The Chinese Language Standardisation Council of MalaysiaAlthough Malaysian English

Malaysian English

Malaysian English , formally known as Malaysian Standard English , is a form of English used and spoken in Malaysia as a second language...

 generally prefers -ise, Yufan's official site is ambiguous between -ise and -ize in its name. , abbreviated Yufan is the body charged with regulating the use of the Chinese language

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 in Malaysia.

Background

Malaysia is home to approximately 7.2 million ethnic Chinese

Malaysian Chinese

Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...

 (26% of the population). The use of the Chinese language is preserved through Chinese vernacular education. Many varieties of Chinese

Varieties of Chinese

Chinese comprises many regional language varieties sometimes grouped together as the Chinese dialects, the primary ones being Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, and Min. These are not mutually intelligible, and even many of the regional varieties are themselves composed of a number of...

 are also used.

Malaysian Chinese have the option of sending their children to vernacular public schools which use Chinese as the medium of instruction at the primary level. At secondary level, some students opt for Chinese Independent High School

Chinese Independent High School

Chinese Independent High Schools is a type of private high school in Malaysia. They provide secondary education in the Chinese language as the continuation of the primary education in Chinese national-type primary schools...

s, instead of national public schools, which use Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 as the medium of instruction.

Malaysia also has a robust Chinese-language media. The Sin Chew Daily is the highest-circulated daily newspaper of any language in Malaysia. News telecasts read in Chinese are broadcast by state television stations TV2

TV2 (Malaysia)

RTM2, also known as TV2 is a television station in Malaysia owned and operated by the Radio Television Malaysia, a division of the Malaysian Government. RTM2 is now broadcasting for 24 hours a day effective January 2006.- History :...

 and Bernama TV

Bernama TV

Bernama TV is a 24 hour international news and current affairs television network in Malaysia. It is owned by Bernama, a government news agency. The service places emphasis on decidedly right-leaning and pro-government content and views...

, and private stations such as TV3

TV3 (Malaysia)

Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad or TV3 began broadcasting on 1 June 1984 as Malaysia’s first commercial television station. It is part of Media Prima Berhad group of companies. It now transmits opened broadcasting business private 24-hours a day, 7 days a week since 1 January 2010...

, ntv7

Ntv7

Natseven TV Sdn Bhd or better known as ntv7 is a terrestrial television channel in Malaysia. It was launched nationwide on 7 April 1998 and was the country's third private free-to-air TV station after TV3 and Astro. Its mission is to promote a happier and more enlightened Malaysia...

 and 8TV

8TV (Malaysia)

8TV is a private Malaysian Chinese television station, previously known as MetroVision Channel 8. Metrovision closed on 1 November 1999. 8TV was officially launched on Thursday, 8 January 2004 as 8TV after being acquired by Media Prima Berhad....

.

The simplified Chinese script in used in Malaysia.

History

In 1997, Malaysia hosted the Seminar on Chinese Language Teaching in Southeast Asia, after which scholars in Malaysia agreed to form the Chinese Language Standardisation Working Committee , which was the predecessor to Yufan. The Working Committee consisted of representatives from civil society organisations. It was dissolved in 2003.

In order to standardise the use of Chinese by the Chinese media in Malaysia, the Ministry of Information formed the Standardisation Council on 12 February 2004.

Role

The Council's stated mission is to "encourage the use of standard Chinese, including translated names, phonetics, grammar, words and text, without discouraging the use of dialects

Varieties of Chinese

Chinese comprises many regional language varieties sometimes grouped together as the Chinese dialects, the primary ones being Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, and Min. These are not mutually intelligible, and even many of the regional varieties are themselves composed of a number of...

". It consists of six divisions, each in charge of specific areas: translation, information, phonetics, grammar, vocabulary and writing, and publishing.

Membership

Members of the Council consist of representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Association of Translation and Creative Writing, the Federation of Chinese Associations (Huazhong), the private Chinese education sector, the Home Ministry, Chinese newspapers, Chinese radio stations and public universities.

Chair

The following is the list of Chairmen of the Standardisation Council since 2004:

1. Donald Lim Siang Chai, as Deputy Information Minister (2004–2006)
2. Hon Choon Kim, as Deputy Education Minister (2006–2009)
3. Wee Ka Siong
   Wee Ka Siong
   Datuk Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong is a Malaysian politician who has served as Member of Parliament of Ayer Hitam, Johor since 2004....
   
   , as Deputy Education Minister (2009–present)