The Impact of Sabah Malay Dialect Mother Tongue as the Primary Language among the Kadazandusun Ethnic Younger Generation

The role of Sabah Malay dialect as the language of communication among the Kadazandusun ethnic younger generationhas changed the function of mother tongue as the primary language. This research aims to examine the impact of Sabah Malay dialect on the samples daily communication by taking into account the Malay words which have been absorbed into the Kadazandusun vocabulary, as well as factors affecting changes in language use. A total of 300 students from four public universities in Malaysia were selected as samples of the study. Data were obtained from a survey which made use of questionnaires. The results of the study showed that Sabah Malay dialect was used more often by the younger generation of ethnic Kadazandusun in daily communication compared to the mother tongue. Nonetheless, their attitudes toward the dialect were moderately high. Researchers found that the Malay words, which had been absorbed into the mother tongue by samples included tools, affection, and new objects, which were absent in the Kadazandusun vocabulary. In addition, the most dominant language change factor in language use among samples was language needs over time.