By drawing attention to the translingual practices in Malaysian Mandarin (MM), this study uses lexical variations as an analytical lens through which the changes in linguistic dimensions can be viewed from a social perspective. We present translingual practice as a communicative, rather than a pedagogical, resource that has broader applied relevance in multilingual society. Two findings are presented. First, we elaborate on how MM is interwoven with translingual words of various heritage languages (HLs)/dialects and major/powerful languages; second, we examine how translingual words varied from or standardised towards Standard Mandarin (SM) over time, by HL and in place/region. We argue that intersection with competing levelling pressures reflects not only a “standardisation” process at schools/in society but can be further interpreted as the decline of local translingual practices and local sounds, suggesting the risk of losing rich ethnic and regional heritage and identities. By giving a voice to marginalised HL speakers, this study goes beyond the description of an unstudied/understudied research site or linguistic phenomenon, implying important aspects of power and inequality and a subtle resistance against dominant policies/discourses. This could be salient for advancing future studies and theories to address efforts in advocating critical language awareness and inclusive policies.

中文翻译：

---

跨语言实践作为多语言社会中传统语言和区域身份的代表

通过关注马来西亚华语（MM）的跨语言实践，本研究使用词汇变化作为分析镜头，通过它可以从社会角度看待语言维度的变化。我们将跨语言实践视为一种交际资源，而不是一种教学资源，在多语言社会中具有更广泛的应用相关性。提出了两个发现。首先，我们详细阐述MM如何与各种传统语言（HL）/方言和主要/强大语言的跨语言单词交织在一起；其次，我们根据 HL 和地点/地区研究跨语言单词如何随着时间的推移而与标准普通话 (SM) 发生变化或标准化。我们认为，与竞争性的平等压力的交叉不仅反映了学校/社会的“标准化”过程，而且可以进一步解释为当地跨语言实践和当地声音的衰落，这表明存在失去丰富的民族和地区遗产和身份的风险。通过为边缘化的 HL 发言者提供发言权，这项研究超越了对未经研究/未充分研究的研究场所或语言现象的描述，暗示了权力和不平等的重要方面以及对主导政策/话语的微妙抵制。这对于推进未来的研究和理论以解决倡导批判性语言意识和包容性政策的努力可能具有重要意义。通过为边缘化的 HL 发言者提供发言权，这项研究超越了对未经研究/未充分研究的研究场所或语言现象的描述，暗示了权力和不平等的重要方面以及对主导政策/话语的微妙抵制。这对于推进未来的研究和理论以解决倡导批判性语言意识和包容性政策的努力可能具有重要意义。通过为边缘化的 HL 发言者提供发言权，这项研究超越了对未经研究/未充分研究的研究场所或语言现象的描述，暗示了权力和不平等的重要方面以及对主导政策/话语的微妙抵制。这对于推进未来的研究和理论以解决倡导批判性语言意识和包容性政策的努力可能具有重要意义。