the sleeping dictionary: a cultural linguistic perspective

the sleeping dictionary was banned in malaysia when it first came out in 2003. don’t get your hopes up lads, it’s still banned. i got my copy strictly for linguistic research purposes.

if the cops come, that’s what you should tell them.

but really, this is a linguistic perspective of the movie. spoilers ahead.

first of all, i need to tell you that the movie is fictitious. it is set in pre-independence sarawak.

in my opinion, the foremost of the movie is not so much the negative portrayal of the ibans, but more of the negative image of the culture as a result of it. whether of not there really is such a status as a ‘sleeping dictionary’ really isn’t the issue when you look at the movie holistically. as a descriptive linguist, i’d say if that is even historically true, that is entirely the perogative of the culture and is honestly not something they should be ashamed of.

i believe that the gross inaccuracy is what angered people and actually gives way for the nudity argument to stand. oh, if you don’t know about this movie’s sexually explicit controversy – then why do you think a movie about the ibans set in sarawak is banned, hah? jessica alba. sex scenes. get it why kak finas was anal?

the linguistic perspective. the treatment john truscott (hugh dancy) experienced in the iban culture is almost complete linguistic immersion, which is actually, in my opinion, the best way to learn the language. the movie actually captures this language learning technique precisely. when you allow yourself to be immersed in a culture, the language will seep into your vocabulary.

there is one part when selima (jessica alba… duh!) calls cecil (emily mortimer) “sundal” and truscott tells cecil that you can’t really translate that – this is exactly the language acquisition that transcends beyond what a formal classroom can teach you. also, notice the length of time it takes for truscott to learn the language as compared to neville (noah taylor), who refuses to be immersed into the culture.

this movie reinforces the close relation between culture and language, something which never ceases to amaze me. notice that with the acquisition of the language, truscott also learns about the more intricate underlays of a culture, how the function, what makes them operate and what is more important, their traditions, their customs, their pantang larang and respect for all of the above.

the sleeping dictionary is foremost, one of the most inaccurate portrayals of the iban culture. i must continuously stress on that. it is nevertheless, a striking representation of cultural linguistics at work. i will not say here if i recommend this movie. i don’t want people to mistake ibans as perverts. i want people to appreciate the mechanics of linguistics at work.

i am a linguist. up to you, lah.