Currently, Malaysian English as a variety of Asian Englishes and World Englishes is of immense interest to scholars in the field. English has permeated many areas in Malaysian society and enjoys the recognition of being the second most important language after Malay. It is now noticeably present in creative writing where linguistic features of nativisation are used as a marker of national identity. This local variety which has borrowed from and assimilated local languages and dialects has gained acceptance in the community, in tandem with shifts taking place around the world, from the expansion of recognition of only American and British English to world Englishes and new Englishes. The Malaysian variety that was first written about three decades ago (Tongue 1974) has transformed into a vibrant variety of English which continues to diversify and develop making investigation into this variety fascinating. This paper highlights the features of Malaysian English used in short stories written by Malaysians to provide insights into the new cultural and linguistic dimensions that influence the writings and illustrate the creative and innovative efforts found in the production of these texts.
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Azirah Hashim (2007) studied this question.