| dc.description.abstract | Chinese new villages are a unique settlement landscape in Malaysia, originally established by the British colonial government in the 1950s as temporary shelters to counter the Malaya Communist Party. Today, these villages have become permanent homes for many residents. This study focuses on Sungai Chua, a new village that emerged from this historical context. The study posits that, while residents of new villages face pressures from government policies and dominant languages (such as Mandarin, Malay, and English), the Hakka dialect remains prevalent in these communities, influencing individual language choices. Despite a wealth of research on Hakka communities in Taiwan, there is limited study on the Hakka Chinese new villages in Malaysia. Additionally, research on language behavior in Malaysian new villages is sparse, thus prompting this investigation.
The study addresses three main questions: Firstly, what is the current state of language use among residents of Sungai Chua, a new village predominantly inhabited by Hakka people? Secondly, what factors influence language choice among residents in various domains? And, what social implications are associated with the language choices of new village residents? This research examines language use in the domains of family, friends, education, religion, and work, and provides a case study analysis of Hakka Chinese new villages in Malaysia. Methodologically, the study employs participant observation, in-depth interviews, and surveys, completing 7 oral history interviews, 36 resident interviews, and collecting 154 valid surveys from Sungai Chua School.
Findings indicate that in the family domain, there is a significant generational difference in language choice, with language replacement largely complete. In the education domain, government policies favoring Malay and the “Speak Mandarin Campaign” in the Chinese community have led to a loss of dialect proficiency among students. In the religious domain, the increase in members from different regions and dialect groups has led to the use of Mandarin and English in public church settings, while multiple languages are still heard in private communication. In the workplace, multilingual abilities and flexible language choice strategies are evident. Overall, the study reveals the multifaceted changes in language choice and the underlying social factors. | en_US |