Professor Dr. Maya Khemlani David (Faculty of Languages and Lingusitics, University of Malaya) is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, United Kingdom. As a sociolinguist, Dr. David has a special interest in discourse analysis, languages in Malaysian minority communities, and the role of language in establishing and maintaining national unity.

Dr. David is a Member of the Managing Board of The Social Capital Foundation and a Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Communication Practices. Maya David is the Linguapax Prize Winner for 2007. Her publications include The Sindhis of Malaysia: A Sociolinguistic Account (2001, London, ASEAN) and co-written Writing a Research Paper (2006, Serdang: UPM). Her co-edited and edited publications are Politeness in Malaysian Family Talk (2008, Serdang: UPM), Language and Human Rights: Focus on Malaysia (2007, Serdang: UPM), Language and the Power of the Media (2006, Frankfurt, Peter Lang), Language Choices and Discourse of Malaysian Families: Case Studies of Families in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2006, Petaling Jaya, Strategic International and Research Development Centre), Teaching of English in Second and Foreign Language Settings: Focus on Malaysia (2004, Frankfurt, Peter Lang) and Developing Reading Skills (2002, Kuala Lumpur: Melta/Sasbadi). Dr. David can be contacted at: mayadavid@yahoo.com

Areas of Specialisation
• Cross-Cultural Communication
• Discourse Norms of the Speech Acts of Malaysians
• Language Maintenance and Shift of Minority Communities
• English for Specific Purposes (Law/Economics/Banking)