IPOH: Use of the Perak dialect is fast fading, especially among the younger generation – and this has had an impact on the community’s identity.
Malaysian Linguistic Society president Dr Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin (pic) said through her research, she found that the state’s youth, especially those aged 15 and below, do not speak the Perak dialect.
She said one of the reasons given was because they were worried if they would be carried away by the dialect in writing essays when they should only use the formal language in school, adding that they were also embarrassed to speak in the dialect.Another factor contributing to the lack of use of the Perak dialect is the assimilation of Javanese and Banjar languages into the standard language.
Nor Hashimah said pronouns, including “Yop” and “Nyah”, were rarely heard nowadays, but its use could reveal the identity of the state’s community.
“Perak Malays used to be known by names such as Nyah Budin, Hitam Shaari and Yop Burhanuddin, but they do not want to be called such as it will reveal their identity.
“And they think that if used, it will give (them) a rural branding. When Yop Burhanuddin is used, we will understand it refers to the eldest child.
“Nyah is the name for the second child and the respect for that address is felt.
“We will not scold Yop and Nyah because we have respect for them, that is the philosophy behind the use, but now it is gone,” she said.
Nor Hashimah said the culture needs to be reintroduced because it has an element of authority and a philosophy behind its use.
Earlier, she was one of the speakers at the Colloquial Language Discourse: Preserving Community Language Empowering “Moh Labun Perak Dialect” programme here, Bernama reported.
Nor Hashimah said the use of the Perak dialect needed to be exposed to the youth because it was considered a treasure and not something to be ashamed of.
“Dialects can shape identity just like they do the people of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, who remain strong with their respective dialects, so Perak Malays should be proud of their dialect,” she said.
Nor Hashimah said the community could help revive the dialect by increasing the number of movie scripts using the Perak dialect, citing films such as Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah, Zombi Kampung Pisang and Man Laksa.
She said the films could still be understood by the entire community in the country and were able to convey the message to the people without any problems even though the movies used the Perak dialect.“I really admire the late Mamat Khalid’s films for using the Perak dialect – such as Hantu Kak Limah, which was able to attract three million viewers in cinemas, then watched many times through other channels,” she said.
She added that artistes need to be more creative in producing scripts by using the Perak dialect because they could also celebrate the culture that was the identity of the local community.
Meanwhile, actor, film director and writer Mior Hashim Manap, who was another speaker at the event, said the role of languages was important and one should not look down on any dialect.
“Dialect is what actually builds a person’s identity and is passed down from your grandfather and father first.
“That’s why we used to do the ‘Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa’ campaign; RTM has the song Muhibbah, various things have been done, but now it’s gone,” he said.
