John Benjamins Publishing Company
The management of multilingualism in a city-state
Abstract
Language policy in Singapore exists against a background of large diversity, a diversity that has been present in the city-state ever since its founding, and which is manifest both in ethnic and in linguistic terms. The government deals with this diversity in several ways: firstly, in giving recognition to the three major ethnic groups (Chinese, Malays, and Indians) by assigning them an official language (Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, respectively), and secondly, by endorsing English as the main working (and educational, administrative, governmental, etc.) language of the country. Further policies include the demotion of varieties without official status: specifically non-Mandarin varieties of Chinese and Singlish, the local English vernacular. This paper explores these policies and the reasons that motivated them.
Abstract
Language policy in Singapore exists against a background of large diversity, a diversity that has been present in the city-state ever since its founding, and which is manifest both in ethnic and in linguistic terms. The government deals with this diversity in several ways: firstly, in giving recognition to the three major ethnic groups (Chinese, Malays, and Indians) by assigning them an official language (Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, respectively), and secondly, by endorsing English as the main working (and educational, administrative, governmental, etc.) language of the country. Further policies include the demotion of varieties without official status: specifically non-Mandarin varieties of Chinese and Singlish, the local English vernacular. This paper explores these policies and the reasons that motivated them.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introducing a new series ix
- Multilingualism, language contact, and urban areas 1
-
Language acquisition, contact and change
- Voice onset time across the generations 19
- Investigating second language pronunciation 39
- Ethnolects in Northern Norway 63
- Two gender systems in one mind 95
-
Multilingual identities
- Selfing and othering through categories of race, place, and language among minority youths in Rotterdam, The Netherlands 129
- Multilingualism and identity 165
- Ethnolect studies in the German and the Netherlandic area 177
-
Urban spaces
- The delicate search for language in spaces 209
- The management of multilingualism in a city-state 227
- Multilingual communication in Hamburg 257
-
Education
- Current research on language transfer 289
- Multilingual education in India 305
- Fostering early literacy learning using dual language books 327
- Measuring success when English isn’t your native language 349
- Name index 369
- Subject index 377
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introducing a new series ix
- Multilingualism, language contact, and urban areas 1
-
Language acquisition, contact and change
- Voice onset time across the generations 19
- Investigating second language pronunciation 39
- Ethnolects in Northern Norway 63
- Two gender systems in one mind 95
-
Multilingual identities
- Selfing and othering through categories of race, place, and language among minority youths in Rotterdam, The Netherlands 129
- Multilingualism and identity 165
- Ethnolect studies in the German and the Netherlandic area 177
-
Urban spaces
- The delicate search for language in spaces 209
- The management of multilingualism in a city-state 227
- Multilingual communication in Hamburg 257
-
Education
- Current research on language transfer 289
- Multilingual education in India 305
- Fostering early literacy learning using dual language books 327
- Measuring success when English isn’t your native language 349
- Name index 369
- Subject index 377
