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Programme: accepted abstracts

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Abstract ID: 900

Part of Session 166: Indigenous Minority Languages in Urban Areas (Other abstracts in this session)

Indigenous Minority languages in Miri, Sarawak

Authors: Abdul Ghani, Bibi Aminah
Submitted by: Abdul Ghani, Bibi Aminah (Curtin University Sarawak Malaysia, Malaysia)

This paper looks into the languages of the community in the Sarawak coastal town of Miri. Miri, since the discovery of oil in the 1900s, has attracted migrants from outside the country and also from the rural areas of Sarawak who seek for jobs and fortune, and education opportunities. With the existence of more than 30 minority groups in its territory, the language contact between the minority and majority groups is inevitable. The amalgamated culture and the harmonious adaptation of the intercultural situationare very clear in this urban town, where people from different ethnics need to find a way to live together in harmony.  This is where the processes of adaptation, accommodation and assimilation of cultures and languages occur. This data for this paper is based on participant observations.

 While studying the Miriek community an urban ethnolinguistic minority in Sarawak, the Kayan, Kenyah, Penan and Kedayan community, and also observations on the Kelabit, the author see similar patterns of accommodation and assimilation phenomena among the groups i.e. adapting a ‘modified”  local lingua franca (Sarawak Malay) as mode of communication for survival.

 The paper begins with an ethnographic and the language ecology of Miri town. Although the minority languages are recognized by its community as an important marker of their identity, most are not favoured due to the rapid socio-economic change that necessitates the shift in the language ecology of the urban society.  Despite the official recognition of the existence of these languages, some feel that their language is useless and ancient. Language maintenance effort is usually very minimal across generations.  Therefore, the outcome of the contact situations has changed the landscape of the minority language forever.

 References

 Aishah Edris & Bibi Aminah, 1992. The influence of the socio-cultural environment and other languages on the Bintulu dialect: An overview. Sarawak Museum Journal XLII(64- New Series): 343-355.

Bibi Aminah Abd Ghani, 2006.  Language Shift and Language Attitude of the Orang Miriek, Paper presented at the Singapore Graduate Forum on Southeast Asia Studies ASEAN Graduate Forum 28 – 29 July 2006 at National University of Singapore. 

Bibi Aminah, Abdul Ghani, 2007. 'Cultural and Linguistic Survival of the Orang Miriek' in Amery, R and Nash J (Eds), Proceedings of Inaugural Indigenous Languages Conference (ilc2007), 24-27 September 2007, University of Adelaide, South Australia, pp61-69. 

Bibi Aminah, A. G. & Ahmad Ridzuan,1992. Language Shift Among the Orang Miriek of Miri Sarawak, In P. Martin (ed.), Shifting Patterns of Language Use in Borneo. Borneo Research Council Proceedings Series 3, 131-146. 

Bibi Aminah, Abdul Ghani, Terry, J.D. and Maip, T.  2009 Pelah Hawa: Kayan Traditional Wedding. The Sarawakiana Series. Kuching: Pustaka Negeri Sarawak. 

Bibi Aminah, Abdul Ghani, Terry, J.D. and Maip, T.  2010. People of the Forest: The Penan. Sarawak Penan Culture, Kuching: Pustaka Negeri Sarawak. 

Bibi Aminah & Nazaruddin Hamit, 2011. Pusau Ngalang Anak: The Kenyah Naming Ceremony. Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Kuching.  

Bibi Aminah, Nazaruddin Hamit, Nong Nurnie & Mawi Taip, 2011. The Makan Tahun of the Kedayan people. Pustaka Negeri Sarawak.