Investigating World Englishes: Research Methodology and Practical Applications. , 2019
As discussed in the chapter on surveys and questionnaires in the fi rst section of this volume, q... more As discussed in the chapter on surveys and questionnaires in the fi rst section of this volume, questionnaires and surveys, when designed well, are versatile tools that can answer an array of questions in World Englishes (WE). The strengths and weaknesses of this methodological tool have been discussed in the companion chapter, and I will not belabour the points here. Suffi ce it to say, the use of questionnaires and surveys as a methodological tool will likely increase in the research on WE, as they can be used to elicit large amounts of data quickly, easily, and cheaply.
Investigating World Englishes: Research Methodology and Practical Applications. , 2019
Introduction This chapter discusses the use of surveys and questionnaires in World Englishes (WE)... more Introduction This chapter discusses the use of surveys and questionnaires in World Englishes (WE) research. It highlights the use of surveys and questionnaires as methodo-logical tools for participant elicitation in the specifi c research areas of WE within which they have been employed. This chapter will also provide the background to this methodology, its strengths, weaknesses, and application. More importantly, as one of the major aims of this chapter is to provide a historical overview of how WE research has employed this methodological tool, this chapter will also provide a glimpse of how the fi eld has developed over the last 35 years. This overview is based on the archive of 1,064 published articles in the journal World Englishes , from the first issue in September
Linguistic insecurity and linguistic ownership rest on the same foun-dational ideas. However, des... more Linguistic insecurity and linguistic ownership rest on the same foun-dational ideas. However, despite the extensive study of both, the two concepts have never been discussed in conjunction. This paper refines both concepts and puts forth a set of conditions to test for the presence of linguistic insecurity and the exercise of linguistic ownership in 287 Singaporeans through an empirical survey examining their use of English, as well as their perceptions of other speakers in the Singapore English-speaking community and Singapore English itself. The results reveal that Singaporeans are linguistically insecure but yet exercise full ownership of the English language. These somewhat paradoxical findings uncover an unusual relationship between linguistic insecurity and ownership. We argue in this paper that there exists a new type of linguistic ownership in Singapore, one that does not invoke notions of authority or legitimacy. It is this new notion of linguistic ownership that drives a new brand of linguistic insecurity documented in this paper.
This paper examines the process of Mandarinization in Singapore, and the effects of this process ... more This paper examines the process of Mandarinization in Singapore, and the effects of this process on the construction of Chinese ethnicity in Singapore. It does this through an analysis of official government speeches, followed by a questionnaire study examining the beliefs and attitudes of Chinese Singaporeans toward three varieties of Mandarin-Chinese, as well as Chinese " dialects " and English. The discourse analysis reveals an underlying assertion of a primordial relationship between Mandarin-Chinese and Chinese ethnicity. This, however, is not reflected in the beliefs of Chinese Singaporeans, who value Mandarin-Chinese for mainly instrumental reasons, and associated with a foreign standard. Chinese ethnicity in Singapore is instead constructed through a combination of Mandarin-Chinese, " dialects " and English. Ultimately, such a discrepancy results from Mandrinization's dependence on an oversimplified understanding of language and ethnicity in Singapore.
Singapore, like many post-colonial states, longs for a common language to unite its linguisticall... more Singapore, like many post-colonial states, longs for a common language to unite its linguistically heterogeneous population. Singlish, which comprises primarily elements of English, Malay, Hokkien, Mandarin-Chinese and Cantonese, is a language spoken by almost every Singaporean, and can be considered to be Singapore's common language. Unfortunately, this common language, Singlish, is also a language that the authorities are eager to get rid of. The Singaporean state holds the belief that Singlish is a corrupted and incorrect form of English, and is detrimental to the image and development of the nation. Singlish, has therefore, since 2000, been the subject of a large scale, state-run language campaign, the purpose of which is to delegitimise and eliminate this language. This paper traces the development of Singlish and argues that the birth of Singlish would not have been possible without the socio-political and historical factors that have created it. Applying, for the first time, Mufwene's (2001) theory of language ecology and evolution to the field of language planning and policy, I will show that Singlish is in fact an inevitable but unwelcomed conception of state language policies.
To date, there has not been a large corpus of research looking at how different Chinese populatio... more To date, there has not been a large corpus of research looking at how different Chinese populations perceive language to be a part of their Chinese ethnicity. Even where this has been done, no attempts have been made to compare these perceptions across Chinese populations of different polities, to see if and how they differ. To fill this gap, this paper examines and compares the relationship between Mandarin-Chinese, " dialects " , and English, and the construction of Chinese ethnicity amongst Chinese Malaysians, Chinese Singaporeans, and Mainland Chinese. It does this through a questionnaire study employing 100 participants from each group, taking into account beliefs about the importance of these languages to the everyday experience of being Chinese, self-declared language proficiency, and self-declared language use. The results of the study suggest that " dialects " are becoming less important to Chinese ethnicity amongst all three groups, particularly amongst Chinese Singaporeans. Meanwhile, English is becoming more important amongst Chinese Malaysians and Chinese Singaporeans, once again particularly amongst the latter. While Chinese Malaysians continue to perceive Mandarin-Chinese as being the language most important to Chinese ethnicity, Chinese Singaporeans' beliefs reflect English's dominance over Mandarin-Chinese in nearly every aspect of everyday social life. These findings underscore how Chinese ethnicities in different parts of the world need to be understood on their own terms, and how language can be a vital clue as to how different Chinese ethnicities are constructed in the global context.
This chapter seeks to fi nd out if the phonology of Singapore English (SgpE) has been Americanize... more This chapter seeks to fi nd out if the phonology of Singapore English (SgpE) has been Americanized. This chapter will focus on four pronunciation features in SgpE, namely, the postvocalicr , taps, the pronunciation of the vowel [ae] in dance , and the vowel [e ] in to ma to . In order to ascertain if there has been a "shift" or change in the phonology of SgpE, speakers of an older group aged forty and above will be compared with a younger group of speakers who are aged between twenty and twenty-fi ve. The informants for the data also consist of speakers of all three major ethnic groups in Singapore -the Chinese, Malay, and Indians, and a comparison will be made between these three groups to see if any particular ethnic variety of SgpE is more susceptible to Americanization. The results show that some American English (AmE) features are not prevalent across all age and ethnic groups. While it is perhaps not surprising that younger speakers display signifi cantly more AmE features than older speakers, it is interesting to note that the speakers of the Chinese ethnic group are the ones producing more AmE phonological features, as compared to the speakers of the other two ethnic groups. The results on the whole suggest that postcolonial Englishes, such as SgpE, adapt their linguistic features with the force of globalization.
Many scholars have noted how Singapore English (SgE) exhibits different stress placement patterns... more Many scholars have noted how Singapore English (SgE) exhibits different stress placement patterns as compared to British or American English. Much work has also been done to suggest that such deviations of stress placement patterns from the traditional 'native' norms create problems for intelligibility. This study is concerned with the way stress in SgE is perceived by speakers of different Englishes, comparing specifically two groups of participants: the speakers of SgE; and the speakers of British, American and Australian Englishes (the traditional Inner Circle English speakers). The analyses of a perception test indicate that stress is perceived differently between speakers of different Englishes.
This study focuses on the linguistic landscape (LL) of Seoul, South Korea and, via the examinatio... more This study focuses on the linguistic landscape (LL) of Seoul, South Korea and, via the examination of bottom-up public signage in areas of different functions, the study aims to elucidate the functions of English and Korean in the society, and how they relate to the statuses and ideologies associated with the two languages. Special attention is paid to the distinction between information-giving and decorative signs, especially for signs containing English, as it will potentially reveal whether English plays a communicative or symbolic function in South Korea. By paying attention to sign content and the different establishment types in the sign coding method, this paper argues that the linguistic landscape of Seoul reflects the city's careful and calculated use of English and Korean to mark different identities. The findings suggest that both English and Korean in South Korea have symbolic and commercial value and the LL in South Korea has become increasingly commodified in nature.
This paper investigates the role of English and what it represents to speakers of the three major... more This paper investigates the role of English and what it represents to speakers of the three major ethnic groups across three different age groups in Singapore. This paper reports a study conducted on 436 Singaporeans of different age and ethnic groups, looking at their language use and perceptions of English as a marker of their identity. The Singapore government has always been cautious about according the 'mother tongue' status to English. The latest 2010 census however reveals that over 30 per cent of Singaporeans report English to be the primary language used in the home, an increase from about 20 per cent in 2000. What remains unclear is the extent to which English has penetrated the psyche of the everyday Singaporean. The results in this study suggest that English in Singapore has to be reconceptualized as a new mother tongue, and to do so requires a reconfiguration of what it takes for a language to be a 'mother tongue.' This paper will take this on by adapting Skutnabb- and objections and definitions of the term, and propose a set of conditions that can be used to define the term mother tongue.
International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2012
This paper seeks to determine the correlation between the occurrences of postvocalic-r, intrusive... more This paper seeks to determine the correlation between the occurrences of postvocalic-r, intrusive-r and linking-r in Singapore English (SgE) and the users' education levels and socioeconomic status. This paper will also investigate the attitudes that SgE speakers hold toward the use of postvocalic-r and intrusiver in the language. The results show that there is a direct correlation between the education level and socioeconomic status of the speaker and the production of postvocalic-r and intrusive-r in SgE. Speakers of higher education levels and socioeconomic status have a tendency to produce the postvocalic-r; speakers of low education levels and socioeconomic status have a tendency to produce the intrusive-r. The attitudes test also shows that users of postvocalic-r are viewed more positively as compared to users of intrusive-r. The results suggest that postvocalic-r and intrusive-r are not simply concrete, categorical phonological processes, but that their uses are motivated by social factors.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2012
This study seeks to answer two research questions. First, can listeners distinguish the ethnicity... more This study seeks to answer two research questions. First, can listeners distinguish the ethnicity of the speakers on the basis of voice quality alone? Second, do demographic differences among the listeners affect discriminability? A simple but carefully designed and controlled ethnic identification test was carried out on 325 Singaporean informants of the three major ethnic groups across three age groups in Singapore. The results show interesting age-related patterns in the identification of ethnicity in speakers of Singapore English. The results suggest that young Singaporeans may perhaps be deaf to ethnic variations. National policies and one's own ethnic consciousness (or lack thereof) may perhaps be responsible for creating this ‘deafness’.
This paper investigates international responses to Singapore English (SgE), in terms of both inte... more This paper investigates international responses to Singapore English (SgE), in terms of both intelligibility and attitudes toward the speaker, and compares it to responses to American English (AmE). It surveys 200 respondents from over 20 countries as they listen to a set of 15 sound recordings, including read SgE, spontaneous SgE, and read AmE. The results suggest that the intelligibility of SgE and AmE does differ between informants from different regions. However, the intelligibility of the test stimuli does not correlate simply to positive and negative attitudes. While SgE elicits generally positive attitudes, what is interesting is that the judgments of respondents from South-East Asia and East Asia are often more negative than those of English speakers of Inner Circle varieties. This seems to suggest not only an impenetrable mindset of these traditionally "nonnative" English speakers, who seem to be still clamoring to speak an idealized "standard", but also an inferiority complex over their own varieties of English. speaking the supposed "non-native" varieties of English are using English to communicate with each other, as opposed to with someone from America or Australia.
Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, 2011
While critics have argued that the films of Singapore director Jack Neo posit a critique of the s... more While critics have argued that the films of Singapore director Jack Neo posit a critique of the state, this essay will argue the contrary. In deploying Chinese ‘dialects’ his films may appear to give voice to the Chinese-speaking masses in Singapore, especially those who have been marginalized by the state's political economy, which clearly favours the educated and English-speaking milieu. For the Chinese-speaking masses, his films may even appear to act as a medium or outlet for ‘anti-state’ criticisms which they feel but cannot articulate, since criticism of the government is essentially prohibited here. However, as this essay will demonstrate, Neo uses such linguistic idioms only as a foil to further perpetuate government propaganda: he uses Chinese ‘dialects’ to draw his intended audience to his side, and once they are taken in, he persuades them to reconcile with unpopular government policies. In other words, Neo's films constitute an extension of state politics via cinematic means, rather than an authentic political critique. As this essay also suggests, unveiling Neo's manipulation of language in his films as such will be critical to uncover not only Neo's underlying political intent, but also the unequal distribution that underlies the state's language policies.
In this paper, we examine in detail the properties of a grammatical construction that we call the... more In this paper, we examine in detail the properties of a grammatical construction that we call the 'So TIME' construction. Expressions instantiating this construction include Podcasts are so last year, E-mail is so five minutes ago and That's so today. In those societies that are deeply ensconced in a world of fast-paced technological changes, there is clearly an obsession with the currency of various phenomena. The 'So TIME' construction is a reflection of this. Our paper therefore argues that a fuller understanding of the construction needs to take into account its socio-cultural context. This is a point of general importance, and we suggest that attending to the social-cultural contexts of constructions in fact creates opportunities for significant convergences between the enterprise of construction grammar and some recent concerns in sociolinguistics. #
English in Singapore: Phonetic Research on a Corpus, 2005
Many researchers find difficulty in the reliable identification of prominent syllables in Singapo... more Many researchers find difficulty in the reliable identification of prominent syllables in Singapore English (SgE). This is because there is no understanding of how SgE speakers indicate stress, and whether what is perceived to be prominent is really meant by the speaker to be prominent. The problem is made worse when researchers cannot resolve if prominence in SgE can and should be determined using native or nonnative perceptions.
Investigating World Englishes: Research Methodology and Practical Applications. , 2019
As discussed in the chapter on surveys and questionnaires in the fi rst section of this volume, q... more As discussed in the chapter on surveys and questionnaires in the fi rst section of this volume, questionnaires and surveys, when designed well, are versatile tools that can answer an array of questions in World Englishes (WE). The strengths and weaknesses of this methodological tool have been discussed in the companion chapter, and I will not belabour the points here. Suffi ce it to say, the use of questionnaires and surveys as a methodological tool will likely increase in the research on WE, as they can be used to elicit large amounts of data quickly, easily, and cheaply.
Investigating World Englishes: Research Methodology and Practical Applications. , 2019
Introduction This chapter discusses the use of surveys and questionnaires in World Englishes (WE)... more Introduction This chapter discusses the use of surveys and questionnaires in World Englishes (WE) research. It highlights the use of surveys and questionnaires as methodo-logical tools for participant elicitation in the specifi c research areas of WE within which they have been employed. This chapter will also provide the background to this methodology, its strengths, weaknesses, and application. More importantly, as one of the major aims of this chapter is to provide a historical overview of how WE research has employed this methodological tool, this chapter will also provide a glimpse of how the fi eld has developed over the last 35 years. This overview is based on the archive of 1,064 published articles in the journal World Englishes , from the first issue in September
Linguistic insecurity and linguistic ownership rest on the same foun-dational ideas. However, des... more Linguistic insecurity and linguistic ownership rest on the same foun-dational ideas. However, despite the extensive study of both, the two concepts have never been discussed in conjunction. This paper refines both concepts and puts forth a set of conditions to test for the presence of linguistic insecurity and the exercise of linguistic ownership in 287 Singaporeans through an empirical survey examining their use of English, as well as their perceptions of other speakers in the Singapore English-speaking community and Singapore English itself. The results reveal that Singaporeans are linguistically insecure but yet exercise full ownership of the English language. These somewhat paradoxical findings uncover an unusual relationship between linguistic insecurity and ownership. We argue in this paper that there exists a new type of linguistic ownership in Singapore, one that does not invoke notions of authority or legitimacy. It is this new notion of linguistic ownership that drives a new brand of linguistic insecurity documented in this paper.
This paper examines the process of Mandarinization in Singapore, and the effects of this process ... more This paper examines the process of Mandarinization in Singapore, and the effects of this process on the construction of Chinese ethnicity in Singapore. It does this through an analysis of official government speeches, followed by a questionnaire study examining the beliefs and attitudes of Chinese Singaporeans toward three varieties of Mandarin-Chinese, as well as Chinese " dialects " and English. The discourse analysis reveals an underlying assertion of a primordial relationship between Mandarin-Chinese and Chinese ethnicity. This, however, is not reflected in the beliefs of Chinese Singaporeans, who value Mandarin-Chinese for mainly instrumental reasons, and associated with a foreign standard. Chinese ethnicity in Singapore is instead constructed through a combination of Mandarin-Chinese, " dialects " and English. Ultimately, such a discrepancy results from Mandrinization's dependence on an oversimplified understanding of language and ethnicity in Singapore.
Singapore, like many post-colonial states, longs for a common language to unite its linguisticall... more Singapore, like many post-colonial states, longs for a common language to unite its linguistically heterogeneous population. Singlish, which comprises primarily elements of English, Malay, Hokkien, Mandarin-Chinese and Cantonese, is a language spoken by almost every Singaporean, and can be considered to be Singapore's common language. Unfortunately, this common language, Singlish, is also a language that the authorities are eager to get rid of. The Singaporean state holds the belief that Singlish is a corrupted and incorrect form of English, and is detrimental to the image and development of the nation. Singlish, has therefore, since 2000, been the subject of a large scale, state-run language campaign, the purpose of which is to delegitimise and eliminate this language. This paper traces the development of Singlish and argues that the birth of Singlish would not have been possible without the socio-political and historical factors that have created it. Applying, for the first time, Mufwene's (2001) theory of language ecology and evolution to the field of language planning and policy, I will show that Singlish is in fact an inevitable but unwelcomed conception of state language policies.
To date, there has not been a large corpus of research looking at how different Chinese populatio... more To date, there has not been a large corpus of research looking at how different Chinese populations perceive language to be a part of their Chinese ethnicity. Even where this has been done, no attempts have been made to compare these perceptions across Chinese populations of different polities, to see if and how they differ. To fill this gap, this paper examines and compares the relationship between Mandarin-Chinese, " dialects " , and English, and the construction of Chinese ethnicity amongst Chinese Malaysians, Chinese Singaporeans, and Mainland Chinese. It does this through a questionnaire study employing 100 participants from each group, taking into account beliefs about the importance of these languages to the everyday experience of being Chinese, self-declared language proficiency, and self-declared language use. The results of the study suggest that " dialects " are becoming less important to Chinese ethnicity amongst all three groups, particularly amongst Chinese Singaporeans. Meanwhile, English is becoming more important amongst Chinese Malaysians and Chinese Singaporeans, once again particularly amongst the latter. While Chinese Malaysians continue to perceive Mandarin-Chinese as being the language most important to Chinese ethnicity, Chinese Singaporeans' beliefs reflect English's dominance over Mandarin-Chinese in nearly every aspect of everyday social life. These findings underscore how Chinese ethnicities in different parts of the world need to be understood on their own terms, and how language can be a vital clue as to how different Chinese ethnicities are constructed in the global context.
This chapter seeks to fi nd out if the phonology of Singapore English (SgpE) has been Americanize... more This chapter seeks to fi nd out if the phonology of Singapore English (SgpE) has been Americanized. This chapter will focus on four pronunciation features in SgpE, namely, the postvocalicr , taps, the pronunciation of the vowel [ae] in dance , and the vowel [e ] in to ma to . In order to ascertain if there has been a "shift" or change in the phonology of SgpE, speakers of an older group aged forty and above will be compared with a younger group of speakers who are aged between twenty and twenty-fi ve. The informants for the data also consist of speakers of all three major ethnic groups in Singapore -the Chinese, Malay, and Indians, and a comparison will be made between these three groups to see if any particular ethnic variety of SgpE is more susceptible to Americanization. The results show that some American English (AmE) features are not prevalent across all age and ethnic groups. While it is perhaps not surprising that younger speakers display signifi cantly more AmE features than older speakers, it is interesting to note that the speakers of the Chinese ethnic group are the ones producing more AmE phonological features, as compared to the speakers of the other two ethnic groups. The results on the whole suggest that postcolonial Englishes, such as SgpE, adapt their linguistic features with the force of globalization.
Many scholars have noted how Singapore English (SgE) exhibits different stress placement patterns... more Many scholars have noted how Singapore English (SgE) exhibits different stress placement patterns as compared to British or American English. Much work has also been done to suggest that such deviations of stress placement patterns from the traditional 'native' norms create problems for intelligibility. This study is concerned with the way stress in SgE is perceived by speakers of different Englishes, comparing specifically two groups of participants: the speakers of SgE; and the speakers of British, American and Australian Englishes (the traditional Inner Circle English speakers). The analyses of a perception test indicate that stress is perceived differently between speakers of different Englishes.
This study focuses on the linguistic landscape (LL) of Seoul, South Korea and, via the examinatio... more This study focuses on the linguistic landscape (LL) of Seoul, South Korea and, via the examination of bottom-up public signage in areas of different functions, the study aims to elucidate the functions of English and Korean in the society, and how they relate to the statuses and ideologies associated with the two languages. Special attention is paid to the distinction between information-giving and decorative signs, especially for signs containing English, as it will potentially reveal whether English plays a communicative or symbolic function in South Korea. By paying attention to sign content and the different establishment types in the sign coding method, this paper argues that the linguistic landscape of Seoul reflects the city's careful and calculated use of English and Korean to mark different identities. The findings suggest that both English and Korean in South Korea have symbolic and commercial value and the LL in South Korea has become increasingly commodified in nature.
This paper investigates the role of English and what it represents to speakers of the three major... more This paper investigates the role of English and what it represents to speakers of the three major ethnic groups across three different age groups in Singapore. This paper reports a study conducted on 436 Singaporeans of different age and ethnic groups, looking at their language use and perceptions of English as a marker of their identity. The Singapore government has always been cautious about according the 'mother tongue' status to English. The latest 2010 census however reveals that over 30 per cent of Singaporeans report English to be the primary language used in the home, an increase from about 20 per cent in 2000. What remains unclear is the extent to which English has penetrated the psyche of the everyday Singaporean. The results in this study suggest that English in Singapore has to be reconceptualized as a new mother tongue, and to do so requires a reconfiguration of what it takes for a language to be a 'mother tongue.' This paper will take this on by adapting Skutnabb- and objections and definitions of the term, and propose a set of conditions that can be used to define the term mother tongue.
International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2012
This paper seeks to determine the correlation between the occurrences of postvocalic-r, intrusive... more This paper seeks to determine the correlation between the occurrences of postvocalic-r, intrusive-r and linking-r in Singapore English (SgE) and the users' education levels and socioeconomic status. This paper will also investigate the attitudes that SgE speakers hold toward the use of postvocalic-r and intrusiver in the language. The results show that there is a direct correlation between the education level and socioeconomic status of the speaker and the production of postvocalic-r and intrusive-r in SgE. Speakers of higher education levels and socioeconomic status have a tendency to produce the postvocalic-r; speakers of low education levels and socioeconomic status have a tendency to produce the intrusive-r. The attitudes test also shows that users of postvocalic-r are viewed more positively as compared to users of intrusive-r. The results suggest that postvocalic-r and intrusive-r are not simply concrete, categorical phonological processes, but that their uses are motivated by social factors.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2012
This study seeks to answer two research questions. First, can listeners distinguish the ethnicity... more This study seeks to answer two research questions. First, can listeners distinguish the ethnicity of the speakers on the basis of voice quality alone? Second, do demographic differences among the listeners affect discriminability? A simple but carefully designed and controlled ethnic identification test was carried out on 325 Singaporean informants of the three major ethnic groups across three age groups in Singapore. The results show interesting age-related patterns in the identification of ethnicity in speakers of Singapore English. The results suggest that young Singaporeans may perhaps be deaf to ethnic variations. National policies and one's own ethnic consciousness (or lack thereof) may perhaps be responsible for creating this ‘deafness’.
This paper investigates international responses to Singapore English (SgE), in terms of both inte... more This paper investigates international responses to Singapore English (SgE), in terms of both intelligibility and attitudes toward the speaker, and compares it to responses to American English (AmE). It surveys 200 respondents from over 20 countries as they listen to a set of 15 sound recordings, including read SgE, spontaneous SgE, and read AmE. The results suggest that the intelligibility of SgE and AmE does differ between informants from different regions. However, the intelligibility of the test stimuli does not correlate simply to positive and negative attitudes. While SgE elicits generally positive attitudes, what is interesting is that the judgments of respondents from South-East Asia and East Asia are often more negative than those of English speakers of Inner Circle varieties. This seems to suggest not only an impenetrable mindset of these traditionally "nonnative" English speakers, who seem to be still clamoring to speak an idealized "standard", but also an inferiority complex over their own varieties of English. speaking the supposed "non-native" varieties of English are using English to communicate with each other, as opposed to with someone from America or Australia.
Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, 2011
While critics have argued that the films of Singapore director Jack Neo posit a critique of the s... more While critics have argued that the films of Singapore director Jack Neo posit a critique of the state, this essay will argue the contrary. In deploying Chinese ‘dialects’ his films may appear to give voice to the Chinese-speaking masses in Singapore, especially those who have been marginalized by the state's political economy, which clearly favours the educated and English-speaking milieu. For the Chinese-speaking masses, his films may even appear to act as a medium or outlet for ‘anti-state’ criticisms which they feel but cannot articulate, since criticism of the government is essentially prohibited here. However, as this essay will demonstrate, Neo uses such linguistic idioms only as a foil to further perpetuate government propaganda: he uses Chinese ‘dialects’ to draw his intended audience to his side, and once they are taken in, he persuades them to reconcile with unpopular government policies. In other words, Neo's films constitute an extension of state politics via cinematic means, rather than an authentic political critique. As this essay also suggests, unveiling Neo's manipulation of language in his films as such will be critical to uncover not only Neo's underlying political intent, but also the unequal distribution that underlies the state's language policies.
In this paper, we examine in detail the properties of a grammatical construction that we call the... more In this paper, we examine in detail the properties of a grammatical construction that we call the 'So TIME' construction. Expressions instantiating this construction include Podcasts are so last year, E-mail is so five minutes ago and That's so today. In those societies that are deeply ensconced in a world of fast-paced technological changes, there is clearly an obsession with the currency of various phenomena. The 'So TIME' construction is a reflection of this. Our paper therefore argues that a fuller understanding of the construction needs to take into account its socio-cultural context. This is a point of general importance, and we suggest that attending to the social-cultural contexts of constructions in fact creates opportunities for significant convergences between the enterprise of construction grammar and some recent concerns in sociolinguistics. #
English in Singapore: Phonetic Research on a Corpus, 2005
Many researchers find difficulty in the reliable identification of prominent syllables in Singapo... more Many researchers find difficulty in the reliable identification of prominent syllables in Singapore English (SgE). This is because there is no understanding of how SgE speakers indicate stress, and whether what is perceived to be prominent is really meant by the speaker to be prominent. The problem is made worse when researchers cannot resolve if prominence in SgE can and should be determined using native or nonnative perceptions.
Uploads
Papers by Ying Ying Tan