About this book

Introduction

This book provides an overview of the linguistic situation in Brunei, including a historical overview and a synopsis of the current education system. It investigates pronunciation, particularly the intelligibility of Brunei English and the vowels of Brunei Mandarin, and it also describes the acquisition of Malay grammar, Malay politeness strategies, the use of language online, language in the courts, a comparison of Malay and English newspapers, the language of shop signs, the status of Dusun, and lastly, English literature in Brunei.

“This kaleidoscopic collection of reports of language use in Brunei demonstrates that Brunei is ‘A Kingdom of Unexpected Linguistic Diversity’, a diversity represented by varieties of Malay, Chinese dialects, English and indigenous languages including Kedayan, Dusun, Tutong, Murut and Iban. The chapters show how these languages operate in social interactions, education, the courtroom, the media, on the web, and in literature. Brunei’s linguistic diversity and the relationships between its indigenous languages and Malay, Chinese and English exemplify the complex interplay of local and global discourses. Readers of this book – and these should be all those interested in linguistic diversity as well as language policy makers and planners – will come to recognise how linguistic diversity supplies the vital cultural energy that enables human communities to thrive and how this cultural energy is under threat of being extinguished as indigenous language struggle to maintain their status and roles in society.”