ABSTRACT

Use-based Englishes may act as professional gatekeepers and working languages in Asian societies even where other languages of wider communication are prioritised. Legalese is widely regarded as particularly resistant to societal changes, and in Malaysian law English remains indispensable half a century after Malay became the official medium for West Malaysia, with exonormative acrolects retaining professional prestige. However, legal practitioners also need Malay as it is a requirement for admission to the bar and used extensively in government dealings, as well as in the lower courts of West Malaysia. Courtroom discourse is under the control of judges empowered to interpret language policy in the interests of justice. While there have been a few studies exploring how Malaysian advocates orientate themselves toward bilingualism, this is believed to be the first to address the perspective of judges.

摘要

在亚洲社会中，基于使用的英语可以作为专业的看门人和工作语言，即使在其他更广泛交流的语言被优先考虑的情况下。法律语言被广泛认为对社会变革特别有抵抗力，在马来语成为西马的官方媒体半个世纪后，在马来西亚法律中，英语仍然是不可或缺的，而非规范性的accrolects保留了专业声望。然而，法律从业者也需要马来语，因为它是进入酒吧的必要条件，并广泛用于政府交易以及西马来西亚的下级法院。法庭话语是在法官的控制之下，他们有权为正义的利益解释语言政策。虽然有一些研究探讨了马来西亚倡导者如何将自己定位于双语，