different from the other languages of this sub-ethnic group. Despite the obvious common features between the Aslian languages, the fact of their common origin from one language is not firmly established. Semai language, the largest of the Senoi languages, is divided into more than forty distinct dialects, although traditionally only two main dialects are recognised (western or lowland, and eastern or highland), and not all of them are mutually intelligible. Each dialect functions to some extent on its own. A very high level of dialectal division prevents the preservation of the language as a whole. Temiar language on the other hand is relatively homogeneous with its local variations are mutually intelligible and are perceived only as accents. There is a standardisation and territorial expansion of this language. The peculiarity of the Temiar language is also that it acts as a kind of buffer between other Aslian languages and Malay language. On one hand, this has greatly increased the Temiar vocabulary, creating a high level of synonymy, and on the other hand, it has contributed to the spread of the Temiar language among the neighbouring Orang Asli tribes. It became something like the lingua franca among the northern and central groups of the Orang Asli. Almost all Orang Asli are now at least bilingual; in addition to their native language, they also speak Malay language, the national language of Malaysia. There is also multilingualism, when people know several Aslian languages and communicate with each other. However the Malay language is gradually displacing native languages, reducing the scope of their use at the domestic level. More and more Orang Asli can read and write, of course, in Malay language. Added to this is the informational and technical impact, which is also in Malay language. When it comes to the level of threat of extinction for Aslian languages, long-term interactions between these languages as well as with Malay language should be taken into account. Malay lexical borrowings are found in Southern Aslian languages, as well as in the languages of small or interior Orang Asli groups, especially those who lived on the plains and maintained regular contact with the Malay population. For example, in Semelai language it has 23% loan words, and 25% loan words in Mah Meri language. On the other hand, the languages of large agricultural peoples, who lived largely isolated from the Malays, have the least Malay borrowings. For the