Teaching Noun Classifiers in Malay as a Foreign Language: Applying the Translanguaging Method

Abstract

The individuation of an enumerated noun in many Asian languages requires the modification of the noun stem with a numeral and a specific classifier. Malay noun classifier as a grammar topic is a worthy lesson unit in the curriculum of Malay as a foreign language. This is because the topic highlights the construction differences between a Malay noun iteration and an English noun iteration, respectively. Furthermore, a pedagogical dis- cussion on noun classifiers presents a cross-cultural worldview on noun enumeration in Malay to speakers of non-classifier languages such as English. Selecting an accurate Malay noun classifier for enumeration under- scores the understanding of a unique noun phrase structure, thus important to Malay language maintenance. In teaching Malay classifiers, the conversation techniques exploited for iterating the Malay nouns frame the iter- ated Malay nominal references based on the distinction between type and token. Underlying a nominal speci- fication is a noun classifier that conceptually derives a token of the noun type. Cultural generalization rounds off the learning for special Malay classifiers such as bentuk (shape) and kaki (foot) in this discussion. Debunk- ing the conventional bias, we propose that memorization is relevant to acquire sebentuk cincin ‘a shape of ring’, or sekaki payung ‘a foot of umbrella’ in Malay similar to a learner memorizing a school of fish, or a fleet of aircraft carriers in English.