Introduction
Multilingual Societies
Japanese people speak the Japanese language everywhere in Japan, regardless of the time, place and situation. In shops, offices, streets, schools, and homes, only the Japanese language can be heard, so that most people take it for granted that everybody speaks Japanese in Japan. Consequently, many Japanese people tend to be under the misconception that a monolingual society is normal and a bilingual or multilingual society is exceptional. As Japanese people have been accustomed to living in a near-monolingual society for a long time, they often forget the fact that multilingual situations exist as frequently as monolingual situations in the rest of the world, especially in Third World countries. In these countries, people need to change their linguistic code (language or dialect) according to whom they speak, where they speak, and what they speak. A large number of countries are so linguistically diverse that it is not uncommon for even children to be bilingual or multilingual. Many countries in Africa and Asia have literally hundreds of languages within their borders.
Personal Experience
Several years ago, when I visited Singapore and Malaysia for the first time, I was stunned by the linguistic diversity and complexity in those two countries. On the streets of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, I heard a variety of languages: English, Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Tamil and the like. Even though I had already known about the existence of multilingual societies, seeing and hearing such a society directly with my eyes and ears gave me a great culture shock. Naturally I wondered how the local people could communicate effectively and functionally among themselves, and I became interested to learn about the principles and structure of this speech community. This experience was a start of my interest in multilingual societies.
Since then I have had the chance to visit Southeast Asian countries several times, and I have become more and more interested in the linguistic situations of that area. The area where I visited happened to be called “Insular Southeast Asia”[1] and the original inhabitants were speakers of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) languages. Among that area, I visited mainly Malaysia and the Philippines, and there I had opportunities to meet people, to observe their behavior, and to read articles on their languages and societies. To describe the multilingual situations, I would like to choose Insular Southeast Asia, taking advantage of my personal experiences. However, as a study of the whole area is beyond the capacity of this book, two nations (the Philippines and Malaysia) were chosen for the main scope of my study, while other nations (Singapore and Indonesia) are occasionally referred to when relevant. As for Brunei, because of a paucity of data, it is seldom mentioned in this study. To describe the language situations of Insular Southeast Asia is one of the purposes of this book.
Language Policy
Multilingual countries in Insular Southeast Asia show several sociolinguistic features. As these countries are former colonies of Western powers, various languages constitute a language hierarchy which is reflective of the existing social hierarchy. Newly-independent countries implemented language policies with a view to redressing this social and linguistic hierarchy. Politicians of these countries deal with a variety of problems caused by colonization, such as lack of a language of education and administration, ethnic conflicts, administrative inefficiency, etc. To study the language policies of these countries is also one purpose of this study. A study of the relationship between language policy and linguistic situations is another purpose of this book. In this study we will discuss the concepts of “linguistic verticality” and “two function structure” (practical function and identifying function). These concepts are effective tools for an analysis of language policy.
Outline of This Book
This book is organized as follows:
In Chapter 1, we will take a bird’s-eye view of the socio-linguistic situations of the nations in Insular Southeast Asia. We will try to classify various languages into four types: indigenous languages, colonial languages, immigrant languages and creoles (pidgins). This classification itself shows the characteristics of this area. The linguistic situations of each country will be discussed in relation to these classifications.
In Chapter 2, we will take up a case study of the language situations of a Philippine family. By examining the function of language in the family, we will find it reasonable to assume two different functions (practical function and identifying function). We will also investigate the theoretical adequacy of this assumption from the viewpoint of the larger community. Together with this case study, I have also conducted a questionnaire survey in which respondents were the students of two Philippine universities in order to learn about their language behaviors and attitudes. The result of this questionnaire illustrates how linguistically complicated a multilingual society is.
Chapter 3 explains the linguistic situation of a Malaysian family, in particular, that of an engineer. Looking at his linguistic activities, we will present another hypothetical concept “linguistic verticality.” Also we will try to combine the concept of “linguistic verticality” with the concept of “practical function” and “identifying function.”
In Chapter 4, we will look at language policy in general and will view how language policies are conducted in terms of two hypothetical concepts. We will divide the process of language policy into four processes: the selection of a common language among many candidates of indigenous languages; the replacement of a colonial language with this common language; the replacement of an immigrant language with this common language; and the sophistication of this common language. As we regard language policy as a status change in linguistic verticality, these four processes can be analyzed in terms of verticality. We will also discuss the significance of identifying function in language policy.
In Chapter 5, we will compare language situations and language policy by looking at various geographical and historical factors. On top of that, we will trace the transition of linguistic verticality in a historical perspective.
Implication of This Study
As one of implications of this study, I would like to point out the possibility that this study may highlight the linguistic conditions which may exist in Japan in the future. Due to such factors as the development of transportation, influx of many foreign workers and students, the increase in international marriages, and the booming tourist business, Japanese society is now becoming a multilingual society. Japan is on the threshold of becoming a multilingual society. As a multilingual situation brings not only positive aspects but also negative aspects, Japanese people should prepare for the possibly upcoming multilingual situations by examining the current multilingual situations of other countries. In this sense, the study of the multilingual societies and the governmental language policies becomes more and more necessary for the future of Japan.
1 General Linguistic Situations of Insular Southeast Asia
Insular Southeast Asia is currently characterized as being one of the most complicated multilingual areas in the world. In this chapter we will look chiefly at the general sociolinguistic situations of this area and their historical backgrounds. At first we will observe the sociolinguistic situations in general; and then briefly look at the situations of each country; and finally view them from their respective historical perspectives.
1.1 An Overview of Sociolinguistic Situations
1.1.1 Sociolinguistic Features
What is generally referred to as “Insular Southeast Asia” is the area that covers five nations: the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. This area is composed of a total of 700 - 800 islands plus a peninsula. According to the statistics (Yokoyama 2002), this area has a population of some 306 million (as of 1999): the Philippines - 75 (mil.), Malaysia - 22, Singapore - 3, Indonesia - 209, and Brunei - 0.3. Historically the inhabitants lived a simple life, farming or fishing, along the sea coast or the riverside, and believed in a simple form of animism, or later Hinduism and Islam. This area had originally been racially homogeneous and linguistically simple (mainly the Austronesian language group) until the coming of the Western powers.
Although the linguistic situation of each nation is highly complex and has its own uniqueness, basically the nations have several common features concerning linguistic situations.
Firstly, they share the history that this area was once colonized by Western nations. From the 16th century on, this area was gradually being colonized by Portuguese, Holland, Britain, Spain and America. As a result of this colonization, colonial languages (Western languages) came to play a significant role as a language of administration, courts, education and commerce. The colonial languages were used as languages of wider communication and became deeply rooted in the colonial life of this area. The dominance of the colonial languages is one of the sociolinguistic features of this area.
Secondly, these colonies originated from territories which had been created at the colonists’ convenience. Spheres of influence and borderlines were demarcated by diplomatic negotiations (treaties or agreements) between the colonial powers. The colonies thus came to be comprised of various language groups hitherto having no contact with each other. This history has caused the situation where many indigenous languages exist side by side within the boundary of one nation. This situation is referred to as a “plural society” by J. S. Furnivall (1944). Even though nationalism and the consciousness of a unified nation is now emerging, there still remains ethnic separation (regionalism) together with a large number of indigenous languages. The existence of numerous indigenous languages can be enumerated as the second main feature of this area.
Thirdly, we find that several immigrant languages also played an important role in the history of this area. As this area was the center of trading and commerce, and its prosperous industries suffered from a labor shortage, this area continually attracted many traders and, in later years, a considerable number of migrant workers. The third feature is the influx of immigrant people with immigrant languages.
Lastly, the co-existence of so many languages led to the birth of creoles or pidgins, though recently the number of such speakers is decreasing. Every language in this area has been influenced by other languages, and, in general, the pidginized form of each language exists together with the formal variety of the languages. The creolization (or pidinization) is counted as another feature.
1.1.2 Four Types of Languages
The current linguistic complexity was thus caused by history: mainly the creation of colonies in this manner. Given that the sociolinguistic situations are historically thus conditioned, the languages currently spoken in these countries can be classified into four types: indigenous languages,[2] colonial languages (Western languages), immigrant languages, and creoles (pidgins). In other areas where plural languages are used, there may exist only one type of languages - indigenous languages, or there may exist two types - colonial languages and indigenous languages, or a combination of several types. One of the characteristics of the linguistic situations in this area is the very fact that the four type-grouping is the most appropriate classification for this area. This area is conditioned by the existence of many indigenous languages, a few dominant colonial languages, several immigrant languages brought by traders and migrant workers, and creoles caused by the contact between different language groups. We will take a cursory look at these four types of languages.
(1) Indigenous Languages: Several hundred indigenous languages are spoken in this area. There are about 100 in the Philippines, about 50 in Malaysia and some 200 - 400 in Indonesia (Asmah 1982:1). All the indigenous languages belong to the Austronesian language family (often named Malayo-Polynesian) which extends over a vast area from Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, through Indonesia and the Philippines and across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii and Easter Island, and from Taiwan to New Zealand.
(2) Colonial Languages: Due to the history of colonization by the Western powers, several colonial languages (Western languages) came to be used extensively by natives as a language of wider communication. These Western languages once functioned as a bridge to combine different language groups, and still do so to a lesser extent. It was English in Malaysia and Singapore, Spanish and English in the Philippines, Dutch in Indonesia that were used as languages of wider communication, especially before independence.
(3) Immigrant Languages: Before the start of colonization, Chinese, Indians or Arabians had already immigrated to this area in considerable numbers as traders, and more of them were later induced, by the colonial authorities, to migrate there to compensate for a labor shortage. Many immigrants moved into this area, especially from South China and India. As a result of this immigration, such languages as Hokkien, Cantonese, Hinanese, Teochew, Tamil, Sikh became widely spread throughout the area.
(4) Creoles (Pidgins)[3]: Creoles (pidgins) were mixed languages caused through a contact between speakers of different languages. Creoles or pidgins generally appear during transactions and dealings at the market-places where many different races meet. We can enumerate several examples, such as Bazaar Malay in Malaysia, Ambonese in Indonesia and Chabacano in the Philippines. Various forms of pidgin English were once found everywhere in Insular Southeast Asia.
1.2 Languages Spoken in Each Country
In this section we briefly view the linguistic situations of each country in terms of the above-mentioned four-types of languages.
1.2.1 The Philippines
1.2.1.1 Indigenous Languages
It is said that approximately 100 indigenous languages are spoken in the entire Philippine archipelago, all of which belong to the same language family. When we refer to a language of more than 1,000 speakers, according to the 1975 census (Herbert and Milner 1990:155), 73 languages are counted. These languages are spoken in the following proportions: Cebuano[4] 24.1%; Tagalog 21.0%; Ilocano 11.7%; Hiligaynon 10.4%; Bikol 7.8%; Waray-Waray 5.5%; Pampangan 3.2%; Pangasinan 2.5% and so on. These dominant eight languages are spoken by more than 86% of the entire population.
Three indigenous languages have functioned traditionally as lingua francas in different regions of the Philippines: in the north of Luzon, Ilocano; in the rest of Luzon, Tagalog; in the Visayas and Mindanao, Cebuano. However, Tagalog is fast spreading as a lingua franca in the entire country, especially in urban areas, largely as a result of its teaching and use in the schools, its prominent use in the mass media, and migration to urban areas. The 1980 census (Fujita 1993:180-1) shows that Tagalog is spoken in more than one-third of the 8.6 million households, especially, in Metro Manila area, in more than 93% of households (including the case in which Tagalog is spoken as a second or third language).