Malaysian English, normativity and workplace interactions

Abstract

It has been contended that in the context of the globalized workplace the widespread use of English will exert pressure towards global uniformity yet result in the emergence of a large number of local varieties of English and hybrids. This paper examines such contradictory sociolinguistic tensions between the phenomenon of homogeneity and normativity on the one hand, and fragmentation and variability on the other, by exploring the nexus of normativity and language choice and use in the situated discourse of Malaysian business contexts. The proclaimed universality of English as the international language of the globalized workplace is compared and contrasted with the particularity of localized interactions that challenge the traditional normative view of language choice and modelling in these contexts. The structural and lexical parsimony of localized speech variation together with its “un–English” intonation patterns and syllable timed rhythm, points not only to its versatility, but also to its communicative viability as an alternative to more standard variants of the old heritage in these non–native speaking bastions of normative English language use.