Discourses of Ethnic Harmony in Sabah: Language and Place from a Critical Discourse Analysis Perspective

Abstract

Sabah is often discussed as a distinctive Malaysian context in which ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity are negotiated through everyday social practice. Yet the interactional mechanisms through which Sabahans sustain perceptions of ethnic harmony remain under-examined. This study examines how language use and place of residence shape perceptions of harmony in Sabah. Using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) perspective, we analysed interviews from seven districts spanning urban (Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau) and rural (Kuala Penyu, Ranau, Keningau, Kota Marudu) settings. We introduce the Language-Place Harmony Framework (LPHF), a process model in which place affordances cue code choice (dialect, code-switching, and forms of address); these choices organise face-work and politeness, invite positive stance, and, through repetition, settle into routine cooperation experienced as harmony. Thematic analysis identifies seven recurring patterns: (1) dominant-dialect accommodation as inclusion; (2) everyday multilingualism as routine cooperation; (3) politeness and address as respect work; (4) communal interdependence; (5) generational differences in valuing boundaries; (6) urban-rural contrasts in interactional norms; and (7) resilience through diversity as a shared narrative. The findings show that harmony in Sabah is practised rather than merely proclaimed: it is enacted through accommodative talk, politeness, and place-specific expectations that normalise coexistence. The study contributes to CDA and anthropology-informed language research by specifying a mechanism linking micro-linguistic practice to social cohesion and by identifying policy levers for strengthening everyday contact infrastructures and multilingual accommodation.