FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIATION IN POLYGLOSSIC BIDAYUH COMMUNITY

Abstract

Bidayuh is an indigenous group living in Sarawak, Malaysia. The study examined the functional differentiation of the Bidayuh language in the polyglossic Bidayuh community in Sarawak, Malaysia. Questionnaire data were obtained from 61 Bidayuh participants from Sarawak. Results showed 68.85% of the participants spoke Bidayuh almost every day but 18.03% did not speak Bidayuh at all. Over two-thirds of the participants could understand and could use Bidayuh in conversations on familiar topics. The language use results showed that the Bidayuh language was used for informal communication in the family, friendship, neighbourhood and transactions domains but less in the formal domains which were dominated by English, Sarawak Malay, and Malay. The participants believed in the symbolic value of the Bidayuh language as an ethnic marker but not in the instrumental importance of the language. They were inclined to attribute the importance of the Bidayuh language to institutional support from non-governmental organisations rather than the status of the Bidayuh community members. The Bidayuh language is not seen as a language for rural and old people, suggesting that there is room for the intergenerational transmission of the Bidayuh language to the younger generation in urban areas.