The pronunciation patterns of Colloquial Malay and Standard Malay are characterised by Sebutan Johor-Riau (Johor-Riau Pronunciation or SJR), a naturalised standard pronunciation based on the Johor-Riau dialect. In contrast, Sebutan Baku (Standard Pronunciation or SB) is an artificially created system of pronunciation built on the principle "pronounce as it is spelled", with each letter of the alphabet assumed to have only one phonetic value. Singapore introduced SB in 1993, replacing SJR as the standard pronunciation for Standard Malay despite anxieties from Malay Singaporeans who do not see it as authentically indexing their Malay identity. Proponents of SB, on the other hand, perceive it to be more "systematic and consistent" and easier to learn and teach than SJR. The study aimed to understand students' attitude towards, and their identification with, SB vis-à-vis SJR, the extent they use SB during Malay Language lessons, and their pronunciation proficiency. 290 Singaporean students taking Malay Language at Secondary Three in five schools and their Malay Language teachers (n=22) were enrolled as participants. The study employed a mixed-method research: a questionnaire survey of student participants, observation of 42 Malay Language lessons, and separate interviews of 52 students and 22 teachers. Student and teacher talk time in SB and their pronunciation accuracy were calculated. The students interviewed were also asked to respond in SB and read aloud a passage and wordlist in SB, which formed an additional set of oral data for the phonetic analysis of students' pronunciation. This paper is the second of two related papers submitted to RPIC 2022. It reports on findings from the reading tasks and classroom observations. Malay Language teachers find a practical solution to the dilemma of having to meet an official requirement on pronunciation and having to foster an environment that is conducive to learning . The attainment of a sub-standard SB by both students and teachers runs the risk of failing the intended aims of SB; it also pulls students away from their culturo-linguistic roots that are anchored to SJR. Implications for pedagogy and policy will also be discussed.
The pronunciation patterns of Colloquial Malay and Standard Malay are characterised by Sebutan Johor-Riau (Johor-Riau Pronunciation or SJR), a naturalised standard pronunciation based on the Johor-Riau dialect. In contrast, Sebutan Baku (Standard Pronunciation or SB) is an artificially created system of pronunciation built on the principle "pronounce as it is spelled", with each letter of the alphabet assumed to have only one phonetic value. Singapore introduced SB in 1993, replacing SJR as the standard pronunciation for Standard Malay despite anxieties from Malay Singaporeans who do not see it as authentically indexing their Malay identity. Proponents of SB, on the other hand, perceive it to be more "systematic and consistent" and easier to learn and teach than SJR. The study aimed to understand students' attitude towards, and their identification with, SB vis-à-vis SJR, the extent they use SB during Malay Language lessons, and their pronunciation proficiency. 290 Singaporean students taking Malay Language at Secondary Three in five schools and their Malay Language teachers (n=22) were enrolled as participants. The study employed a mixed-method research: a questionnaire survey of student participants, observation of 42 Malay Language lessons, and separate interviews of 52 students and 22 teachers. Student and teacher talk time in SB and their pronunciation accuracy were calculated. The students interviewed were also asked to respond in SB and read aloud a passage and wordlist in SB, which formed an additional set of oral data for the phonetic analysis of students' pronunciation. This paper is the second of two related papers submitted to RPIC 2022. It reports on findings from the reading tasks and classroom observations. Malay Language teachers find a practical sol ...
Virtual Room 5.6 Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference rpic@nie.edu.sg
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