Preserving Ethnic Identity through Native Language and Religion: A Case Study of the Malay-Muslims in Southern Thailand

Abstract

The Malay language as an ethnic minority language for the Malay-Muslims in southern Thailand appears to have a religious meaning besides its cultural and ethnic significance indications. In a context of language contact like the one in Thailand, minority languages of ethnic groups are prone to change, attrition, and loss. The studies reviewed provide rich data illustrating an interdependent relationship between language and identity. The maintenance of an ethnic minority language plays a vital role in the maintenance of ethnicity, cultural identification, and religious conventions for many communities and vice versa. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to discuss how Malay as a native language and Islam as a religion are two main factors to preserve and sustain the Malay ethnic identity among the Malay Muslims of southern Thailand. It is important to examine the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of Malay Muslims about their native language and to observe whether Malay and Thai have different functions and context status from each other in their lives.