A hierarchical model for language maintenance and language shift: focus on the Malaysian Chinese community

Abstract

Social factors involved in language maintenance and language shift (LMLS) have been the focus of LMLS studies. Previous studies provide fundamental support for the theoretical development of this research branch. However, there is no discussion regarding the hierarchical order of these social factors, i.e. the degree of importance of various social factors in the process of LMLS in a specific multilingual society. This article aims to illustrate the hierarchy of population factor, settlement mode factor, and status and institutional support factor in the process of LMLS across various dialect groups in the Malaysian Chinese community in Kuala Lumpur. Based on the analysis of the decline of language proficiency, discontinuation of intergenerational transmission and decline of language use in public settings, a hierarchical model of LMLS is constructed.