Malaysian Mandarin speakers seldom translate local terms or names to Mandarin when they speak. They would prefer to verbally use Malay place names in their original Malay pronunciation: for instance, even though the street name "Jalan Bukit Kepong" is written as "武吉甲洞路" (wǔjí jiǎdòng lù, literally "Bukit Kepong Road") in local Chinese printed media, the local Chinese almost never use wǔjí jiǎdòng lù in daily conversations. There are exceptions, for example Taiping, since this name is derived from the Chinese language, when people mention this place when speaking local Mandarin, they always use its Mandarin pronunciation, "Tàipíng", instead of using its Malay pronunciation, which is closer to "Taipeng". Another example is when a place's Chinese translation varied vastly with its native Malay name, for example: for Teluk Intan, Seremban, Kota Kinabalu and Bau, they are preferably referred respectively as Ānsùn (安顺) (which refers to "Teluk Anson", Teluk Intan's former colonial name), Fúróng (芙蓉) Yàbì (亚庇), Shilongmen (石隆門).
Malaysian Mandarin's phonology is closer to the Mandarin accents of Southern China, than towards the Beijing standard pronunciation, due to the influence of other dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien.[2]
In comparison with Standard Chinese, Taiwanese or Singaporean Mandarin, Malaysian Mandarin is clearly distinguished by its relatively tonally 'flat' sound as well as its extensive use of glottal stops and the "checked tone."[3] This results in a distinct "clipped" sound compared to other forms of Mandarin.
The phonemes "j", "x", and "h" (as in 级 ji, 西 xi, and 汉 han) tend to be pronounced as /t͡s/, /s/, and /h/ (rather than /t͡ɕ/, /ɕ/, and /x/)
the "er" phoneme (as in 儿 or 二) is usually pronounced as /ə/ (instead of /ɚ/)
the "i" phoneme (as in 吃, 十, or 日) is usually pronounced as /ɨ~ə/ (instead of /ɹ̩~ɻ̩/)
the "r" phoneme (as in 然) is usually pronounced as /ɹ/ (similar to English, instead of /ʐ/)
Demographics
As of 2014, 93% of ethnic Chinese families in Malaysia speak varieties of Chinese, which includes Mandarin.[4]
Early Ming and Qing immigrants
The majority of ethnic Chinese people living in Malaysia came from China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, between the 15th and early 20th centuries. Earlier immigrants married Malays and assimilated to a larger extent than later waves of migrants – they form a distinct sub-ethnic group known as the Peranakans, and their descendants speak Malay.
The majority of immigrants were speakers of Hokkien (Min Nan), Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew, and Hainanese. In the 19th century, Qing immigrants to Malaya had no single common language and were mostly uneducated peasants, and they tended to cluster themselves according to the ethno-linguistic group, usually corresponding to their place of origin, and worked with relatives and other speakers of the same language. In 1879, according to Isabella Bird, a visitor to the tin mining boomtown of Taiping, Perak, "five topolects of Chinese are spoken, and Chinamen constantly communicate with each other in Malay, because they can't understand each other's Chinese".[5]
The Chinese languages spoken in Malaysia have over the years become localized (e.g. Penang Hokkien), as is apparent from the use of Malay and English loan words. Words from other Chinese languages are also injected, depending on the educational and cultural background of the speaker (see Education in Malaysia and Rojak language). Mandarin in Malaysia has also been localized, as a result of the influence of other Chinese variants spoken in Malaysia, rather than the Malay language. Loan words were discouraged in Mandarin instructions at local Chinese school and were regarded as mispronunciations.[citation needed]
^Lian, Kwen Fee (1 July 2006). Race, Ethnicity, and the State in Malaysia and Singapore. BRILL. p. 111. ISBN978-90-474-0946-5.
^Khoo, Kiak Uei (1 March 2017). "Malaysian Mandarin variation with regard to Mandarin globalization trend: Issues on language standardization". International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 2017 (244): 65–86. doi:10.1515/ijsl-2016-0057. ISSN 1613-3668. Today, though recent studies showed the spread of Mandarin to replace Chinese dialects as the lingua franca among Chinese populations in Malaysia (Wang 2012), due to the unique dialectal groupings of Chinese populations among many townships nationwide, Chinese dialects still maintain their strongholds as regional languages, not dismissing the fact that they still remain as the most widely used household language (Khoo 2012).
^Khoo, Kiak Uei (1 March 2017). "Malaysian Mandarin variation with regard to Mandarin globalization trend: Issues on language standardization". International Journal of the Sociology of Language. 2017 (244): 65–86. doi:10.1515/ijsl-2016-0057. ISSN 1613-3668. Third, rusheng, also known as ‘checked tone’, a shortened syllable that ends with an abrupt stop, commonly exists in southern Chinese dialects, but not in Mandarin, including Putonghua. However, Malaysian Mandarin, heavily influenced by Cantonese and Hokkien word sounds, has many words pronounced in a checked tone.
^Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin. "Research Found Malaysian Chinese Do Not Give Due Attention To Bahasa Malaysia Usage Archived 11 March 2015 at WebCite" (Archive). National University of Malaysia. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2015. "She also found 93% of Malaysian families of Chinese origin speak Mandarin with many different combinations of dialects and currently 53% of the respondents speak Chinese dialects with their parents compared with 42% in 1970."
^[The Encyclopedia of Malaysia: Languages & Literature by Prof. Dato' Dr Asmah Haji Omar (2004) ISBN981-3018-52-6.]
External links
January 07, 2023
malaysian, mandarin, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Malaysian Mandarin news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Malaysian Mandarin simplified Chinese 马来西亚华语 traditional Chinese 馬來西亞華語 pinyin Mǎlaixiya Huayǔ is a variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken in Malaysia by ethnic Chinese in Malaysia Today Malaysian Mandarin is the lingua franca of the Malaysian Chinese community 1 Malaysian Mandarin马来西亚华语Mǎlaixiya HuayǔRegionMalaysiaLanguage familySino Tibetan SiniticMandarinBeijing dialectStandard ChineseMalaysian MandarinWriting systemSimplified Chinese charactersOfficial statusOfficial language inNoneRegulated byChinese Language Standardisation Council of MalaysiaLanguage codesISO 639 3 GlottologNoneLinguasphere79 AAA bbd part colloquial Malaysian Mandarin speakers seldom translate local terms or names to Mandarin when they speak They would prefer to verbally use Malay place names in their original Malay pronunciation for instance even though the street name Jalan Bukit Kepong is written as 武吉甲洞路 wǔji jiǎdong lu literally Bukit Kepong Road in local Chinese printed media the local Chinese almost never use wǔji jiǎdong lu in daily conversations There are exceptions for example Taiping since this name is derived from the Chinese language when people mention this place when speaking local Mandarin they always use its Mandarin pronunciation Taiping instead of using its Malay pronunciation which is closer to Taipeng Another example is when a place s Chinese translation varied vastly with its native Malay name for example for Teluk Intan Seremban Kota Kinabalu and Bau they are preferably referred respectively as Ansun 安顺 which refers to Teluk Anson Teluk Intan s former colonial name Furong 芙蓉 Yabi 亚庇 Shilongmen 石隆門 Contents 1 Phonology 2 Demographics 3 Early Ming and Qing immigrants 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksPhonology Edit source source source A Malaysian man speaking Mandarin with a Malaysian accent This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Malaysian Mandarin s phonology is closer to the Mandarin accents of Southern China than towards the Beijing standard pronunciation due to the influence of other dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien 2 In comparison with Standard Chinese Taiwanese or Singaporean Mandarin Malaysian Mandarin is clearly distinguished by its relatively tonally flat sound as well as its extensive use of glottal stops and the checked tone 3 This results in a distinct clipped sound compared to other forms of Mandarin The phonemes j x and h as in 级 ji 西 xi and 汉 han tend to be pronounced as t s s and h rather than t ɕ ɕ and x the er phoneme as in 儿 or 二 is usually pronounced as e instead of ɚ the i phoneme as in 吃 十 or 日 is usually pronounced as ɨ e instead of ɹ ɻ the r phoneme as in 然 is usually pronounced as ɹ similar to English instead of ʐ Demographics EditAs of 2014 93 of ethnic Chinese families in Malaysia speak varieties of Chinese which includes Mandarin 4 Early Ming and Qing immigrants EditThe majority of ethnic Chinese people living in Malaysia came from China during the Ming and Qing dynasties between the 15th and early 20th centuries Earlier immigrants married Malays and assimilated to a larger extent than later waves of migrants they form a distinct sub ethnic group known as the Peranakans and their descendants speak Malay The majority of immigrants were speakers of Hokkien Min Nan Cantonese Hakka Teochew and Hainanese In the 19th century Qing immigrants to Malaya had no single common language and were mostly uneducated peasants and they tended to cluster themselves according to the ethno linguistic group usually corresponding to their place of origin and worked with relatives and other speakers of the same language In 1879 according to Isabella Bird a visitor to the tin mining boomtown of Taiping Perak five topolects of Chinese are spoken and Chinamen constantly communicate with each other in Malay because they can t understand each other s Chinese 5 The Chinese languages spoken in Malaysia have over the years become localized e g Penang Hokkien as is apparent from the use of Malay and English loan words Words from other Chinese languages are also injected depending on the educational and cultural background of the speaker see Education in Malaysia and Rojak language Mandarin in Malaysia has also been localized as a result of the influence of other Chinese variants spoken in Malaysia rather than the Malay language Loan words were discouraged in Mandarin instructions at local Chinese school and were regarded as mispronunciations citation needed See also EditMalaysian ChineseVariants of Mandarin Chinese Standard Mandarin Singaporean Mandarin Taiwanese Mandarin Philippine Mandarin Regional differences in the Chinese languageReferences Edit Lian Kwen Fee 1 July 2006 Race Ethnicity and the State in Malaysia and Singapore BRILL p 111 ISBN 978 90 474 0946 5 Khoo Kiak Uei 1 March 2017 Malaysian Mandarin variation with regard to Mandarin globalization trend Issues on language standardization International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2017 244 65 86 doi 10 1515 ijsl 2016 0057 ISSN 1613 3668 Today though recent studies showed the spread of Mandarin to replace Chinese dialects as the lingua franca among Chinese populations in Malaysia Wang 2012 due to the unique dialectal groupings of Chinese populations among many townships nationwide Chinese dialects still maintain their strongholds as regional languages not dismissing the fact that they still remain as the most widely used household language Khoo 2012 Khoo Kiak Uei 1 March 2017 Malaysian Mandarin variation with regard to Mandarin globalization trend Issues on language standardization International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2017 244 65 86 doi 10 1515 ijsl 2016 0057 ISSN 1613 3668 Third rusheng also known as checked tone a shortened syllable that ends with an abrupt stop commonly exists in southern Chinese dialects but not in Mandarin including Putonghua However Malaysian Mandarin heavily influenced by Cantonese and Hokkien word sounds has many words pronounced in a checked tone Saiful Bahri Kamaruddin Research Found Malaysian Chinese Do Not Give Due Attention To Bahasa Malaysia Usage Archived 11 March 2015 at WebCite Archive National University of Malaysia 27 May 2014 Retrieved 11 March 2015 She also found 93 of Malaysian families of Chinese origin speak Mandarin with many different combinations of dialects and currently 53 of the respondents speak Chinese dialects with their parents compared with 42 in 1970 The Encyclopedia of Malaysia Languages amp Literature by Prof Dato Dr Asmah Haji Omar 2004 ISBN 981 3018 52 6 External links Edit马来西亚华语 南洋的北方官话方言 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Malaysian Mandarin amp oldid 1118101120, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
