Nativised English Lexemes and Semantic Shift in Malaysian English

Abstract

In Malaysia, Malaysian English is a variety that is very much known by the speech community and commonly used for colloquial communication. Although many studies have been conducted in exploring the development of ME within various aspects, little research have focused on the development of English lexemes of semantic shift in ME. Thus, as empirical literatures in the field have shown that lexis and semantics are constantly evolving from time to time, it is imperative that more research studies should also be conducted to investigate on the identification of frequently used indigenized English lexemes as well as validating its meanings in the Malaysian context so that linguists and researchers will have a better understanding on the current lexical trends in Malaysia and so that more research can further explore other aspects of these current trending lexicals among different social groups in the Malaysian speech community. Based on a descriptive cross-sectional survey approach through the distribution of questionnaires, findings shows that frequently used English lexemes of semantic shift in ME are found to be under the category of informalization in ME and that most of the meanings of the words in the study were agreed by respondents. However, comments from the respondents also shows that several words could also have wider and deeper meanings in ME which is why this study suggests that further research studies can be conducted to investigate this phenomenon.