Sabah is a Malaysian state located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in Malaysia after Sarawak, which it borders with on its south-west. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south. Sabah used to be a British crown colony known as North Borneo prior to partnership with Federation of Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Its state capital is Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Jesselton . Sabah is known as Sabah, negeri di bawah bayu, which means 'Sabah, land below the wind', because of its location being just south of the typhoon prone region around the Philippines.
The people mainly speak Bahasa Malaysia, with a distinct Sabahan accent. However many still speak the language or dialect of their mother tongue when speaking with person of the same race or ethnicity. Today most of the people are also able to speak basic English, and a few have even adopted it as their first language. The national education system provides compulsory English language instruction.
The people mainly speak Bahasa Malaysia, with a distinct Sabahan accent. However many still speak the language or dialect of their mother tongue when speaking with person of the same race or ethnicity. Today most of the people are also able to speak basic English, and a few have even adopted it as their first language. The national education system provides compulsory English language instruction.
There are more than 30 different ethnic groups in Sabah; speaking more than 50 languages, in over 80 different dialects. The largest of these groups is the indigenous Kadazan Dusun which covers the various ethnic subgroups that fall under the Dusunic language community. Others ethnics in Sabah are Bajau, Murut, Lundayeh an many more.