Tone in Singlish
-
Lisa Lim
Abstract
This paper focuses on aspects of tone in Singlish, the (mesolectal/basilectal) variety of English spoken in Singapore, which take up the claim of tone being a marked feature in contact varieties. While the source of tonal properties may well be the dominant Sinitic substrates, the actual patterning, at both word and phrase level, would appear to actually be a consequence of prosodic patterns found in another, non-tone language substrate, Bazaar/Baba Malay. Such observations support the notion of the founder population in the ecology paradigm: This paper suggests that, as the early English speakers in Singapore, the Peranakans, with Baba Malay as their vernacular, may well have been the community of speakers whose influence on Singlish has been most significant and persistent.
Abstract
This paper focuses on aspects of tone in Singlish, the (mesolectal/basilectal) variety of English spoken in Singapore, which take up the claim of tone being a marked feature in contact varieties. While the source of tonal properties may well be the dominant Sinitic substrates, the actual patterning, at both word and phrase level, would appear to actually be a consequence of prosodic patterns found in another, non-tone language substrate, Bazaar/Baba Malay. Such observations support the notion of the founder population in the ecology paradigm: This paper suggests that, as the early English speakers in Singapore, the Peranakans, with Baba Malay as their vernacular, may well have been the community of speakers whose influence on Singlish has been most significant and persistent.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface ix
-
Introduction
- The problem of the typological classification of creoles 3
-
Creoles spoken in Africa and in the Caribbean
- Èdó influence on Santome 37
- A Wolof trace in the verbal system of the Portuguese Creole of Santiago Island (Cape Verde) 61
- Substrate influences in Kriyol 81
- One substrate, two creoles 105
- Substrate features in the properties of verbs in three Atlantic creoles 127
- Assessing the nature and role of substrate influence in the formation and development of the creoles of Suriname 155
- African substratal influence on the counterfactual in Belizean Creole 181
- Substrate features in Nicaraguan, Providence and San Andrés Creole Englishes 201
- Palenque(ro) 225
-
Creoles spoken in Asia
- Convergence-to-substratum and the passives in Singapore English 253
- Tone in Singlish 271
- The Cantonese substrate in China Coast Pidgin 289
- Substrate influences in Mindanao Chabacano 303
- Negation in Ternate Chabacano 325
- Aspect and directionality in Kupang Malay serial verb constructions 337
- Sri Lanka Malay and its Lankan adstrates 367
- Dravidian features in the Sri Lankan Malay verb 383
-
Creoles spoken in the Pacific
- Papuan Malay of New Guinea 413
- The influence of Arandic languages on Central Australian Aboriginal English 437
- Roper River Aboriginal language features in Australian Kriol 461
- Substrate influences on New South Wales Pidgin 489
- Limits of the substrate 513
- Substrate reinforcement and the retention of Pan-Pacific Pidgin features in modern contact varieties 531
- The copula in Hawai‘i Creole English and substrate reinforcement 557
- “On traduit la langue en français” 575
-
Conclusion
- Creoles and language typology 599
- Index of authors 613
- Index of languages and language families 619
- Index of subjects 623
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface ix
-
Introduction
- The problem of the typological classification of creoles 3
-
Creoles spoken in Africa and in the Caribbean
- Èdó influence on Santome 37
- A Wolof trace in the verbal system of the Portuguese Creole of Santiago Island (Cape Verde) 61
- Substrate influences in Kriyol 81
- One substrate, two creoles 105
- Substrate features in the properties of verbs in three Atlantic creoles 127
- Assessing the nature and role of substrate influence in the formation and development of the creoles of Suriname 155
- African substratal influence on the counterfactual in Belizean Creole 181
- Substrate features in Nicaraguan, Providence and San Andrés Creole Englishes 201
- Palenque(ro) 225
-
Creoles spoken in Asia
- Convergence-to-substratum and the passives in Singapore English 253
- Tone in Singlish 271
- The Cantonese substrate in China Coast Pidgin 289
- Substrate influences in Mindanao Chabacano 303
- Negation in Ternate Chabacano 325
- Aspect and directionality in Kupang Malay serial verb constructions 337
- Sri Lanka Malay and its Lankan adstrates 367
- Dravidian features in the Sri Lankan Malay verb 383
-
Creoles spoken in the Pacific
- Papuan Malay of New Guinea 413
- The influence of Arandic languages on Central Australian Aboriginal English 437
- Roper River Aboriginal language features in Australian Kriol 461
- Substrate influences on New South Wales Pidgin 489
- Limits of the substrate 513
- Substrate reinforcement and the retention of Pan-Pacific Pidgin features in modern contact varieties 531
- The copula in Hawai‘i Creole English and substrate reinforcement 557
- “On traduit la langue en français” 575
-
Conclusion
- Creoles and language typology 599
- Index of authors 613
- Index of languages and language families 619
- Index of subjects 623
