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For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah

Bahasa Kadazandusun or BKD is the sole indigenous language offered in schools in Sabah, initially under the Pupils’ Own Language (POL) program based on the Education Act 1966. Different reactions to-wards BKD come from various concerned stakeholders i.e., ethnic societies, cultural bodies, and polit...

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Main Authors: Jeannet Stephen, Rosazman Hussin, Rosy Talin, Reany Koton
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: Penerbit UKM 2022
Subjects:
DS597.33-597.34 Sabah. British North Borneo
P101-410 Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/1/ABSTRACT.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/2/FULLTEXT.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/ebangi/article/view/58104
https://doi.org/10.17576/ebangi.2022.1906.03
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spelling my.ums.eprints.347712022-11-10T00:52:58Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/ For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah Jeannet Stephen Rosazman Hussin Rosy Talin Reany Koton DS597.33-597.34 Sabah. British North Borneo P101-410 Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar Bahasa Kadazandusun or BKD is the sole indigenous language offered in schools in Sabah, initially under the Pupils’ Own Language (POL) program based on the Education Act 1966. Different reactions to-wards BKD come from various concerned stakeholders i.e., ethnic societies, cultural bodies, and political organizations within the Kadazan and Dusun Orang Asal communities that make up almost 30% of the population of Sabah. Views on BKD range from critical and hardline positions to support and tolerance. Differing opinions can be read in the media due to the press statements by organizations or individuals reported in the news. However, one group whose opinions are rarely heard within the debates is the Orang Asal parents whose children are BKD learners at schools. This paper extracts findings from a larger study conducted to investigate the views and perspectives of stakeholders on the teaching and learning of the Kadazandusun language. In particular, this paper discusses relevant extracts from focus group discussions specifically with par-ents (n = 294) from five districts (Tambunan, Keningau, Kudat, Kota Marudu, and Tuaran). The study found that Orang Asal parents who are non-Kadazan or non-Dusun speakers are supportive of the BKD’s position and role as the sole indigenous language option taught in the national education system while recognizing that they want their indigenous languages to be transmitted to their younger generation, the parents also strongly encourage for inclusion of other ethnic languages in the system, formally or informally. This study found that the acceptance and tolerance shown by the parents, though themselves not speakers of Kadazandusun, are consistent with the sense of community present within indigenous communities in Sabah. The support given by non-Kadazandusun speakers to the standard language points to existing social harmony in a multicultural and multilingual society in Sabah. This paper also discusses at length the history behind the establishment of BKD and language standardization ideology within indigenous communities’ context. Penerbit UKM 2022-08 Article PeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/1/ABSTRACT.pdf text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/2/FULLTEXT.pdf Jeannet Stephen and Rosazman Hussin and Rosy Talin and Reany Koton (2022) For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah. e-Bangi: Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 19. pp. 26-42. ISSN 1823-884x https://ejournal.ukm.my/ebangi/article/view/58104 https://doi.org/10.17576/ebangi.2022.1906.03
institution Universiti Malaysia Sabah
building UMS Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaysia Sabah
content_source UMS Institutional Repository
url_provider http://eprints.ums.edu.my/
language English
English
topic DS597.33-597.34 Sabah. British North Borneo
P101-410 Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar
spellingShingle DS597.33-597.34 Sabah. British North Borneo
P101-410 Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar
Jeannet Stephen
Rosazman Hussin
Rosy Talin
Reany Koton
For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah
description Bahasa Kadazandusun or BKD is the sole indigenous language offered in schools in Sabah, initially under the Pupils’ Own Language (POL) program based on the Education Act 1966. Different reactions to-wards BKD come from various concerned stakeholders i.e., ethnic societies, cultural bodies, and political organizations within the Kadazan and Dusun Orang Asal communities that make up almost 30% of the population of Sabah. Views on BKD range from critical and hardline positions to support and tolerance. Differing opinions can be read in the media due to the press statements by organizations or individuals reported in the news. However, one group whose opinions are rarely heard within the debates is the Orang Asal parents whose children are BKD learners at schools. This paper extracts findings from a larger study conducted to investigate the views and perspectives of stakeholders on the teaching and learning of the Kadazandusun language. In particular, this paper discusses relevant extracts from focus group discussions specifically with par-ents (n = 294) from five districts (Tambunan, Keningau, Kudat, Kota Marudu, and Tuaran). The study found that Orang Asal parents who are non-Kadazan or non-Dusun speakers are supportive of the BKD’s position and role as the sole indigenous language option taught in the national education system while recognizing that they want their indigenous languages to be transmitted to their younger generation, the parents also strongly encourage for inclusion of other ethnic languages in the system, formally or informally. This study found that the acceptance and tolerance shown by the parents, though themselves not speakers of Kadazandusun, are consistent with the sense of community present within indigenous communities in Sabah. The support given by non-Kadazandusun speakers to the standard language points to existing social harmony in a multicultural and multilingual society in Sabah. This paper also discusses at length the history behind the establishment of BKD and language standardization ideology within indigenous communities’ context.
format Article
author Jeannet Stephen
Rosazman Hussin
Rosy Talin
Reany Koton
author_facet Jeannet Stephen
Rosazman Hussin
Rosy Talin
Reany Koton
author_sort Jeannet Stephen
title For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah
title_short For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah
title_full For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah
title_fullStr For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah
title_full_unstemmed For the greater good: Resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in Sabah
title_sort for the greater good: resolving differences in opinions on the standard indigenous language in sabah
publisher Penerbit UKM
publishDate 2022
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/1/ABSTRACT.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/2/FULLTEXT.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/34771/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/ebangi/article/view/58104
https://doi.org/10.17576/ebangi.2022.1906.03
_version_ 1760231339707072512
score 13.211869

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