LNG3033

MALAY-ENGLISH CODE-MIXING
INSERTION: WHY 'LEPAKING' IN
PREFERENCE TO 'HANGING OUT'?

BY AISYAH ROZI & HANA NADHIRA

The article that we have chosen to review is based on a research of the Malay-English code-mixing insertion: why
‘lepaking’ in preference to ‘hanging out’.

The authors of the research paper are Azu Farhana (General Studies, Student Development Section, University of
Kuala Lumpur), Md Jais Ismail (Faculty of Music,UniversitI Teknologi Mara, Selangor) and Shamala Paramasivam
(Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Univeristi Putra Malaysia). It was published in December 2020 by
Quantum Academic Publisher.

The materials and methodologies used in this research are through sample and data collection where a document
analysis method was applied to analyse all the postings made by the Facebook users.

Ergo, our central vision and ideas regarding this research are pinpointed on how does this Malay-English code-mixing
insertion affects the language choice in our multilingual communities of Malaysia.
Main Objectives

how Malaysians are generating code-mixing insertion of

Englishization at morphological level on Facebook and
how it demonstrates the advancement of Malay
language to be modernized towards Englishization as
well as to unravel the features of code-mixing insertion
towards Englishization.

Investigate the contemporary media language culture of

Malaysians on Facebook code-mixing
English morpheme : –ing
Malay lexical item : ‘lepak’

This phenomena is a language trend associated with the

'New Englishization’.
What is Englishization?

commonly used to describe the changes that occur in

non-English cultures and languages as a result of
exposure to the English language. In literary texts as
well as in conversation, English phrases and words
are adopted and applied in novel ways that
correspond to their meanings in the original
language, resulting in language hybridization.

Englishization has emerged as one of the most

powerful factors shaping today's and tomorrow's
languages and cultures.
Facebook has presently being the uptrend
communication channel of Malaysians from range of
ages, and as a result, Englishization has emerged as
a language phenomenon there.

This new code-mixing insertion has become

something of a craze among Malaysian Facebook
users. Not to mention that new conceptions of
language interaction and dubbed spoken-written
language have also emerge as a result of spoken-
written communication over the internet.

From January to August 2020, 227 Facebook

postings on the use of ‘lepaking’ were gathered.

The data for this study will be further explored using

a ‘Socio-realistic linguistic theory’ that combines
Firthian, Halliday, and Kachru sociolinguistic
theories.
 The results were classified using the ‘socially realistic
linguistics’ approach based on the short interviews.
Yearning to Clarify and Interpret
15% The study reveals the following causes for the usage
of ‘lepaking’ :

Style Recognition
55%
Role Recognition
30%
 Style Recognition.
According to the people, using the term ‘lepaking’ :
1. is easier
2. it is a new style of Malay and English language

Role Recognition.
A collective of people said that the usage of
‘lepaking’ shows that :
1. they use both Malay and English well
2. they want to look cool when using it

The Desire to Clarify & Interpret.

The responses received are that they only use this
term :
1. to people who are close to them so that they can
have a better understanding
2. with their friends, because it is super easy and
straightforward
LNG3033

REVIEW/ANALYSIS
 INTRODUCTION

The introduction written by the authors shows an adequate amount of information of the whole article. Owing to the
fact that how well the authors explain from the very beginning till the end of what the article is all about, why do they
conduct the research along with a cursory definition of keywords viewed in the article via lepaking, code-mixing
insertion, media language culture and Englishization which are used frequently in this article. Not only that, they put
forth clear partition on each part which ease the readers. This will definitely aids the readers to have a better grasp of
the article.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The problem statement suggested by the authors is that the language used of this research will be mainly mixed
Malay-English. The code-mixing lexical items are in Malay, whilst morphemes insertions are in English.

Insertion happens when lexical items from one language are incorporated into another as it is preceded and
followed by elements from the other language, which is structurally related. This insertion is elucidated as insertion
of material like grammar morphemes, lexical items or entire constituents from one language into a structure from
other language.

A well-defined chunks of language B get into a sentence that otherwise belongs to language A. In this case, these
patterns of code-mixing insertion can be considered as the new development in code-mixing area as well as
formatting new Englishization of Malay language. Code-mixing insertion denotes the alteration made by a language
to another language.
METHODOLOGY
The research was conducted by using sample and data collection. The first method used by the authors is
sample which there were 227 Facebook postings that were purposively selected by getting permission from 50
Malaysian Facebookers. Plus, a semi structured interview was conducted to 50 Facebookers of (‘Lepaking’
users) including 25 males and 25 females aged 20 to 35 years old.

Data collection method is also used in which a document analysis method was applied to analyse all the
postings made by the Facebookers. A collection of 227 Facebook postings of the usage of ‘lepaking’, were
gathered from January to August 2020. Besides, permission to collect the data was granted by the
participants and respondents. The authors imposed limit on adult males and females who have Facebook
accounts. In our honest opinion, the methods used by the researches were undoubtedly smart moves and
handy. Nonetheless, we think that the research could have been consummated in an array of age groups
ranging from kids, teenagers and elders not only based on adults.
FINDINGS AND RESULTS
In this article, there is a typology in the bilingualism literature that is somewhat comparable to the pattern
identified in this research which are embedded and transmitted.

Musyken's effort is to generalise a current broad and complicated debate of code-mixing into a cost-effective
typology in his scenario. Insertion happens when lexical items from one language are integrated into another.
His concept of insertion is similar to what Clyne (1991) called "transference" and Myer-Scotton (1993) called
"embedding”.

The insertion involves a well-defined morpheme (-ing) of present continuous tense. As a result, this can be
regarded as a novel case of code-mixing insertion. The Malay lexical item (lepak) was Englishized by inserting
an English grammatical morpheme (-ing).
 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, ‘Lepaking’ is a term used to describe a language innovation that takes place when a speaker,
linguistic forms, and language function all have a mutual relationship due to the phenomena that is common
to the concept of ‘Socio-realistic linguistic theory’. This occurence again showcases that language evolves
over time and works in accordance with the time it is now in, resulting in the name ‘New Englishization’.
Apart from that, high association between the extents of code-mixing, area of residency, quantity of
exposure to English, and medium of education in the recent age appear to broaden the reasons and
functions of these code-mixing insertion patterns specifically in Malaysian setting of Facebook usage.