Trends in Malaysian English Lexicon: A Corpus-Driven Analysis of Mamak Murder Mystery by Marc de Faoite

Abstract

Malaysian English (MalE), a recognised variety within the World Englishes paradigm, is shaped by sustained contact among Malay, Tamil, Chinese, and English. While existing scholarship has documented MalE lexical borrowing across spoken and written domains, less attention has been paid to how such lexical features are naturalised within short fiction and how they function indexically to construct local social meaning. Addressing this gap, this study examines MalE lexical trends in Mamak Murder Mystery, a short story from the KL Noir: Red anthology. Using AntConc (Version 4.3.1) the analysis identifies culturally loaded lexical items and examines how their unmarked, unglossed use signals shared cultural knowledge and linguistic legitimacy. Drawing on Thirusanku and Melor’s (2014) framework, the findings demonstrate that MalE lexical items in short fiction function not merely as local colour but as indexical resources that encode social relations, identity, and belonging. The study argues that short stories operate as compressed sociolinguistic spaces where MalE is intensified and normalised, contributing to ongoing debates on enregisterment, legitimacy, and localisation in World Englishes.