Three Decades of Malay Linguistics Research: A Scientometric Analysis of Trends, Impact, and Emerging Directions

Lalu Nurul Yaqin; Yabit Alas; Salinah Ja'afar

Three Decades of Malay Linguistics Research: A Scientometric Analysis of Trends, Impact, and Emerging Directions

Lalu Nurul Yaqin, Yabit Alas, Salinah Ja'afar

Abstract

The study presents a scientometric analysis of the development of Malay linguistics research over the past three decades. Due to rapid technological changes in linguistics and policy needs, this study examines publication trends, institution and country contributions, themes, and co-citation cluster networks to provide an overview of the field's intellectual structure. The study utilises CiteSpace version 6.3. R3 Advance to analyse records from the Scopus database (1994-2024). The findings indicate substantial growth in publication output, with Malaysia publishing the most papers, followed by Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Mara, and International Islamic University of Malaysia are the top contributing institutions to research in Malay linguistics. The emerging themes indicate a shift in research focus from traditional linguistic studies toward computational linguistics, digital text processing, and AI-driven applications. The key research clusters were identified, spanning dialectology, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and computational linguistics. Among influential contributors, Asmah Haji Omar, with a citation count of 55 and burstness of 4.08, is the most influential author, significantly shaping the discipline. The GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies has the highest citation bursts (1.81), which are crucial in advancing research in computational linguistics, sociolinguistics, and language identity. This study provides critical insights into the evolution of Malay linguistics research, offering valuable evidence to guide researchers and education policymakers in formulating strategic policies for academic innovation and disciplinary advancement.

Keywords

CiteSpace; language digitalization; Malay Language; Malay linguistics; Scientometric Analysis

Full Text:

PDF

References

Ab Rahman, R., Musanif, A. M., Abd Rahim, N., & Hamzah, Z. A. Z. (2009). Language Events and Virtual Communication from the Aspect of Ethnographic Communication. Ubiquitous Learning, 1(4), 59.

Abd Rahim, N., & Harun, N. I. (2011). Emotions among the primary school students: A Malay drama program (software). UPENA Johor, 10, 185–198.

Adelaar, A. (2016). Austronesians in Madagascar: A Critical Assessment of the Works of Paul Ottino and Philippe Beaujard. Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, 77 – 112.

Adelaar, K. A. (1989). Malay influence on Malagasy: linguistic and culture-historical implications. Oceanic Linguistics, 28(1), 1–46.

Alexander, O. (2018). Notes on Structural Distinctions in Malay Dialects. Wacana Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia, 19(2), 327. https://doi.org/10.17510/wacana.v19i2.706

Aneja, S., Nur Afikah Bte Abdul Mazid, S., & Aneja, N. (2020). Neural Machine Translation model for University Email Application. 74–79. https://doi.org/10.1145/3421515.3421522

Bakar, N. A., Zahid, I., & Wan Ali, W. Z. K. (2024). Arabic Loanwords in Kamus Dewan Perdana: Questions of Etymology, Word Class and Definition. Jurnal Arbitrer, 11(3), 314 – 333.

Chen, C. (2006). CiteSpace II: Detecting and visualizing emerging trends and transient patterns in scientific literature. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 57(3), 359–377. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.20317

Chen, C. (2012). Predictive effects of structural variation on citation counts. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(3), 431–449.

Chen, C. (2017). Science Mapping: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of Data and Information Science, 2(2), 1–40.

Chen, C., & Song, M. (2019). Visualizing a field of research: A methodology of systematic scientometric reviews. PLOS ONE, 14(10), e0223994.

Cole, P., & Hermon, G. (2008b). Voice in Malay/Indonesian. Lingua, 118(10), 1500–1553.

Collins, J. T. (1989). Malay dialect research in Malysia: The issue of perspective. Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land-En Volkenkunde/Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia, 145(2), 235–264.

Coluzzi, P. (2020). Jawi, an endangered orthography in the Malaysian linguistic landscape. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1–17.

Deterding, D., & Athirah, I. (2017). Brunei Malay. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 47(1), 99–108.

Don, Z. M. (2010). Processing Natural Malay Texts: A Data-Driven Approach. Trames Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 14(1), 90.

Gil, D. (2024). Borrowing within Malayic; The role of exotericity. Wacana, 25(3).

Hamid, N. A., Aman, R., & Shahidi, A. H. (2017). Tioman-aur-pemanggil Malay dialect variants: Acomparative linguistics analysis. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 17(2), 219–244. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2017-1702-13

Handayani, D., Abu Bakar, N. S. A., Yaacob, H., & Abuzaraida, M. A. (2018). Sentiment Analysis for Malay Language: Systematic Literature Review. Proceedings 2018 International Conference On Information And Communication Technology For The Muslim World (Ict4m), 305–310.

Hayashi, H. (1959). Thoughts on Javanese place names. Japanese Journal of Human Geography, 11(2), 97–116.

Jalaluddin, N. H., Awal, N. M., & Bakar, K. A. (2008). The mastery of English language among lower secondary school students in Malaysia: A linguistic analysis. European Journal of Social Sciences, 7(2), 106 – 119.

Joby, C. (2023). Missionary linguistics in the East Indies in the seventeenth century. Historiographia Linguistica, 50(1), 1 – 34. https://doi.org/10.1075/hl.00128.job

Joharry, S. A., & Rahim, H. A. (2014). Corpus research in Malaysia: A bibliographic analysis. Kajian Malaysia, 32, 17–43.

Kaland, C. (2019). Acoustic correlates of word stress in Papuan Malay. Journal of Phonetics, 74, 55–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2019.02.003

Kaland, C., & Gordon, M. K. (2022). The role of f0 shape and phrasal position in Papuan Malay and American English word identification. PHONETICA, 79(3), 219–245.

Kasdan, J., Baharuddin, R., & Shamsuri, A. S. (2020). Covid-19 in the Corpus Of Malay Terminology: A Socio-terminological Analysis. Gema Online Journal Of Language Studies, 20(3), 221–241. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2020-2003-13

Lee, L. W., & Wheldall, K. (2011). Acquisition of Malay word recognition skills: lessons from low‐progress early readers. Dyslexia, 17(1), 19–37.

Mahdi, W. (2024). Austroasiatic loanwords in Austronesian languages. Wacana, 25(3). https://doi.org/10.17510/wacana.v25i3.1780

Mansor, N. S. (2018). Addressing family members in the Malay culture: Practices of “young-adult” university students. Lenguas Modernas, 2018(51), 63 – 76.

Masterson, J., Stuart, M., Dixon, M., & Lovejoy, S. (2010). Children’s printed word database: Continuities and changes over time in children’s early reading vocabulary. British Journal of Psychology, 101(2), 221–242.

McKay, S. L., & Rubdy, R. (2009). The social and sociolinguistic contexts of language learning and teaching. The Handbook of Language Teaching, 7–25.

McLellan, J. (2023). Digital Technologies, Social Media, Global and Local Languages in Southeast Asia. Kemanusiaan, 30, 9–24. https://doi.org/10.21315/kajh2023.30.s1.2

Mohd Noah, S. A., Mohamad Ali, N., & Hasan, M. S. (2018). Determining features of news headline in Malay news document. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 18(2), 154–167. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2018-1802-11

Morve, R. K., Wen, X., & Mansour, N. (2023). The role of English and the sociocultural structure of Bahasa: a study of Brunei Darussalam. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-023-00186-5

Motoki, Y. (2021). Script of islam, script of malay: Jawi revivalist discourse in early independent indonesia and its relationship to Malaya. Japanese Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 58(2), 141 – 163.

Mukari, S. Z., Keith, R. W., Tharpe, A. M., & Johnson, C. D. (2006). Development and standardization of single and double dichotic digit tests in the Malay language. International Journal Of Audiology, 45(6), 344–352.

Naziman, S. N. M., & Jaafar, S. R. S. (2018). The adaptation strategies of English loanwords among Kelantan Malay dialect speakers. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature, 24(4), 128–142. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2018-2404-10

Noah, S. A., Omar, N., & Amruddin, A. Y. (2015). Evaluation of Lexical-Based Approaches to the Semantic Similarity of Malay Sentences. JOURNAL OF QUANTITATIVE LINGUISTICS, 22(2), 135–156.

Omar, A. H. (1971). Standard language and the standardization of Malay. Anthropological Linguistics, 75–89.

Ota, I. (1985). Language environment for Chinese-speaking societies in Malaysia and Singapore. Geographical Review of Japan, A, 58, 318-339.

Pillai, S., & Kamaruddin, F. (2006). The variety of Malaysian English used in radio advertisements. Varieties of English in Southeast Asia and Beyond, 39–54.

Rahim, H. A. (2014). Corpora in language research in Malaysia. Kajian Malaysia, 32, 1–16.

Rahim, H. A., Hasan, R. A., Hong, A. L., & Joharry, S. A. (2021). The Diachronic Malaysian English Corpus (DMEC): Design, Development and Challenges. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 21(4), 88–109. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2021-2104-05

Rahman, A. H. A., Abdullah, F. binti, Ali, A. M., Kadir, F. K. A., Adam, F., & Ismail, D. (2018). Jawi script and writings in the Malay world: Approaches and contributions to islamic discourse. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 9(4), 1269 – 1275.

Ramli, I., Jamil, N., & Ardi, N. (2020). Formant characteristics of Malay vowels. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 9(1), 144 – 152.

Schlegel, G. (1891). Chinese loanwords in the Malay language. T'oung Pao, 391-405.

Seong, G. S. (2014). Bahasa Cina-Bahasa Melayu: Kebolehterjemahan Budaya (Penerbit USM).

Sharrif, Z. A. M., Othman, M., & Maiden, M. I. A. (1990). Recognition of standard malaysian language pronunciation. In Proc. ICSLP 1990 (pp. 277-280).

Sulaiman, F. B., Yanti, N. K. S., Lesmanawati, D. A. S., Trent, M., Macintyre, C. R., & Chughtai, A. A. (2019). Language-specific gaps in identifying early epidemic signals – a case study of the Malay language. Global Biosecurity, 1. https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.33

Suryadi. (2015). A linguistic kaleidoscope of the Malay letter: The case of the eighteenth century official letters from the Sultanate of Buton. Wacana, 16(2), 304–338. https://doi.org/10.17510/wacana.v16i2.380

Sze, H. K., Ping, T. T., Kong, T. E., & Yu-n, C. (2010). Malay Language Modeling In Large Vocabulary Continuous Speech Recognition With Linguistic Information. 2nd Workshop on Spoken Language Technologies for Under-Resourced Languages, SLTU 2010, 56 – 61.

Tan, C. (1981). On the entropy of the Malay language (Corresp.). IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 27(3), 383-384.

Teeuw, A. (1959). The history of the Malay language. Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land-En Volkenkunde, 2de Afl, 138–156.

Tuuk, H. N. van der (1864). Art. VIII. On the existing Dictionaries of the Malay Language. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1(1), 181-186.

Veiga, J. D. S., Seddon, G. M., & Jusoh, I. (1981). Testing the understanding of pictorial spatial relationships using the Portuguese and Malay languages. Educational Psychology, 1(4), 305-317.

Yaqin, L. N., Bilad, M. R., Yusof, B., Hassan, H., Damit, A. R., & Chuchu, I. F. (2025). Mapping research evolution in higher education: a scientometric analysis of Brunei Darussalam (1986–2024). Discover Sustainability, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-00917-3

Yaqin, L. N., Yusof, B., & Damit, A. R. (2024). “ Status Quo” of Malay Linguistics Studies: A Bibliometric Analysis. Journal of Language and Literature Studies, 4(2), 296–312.