Malay Speakers Research Articles

Intonation patterns of questions in Malaysian English

ABSTRACTThis article examines the intonation patterns used by Malaysian English (MalE) speakers when asking ‘wh-’ questions and ‘yes/no’ questions. Analysis on recordings of Malay, Chinese and Indian speakers revealed similar patterns in the intonation patterns of MalE wh- questions and yes/no questions regardless of the ethnicity of the speaker: wh- questions and yes/no questions tended to start with a level tone; yes/no questions ended with rises, while wh- questions ended with either falls or rises. These patterns cannot merely be attributed to the influence of the speakers’ first languages nor were they learner errors. However, whether these features are accepted as norms of MalE pronunciation will, to a certain extent, be dependent on the perception of MalE among Malaysians, which at the current point in time is generally inconsistent.

The Development of SAH Reading Passage Compendium: A Tool for the Assessment of Reading Performance Related to Visual Function

Passages with continuous sentences are commonly used for the assessment of reading performance related to visual function, and rehabilitation in optometric practices. Passages created in native languages are crucial for a reliable interpretation in a real scenario. This study aimed to report the development of SAH Reading Passage Compendium (SAHRPC), as a tool for the assessment of reading performance related to visual function. SAHRPC uses the Malay language as the medium of communication. The development of the SAHRPC encompassed three stages: exploratory, confirmatory and prototyping. In the exploratory stage, 300 sentences were extracted from the standard school textbook (in the Malay language) endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. The accumulated reading materials were processed based on two deciding factors: continuous sentence structure and predetermined total number of words. A total of 56 passages were constructed with equal readability, based on a simple “5 continuous sentences structure of 50 words” combination. In the confirmatory stage, the 56 passages were verified by normal sighted native Malay speakers. The reading duration was measured using a stopwatch, while the errors were recorded using an audiotape. Reading speed was quantified in words per minute (wpm). Three passages were first eliminated based on the outliers present in the boxplot graph. Eleven passages were further eliminated based on the 10 % highest error and 5 % of the two extreme ends of the reading speed range. The remaining 42 passages with good reliability were randomly compiled into 3 sets of 13 passages. Thirteen passages in each set were randomly sorted into 13 print sizes, ranged from 1.2 logMAR to 0.0 logMAR. The interchangeability of the 3 sets was inspected and confirmed. A prototype was developed and packaged as the SAHRPC, to be used as a tool for the assessment of reading performance related to visual function, and rehabilitation purposes.

–ED ALLOMORPHS AND LINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE OF MALAY SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH: A DESCRIPTIVE AND CORRELATIONAL STUDY

Malay is a language from the Austronesian family and unlike the Indo-European-originated English, it does not generally have inflectional temporal markers. Investigating this from a cross-linguistics - influence perspective, differences between the languages could mean difficulties for Malay speakers to acquire features of English. The objectives of this study are to investigate Malay speakers’ pronunciation of the English language –ed allomorphs – [d], [t] and [ɪd]/[əd] – and the relationship between the morphophonological forms and two types of linguistic knowledge, one of which is implicit while the other is explicit. Data were collated from fifty participants who are social science undergraduates and English majors who speak English as a second language. Four instruments were used to gauge the respondents’ verbal use of –ed allomorphs as well as their implicit and explicit knowledge of the allomorphs. Results indicate that the students’ verbal usage of the target items either lacks approximation to Standard English pronunciation or is largely dropped altogether. Results also suggest a moderate relationship between implicit and explicit knowledge of the allomorphs and their verbal production by Malay speakers of English. The finding illuminates acquisition problem of English language speakers whose mother tongue does not share similar inflectional markers. Pedagogical solutions can help learners of the English language to approximate Standard English and in the long run, enhance effective communication and increase chances of employability.

The direction giving pointing gestures of the Malay Malaysian speech community

Abstract When we speak, we do not only produce a chain of words and utterances, but we also perform various body movements that convey information. These movements are usually made with the hands and are what McNeill (1992) terms gestures. Although gesturing is universal, the way we gesture and the meanings we associate with gestures vary cross-culturally. Using a qualitative approach, this paper describes and illustrates the forms and functions of pointing gestures used by Malay speakers. The data discussed is based on 10 video recorded direction-giving interactions. Findings show that pointing among Malay speakers is achieved through the use of various manual pointing gestures and other bodily actions involving gaze, torso and head movements, which communicate distinct functions. This study has indicated that although some gesture forms and functions are shared among Malay speakers and other cultural groups, some direction-giving pointing behaviors are Malay specific.

A Prospective Evaluation of Speech Distortion among Patients Wearing Hawley Retainer Using Acoustics Approach

1.1.Background: Orthodontic retainers constrict the oral cavity’s dimension and restrict tongue movement during articulation, resulting in distortions of various sounds. Speech impairment is among the main reason for poor patient compliance in wearing the retainers which leads to treatment relapse. 1.2.Objectives: To determine and describe the changes of the distorted sounds in patients wearing upper and lower Hawley retainer. 1.3.Materials and methods: Sixteen orthodontic patients who were at the end of fixed appliance phase were included as subjects in this study. They were all speakers of native Malay, aged between 15 to 31 years old. The sound sample of selected phonemes with /t/, /d/, /k/ and /n/ consonant were recorded from the subjects before wearing (T0), immediately after wearing retainers (T1), and at 1 week (T2), 2 weeks (T3), 1 month (T4), 2 months (T5) and 3 months (T6) of wearing the retainers. Based on the recordings, acoustic analysis was performed objectively on each subject to determine the duration value of selected phonemes at each interval. 1.4.Results: All phonemes tested showed significant speech distortion (p 0.008). Conclusions: A marked distortion of /t/, /d/, /k/ and /n/ consonant sounds were observed in patients during the initial wearing of Hawley retainer. Patient needs to be well informed of the changes and encouraged for constant wearing. With good cooperation, speech will be adapted to normal pattern within 3 months.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Malay Version of the Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale (CHAOS-6) among Myocardial Infarction Survivors in a Malaysian Cardiac Healthcare Facility.

The six item Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale (CHAOS-6) has been validated as a reliable tool to measure levels of household disorder. We aimed to investigate the goodness of fit and reliability of a new Malay version of the CHAOS-6. The original English version of the CHAOS-6 underwent forward-backward translation into the Malay language. The finalised Malay version was administered to 105 myocardial infarction survivors in a Malaysian cardiac health facility. We performed confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) using structural equation modelling. A path diagram and fit statistics were yielded to determine the Malay version's validity. Composite reliability was tested to determine the scale's reliability. All 105 myocardial infarction survivors participated in the study. The CFA yielded a six-item, one-factor model with excellent fit statistics. Composite reliability for the single factor CHAOS-6 was 0.65, confirming that the scale is reliable for Malay speakers. The Malay version of the CHAOS-6 was reliable and showed the best fit statistics for our study sample. We thus offer a simple, brief, validated, reliable and novel instrument to measure chaos, the Skala Kecelaruan, Keriuhan & Tertib Terubahsuai (CHAOS-6), for the Malaysian population.

Malaysian English Monophthongs by Regional Malay Dialect Speakers: Convergence or Divergence?

This study investigates the possible influence of Malay regional dialects on Malaysian English monophthongs. It compares the production of Malay and English monophthongs by male and female speakers of Standard Malay, Terengganu Malay and Kelantan Malay. Formant and Euclidean distance measurements show that although there are significant variations in Malay monophthong production, the speakers’ English monophthongs tend to converge spectrally. Two second language phonology theories are used to explain the results.

Development of the malay digit triplet test via headphones and telephones as a national hearing screening tool in Malaysia

Introduction: This study aimed to develop a self-administered hearing screening test using digit triplets in Malay (MDTT) to be used as a national hearing screening tool via internet and telephone landlines in Malaysia. Methods: Recordings of disyllabic Malay digits by a female Malay native speaker were used together with a speech shaped stationary noise (TSN). The test stimuli were normalized using responses from twenty normal hearing native Malay speakers. The data were used to produce eight equivalent test lists. An additional twenty normal hearing native Malay speakers were recruited to test the lists equivalency. Forty six listeners with varying levels of hearing were recruited to validate the tests. ROC analysis was done to identify the pass and refer cut-off limits. Results: No statistical differences were found between lists for both test conditions. The evaluation in fixed SNRs resulted in a mean speech reception threshold (SRT) of -11.3 ± 0.34 dB SNR for headphone and -10.24 ± 0.1 dB SNR for telephone applications. A significant main effect of type of transducer was observed in both normal and hearing impaired groups. The cut off for refer, sensitivity and specificity for the tests using telephones are (-5.8dB, 80.8%, 95%) and headphones (-9.8dB, 80.8%, 100%). Conclusions: The MDTT was successfully developed and the normative values are comparable to other versions of the digit triplet tests. The MDTT showed high sensitivity and specificity and can be made available to any Malay speaking public via telephone and internet.

REFUSAL STRATEGIES USED BY MALAY ESL STUDENTSAND ENGLISH NATIVE SPEAKERS TO REFUSE A REQUEST

The present study investigates similarities and differences of a speech act of refusal in English as realized by Malay Speakers of English (MSE) and Native Speakers of English (NSE). The study examined the types and also the contents of the strategies used by the two groups when refusing a request made by a higher status interlocutor. An Enhanced Open Role-play was utilized to obtain data on the types and content of refusal strategies. Participants of the study comprised 12 MSE undergraduate students from a local university and 12 NSE who were IGSCE and Diploma Baccalaureate students from an international school who had refused to the higher status interlocutor’s request. Qualitative data analytic methods were used to analyse the data which were classified into semantic refusal strategies and politeness strategies. Brown’s and Levinson’s politeness theory, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Hall’s high- and low-context cultures were used to guide the study. The findings revealed that the two groups shared many similarities in terms of types and contents of the strategies when refusing to the higher status interlocutor’s requests. Nevertheless, the NSE demonstrated a higher use of direct strategies and the content of their indirect strategies and adjuncts to refusal strategies reflect the western individualistic values. The MSEs,’ on the other hand exhibited the eastern values which prioritize group’s importance. These findings provide further insights on the complexities of refusal interaction and the patterns could be used by English language teachers as pragmatic input to develop English as a Second Language students’ ability to use socially appropriate language for the situation they encounter.

Malay English intonation

This paper presents the findings of a study on the intonational features in ten proficient Malay Speakers of English (MSEs), focusing on a distinct rising tone (the Cooperative Rise, CR). Using Brazil’s (1985) Discourse Intonation as a framework for analysis, the CR discourse function differs from the rise and fall-rise of Standard Southern British English (SSBE). The CR is a referring tone used to provide extra emphasis on important information and create a more cooperative and supportive tone. The form and function of the CR are examined in relation to SSBE and other varieties of World Englishes. The results indicate that duration and pitch range of the CR are significantly different from the standard rise.

A Flexible Malay Speech Synthesis Using Espeak Design

Previous research proved that a complete and usable Malay Text-to-Speech (TTS) system based on formant synthesis could be developed within a short period of time without in-depth knowledge in relevant fields. The speech produced however still been influenced by Indonesian and English pronunciation. This has led to this research that intended to improve the Malay speech synthesizer produced in the earlier research by focusing on pronunciation of vowel /E/ in Malay language that has two variants and consonant stops. The research was conducted by learning the basic knowledge on TTS and TTS development tool to be used, eSpeakedit, before undergoing experimentation stage to produce the new Malay speech synthesizer based on the earlier research. The speech for a list of words produced by the new synthesizer were later been compared with the speech generated by the earlier Malay synthesizer, which afterwardsevaluated by 12 Malay native speaker respondents. From the evaluation, on average, 85% of the respondents chose the speech from the word list produced by the new Malay synthesizer to be closer to their daily Malay pronunciation while another 15% chose speech produced by earlier research’s Malay synthesizer. Evaluation result indicates an improvement on the Malay synthesizer’s output but further enhancement such as sound replacement for consonant stops with recorded sound using Praat software and more balanced evaluation target respondents could further improve future research.

Modal Categories in Contact: The Case of Heritage Ambon Malay in the Netherlands

This article reports the preliminary findings of a study examining the semantics of modal verbs in heritage Ambon Malay, a language variety spoken by Dutch-Ambon Malay bilinguals in the Netherlands whose dominant language is Dutch. In this study, I examined the use of the necessity modal musti [must] in the speech of heritage language (HL) speakers and compared it to that of monolingual homeland Ambon Malay speakers and monolingual Dutch speakers. The findings show convergence between the modal system of the heritage language (Ambon Malay) and that of the dominant language (Dutch). More precisely, the heritage necessity modal musti [must] has extended its semantic range to resemble its Dutch equivalent moeten [must.] I discuss three main factors that account for this innovation, namely (i) psychological factors – semantic convergence is one of the strategies adopted by bilinguals to reduce their cognitive load, (ii) universal principles of language development in contact settings ̶conceptual naturalness facilitates semantic influence from Dutch, and (iii) social factors ̶the language history of HL speakers shows that the innovation correlates with type of bilingualism and amount of exposure to Ambon Malay. Finally, the findings of this study support the Functional Discourse Grammar hierarchy of language change and, to a lesser extent, the typological hierarchy of Matras (2007).

Hypocoristic Word Formation in Malay: TETU and Anti-faithfulness

The aim of this study is to clarify the two properties of Malay hypocoristic word formation: length determination and segmental alternations. We collected 211 Malay hypocoristic words from one female Malay speaker, and descriptively generalized and theoretically analyzed these two properties. As for the length determination, it turns out that Malay hypocoristics are either monosyllabic or disyllabic. For example, Azrin is truncated to a monosyllabic form Rin , whereas Marniyati is shortened to a disyllabic form Yati . Default length is disyllabic, but monosyllabicity occurs in restricted environments. As for the segmental alternation, some segments in base names are altered to other segments in their hypocoristic forms. For example, [f] is changed to [p], such that Saiful is truncated to Pul and Suffian is truncated to Pian . Segmental structure usually becomes less marked in hypocoristic forms, but it becomes more marked in restricted environments. From the perspective of Optimality Theory, it will be claimed that both the length determination and the segmental alternation can be captured as The Emergence of The Unmarked (TETU) phenomenon, basically as in other languages, but that they involve anti-faithfulness effects in restricted environments.

An acoustic investigation of Arabic vowels pronounced by Malay speakers

In Malaysia, Arabic language is spoken, and commonly used among the Malays. Malays use Arabic in their daily life, such as during performing worship. Hence, in this paper, some of the Arabic vowels attributes are investigated, analyzed and initial findings are presented based on tokens articulated by Malay speakers as we can consider the spoken Arabic by Malays as one of the Arabic dialects. It is known that in Arabic language there are 28 consonants and 6 main vowels. Firstly, the duration, variability, and overlapping attributes are highlighted based on syllables of Consonant–Vowel with each syllable representing every Arabic consonant with the corresponding vowels. Next, the dispersion of each vowel is examined to be compared with each other along with the variability among vowels that may cause overlapping between vowels in the vowel-space. Results showed that the vowel overlapping occurred between short vowels and their long counterpart vowels. Furthermore, an investigation of the Arabic vowel duration is addressed as well, and duration analysis for all the vowels is discussed, followed by the analysis for each vowel separately. In addition, a comparison between long and short vowels is presented as well as comparison between high and low vowel is carried out.

Effects of tonal language background on tests of temporal sequencing in children

Objective: The aims of the present study were to determine the effects of language background on the performance of the pitch pattern sequence test (PPST) and duration pattern sequence test (DPST). As temporal order sequencing may be affected by age and working memory, these factors were also studied. Design: Performance of tonal and non-tonal language speakers on PPST and DPST were compared. Study sample: Twenty-eight native Mandarin (tonal language) speakers and twenty-nine native Malay (non-tonal language) speakers between seven to nine years old participated in this study. Results: The results revealed that relative to native Malay speakers, native Mandarin speakers demonstrated better scores on the PPST in both humming and verbal labeling responses. However, a similar language effect was not apparent in the DPST. An age effect was only significant in the PPST (verbal labeling). Finally, no significant effect of working memory was found on the PPST and the DPST. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the PPST is affected by tonal language background, and highlight the importance of developing different normative values for tonal and non-tonal language speakers.

Quality of life among older people with stroke in a developing country: a preliminary report

Results: During the 1st phase of the study, some issues related to semantic, idiomatic, experiential and conceptual equivalences arose. These issues were resolved by consensus among the expert committee meeting. The results from the field test of the Malay LIFE-H (3.1) demonstrated that the translated questionnaire was clear and appropriate for Malay speakers. The 2nd phase of the study showed that the Malay LIFE-H (3.1) had good test-retest reliability (ICC> .75) and average bias was <0.5. Further, the Malay LIFE-H (3.1) fairly correlated with Barthel Index (r= 0.55) andWHOQoL (r= 0.28–0.54). Conclusion(s):Malay LIFE-H (3.1) had good face validity and test-retest reliability. Barthel Index and WHOQol positively correlated with Malay LIFE-H, suggesting an acceptable concurrent validity. Implications: We validated a tool that is appropriate to evaluate the levels of social participation among Malay speakers. The tool would be beneficial to identify those are at risk of social restriction, to monitor progression, and to evaluate rehabilitation outcomes.

A grammar of Papuan Malay

This book presents an in-depth linguistic description of one Papuan Malay variety, based on fifteen hours of recordings of spontaneous narratives and conversations between Papuan Malay speakers. ‘Papuan Malay’ refers to the easternmost varieties of Malay (Austronesian). They are spoken in the coastal areas of West Papua, the western part of the island of New Guinea. The variety described here is spoken along West Papua’s northeast coast. After a general introduction to the language, its setting and its history, this grammar discusses the following topics, building up from smaller grammatical constituents to larger ones: phonology, word formation, noun and prepositional phrases, verbal and nonverbal clauses, non-declarative clauses, and conjunctions and constituent combining. Of special interest to linguists, typologists and Malay specialists are the following in-depth analyses and descriptions: affixation and its productivity across domains of language choice, reduplication and its gesamtbedeutung, personal pronouns and their adnominal uses, demonstratives and locatives and their extended uses, and adnominal possessive relations and their non-canonical uses. This study provides a point of comparison for further studies in other (Papuan) Malay varieties and a starting point for Papuan Malay language development efforts.

Does hearing several speakers reduce foreign word learning?

Learning spoken word forms is a vital part of second language learning, and CALL lends itself well to this training. Not enough is known, however, about how auditory variation across speech tokens may affect receptive word learning. To find out, 144 Thai university students with no knowledge of the Patani Malay language learned 24 foreign words in a CALL program for receptive vocabulary learning. Word meanings were presented in line drawings, and their spoken forms presented by either one or three Patani Malay speakers. Several other variables were included for control. Logistic regressions with and without adjustment by other factors suggested learners recognized somewhat fewer word meanings when trained with three Patani Malay speakers, especially under varied image conditions. This finding implies fragile initial auditory representations, and limited processing resources. The application of current results and their interpretation to CALL may be to limit sources of variation that would otherwise direct attention away from word forms.

Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA) in the Treatment of Naming Deficits: Evidence from a Malay Speaker with Non-Fluent Aphasia

Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA) in the Treatment of Naming Deficits: Evidence from a Malay Speaker with Non-Fluent Aphasia

KATA DAN MAKNA DALAM BAHASA MELAYU TERNATE

Ternate Malay is one of the languages in which a word may fulfil various grammatical roles and express different meanings without showing any formal features on the word. Even if morphological processes are applied, they merely add something to the meaning and do not indicate grammatical features. It is the linguistic context as well as the nonlinguistic situation that determine how words and strings of words have to be interpreted to achieve the most suitable meaning. This article shows how certain function words, the word order, and additional prosodic features facilitate Ternate Malay speakers and hearers in expressing and interpreting strings of words. The examples are taken from spontaneous told narratives and display a kind of natural spoken Ternate Malay.