The Sleeping Dictionary (film) written by Guy Jenkin
Summary of the film
During the colonization of British in Malaysia, there are a lot of British officers who are sent by the British to manage state administration matters. John Truscott is a young British colonial officer, and an educated Englishman who has been assigned to go to Sarawak, Malaysia. He is placed in a very remote area that consists of indigenous community of Iban. Truscott is asked by Henry Bullard, a senior colonial officer, to learn Iban language before proceeding with his administrative tasks. Selima, an Iban woman, helps Truscott in learning the language and culture. Truscott finds his new culture as awkward and challenging and he has been struggling to acquire and adopt it. Selima and Truscott exchange each other’s language and culture and finally Truscott is able to speak Iban language. By being able to converse Iban language, it helps him to understand the people and manage his tasks better. Selima and Truscott fall into forbidden love. In the end, Truscott decides to be with Iban community for the love of Selima, language and the community.
Sarawak and its culture
Sarawak is situated in the east side of Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Sarawak culture is rich, unique and diverse in its very own way. According to Sarawak government (2008) website, there are 27 ethnic groups live in this state such as Iban, Penan, Orang Ulu, Bidayuh, Melanau and so on. Iban is the largest ethnic group in Sarawak and they live in traditional settlement which is known as long house. There are a lot of families live in the long house and each long house has its own headman. Tuai or headman does his duty as the leader of the house who decides for his people. In the past, Iban people were headhunters and warriors and today, a lot of them leave their settlement and move to the city and some of them remain in their community.
British colonization in Malaysia
Some people suggest that British colonization in Malaysia ( also known as Malaya) has given positive impact to the nation such as development in education, economy, agriculture, and so on. British had successfully built its empire by approaching the communities through people’s primary language. In contrast, during Japanese invasion of Malaysia (1941-1942) Japanese drastically changed our current language policy to Japanese. Everybody was forced to use Japanese language and it had become our official language in the offices as well as on the billboards and signboards. Due to WWII, Japanese had to leave Malaysia and British regained its autonomy to take control of Malaysia.
British had opened a lot of schools especially in the cities. English schools were usually attended by children of royal or rich families. Those who attended English school would have better education and job prospect compared to those who attended Malay school. In view of the importance of education and better future, quite a number of poor families sent their children to English schools even though it did cost them an arm and a leg. Thus, whoever was able to speak English, he or she was highly valued in the society as a high class or educated person. Presently, the notion still lingers in our society and it has resulted of adding English words in our daily conversation. Moreover, due to multicultural diversity in Malaysia, English language is preferably use for the ease of communication among many races. I have done a brief survey of reasons of adding English words into Malay conversation. Common words like actually, probably, so, I, and you are used comprehensively and sometimes unconsciously in their everyday conversation as for example;
I tak sangka yang you ni actually suka pergi shopping
(I have never thought that you love to do shopping).
To certain extend, English is preferably used to express feelings or thoughts. Certain people suggested that many English words comprise shorter spelling and syllable compared to Malay words, as for example;
Newspaper – surat khabar
Movie – wayang gambar
Journey – perjalanan
English language is also known as a global language that is spoken everywhere around the world. Cameron (2000) notes that “nations such as Malaysia and Singapore have long pursued a policy of promoting the English language while eschewing Anglophone (or indeed, ‘Western’) cultural values”. In view to that, English has become our second language and the government encourages the use of this language extensively in order to be on par with developed countries in terms of economy, education, health, etc. Cameron (2000) also states that “educational policy and practice are increasingly based on narrow, instrumental view of what foreign language learning is for: it benefits the nation by enhancing its competitiveness in the global marketplace”.
Significance of the film to language and literacy education
In the beginning of the film, it shows distinctive faces of people in Sarawak which also indicates multicultural state of Sarawak. Truscott, who has just arrived in Sarawak, looks clueless and hopeless at the port. He tries to ask help from the people by speaking English to them and he says “I was expecting to be met”, unfortunately he receives no response because the people do not speak or understand English language. Language is a crucial tool of communication and it is also the most pervasive and powerful technology (Davis, Sumara & Kapler, 2008). It is imperative for a person to be able to speak dominant language of the community in order to permit communication process happening and the message or thought can be conveyed from one person to another person. Culture is always embedded in a language and both are interrelated. A quote from Neil Simon, “Give your mind a chance to travel through foreign languages” suggests that a person will have broader perspective about people and its culture from learning foreign languages. Thus, learning a foreign language is a good way to know about its people and culture. Learning foreign languages also shows us the way of how our mind can travel, at its fastest speed, and at the same time appreciate other cultures.
Truscott comes to Sarawak with a mission not only to serve as a colonial officer but also to continue his father’s journey to educate Iban people. As he is speaking about his father he mentions, “He’d drawn up a plan to bring education to the Iban which the governor general had approved, but then he had to go back to the war… and it never happened”. He is aware of the importance of education and he believes that everybody regardless nationality, social class, race and religion should receive equal opportunity to be educated as he says to Belansai “You were educated because you’re the chief’s son. Shouldn’t others have the same opportunity?”. Truscott recognizes the need of education for the primitive Iban and he affirms that, “Yes, I think it’s our duty to educate primitive people”. In present, there are still people such as Penan in Sarawak who live primitively deep inside the jungle, and they have no idea about how world has drastically changed into a modern and high-technology world.
One night, on a ridge in Sarawak, I sat by a fire with Asik Nyelit, headman of the Ubong River Penan. It was dusk and the light of a partial moon filtered through the branches of the canopy. Asik looked up at the moon and casually asked me if it was true that people had journeyed there, only to return with baskets of dirt. “If true,” he asked, “why did they bother to go?”
It was difficult to explain a $1-trillion space program to a man who kindled fire with a flint. The proper answer to Asik’s query was that we did not go into space to secure new wealth but to experience a new vision of life itself (Davis, 2000, p. 48).
Penan people have deep adherence to the nature and they live their life in their own way by practicing their unique custom and culture. They are classified as primitive people because they are left behind due to the world’s advance development. Thus, we need to know why do they live primitively? Is it because of their strong attachment and appreciation to their culture?
Trusott and Bullard have different Iban literacy background. Due to exposure to Iban society and culture, Bullard is considered as Iban-literate as he has acquired and adopted the language and culture. Bullard is able to speak fluent Iban language, which is a primary discourse in the community. Gee (1990) indicates that:
Discourses are intimately related to the distribution of social power and hierarchical structure in society. Control over certain discourses can lend to the acquisition of social goods (money, power, status) in a society. These discourses empower those groups who have the least conflicts with their other discourses when they use them.
It is sometimes helpful to say that it is not individuals who speak and act, but rather historically and socially defined discourses speak to each other through individuals. The individual instantiates, gives body to, a discourse every time he acts or speaks and thus carries it, and ultimately changes it through time.
Thus, with the aim to be able to communicate and control the Iban, he has to apprehend its language and community. Bullard also explains briefly to Truscott about Iban and its culture so that Truscott will have a general view of Iban community as says, “Iban society is based on heavy drinking, violent sport and practical jokes”. On the other hands, Tuscott is still naïve and illiterate. In another scene, Truscott tries to impress Bullard by exhibiting his knowledge about Iban people and its culture and says, “The feast to honor the war god where they take the giant hornbill statue down from the rafters”. Bullard is so shocked by this information and he replies, “Oh, God.. You read… books.” This line can be interpreted in two ways; Bullard shows his surprise towards Truscott upon his extraordinary knowledge about Iban culture or it can be interpreted that Bullard is displease with the misleading information provided in the book. “I’m afraid they insist upon it at university” says Tuscott and Bullard expresses his doubt by asking “Do they? Has it come to that now?”. This line demonstrates Bullard’s astonishment towards the use of force in reading book at the University. Perhaps, during Bullard’s alphabetic literacy era books were highly valued and they were read willingly by the readers.
Selima and Truscott share the story of their experiences as an emergent reader. They remember that they were read by their parent when they were young child; “My mother read that to me” says Truscott and says Selima, “My father read it to me”. In this scene, she shows interest in literacy by opening the book and starts reading it fluently. “You can read English” Truscott asks Selima, and she replies “I remember it by my heart. I made him read it many time.” Even though she has experience as an emergent reader, she never receives any education in alphabetic literacy.
Belansai once questions Truscott about the purpose of education to his people. He doubts if this education is used as a stepping-stone for the British to change his people, culture and language. He expresses his thought about school to Truscott and says “the mission school tries to turn us into little Englishmen”. Belansai argues the rationale of teaching his people about British and its kingship. He is also anxious if this kind of education will sabotage the future of his people and culture.
Cecil, daughter of Bullard, is so fascinated about the Iban, and it results her to write a thesis about this community. Truscott asks Cecil the reason of writing thesis about Iban, “I lived here until I was five”, she says. Cecil has been brought up in Iban community since she was born and she has developed a sense of love and attention towards this people. Due to her dearly attachment towards Iban, she shows her strong passion in studying about them and teaching them by being a teacher in that community. According to Corbett (2009), “to know how to teach is to know a great deal about where you are teaching and the condition experienced by people in that place”. In a book called Teacher written by Sylvia Aston-Warner, she composes a creative pedagogy by relating it to Maori children’s atmosphere and experience. In this film, Cecil has demonstrated a productive pedagogy by relating children’s learning to their own schemata, as indicated in her dialogue with her husband, “I tried teaching in Iban. And I thought I said cooking yams…”patanta”. She provides “yam” as an example in her lesson as yam is a common vegetable in Iban’s diet.
In the scene of Selima and Truscott escaping from the Iban village, Selima expresses her anxiety to Truscott and says, “They’ll find out. They’ll say you must be an Englishman.” Selima understands the impossibility of having Truscott in her life and her community as Englishmen are not supposed to involve in serious relationship with Iban people. Thus, she fears of losing him over British force. Truscott convinces Selima and says, “And I’ll tell them that I’d rather have you than a country, or a language, or a history”. Truscott portrays his preference to be in Selima’s world as he finds liberation in it compared to his own world, which is proud of its history, power and language. “If we go, you will have nothing” tells Selima and Truscott replies “I’ll have this. I’ll have you.” In the final scene, it shows they are dancing happily. Looking at the way they dance, it does not show Iban dance move, as demonstrated in the early part of the film, but it is English style of dance. Although Truscott has acquired and adopted Iban way of life, still he has strong attachment towards his own root by dancing like English. In addition to that, he also reads English book to his son, Mandar, like how his mother did to him when he was a young child. Gee supports that:
We all have a primary discourse that we learn from our families and communities and then multiple secondary discourses that we acquire throughout our lives. The primary discourse is often central to what we consider the core element of our identity (as cited in Williams, 2005, p. 343)
Therefore, it apparently shows that one cannot deny or turn away from his or her true identity or root due to attachment, resources and belonging to one’s primary discourse (identity kit).
Language and its future
Language accomplishes many purposes in our life such as means of communication, transmitting ideas, and it also unites nation. According to a National Geographic explorer, he states that, “Of the 6,000 languages spoken today, fully half are not being taught to children. Effectively, they are already dead. By the end of the 21st century linguistic diversity may be reduced to as few as 500 languages” (Davis, 2000, p. 48). This indicates the possibility of language death if no one inherits the language. A friend of mine, whose parents are intermarried between Malay and Chinese, was not able to read, write or speak in Chinese. I knew her when I was taking Mandarin course back in my home university. The reason she learned Mandarin was to know about her descendant’s language and culture. If Mandarin was not inherited, it may contribute to language death one day as language dies more quickly than we could ever imagine. Another friend of mine who is a child of intermarried parents (Chinese and Indian) is unable to speak neither his mother nor father’s language and due to that, English language has become their first language at home. I am personally anxious of losing my own language, Malay Language, due to globalization. I also feel fear if my children will not be able to speak Malay language due to my intermarriage. I have seen language died in my family as none of my siblings are able to speak Javanese. Javanese is occasionally spoken by my parents and sadly, we have never been taught of this language. Imagine, how many languages have lost in our family and how quickly it takes for a language to die?