Speaking Selves: The Malay Language as a Negotiated Identity [Research]

A Design-Led Inquiry into the Linguistic Decline and the Creation of Pro-Social Habitat for Identity Performance

TLDR; To encourage knowledge transfer from the last of our Malay-speaking elders, we must ensure that the youth can speak and understand the language.

Research

The Problem, Impact & Hypothesis

We’re losing our last Malay-dominant generation — a living archive of wisdom. With the younger generations being English-dominant, this creates barriers to knowledge transfer.

“Data collected by the Ministry of Education showed that 18 per cent of Malay households spoke English as their main language 20 years ago, but now 67 per cent do.” (Lim)

The impact of this problem is a generational divide: youth experience communication anxiety, while elders feel a sense of futility:

“Even if I tell them, would they understand me? Are they even interested in my stories?” — Elder

The Hypothesis: A design intervention that bypasses utilitarian language learning. We create emotional rituals where youth must use Malay as the key to unlock personal stories from elders.

How? By repositioning Malay language from a heritage artefact into a living and dynamic technology through designed connection. If we design beautiful, intriguing, and respectful rituals that formally position the elder as the storyteller/knowledge-keeper and the youth as the eager knowledge-seeker, the anxiety around language will be superseded by a desire for connection and the wisdom offered.

Background and Context

The briefest of history of the Malay language. It has evolved and changed since 2000 BCE, from Kawi to Rencong to Jawi, Rumi, and how Modern and colloquial Malay has evolved. Where we are now is both the problem and the opportunity space.

And the outlook is quite grim. How might we ensure that the language continues into the next generation?

With this research, I hope to uncover how Malays see their relationship with their language. What they think is important, why its declining and where the community’s priorities lie. I want this research to ensure that future generations would be able to access knowledge imparted by the community that came before them by bringing awareness and ensure policies are in place to keep the interest of culture preservation growing.

Research Questions

1. Main Research Question: How can we design to empower individuals as active custodians of the Malay language within their community?
2. How can we design an accessible and sustainable space for intergenerational communication within the Malay community where ideas and stories can be exchanged?
3. What role does the Malay language play in social identity, cultural continuity, and sense of belonging within the Malay community, particularly among younger generations?
4. How can design reshape the perception of Malay from a heritage artefact to a dynamic, contemporary tool for Singapore’s future?

Case Studies

Orang Laut Singapore

Meaning “People of the Sea”, this indigenous, nomadic seafaring community have historically lived around Singapore, the Riau Islands and the Strait of Melaka. As communities settled, they lost their distinct culture as they adapted to life on the mainland. However, they were the last to leave Pulau Semakau, demonstrating their strong ties to the island and waters.

Irish Language Revival

The Irish language is also on the decline from centuries of language shifts. Similar to Singapore, this is their primary official language, but the number of speakers has been dwindling.

In this case study, social media and technology helped to spark interest in preserving and using the Irish language.

Te Reo Māori Language Revival

The story of Te Reo Māori in New Zealand shows the power of language in shaping cultural identity. Te Reo Māori has undergone a remarkable revival. Since being recognised as the official language of New Zealand in 1987, the country embarked on a top-down approach to systematically uphold Te Reo Māori’s relevance and preservation.

While the loss of Te Reo Māori was significantly more violent, its comeback was all the more triumphant. People fought for it, and the government recognised it as the official language of NZ and has made efforts to systematically uphold its position.

This has bolstered and revitalised cultural pride and self-identity in New Zealanders, and boosted New Zealand’s standing on the world map, resulting in appreciation for both its indigenous culture and the government.

Research Design

Design Principles: Humanity Centred Design

This project follows Humanity-Centred Design, with emphasis on designing with the community — the Malay elders — and not for them.

Design Process: Double Diamond

Using Nessler’s Double Diamond as my process framework to structure my research and build ideas, moving from a broad challenge to a tangible, living outcome.

Design Ethic: Participatory Design & The Collaboration System Model

The Double Diamond process contains the fundamentals of my design ethics.

Participatory Design and the Collaboration System Model (CSM) are key components of a designer-participant partnership. Its core purpose is to focus on collaboration and capacity building between the designer and the participant.

Role of Design

The role of design in this project is to bridge data and empathy: not just seeing what the data shows us, but understanding why we’re in a position to lose colloquial Malay.

From there, we can identify pain points, which will help us design solutions.

Understanding the heritage and not force-feeding something that the community might have outgrown, but how we can retrofit it into a modern identity.

This answers the shame of not being “Malay enough” or even being “too Malay”. Design's role is to bridge this gap between individual anxiety and communal solidarity.

Research, Fieldwork and Observational Studies

I tested a new card game, adapting an existing game called ‘Poetry for Neanderthals.’ In the original by Exploding Kittens, you describe words using only single syllables. I created a Malay version, changing the rule to two syllables and focusing on local phrases and idioms.

I introduced it at family gatherings and dinners with friends, with participants ranging from nine to eighty years old. What I observed was remarkable. Normally, the older generation speaks Malay, the younger generation responds in English, and the conversation stalls. But this game created a low-stakes environment. By limiting everyone to two-syllable descriptions, it removed the pressure on the kids to form perfect sentences. It levelled the playing field.

The game was a huge hit — they are already asking for new cards. This tells me that play can be a powerful bridge. It’s not just a game; it’s a tool for establishing those vital intergenerational conversations.

The most impactful part of my residency was simply speaking with the community. I set up a booth at Wisma Geylang Serai — the vibrant heart of the Malay community here in Singapore. Over two weekends, I traded a cup of homemade teh tarik for just ten minutes of their stories. My goal was to connect with the elders, many in their 70s and above, who frequent the area. I asked them about their life stories, how they bridge the generation gap with their grandchildren, and their thoughts on a quiet shift they are witnessing: the gradual decline of the Malay language, as they are among the last generation of native speakers.

I also attended workshops, exhibitions, masterclasses, courses, talks, panels, conferences, closed conversations, shadowing subject matter experts, galleries, online classes, lectures, presentations and performances.

Takeaways

Identity-switching

Some report different personalities when speaking Malay vs English. Beyond code-switching, people also report feeling like they switch identities when they move from one language to another. This is because they associate the language with the people they speak to and the media they consume. And these two worlds might be completely different.

Cultural Barrier

Different languages mean different media, creating a cultural barrier between generations, since English-dominant speakers consume more English content, and vice versa.

Emotional Context

Malay is spoken more when emotions are involved. In qualitative research, English-speaking participants recall switching to Malay when the topics are emotional: for example, when they are having a deep connection, recalling old memories, or when angry.

I’ve learned that what elders want to share differs from what youth actually ask. The middle ground we’re missing is a deep cultural transmission of values and historical context. If we can bridge that gap, we might see honest, valuable communication between the elders and the youth.

Design Brief

The output of this research is a design brief that drives lasting social change.

Speaking Selves: The Malay Language as a Negotiated Identity [Research] was originally published in Bootcamp on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.