Shifting the Dimensionality of Language: Evidence from Bilingual Bajau Sama Kota Belud in Malaysia

The language shift phenomenon in the Bajau Sama Kota Belud in Sabah is definite. The researchers surveyed the phenomenon in Kampung Taun Gusi 1, Kota Belud, Sabah. Based on the age cross-sectional method, 300 participants of 20-29 years (G20s), 30-39 years (G30s), 40-49 years (G40s), and 50-59 years (G50s) respectively were selected by stratified sampling. The objective of this study is to formulate the dimensionality of language shift. The researchers found that speakers shifted from using the mother tongue to the Malay language after entering school. The Bajau Sama language spoken as the mother tongue has declined from one generation to another. For a better understanding of the Bajau Sama lexical, G20s meet Fishman’s (1991) implication scale negatively. The group achievement of nouns has decreased to 26.9%, verbs (33.9%), and adjectives (32%). Meanwhile, the attitude overtness towards the Bajau Sama language is most evident among G50s with a statistical min of 83.00, declining by 48.20 in G30s and 41.80 in G40s, which eventually and significantly decreased by 23.20 in G20s. In the family domain, G20s prefer using the Malay language over Bajau Sama. In the neighbourhood domain, G20s and G30s use the Malay language frequently. All the groups choose to speak the Malay language in the shop outlet domain. This study’s implications demonstrate G20s and G30s have shifted to use the Malay language in family and neighbourhood domains. This shifting justifies the low vocabulary knowledge in Bajau Sama compared to G40s and G50s. Overall, the language shift from the mother tongue to the Malay language in the Bajau Sama Kota Belud community occurred due to bilingualism, the level of status, and unequal power between the two languages, the impact of political, economic, and social situations on one language group. In conclusion, we suggested that the Bajau Sama standard language curriculum be introduced in primary schools to sustain its vitality as a revitalization program.


INTRODUCTION
The Sama Bajau, Kota Belud community, changes from using one primary language to another wide variety of languages in a language shift process. Specifically, Fishman (1991, p. 1) defines language shift as a process when the continuity of intergenerational language transmission occurs negatively. Speakers, readers, writers, and even those who understand the mother tongue language are getting lesser in each generation. According to Sarri (2016, p. 64), language shift occurs under certain social conditions: the presence of bilingualism, the level of status and unequal power between two languages, and the impact of political, economic, and social situations on one language group. Language shifts are often perfected in three generations. Migration, industrialization, and economic change have been considered as causes. This article's language shift concept is when the Kota Belud Bajau Sama bilingual gradually stops using their mother tongue for other languages.
the Malay language as a high variety has affected indigenous ethnic language use in familiar domains such as family and neighbourhood (Noor Aina et al., 2019, p. 9).

Research Problem
In the scheme by Eberhard, Gary, and Charles (2020) in Figure 1, the West Coast Bajau Sama language in Sabah is at the 'Endangered' level. This level is interpreted as no longer a habit of children to learn and use this language. The estimated number of speakers of the first and second languages is less than 10,000.
Based on the preliminary information from Eberhard et al. (2020), we know that the Bajau Sama language in Sabah is at the 'endangered' level. Apart from the fact that its speakers are now less than 10,000 people, other reasons are not clearly stated. Thus, we step on the ground to find the unspoken truth. The way to begin is by implementing a new guideline, which we refer to in the book written by Fishman (1991). We seek to find the Bajau Sama language shift in Kota Belud because the same phenomenon is plaguing the Bajau Sama community in other districts in Sabah. In the early observation, the Malay language is now more dominant in the Bajau Sama linguistic ecology, indicating an increase in the number of one-sided bilingualism speakers. The fluent bilingual speakers have the skills to read and write in the Malay language. On the other hand, they are not fluent in speaking the Bajau Sama, let alone write in the language. The rise of the one-sided bilingualism speakers jeopardizes the status of the Bajau language as a mother tongue in the informal domain at home and in the neighbourhood. The massive invasion of the mother tongue domain by more prestigious languages is the most crucial evidence that language shift occurs (El Kirat, 2007, p. 709). The researchers also conducted a pilot study and found massive Malay aggression in informal domains like family and neighbourhood dominated by the mother tongue. Figure 2 shows in statistical min the use of Bajau Sama in the family, neighbourhood, and shop outlet domains.
The older generation (GI) mostly uses the mother tongue in the family, neighbourhood, and shopping domains. Although the adult generation (GII) still uses the Bajau Sama in all the domains, the language's statistical min use is lower than the GI. Similarly, the younger generation (GIII) only uses the Bajau Sama in the family domain. Still, the statistical min of 2.4 is very low compared to 8.4 in GI and 6.2 in the GII data. In the neighbourhood and shop outlet domains, it is clear that the younger generation (GIII) has wholly excluded the use of their mother tongue.
The status of the Malay language as the national language in Malaysia has unnoticeably separated the population into insiders or outsiders. Those in power determine the cultural desiderata, including the language of insider membership. Without the protection of cultural boundaries, even a large society will not defend its culture. Some examples are the experiences of millions of German Americans, Polish Americans, French Americans, and Italian Americans who have lost their native ethnic languages (Fishman, 1991, p. 356). Positive or negative perceptions of a language are often associated with its utilitarian and symbolic values (Batibo, 2005, p. 108). The same is true in the case of the Bajau Sama language. People in Kota Belud are aware that a language shift has occurred from Bajau Sama to Malay. The pilot study's findings showed that most participants were not in favour of the language shift; in reality, however, they are more likely to use the Malay language. Hoffman (2006, p. 148) asserts that the decline in the use of mother tongue in the family domain is a sign of language shift.
The Bajau Sama language may not be used in the neighbourhood and shop outlet domains because it cannot convey the interlocutors' meaning, especially those related to role-relations. Role-relations influence the choice of language code (Fishman, 1991, p. 45). For example, the Malay language is used by GI, GII, and GIII when communicating with their neighbors from other ethnic groups or salespersons as both parties understood the language. In this case, the Bajau Sama language may not be used in the shopping domain because it cannot convey the interlocutors' meaning, especially those related to role-relations.
Parents encourage their children to learn the Malay language since childhood as preparation for school and the sake of their academic achievement. Consequently, teachers inspire their students to speak Malay in schools. It is a paradox if parents do not pursue the same linguistic strategies for their children's academic performance. Indirectly, intergenerational language transmission shifts to Malay. Language transmission between generations is threatened due to parents' perception that the Bajau Sama language lacks economic value.

Aim of the Study
This study aims to identify the factors contributing to language shift among the Bajau Sama language community in Sabah, Malaysia. This study utilizes Fishman's (1991) language shift theory.

Objectives of the Study
The researchers applied the dimensionality of language shift variables in the following four study objectives: Although the study data showed that most of the sample is not in favour of language shift, speakers are shifting to using English to promote a better economy and social prestige. Adam (2017) describes the state of language shift among the Tuareg in Libya. They shifted from using Targian, an indigenous minority language, to Arabic as the primary language in Libya. The findings showed that one of the causes of language shift is interference in intergenerational language transmission. Parents prefer Arabic as their children's first language. Interference in intergenerational language transmission is assimilated by preventing children from speaking the Targian language in the early stages of childhood at home or communicating with their parents. Yabit (2019) conducted a revitalization study of the Bisaya language in Brunei and Malaysia's border. Generations aged 50 years and above still use the Bisaya language and practice their heritage culture. The generation between 30-49 years speaks Bisaya and Dusun languages. Those below 30 years old have mostly shifted to Brunei Malay and Brunei culture. Hence, the trend of change is evident among the younger generation. Noraisikin, Mohammad, and Harishon (2019) conducted a study on language shift in the Cham society in Parit Buntar, Kedah, Malaysia. They used 135 participants from the first and second generations. Only 12.6% of the second generation uses the Cham language in the family domain, while 32.6% preferred the Malay language, which is 11.9% higher than the first generation. Therefore, there was a decline in the Cham language use among the second generation in the neighbourhood domain. Malay is used mostly in interactions with neighbours compared to the first generation. Coluzzi, Riget, and Xiaomei (2017) studied the language attitude among the Orang Asli of Carey Island in Malaysia. The participants were 86 individuals aged 15 years and above. The decline in the use of Mah Meri as a mother tongue could be observed in line with the age generation of family members. Mah Meri is commonly used in 87.2% of the cases with grandparents. With parents, the use of Mah Meri decreased to 81.4%, which further declined (68.6%) with siblings, and with children declined to 47.7% and deteriorated by 16.3% with grandchildren. The percentages clearly show the Mah Meri language's downward trend, and language shift occurs slowly towards the Malay language.
Meanwhile, the language shift among the Batak Toba people in Pontianak, Indonesia, has been studied by Hotma (2017). The study used 201 participants from three generations. In the neighbourhood domain, over 90% of the GI and GII participants chose the Indonesian language. Similarly, in the shop outlet domain, GI and GII prefer the Indonesian language. As for all the purchasing activities by the side of the roads, in shops, or supermarkets, GI and GII respondents only use the Indonesian language. Internal and external factors of Lampungese language maintenance in Cikoneng, Banten, have been studied by Syafrizal and Raden (2018). The internal factors include the continuity of mother tongue transmission, loyalty to the mother tongue, the younger generation's role, and educational and cultural institutions. External factors are accommodation attitudes, the younger generation's positive attitudes, geographical location as an open society, and schools' role.
Noor Aina et al. (2019) studied the endangered intergenerational language transmission in the rural areas of Sabah, Malaysia. The researchers surveyed 120 students of the Dusun ethnic who had formally learned the standard Dusun language in primary schools. A set of factors that determine the threat of language transmission was adapted from Fishman (1991). The results showed that intergenerational language transmission is in grade 2, which is interpreted as severely threatened. As many as 84% of the Dusun ethnic students choose grade 2; the Dusun language is widely used only by the generation of grandparents and above. The proportion of speakers in the population was in grade 3, with 36% interpreted as the majority not speaking the language. The highest total response of 59% for the trend in the existing language domain fell to grade 1, i.e., the Dusun language is used in the limited domain and for very few functions. Alexander, Hazlina, and Jürgen (2019) conducted a study on Dusun language use frequency among secondary school students. All 76 participants came from a generation aged between 13-17 years. The study results revealed that the younger generation only speaks the Dusun language if the Dusun-speaking population dominates their environment. In their opinions, there are many options when it comes to communicating with peers. The Dusun language use in daily conversation among the younger generation is measly as the Malay language has superseded it. It is crucial to highlight that with the number of speakers fluent in the Dusun language decreasing, the language is not passed on to the next generation. Kandelaki (2017) conducted a study on language behaviour and contributing factors towards it among the Georgian ethnic minorities in Luton. In the interviews, 14 participants were asked about the choice of code-switching by teens and their social networks. All the 14 participants reported that they used code-switching because they are proficient in two languages. They use various Russian dialects into Georgian such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

THE PRESENT STUDY
This study discusses the Bajau Sama language shift in Kampung Taun Gusi 1 in Kota Belud, Sabah. The researchers applied the survey method, age cross-sectional method, and stratified sampling in Fishman (1991) in this study. Fishman (1991, p. 42) recommends the use of stratified sampling according to the age groups of 20-29 years (G20s), 30-39 years (G30s), 40-49 years (G40s), and 50-59 years (G50s). The researchers obtained 300 participants from the four age groups. The reasons for such an age division are presented further in the methodology section.
We begin this section of the methodology by quoting Fishman's question (1991, p.40) "Has language shift occurred and, if so, where?" Accordingly, Fishman put forward 'The Dimensionality of Language Shift' as "a jointly accepted outline may be helpful by detailing in advance the areas of language-life that each informant should think about and report upon, relative to any particular population with which he or she is expertly familiar" (Fishman, 1991, p.43). The dimensionality of language shift' outline includes the media of possible language shift, overtness: attitude, and domains and role-relations.

The dimensionality of Language Shift (LS)
The LS outline's dimensionality is media of possible LS, overtness: attitude, and domains and role-relations. Besides, the population and sampling suggested by Fishman (1991) are also explained.

Media of possible Language Shift (LS)
To answer the question "Has LS occurred and, if so, where?" we must distinguish the participants' scores of speaking and understanding the mother tongue. According to Fishman (1991, p. 43-44), if fewer understand X language, the number of samples that can speak X language is also small. If few use the X language (except classical language related to religion), reading and writing skills are also limited. Writing skills themselves are a condition of reading skills. In modern society, the medium of comprehension and speech is the 'scale of implications' of LS. Speakers are not necessarily proficient in reading, and readers are not necessarily skilled in writing in X language. We apply the media of possible LS in two ways. Firstly, through the media of speaking by comparing the participants' spoken language before they go to school and after they enter the school environment. In this way, we can determine whether their spoken language has shifted to the dominant language, namely Malay. Secondly, through the media of understanding. We tested their knowledge of 10 Bajau Sama nouns, ten verbs, and ten adjectives, with the statistical min of their vocabulary, indicating their mother tongue's knowledge.

Overtness: Attitude
Attitude is essential in determining LS reversal measures. Is the number of X language speakers declining because the number of X Language speakers has decreased? Or the number of speakers who want or 'dare to' speak X language has decreased (Fishman, 1991, p. 44). Thus, we need to identify those who wish to talk (attitude) Bajau Sama language. Some participants may not claim they understand Bajau Sama even though they know the language. Implications for the level of attitude overtness are often unexpected. Therefore, we need to prove it through research.

Domains and Role Relations
Another dimension of the LS feature is the socio-cultural context in which the X language is used. Socio-cultural context involves all interactions based on topics and situations related to society's major institutions, for example, family, employment, education, religion, entertainment and mass media, political parties, government, and others. All of these referred to as 'domains' (Fishman, 1991, p. 44). The context of language use involves interlocutor-role relationships in specific domains. There are clear roles-relations between husband and wife, parents-children, siblings, grandparents-grandchildren, and others in the family domain.
There is a LS background when a person speaks X language typically to parents and grandparents but not to children or siblings. In employment, co-workers often speak X language to each other, but not to the employer. The same individual can act as a parent at home, office staff, a student in an educational program, a voter, or an activist. Therefore, speakers use X language in various domains. According to Fishman (1991, p. 45), across these multiple domains, and even in their several different role relations within the same domain, their incidence of use of X language may vary considerably. It sketched out across a large and representative sample of persons, and optimally, for two periods in time (but minimally in one) if the LS picture for X language is clarified.
The mother tongue dominates the family domain and neighbourhood. Many feel that way. That is why we studied language use in the family and neighbourhood domains by age group. The participants' language choices while purchasing goods were also considered as it is a different situation from family and neighbourhood domains. Ultimately, the sketched out across a representative sample of persons for three cases clarified the LS picture for Bajau Sama. We do not use formal domains such as education and employment because it is a known fact that Malay is the primary language in these domains.

Population and Sampling
According to Fishman (1991, p. 45-46), an accurate LS assessment framework is needed to detect the population's irregular shift to obtain a suitable study sample.
If a subject aged between 20-29 years admits using less of X language than a subject between 30-39 years, a subject between 30-39 years admits use less of X language than a subject aged between 40-49 years, in turn, reveals use less of X language than subjects between 50-59 years, the gradient of language use obtained is a reflection of changes in the use of X language that occur over time (Fishman, 1991, p. 42). To overcome any shortcomings of data collection, we need a sample size of 30% -50% in the research survey (Bartlet, Kotrlik, & Higgins, 2001, p. 46). A study with a stratified sampling method and age cross-sectional study was recommended by Fishman (1991, p. 42). Researchers divided the sample by age, 20-29 years (G20s), 30-39 years (G30s), 40-49 years (G40s), and 50-59 years (G50s).
Age cross-sectional study is an effective sampling technique for detecting uneven LS in the population. Profile of the participants and the percentage acquired for this study are as follows:

Location of the Study
The residents who spoke the Bajau Sama language in this study live in a village named Kampung Taun Gusi 1, situated in Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia. The coordinates of the point on the ground are 6 ° 22 '45" N 116 ° 26 '05" E. As many as 98% of the population consists of Bajau Sama ethnic. The rest are of Dusun ethnic, while some families of Chinese descendants. There is no written document on the community based on the age group in Kampung Taun Gusi I. The researchers determined the participants based on the fact that both parents are the Bajau Sama descendants. According to the Village Security Development Committee source, the total population in the village in 2019 was around 692. Kampung Taun Gusi 1 is located around 6 km from Kota Belud town. Kota Belud District has the largest settlement of Bajau Sama speakers and is the center of the Bajau Sama cultural area in Sabah (Sather, 1997, p. 25).

Research Instrument
This study uses an open-ended questionnaire that has five sections, as follows: Part A: First Language Information before and after school Part B: Daily Use of Language Part C: Understanding Bajau Sama vocabulary Part D: Attitude towards the Bajau Sama language Part E: Language choice in informal domains Part A is the information about the first language used at home, i.e., before going to school. The choices are Bajau Sama or Malay.
Part B is the first language used at home after school. This language's use is measured on four Likert scales ranging from 4: Frequently, 3: Sometimes, 2: Rarely to 1: Never.
Part C is about understanding the ten verbal Bajau Sama language, namely nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The participants were required to translate the original Malay words to Bajau Sama. The score of lexical understanding is displayed in the forms of frequency and percentage. The researchers adapted the test procedure from Zuraini (2014), Md Roslan (2020), and Mohd Arifin (2020).
Part E consists of questions on the language choice based on domain analysis. The options are Bajau Sama, more Bajau Sama, Bajau Sama & Malay, more Malay, and Malay. The language choice is taken from three social domains, namely family, neighborhood, and shop outlet.

Data Analysis
Objective 1: Identifying the rate of decline in the use of the Bajau Sama as the spoken language.
Language shift data include the frequency and percentage of spoken language before school vs. language use after school (speaking). A figure compares the Bajau Sama language and Malay before and after school and a graph showing the decline of the mother tongue (Bajau Sama) between age groups.
Objective 2: Determining the linguistic understanding of the Bajau Sama language among the participants.
The data from the understanding of Bajau Sama vocabulary consist of nouns, verbs, and adjectives presented in frequency and percentage. Descriptive data are shown in statistical min. A figure showing the percentage difference in understanding Bajau Sama between age groups is also included.
Objective 3: Comparing the participants' attitude overtness towards the Bajau language of Kota Belud based on the age group.
To compare the participants' attitude overtness towards the Bajau Sama language, frequency, percentage, descriptive statistics, i.e., min and standard deviation (SD), and the attitude overtness graph in min are used. Objective 4: Analysing the choice of language used by the participants in informal domains.
Frequency and percentage were computed for the family, neighbourhood, and shop outlet domains. Descriptive statistics (i.e., min and standard deviation (SD)) was determined through five scales of language choice: Bajau Sama, more Bajau Sama, Malay, and more Malay.

Validity and Reliability
To test the internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha test was run using the reliability command in SPSS. Alpha Cronbach's internal consistency interpretation is based on a scale set by Mohsen and Reg (2011, p. 54). Cronbach's Alpha test based on standardized items in Part C: Lexical understanding of Bajau Sama language (nouns, verbs, and adjectives) for pilot study produced a statistical value of 0.996, showing an excellent internal consistency. Part D: Attitudes towards the Bajau language. Two social events were adapted from Saeed, Ashkan, and Arash (2017, p. 7). Overall, Cronbach's alpha test for all the five items showed an outstanding value of 0.942. Meanwhile, the internal consistency for Part E: The choice of language use in the informal domain is 0.772, which is equivalent to acceptable. This study has four dependent variables: Bajau Sama spoken language, Bajau Sama lexical understanding, speakers' attitude towards Bajau Sama language, and language choice in the family, neighbourhood, and shop outlet domains. Next, all the dependent variables data are explained in the results and discussion section.

The Rate of Decline in the Use of the Bajau Sama as a Spoken Language
LS dimensional data in this section include the percentage of spoken language before school and after school. The two data were compared to obtain the Bajau Sama's deterioration rate as a daily spoken language. According to Fishman (1991, p. 43), to identify whether LS has occurred, the first necessary measure is to differentiate the area of language use, namely speaking and understanding. The difference between the two areas of language use is more critical than revitalization measures. Thus, to identify the LS dimensions of the participants' spoken language by age group, data on the pre-school and after entering school are presented.

Pre-school spoken language
Percentage rate comparison of pre-school spoken language between 20-29 years (G20s) and 30-39 years (G-30) showed that G20s participants mostly speak Malay. In more specific, the participants in the age groups of 40-49 years (G40s) and 50-59 years (G50s) spoke more in their mother tongue, namely the Bajau Sama (see Figure 3).
Bajau Sama spoken language in G20s is only 9%, but this is relatively high for the Malay language at 79%. The spoken language frequently used by G30s is Malay (53%), but this is only 20% for Bajau Sama. The data in the G40s and G50s are the opposite of the previous groups' data. The most common spoken language they use during pre-school is Bajau Sama at 64% and 92%, respectively. The Malay language in the G40s is merely 13%, while this is only 4% in the G50s.
The data clearly show that the participants aged 20-29 are at risk of abandoning the Bajau Sama language. According to Coluzzi et al. (2017), a decline in the mother tongue's use can be observed in line with family members' age. The downward trend in using the mother tongue in the G20s slithers slowly towards the Malay language. In other words, the younger generation uses more words and structure of the language. The G40s and G50s data show that they speak more in the Bajau Sama language and are higher in the G50s data, 92%. This study's data are in line with Noraisikin et al. (2019) that most of the first generation aged 49 years and above have higher use of mother tongue in the informal domain than the second generation aged 38 years and above.

Spoken language after school
Meanwhile, the frequency of daily language use by the participants after entering school is more favorable to Malay, except for the G50s participants, as shown in Figure 4 below. Spoken language frequently used by G20s after entering school is Malay (89%), G30s (87%), and G40s (93%). Only G50s use the Bajau Sama language with a high frequency of 93%. The use of Malay as a spoken language serves as a high variety in formal situations such as in school. In terms of prestige, the use of Malay indicates oneself as well educated. Accordingly, Nawaz et al. (2012) claim that speakers are shifting to using dominant language towards a better economy and social prestige. The tendency towards using the Malay language is increasing after entering school validated the schools' role as an external factor of language shift. This finding supports the study made by Syafrizal and Raden (2018), who stated that school is one factor that erodes the mother tongue's language maintenance. Almost all the G50s participants remained speaking the Bajau Sama language despite having entered the school ecolinguistics. The continuous attitude of speaking in the mother tongue has something to do with using the language in daily life. A summary of the percentage rate of Bajau Sama use as a spoken language by age group is shown in Figure 5. The percentage use of Bajau Sama as the mother tongue seems to be declining from one generation to another. Specifically, for the G50s, the percentage use of Bajau Sama as the mother tongue remains high (93%). The percentage use of Bajau Sama as the mother tongue is declining in G40s (28%), deteriorating further in the G30s (20%), and even more in G20s (4%). The gradual decline in the use of the Bajau Sama based on different age groups is noticeable, as shown in Figure 5. The participants in the G20s use the Bajau Sama language less compared to those in the G30s. G30s use less of Bajau Sama than the G40s group, who, in turn, use the Bajau Sama less than the G50s. According to Fishman (1991, p. 42), this declining gradient reflects the change in language use that occurs from one sub-population to another. In other words, LS is faster in one sub-population than another.
Some previous researchers have also found a decline in the mother tongue's use among native speakers from their earlier generations to the latter. Among others, Adam (2017) revealed that the mother tongue has declined for all age groups because intergenerational language transmission interference is assimilated by preventing children from speaking their mother tongue at an early stage of childhood at home or while communicating with their parents. The trend of change is evident among the younger generation, particularly among the generation of indigenous ethnic aged 30 years and below, many of whom have shifted to using the Malay language and Malay culture (Yabit, 2019). This study's results support the claim by Noraisikin et al. (2019) that the use of mother tongue among the second generation of minority communities has declined. They mostly use the Malay language in the family and neighbourhood domains.

Understanding of the Bajau Sama Lexical among the Participants
Understanding Bajau Sama vocabulary as an implication of LS was determined using data from nouns, verbs, and adjectives. A speaker who has a basic knowledge of the Bajau Sama should be familiar with all the speakers' everyday words in their daily interactions.

Understanding of the bajau sama nouns
Understanding the Bajau Sama nouns for each age group was calculated according to the frequency (f) of correct answers and percentage (%). Table 2 displays the participants' understanding of ten Bajau Sama nouns based on the age group.
The understanding of Bajau Sama nouns by those in the G20s is the lowest compared to other groups. Only 52% of G20s participants understand the word badu (shirt). Meanwhile, their understanding of the other noun is below 50%, such as lading (knife) 48% and kendidip (match) 43%. The two nouns understood by all the participants in G30s are guk (machete) and badu (shirt). As many as 93% of the participants in G30s know the nouns san (plate) and olos (cloth), while 85% understood the noun lading (knife). The participants in the G40s showed that they know more words. The understanding of the Bajau Sama vocabulary among G40s is higher than the G30s participants. All or 100% of the participants in G40s understand the terms lading (knife), guk (machete), kendidip (match), san (plate), olos (cloth), and badu (shirt). Similarly, 100% of the G50s participants understand the ten Bajau Sama nouns. Table 3 contains a list of ten Bajau Sama verbs.

Understanding the bajau sama verb
The researchers found that only 48% of the participants in G20s understand the verbs tito (laugh) and mopo' (wash). As many as 57% of the participants in this group understand the verb turi (sleep). However, the understanding of the Bajau Sama verbs in G30s is higher, i.e., 100% answered correctly for masut (beat), tito (laugh), niman (throw), and luman (walk). Meanwhile, 100% of the participants in G40s and G50s understand the Bajau Sama verbs. Table 4 shows the participants' understanding of the Bajau Sama ten adjectives based on their age groups.

Understanding of the bajau sama adjectives
As in the understanding of nouns and verbs, in the Bajau Sama adjectives, the G20s participants scored the lowest compared to G30s, G40s, and G50s. The word bentingol (stubborn) obtained the highest percentage rate (57%), followed by the word oyo (big) 48% and manas (angry) 43%. The    participants in G30s understand 100% of the four adjectives, namely sonod (slow), manas (angry), diki (small), and oyo (big). As many as 93% of the G30s participants understand the word pendok (short). Those in G40s understand 100% of the nine Bajau Sama adjectives. The only adjective that had a score of 57% is the word berakal (clever). The G50s participants understand 100% of all the ten adjectives. Figure 6 displays the participants' linguistic knowledge of the Bajau Sama language based on the age group. It was found that the understanding of the Bajau Sama nouns in the G50s remained 100% intact. Among the G40s participants, the knowledge declined by 11.6% (100-88.4%), followed by 27.8% (100-72.2%) among the G30s participants, and 73.1% (100-26.9%) among those in G20s. For the Bajau Sama verbs, the G50s and G40s understand all the ten lexical. There was a slight decline of 6.4% (100-93.6%) among the G30s participants. The decrease in the understanding of Bajau Sama verbs among the G20s participants is critical, i.e., at 66.1% (100-33.9%). The participants in the G50s understand all the ten Bajau Sama adjectives. There were slight declines of 4.3% and 11.3% in the G40s and G30s, respectively, while this is critical in the G20s (68%).
According to the LS Theory, in modern society, the media of understanding and speaking forms a scale of LS implications. Those with the highest achievement are considered able to control their previous achievements (Fishman, 1991, p. 43). In this study, those in G50s positively met the implication scale due to their 100% achievement in understanding the Bajau Sama adjectives, verbs, and nouns. However, G20s meet the implication scale negatively. This study's findings are in line with Zuraini (2014), who asserted that the older generation's knowledge is still intact. On the contrary, knowledge of nouns among those 18-49 years is at an alarming level, according to Md. Roslan (2020), knowledge of the native language lexical among ethnic minorities is not encouraging. The percentage of errors for adjectives, nouns, and verbs was found to be more than 50% because the respondents did not know the meaning of the words in their mother tongue, similarly, Mohd. Arifin (2020) also found that the use of mother tongue adjectives among his participants was only 22%, and this was only 39% for verbs. This unfavourable knowledge of the mother tongue is due to bilingualism among the younger generation. According to Kandelaki (2017), bilingual speakers embed various dominant language expressions such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs into their mother tongue.

Attitude Overtness towards Bajau Sama
In the attitude overtness, the participants' responses were examined by presenting the questionnaire's five items. Item 1, "I have a good feeling for being able to speak Bajau Sama," received the highest responses (96%) by G50s, followed by G40s (78%), G30s (73%), and G20s (41%). Item 2, "I feel good when speaking Bajau Sama in the society," received the highest responses (96%) by G50s, followed by G30s (73%), G40s (63%), and G20s (21%). Once again, the G50s indicated the highest responses (53%) for item 3, "Speaking Bajau Sama is easier than the Malay language," followed by G30s (41%). Meanwhile, the responses among G40s (15%) were twice as low as in G30s. The answer "strongly disagree" by G20s (7%) is rather alarming. Item 4, "Bajau Sama language is easier to understand than the Malay language," also received the highest responses (70%) from the G50s participants. The percentage in G40s (42%) and G30s (41%) is almost the same, but this is low in the G20s (17%). For item 5, it is clear that all the G50s participants strongly agreed that the "Bajau Sama language is nice to hear than the Malay language." The researchers were somewhat surprised to find that the G20s gave the second-highest responses (41%) after the G50s. The responses obtained from G30s and G40s were 13% and 11%, respectively. Figure 7 shows the descriptive statistical min of the "strongly agree" (SA) responses to the Bajau Sama language.
The attitude indicating "strongly agree" is most evident among the G50s participants. In specific, statistical evidence with a min (x̄) of 83.00 obtained by this group is the highest, followed by G30s (x̄48.20), and G40s (x̄41.80), and G20s (x̄23.20). Hence, the statistical evidence of the attitude towards the Bajau Sama language of the G50s is the most significant. This study's findings are in line with Yabit (2019), who revealed that the generation aged 50 years and above still use their mother tongue and practice their heritage culture. If there are still works of literature and books and a few native speakers, this clearly shows a positive passive attitude towards the mother tongue (Reny, 2019

The Choice of Language Use in Informal Domains
The participants' choice of language use in informal domains includes family, neighbourhood, and shop outlets. The frequency and percentage of social events from the three domains are displayed in Table 5.

Family domain
In the family domain, the participants' choices of language use were examined in 10 social events. Table 5 shows the statistics of language choice in the family domain for all the age groups. Min (x̄54.70) was obtained from the participants in the G20s, which means they tend to use the Malay language while chatting with family members. G30s also use the Malay language (x̄23.70). G40s chose to use the Bajau Sama language (x̄33.40) just as G50s, who also opted for the Bajau Sama language (x̄71.90). In particular, G20s are the group that most frequently choose to use the Malay language. G20s participants are teenagers. Out of the ten items in the fam-ily domain, nine items favor Malay at home. In the family domain, the G20s participants chose to use the Malay language than the mother tongue. This study indirectly shows that there is a problem of intergenerational language transmission in the Bajau Sama community, which supports Noor Aina et al. (2019) finding. The young generation has shifted to the use of the Malay language as a home language. The results of this study are in line with that of Md. Roslan (2020) that language use at home on weekdays showed 25% mother tongue and 75% Malay among teens. The Malay language dominance at home was also found in (Granhemat & Abdullah, 2017, p. 34) that most participants preferred using the Malay language in the family domain.

Neighbourhood domain
In the neighbourhood domain, the participants' language choices and use were examined in 4 social events. The statistics in Table 6 displays the choices of language use in the neighbourhood domain for all the age groups.  G20s most frequently use the Malay language (x̄69.75). Similarly, G30s also decided to choose the Malay language (x̄28.50). Meanwhile, the language usage response of x̄35.75 by G40s is for the Bajau Sama language. Likewise, the Bajau Sama language is preferred by the G50s (x̄71.75). On the contrary, G20s and G30s choose to use the Malay language in the neighbourhood domain. Researchers such as Hotma (2017) also found that the two age groups no longer use their mother tongue in the neighbourhood domain. In the study, the language choice in the neighbourhood domain among G20s and G30s age groups has shifted to Indonesian. The second-generation use other languages when communicating with neighbours compared to the first generation. Also, Alexander et al. (2019) found that the younger generation only speaks the mother tongue language if the mother tongue-speaking population dominates their environment. Since they are bilingual speakers, there are many options when it comes to communicating with peers.

Shop outlet domain
People in Kota Belud district get their daily necessities from the side of the roads and stalls (usually in the village vicinity), farmers' markets, traditional markets, and supermarkets. The participants' language choices and use were examined in the shop outlet domain by presenting four social events. Data for the use of language in the shop outlets domain in Table 7 show that the participants of all age groups chose the Malay language.
G20s statistical min is x̄76.25, G30s (x̄58.75), G40s (x̄ 61.75) and G50s (x̄51.75). In particular, G20s were found to use the Malay language frequently. The shop outlet domain in the Kota Belud district is activated by traders of various tribes such as Bajau Sama, Dusun, Iranun, and Sino Dusun. They use Malay as the language of communication that can be understood by people of all tribes. The data is in line with the finding of Hotma (2017). All purchasing matters with traders, whether small or large, on the sides of the road, in shops, or more prominent places such as supermar-kets, GI and GII use Indonesian only because vendors and people of various ethnicities/races are also involved.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
This section elaborates on the main aim and goals of the research. Percentage rate comparison of pre-school and after school spoken language between the age groups showed that G20s participants mostly speak Malay. However, G40s and G50s spoke more in their mother tongue, namely the Bajau Sama. The understanding of Bajau Sama vocabulary by those in the G20s is the lowest at an alarming level than other groups. The vocabulary knowledge of the older generation is still intact. A speaker who has a basic understanding of the Bajau Sama should be familiar with all the speakers' everyday words in their daily interactions. Percentage rate comparison of pre-school and after school spoken language between the age groups showed that G20s participants mostly speak Malay. The younger generation uses more words and structures of the language. However, other age groups spoke more in their mother tongue, namely the Bajau Sama.
Meanwhile, the attitude towards the Bajau Sama language is most evident among the G50s. Statistical evidence with a min of 83.00 obtained from G50s was the highest, while the min declined significantly in the G20s responses. Among the internal factors for the decline in the use of the Bajau Sama language is the stagnant continuity of mother tongue transmission, educational institutions, and positive attitudes towards the Malay language. In the family domain, those in the G20s are the most often to choose the Malay language. Out of the ten items in the social event, nine favour using the Malay language at home. In the neighbourhood domain, G20s and G30s choose the use of Malay. The use of the language in the shop outlet domain for all the age groups inclines to choose the Malay language.
The decline in language transmission between generations indicates a change in the Bajau Sama language's vitality in Kota Belud. In more specifically, the language is no longer the first language among the G20s and G30s. Sooner or later, the mother tongue's use will be ignored when they become parents because they can switch to the dominant language (Malay) and even want their children to use the dominant language as the first language. With the number of speakers fluent in Bajau Sama decreasing, the primary language is not passed on to the new generation. In such a situation, the mother tongue's transmission as the first language is at an endangered level, widely used by the generation of grandparents and above only. The use of the Bajau Sama language is embedded with the linguistic ecology elements. Although the majority of speakers in Kg. Taun Gusi 1, Kota Belud, Malaysia, is not in favour of language shift. The reality is that speakers are switching to using dominant language to promote a better economy and social prestige (Nawaz et al., 2012). An attempt to change the direction of language shift will not succeed until the linguistic ecology elements such as the use of the Malay language in the family domain is resolved. In conclusion, the Bajau Sama language curriculum must be introduced in the primary schools' education system to sustain its vitality. The intergenerational language transmission scale introduced by Fishman (1991) is handy because the number of speakers can be classified according to the age group. This scale helps researchers who want to study the Bajau Sama language and activists struggling to restore the language's vitality. Researchers can determine the percentage rate of speakers who are still fluent and see the language transmission caused by a relationship. Activists who are interested in revitalization need to evaluate the types of resources available for the revitalization program. In the case of the Bajau Sama language in Kota Belud, it is not known so far. Information on the use of language by age cross-sectional method is a prerequisite for realizing a revitalization program.