From Borrowing to Belonging: The Structural Features and Cultural Dynamics of Lexical Innovation in Manglish

Abstract

Manglish, the Malaysian variety of English, embodies the linguistic hybridity emerging from continuous contact among Malay, Chinese, Tamil, and English. While frequently labelled as substandard or deficient, Manglish reveals systematic lexical creativity that reflects Malaysia’s multilingual ecology and evolving cultural identity. Despite its sociolinguistic significance, limited empirical work has examined the structural features of lexical innovation in Manglish. This study investigates the types, frequencies, and underlying cultural dynamics of such innovations to uncover how English is structurally and symbolically localized in Malaysia. A 20,000-word corpus was constructed from a classical Manglish book. Texts were cleaned, tokenized, and analyzed through AI-assisted lexical screening (ChatGPT 5.2) and comprehensive manual coding to identify and classify all instances of lexical innovation, based on an integrated analytical framework combining Kalukar et al. (2023) for internal word-formation, Tan (2009) for borrowing and loan translation, and Buschfeld & Kautzsch (2017) for hybridization and localization. Frequencies and proportional distributions were calculated to reveal dominant structural patterns. Findings show that lexical innovation in Manglish is dominated by Borrowing and Loan Translation processes (45.8%), followed by Hybridization and Localization (33.1%), and Word-Formation processes (21.1%). These structural patterns illustrate how English is re-molded through both morphological productivity and contact-induced creativity. The study concludes that Manglish’s lexical innovations are adaptive, meaning-laden expressions of identity rather than deviations from Standard English. By bridging structure and culture, the analysis reframes Manglish as a recognized product of linguistic belonging within Malaysia’s multilingual context and contributes to broader discussions of creativity and ownership in World Englishes.