The importance of Mother Tongue and English language in the building of a nation: shall the twain meet?

• Main Author: Ariffin, Adlina
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: PJ6073 Language
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/36237/1/The_Importance_of_Mother_Tongue_iLEC2013.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/36237/3/Acceptance_letter.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/36237/; http://ilec2013.usim.edu.my/

The purpose of this paper is to bring to the fore the essential roles of Mother Tongue and English language as a medium of communication in this globalised world. It shows the evolutionary nature of languages to remain relevant today and in the future especially as a means in the process of empowering the society with knowledge in order to stay competitive in this challenging and ever-changing world. In so doing, the paper attempts to highlight the importance of Mother Tongue and English language in seeking knowledge and also the polemic that has resulted when both languages are pitted against each other. Using Bourdieu’s (1977) ‘Theory of Cultural Reproduction’, the paper will illustrate how English language is perceived as a form of neo-colonialisation which has a capacity to erode the cultural identity of a society. Thus, the question then is “How should the Mother Tongue i.e. Bahasa Melayu remain pertinent as a language of knowledge in Malaysia?”. This paper will shed some light on this issue.