Language change and convergence in multilingual Malaysian Chinese

Abstract Background In the multilingual situation of Malaysia, standard languages and spoken vernaculars are interacting in intricate ways whereby various spoken languages share a pool of words from Malay, English and Mandarin. Structurally, all languages converge and influence the spoken varieties of the standard languages. Material and method This contribution observes the situation from the viewpoint of Hakka speakers. In an analysis of the communicative practices in an extended Hakka family and their non-Hakka friends, the interactions of the various languages in borrowing and code-switching have been analysed and later discussed with speakers. It is expected that standard languages influence language use over time. Analysis The adult generations of the family speak Hakka and effortlessly mix with other languages. Intergenerationally, language change (and possibly language loss) can be observed for Hakka. Mandarin is gaining importance for all speakers. At the same time, loanwords and loan translations from Malaysian, English and Mandarin are frequent. This Malaysian vocabulary is shared by all spoken languages, with only few differences in usage. Standard Chinese is gradually replacing old Hakka words in Hakka. Conclusions As can be expected, the spoken languages such as Hakka are quickly losing traditional lexemes and phrases, while Mandarin Chinese as well as English and Malaysian words are used in Hakka; at the same time, spoken Mandarin and spoken English converges structurally with the substratic Chinese dialects.