Penyebaran Dialek Melayu Satun di Langkawi dan di Thai: Satu Kajian Perbandingan Berasaskan Geographic Information System (GIS)

Abstract

A profound relationship between Langkawi (Malaysia) and Satun (Thailand) had long been established due to geographical, historical and political factors. People in both vicinities speak the same Malay dialect known as Satun Malay. Besides similarities, there are also some elements of disparity between the two subdialects. Generally, the subdialect spoken in Langkawi is dubbed as Langkawi Satun Dialect (LSD) and the one in Thai is called Thai Satun dialect (TSD). The main objective of this study is to examine and describe the similarities and dissimilarities between these two dialects. The description merely focuses on the phonological aspects in general and the distribution of its variants. Data were gathered through field work which involved 240 informants classified as young, adult and old. The collected data were transcribed and keyed into ArcGis software for producing dialect maps. The findings show that there are three aspects worth comparing and depicting, which are the sound features of LSD and TSD, the distribution of LSD and TSD, and the influence of Thai phonology in LSD and TSD. The phonological behaviours that are evidently shared by the two dialects comprise of four phonological processes which systematically operate on native lexical items, namely monosyllabification, aspiration, assignment of tone and long vowel. The implication of this study illustrates that the influence of Thai phonology through lexical borrowing demonstrates that there are significant distinctions between LSD and TSD. It is apparent that if this linguistic behaviour continues to develop, the two subdialects of Malay will gradually be dissented and finally lose their intelligibility.

Alternate abstract:

Hubungan yang erat antara Langkawi (Malaysia) dengan Satun (Thailand) telah lama terbina kesan daripada faktor geografi, sejarah dan politik. Masyarakat di kedua-dua daerah ini menuturkan dialek Melayu yang sama, iaitu dialek Melayu Satun. Di samping ciri persamaan terdapat juga ciri-ciri perbezaan di antara keduanya. Secara umumnya dialek yang dituturkan di Langkawi dikenali sebagai dialek Satun Langkawi (DSL), manakala di Thai dipanggil dialek Satun Thai (DST). Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk meneliti dan menghuraikan ciri persamaan dan perbezaan antara kedua-dua dialek tersebut, dan fokus perbincangannya tertumpu pada aspek fonologi secara umum dan sebaran variannya. Kajian lapangan yang dilakukan melibatkan 240 informan yang terdiri daripada golongan muda, dewasa dan tua. Data soal selidik yang diperolehi, ditranskripsi dan dimasukkan dalam perisian ArcGis bagi menghasilkan peta dialek. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan terdapatnya tiga aspek yang berbaloi untuk dibandingkan dan dihuraikan, iaitu ciri bunyi bagi DSL dan DST, penyebaran DSL dan DST dan pengaruh fonologi Thai dalam DSL dan DST. Perilaku fonologi yang ketara yang dikongsi bersama oleh kedua-dua dialek ini melibatkan empat proses fonologi yang beroperasi secara sistematis ke atas item leksikal natif, iaitu monosilabifikasi, aspirasi, pembentukan nada dan vokal panjang. Implikasi kajian menunjukkan bahawa kemasukan ciri fonologi Thai melalui peminjaman kata menandakan perbezaan signifikan antara DSL dengan DST. Nyatanya, jika perilaku linguistik ini berterusan, maka dua subdialek Melayu ini akan secara beransur-ansur terpisah dan akhirnya hilang kesalingfahamannya.