Lingua Franca Di Sarawak: Aplikasi Teori Pilihan Bahasa

The language choice of these ethnic groups in communicating between one another represents the language of communication also known as the lingua franca. Lingua franca in this study refers to a language used to communicate between speakers with different native languages. The language of communication is usually the language often used in everyday life based on language choice theory. In the state of Sarawak, there are many ethnic groups with their own native languages. However, at the same time, they also use a common language of communication which is appropriate, comprehendible and does not raise communication problems. In Sarawak, the language with the highest number of speakers is the Iban language. This is based on the distribution of population in the said state. This research includes a field survey which employs questionnaires and informal interviews. The findings of this research illustrate that the Iban language and Sarawak Malay dialect are chosen as the lingua franca in Sarikei, Sarawak. Iban is used in informal settings while Sarawak Malay is used in formal ones.