ABSTRACT

Sebutan Johor-Riau (Johor-Riau Pronunciation) is a naturalized standard pronunciation based on the Johor-Riau accent. In contrast, Sebutan Baku (Standard Pronunciation) is an artificially created system of pronunciation that is officially prescribed as the preferred or more appropriate way of speaking ‘proper’ Malay. It was introduced in Singapore in 1993 as the standard pronunciation for Standard Malay as part of the state’s support for the standardisation of the Malay language in the region. This geopolitical initiative has since fallen through. Malaysia returned to Sebutan Johor-Riau in 2000 while Singapore retained the Sebutan Baku policy despite opposition from Malay Singaporeans who generally do not see it as authentically indexing their Malay identity. In this paper, we trace the development of Sebutan Johor-Riau, provide a critique of Sebutan Baku and the state’s rationale for continuing with the policy, and discuss the implications this tension between Sebutan Johor-Riau and Sebutan Baku has on the Malay Singaporean identity.