Let us begin with the movie “Sepet”. In 2004, the late local film director, Yasmin Ahmad
produced her award-winning film entitled “Sepet”. The film successfully portrays Malaysia as a
harmonious multiracial nation, centering on the theme of racial relations. The casts consist not only
Malay but also Chinese and Peranakan. Peranakan which is also known as Baba-Nyonya refers to a
Chinese community migrated to British Straits Settlements in Penang, Malacca and Singapore dated
back to 1800‟s, who took Malay wives without converting into Muslims. They then assimilated
themselves into the Malay cultures and at the same time retaining some Chinese traditions. The ability
of conversing in more than one language among the multiracial characters reflects the authentic
phenomenon of the current Malaysian youngsters. While conversing, these young characters codeswitch
primarily for social reasons such as membership and solidarity.
Is code switching an emerging trend in movie production? Generally, Hollywood produces
movies in English language while the Asian Hollywood (China and Hong Kong) makes movies in
Mandarin and Cantonese respectively. However, code switching occurs more frequently in recent
productions due to the unleashing effects of globalisation where many countries are becoming a more
heterogeneous society. In Malaysia, where the language landscape evolves due to language change
and contact, it has been politicised for various reasons. Hence, for movies produced in Malaysia where
the characters interact in code switching, it can provide insight into the psyche of the young
Malaysians.
Let us begin with the movie “Sepet”. In 2004, the late local film director, Yasmin Ahmadproduced her award-winning film entitled “Sepet”. The film successfully portrays Malaysia as aharmonious multiracial nation, centering on the theme of racial relations. The casts consist not onlyMalay but also Chinese and Peranakan. Peranakan which is also known as Baba-Nyonya refers to aChinese community migrated to British Straits Settlements in Penang, Malacca and Singapore datedback to 1800‟s, who took Malay wives without converting into Muslims. They then assimilatedthemselves into the Malay cultures and at the same time retaining some Chinese traditions. The abilityof conversing in more than one language among the multiracial characters reflects the authenticphenomenon of the current Malaysian youngsters. While conversing, these young characters codeswitchprimarily for social reasons such as membership and solidarity.Is code switching an emerging trend in movie production? Generally, Hollywood producesmovies in English language while the Asian Hollywood (China and Hong Kong) makes movies inMandarin and Cantonese respectively. However, code switching occurs more frequently in recentproductions due to the unleashing effects of globalisation where many countries are becoming a moreheterogeneous society. In Malaysia, where the language landscape evolves due to language changeand contact, it has been politicised for various reasons. Hence, for movies produced in Malaysia wherethe characters interact in code switching, it can provide insight into the psyche of the youngMalaysians.
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