Language Choice in Multilingual Spaces: A Study of Malay-English Bilinguals in Kuala Lumpur

Past studies that have been carried out on language choice commonly look at issues related to identity, language planning and language policy rather than the factor that influences the language choice of bilinguals. There is a dire need for more research that looks into the language choice of bilinguals and the factors affecting it. Hence, this study investigates the language choice and the factors that influence the language choice of Malay-English bilinguals for communicative purposes in family, neighbourhood, education, employment and religious domains. A qualitative approach via online semi-structured interview was conducted. The participants of this research were Malays from Kuala Lumpur who speak English as their first or dominant language. A total of 10 interviewees participated in this. The results of this study showed that Malay-English bilinguals’ language choice in the family, neighbourhood, education and employment domains is both Malay and English, whereas, in the religious domain, it is Malay. Aside from that, participants, situation, content, and function highlighted by Grosjean (1982) influence their language choice in all the domains in this research. The findings of this study will shed some light on the factors that influence the language choice of these bilinguals in the five domains and could be used as a future reference for people who are interested in studying the language choice of Malay-English bilinguals in Malaysia.