A corpus analysis on the semantics of Semai idiomatic expressions / Sharina Saad...[et al.]

Indigenous community in Malaysia is divided into three main groups which
are Proto Malay, Senoi and Negrito. Semai community is a sub-group of
Senoi which is the biggest group in Malaysia. (Nicholas, 2000, p.4). As the
largest indigenous community in Malaysia, Semai has mostly 42383 speakers,
representing several distinct dialects. Semai language is not a written
language and most Semai speak the Aslian language, related to the Austro-
Asiatic and the Mon-Khmer language family of mainland Southeast Asia.
As it is not a written language, of late, there is a fear that the language may
face gradual erosion and finally extinction as not all Semai people speak
Semai language. The rapid growth of economic, education and urbanization,
have affected the Semai lifestyles and attitudes on the many aspects of
life including their native language. At school, the Semai younger generations
learn majority languages such as Bahasa Malaysia and English and
Semai language is not the main language learnt. Some of the Semai younger
generation, feel inferior to speak their mother-tongue. Furthermore, the
culture or life of a tribe is very much influenced by the language they use.