Language of Penang
You will find a profusion of languages and dialects being used and spoken in Malaysia. A foreigner may get a little confused listening to a conversation among Malaysian, as many have a tendency to mix a few words of Malay or English in any language or dialect they speak.
The Malay language is the national language of the country and every Malaysian speaks the language. Some Non-Malays, especially the older generation, who have never studied formal Malay, may speak what is sometimes termed ‘Pasar Malay’ (‘pasar’ means market in Malay), which is a splattering of ungrammatical Malay – but this is generally understood by Malaysians. The Malay language is also used in all official government documents and very widely spoken in government departments where most workers are Malays.
English is a compulsory language taught at school, from primary one and is widely spoken by many Malaysians. You will always be able to find someone who can speak the language wherever you go in Malaysia, though some may speak in broken English. English is used extensively in most private organizations in their daily business dealings.
Before the 1970s, the medium of instructions in national schools was either English or Malay, and in for ‘national-type’ language schools, the medium of instruction was Chinese or Tamil respectively. From 1970 onwards, all national schools were slowly converted to Malay medium schools, while national-type language schools remained in Chinese or Tamil medium up to primary six (first six years of schooling). Nevertheless, Chinese (Mandarin), Tamil and Arabic are optional languages taught in all national schools.
The standard of English in Malaysia has thus deteriorated over the years to an extent that you will find many young Malaysian less conversant in English. Consequently, in 2003 English was reintroduced as the medium of instructions for Science and Mathematics in all schools in Malaysia and again reverted back to the Malay Laguage a few years later!
The various races here speak their mother tongue at home. The standard Malay language is spoken by the Malays but you will find some differences in spoken Malay dialect in various states. The Chinese, depending on their clan background, will converse in a Chinese dialect (e.g. Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka or Teochew, etc.) at home and sometimes among friends. Those educated in Chinese schools tend to speak in Mandarin among themselves. You may see Chinese conversing among themselves in English or Malay too. The Indians depending on their origin will converse in their Indian dialect (e.g. Tamil, Malayalam, etc.), but some in Malaysian Indians have adopted English as their mother tongue.
Penang Hokkien is a spoken dialect that distinguishes the Chinese from Penang & the Northern state of the peninsular, to those living in other parts of Malaysia - or the rest of the world actually! Almost all Chinese will speak in this local dialect 'Penang Hokkien'. The Hokkien is unique, a blend of Chinese with many ‘adopted’ Malay words (and some English words), and spoken in a ‘softer’ tone and pitch compared to Hokkien spoken elsewhere.
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