Multilingual legal practice and law student internships in Malaysia

Abstract

AbstractMediated through hierarchical domestic institutions and a global system of jurisprudence that tends to view older jurisdictions as more authentic or authoritative legal sources, the language of common law is seldom explored through a world Englishes lens, but Malaysian law has opened up possibilities for indigenised and pluricentric common law by its use of Malay alongside English. While some studies have examined bilingualism in Malaysian public courtrooms, few have looked into the less accessible spaces of law office practice. This study investigates bilingual legal practice through the experiences of law students undertaking professional internships at various institutions nationwide. Although some sectors lean toward one language more than the other, most students reported intense and dynamic patterns of bilingualism. The findings offer scope for research specifically into Malaysian legal English from a language contact perspective.