The Vitality & Revitalisation of Minority Language: The Case of Dusun in Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

Language extinction or language death is a sociolinguistic phenomenonwhich concerns and is often discussed among linguists or members ofspeaker in general (Aitchison, 2001; Crystal, 2000; Dalby, 2003;Mufwene, 2004; Nelson, 2007; Fishman, 2002; 2007). Due to rapidglobalisation, the effect of linguistic ``superstratum-substratum{''} isinevitable (Crystal, 2003), in particular to those languages of ethnicminorities; those in Brunei Darussalam are not the exclusion (Martin,1995; Noor Azam, 2005; David, Cavallaro & Coluzzi, 2009; Clynes, 2012;Coluzzi, 2012). These minority languages are inclined to endangeredmentdue to urbanisation, education system, migrations and others, which leadto language shift and consequently, extinction. Brunei Darussalam is amultilingual country that has a diverse population and cultures whichgenerate variations of language and dialect (Nothofer, 1991; Fatimah &Poedjosoedarmo, 1995; Azmi Abdullah, 2001; Jaludin Chuchu, 2005; David,Cavallaro & Coluzzi, 2009). Recognised as one of the seven indigenousin Brunei under the Citizenship Status laws 1961 of the Constitution ofNegari Brunei 1959, Dusun ethnic is alleged to have and practice its owncode of dialect. All dialects and languages spoken by indigenous ethnicsare regarded as minority languages, except for the dialect of BruneiMalay. By focusing on Dusun dialect, this paper discusses the currentsituation of its language use and perceptions among the native speakers.The current study is an extrapolation from recent fieldworks research onthe Dusun code-practice by Fatimah Chuchu & Najib Noorashid (2013a;2013b; 2013c). This paper also reviews the efforts of revitalising theDusun dialect - facing the globalisation. Result found Dusun dialect isstill being practiced as an identity marker among the older generationsbut declined in use amongst younger generations. Nevertheless, thesenative speakers are still aware of the importance of theirmother-tongue. Efforts to revitalise Dusun are constantly executed, andinterest towards it has also increased over time.