| Language contact brings about a conflict among language experts and planners on how to develop their native language. Some proponents are in favor of coining new words on the basis of languages traditionally and historically used in Malay (such as Arabic) or indigenous languages, while others prefer the use of Western languages, particularly English. This paper discusses the role of English in modernizing the Malay lexicon from a linguistic perspective. It also accounts for the various factors which inevitably lead to the need for English borrowings in the development of Malay vocabulary. |