, but we hope these measures can arrest the
decline,'' Rais said, according to The Star.

He said a national language unit will be set up in an attempt to reduce
the English-Malay mix, especially at official functions.

An official at Rais' ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity,
confirmed his comments as reported.

Critics have said Malaysia's decision to sideline English in favor of
Malay is hurting its global competitiveness level and a downward spiral
in English language standards among students.
 

-- 
Scott F. Kiesling, PhD
Associate Professor
Department Chair
Director of Graduate Studies

Department of Linguistics 
University of Pittsburgh

Graduate program information:
http://www.linguistics.pitt.edu/grad/index.html

Email: kiesling-at-pitt-dot-edu
Web: http://www.pitt.edu/~kiesling/skpage.html

2816 Cathedral of Learning     Phone: 1-412-624-5916
Pittsburgh, PA 15260 USA       Fax: 1-412-624-6130