Language Policy in Malaysia: Reversing Direction

• Autores: Saran Kaur Gill
• Localización: Language policy, ISSN 1568-4555, Vol. 4, Nº. 3, 2005, págs. 241-260
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • After Independence in 1957, the government of Malaysia set out on a program to establish Bahasa Melayu as official language, to be used in all government functions and as the medium of instruction at all levels. For 40 years, the government supported a major program for language cultivation and modernization. It did not however attempt to control language use in the private sector, including business and industry, where globalization pressure led to a growing demand for English. The demand for English was further fuelled by the forces of the internationalization of education which were met in part by the opening of English-medium affiliates of international universities. In 2002, the government announced a reversal of policy, calling for a switch to English as a medium of instruction at all levels. This paper sets out to analyze the pressures to which the government was responding.