Languages
A governmental statistic in 2000 classifies the dialect affiliation of the ethnic Chinese in Malaysia:
Dialect | Population |
---|---|
Hokkien | 1,848,211 |
Hakka | 1,679,027 |
Cantonese | 1,355,541 |
Teochew | 974,573 |
Mandarin | 958,467 |
Hainanese | 380,781 |
Min Bei | 373,337 |
Foochow | 249,413 |
Although their ancestral origin are different but due to intermarriages between the different linguistic groups and also due to regional influences, different regions are formed each with its own defacto lingua franca to facilitate communication between the different Chinese dialects in the same region.
Furthermore, the younger generations have generally lost command of their own subdialect (e.g. Hainanese, Hing Hua) and prefer to speak the lingua franca in each region.
Read more about this topic: Malaysian Chinese
Famous quotes containing the word languages:
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—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we cant pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as exotic but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
—Hubert H. Humphrey (19111978)
“The very natural tendency to use terms derived from traditional grammar like verb, noun, adjective, passive voice, in describing languages outside of Indo-European is fraught with grave possibilities of misunderstanding.”
—Benjamin Lee Whorf (18971934)