Multilingualism among the elderly Chinese in Singapore: an oral account
-
Vanessa Ellen Mei Yin Nah
,
Ivan Panović
and
Bee Chin Ng
Abstract
This study aims to qualitatively document the histories of Singapore’s Chinese multilingual elderly. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven Chinese Singaporeans aged 75 years and above on how and why they acquired the languages they speak and their attitudes towards these linguistic varieties, of which many are declining in usage. Five participants were multilingual and spoke three or more languages fluently; two spoke only two languages and were included for a balanced and holistic perspective. Common themes from the interviews were identified and discussed. One key finding was that communicative necessity and practicality naturally fuelled language learning. Outside of the home, multilingual individuals acquired varieties from conversing with friends, relatives and customers, or as an educational requirement. Language was tied to ethnic belonging, but, generally, pride to speak a linguistic variety was linked to its functional value, not its associated ethnic identity. Unhappiness was expressed at the waning of the Chinese vernaculars and Baba Malay in Singapore today. Such language loss was seen as a sombre, but unavoidable consequence of Singapore’s globalisation and modernisation.
Funding source: Nanyang Technological University
Acknowledgments
The researchers would like to acknowledge Mrs Rose Choo, Mr Jackie Choo, Madam Teo Pheck Har, Madam Rosie Tan Lai Hoe, Dr Tan Suan Ek, Madam Helen Tan Kang Neo, and Mrs Lily Samuel for kindly consenting to participate in this research project. We wish to acknowledge the funding support for this project from Nanyang Technological University under the Undergraduate Research Experience on Campus (URECA) programme.
References
Bokhorst-Heng, Wendy D. & Lionel Wee. 2007. Language planning in Singapore: On pragmatism, communitarianism and personal names. Current Issues in Language Planning 8(3). 324–343. https://doi.org/10.2167/cilp118.0.Search in Google Scholar
Bolton, Kingsley & Bee Chin Ng. 2014. The dynamics of multilingualism in contemporary Singapore. World Englishes 33(3). 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12092.Search in Google Scholar
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977. The economics of linguistic exchanges. Social Science Information 16. 645–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901847701600601.Search in Google Scholar
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1991. Language and symbolic power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Cavallaro, Francesco & Bee Chin Ng. 2014. Language in Singapore: From multilingualism to English plus. In Yvette Slaughter & John Hajek (eds.), Challenging the monolingual mindset, 33–48. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.10.21832/9781783092529-005Search in Google Scholar
Cavallaro, Francesco, Bee Chin Ng & Ying Ying Tan. 2020. Singapore English. In Kingsley Bolton, Werner Botha & Andy Kirkpatrick (eds.), Handbook of Asian Englishes. New Jersey: Blackwell-Wiley.10.1002/9781118791882.ch18Search in Google Scholar
Department of Statistics. 2010. Census of population 2010. Singapore: Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade and Industry.Search in Google Scholar
Department of Statistics. 2015. General household survey 2015. Singapore: Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade and Industry.Search in Google Scholar
Department of Statistics. 2019. Population trends 2019. Singapore: Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade & Industry.Search in Google Scholar
Henderson, Joan. 2003. Ethnic heritage as a tourist attraction: The peranakans of Singapore. International Journal of Heritage Studies 9(1). 27–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/1352725022000056613.Search in Google Scholar
Kuo, Eddie C. Y. 1980. The sociolinguistic situation in Singapore: Unity in diversity. In Evangelos A. Afendras & Eddie C. Y. Kuo (eds.), Language and society in Singapore, 39–62. Singapore: Singapore University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Lee, Cher Leng. 2012. Saving Chinese-language education in Singapore. Current Issues in Language Planning 13(4). 285–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2012.754327.Search in Google Scholar
Leimgruber, Jacob R. E. 2013. The management of multilingualism in a city-state: Language policy in Singapore. In Peter Siemund, Ingrid Gogolin, Monika E. Schulz & Julia Davydova (eds.), Multilingualism and language diversity in Urban Areas: Acquisition, identities, space, education, 229–258. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing.10.1075/hsld.1.12leiSearch in Google Scholar
Ministry of Education. 2011. 2010 Mother tongue languages review committee report. Singapore: Ministry of Education.Search in Google Scholar
Platt, John. 1980. Multilingualism, polyglossia and code selection in Singapore. In Evangelos A. Afendras & Eddie C. Y. Kuo (eds.), Language and society in Singapore, 63–83. Singapore: NUS Press.Search in Google Scholar
Tan, Ying Ying. 2014. English as a “mother tongue” in contemporary Singapore. World Englishes 33(3). 319–339. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12093.Search in Google Scholar
Wee, Lionel. 2003. Linguistic instrumentalism in Singapore. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 24(3). 211–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630308666499.Search in Google Scholar
Woolard, Kathryn A. 1985. Language variation and cultural hegemony. American Ethnologist 12(4). 738–748. https://doi.org/10.1525/ae.1985.12.4.02a00090.Search in Google Scholar
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- The language division of labour across occupations: an introduction
- Is there a bilingual advantage? the effects of non-English language skills on occupational attainment among immigrants and natives
- Is automation changing the translation profession?
- Communication and language skills pay off, but not everybody needs them
- Linguistic occupation segregation along the U.S.–Mexico border: using the index of dissimilarity to measure inequality in employment among monolingual speakers and Spanish–English bilinguals
- Discussion
- The linguistic division of labour across occupations: moving the discussion on
- Book Review
- Antoni Vidal-Suñe and Amado Alarcón Alarcón: Ocupaciones y Lenguaje: Indicadores y análisis de competencias lingüísticas en el ámbito laboral
- Varia
- Individual variation in attitudes towards Chinese-English code-switching
- Multilingualism among the elderly Chinese in Singapore: an oral account
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- The language division of labour across occupations: an introduction
- Is there a bilingual advantage? the effects of non-English language skills on occupational attainment among immigrants and natives
- Is automation changing the translation profession?
- Communication and language skills pay off, but not everybody needs them
- Linguistic occupation segregation along the U.S.–Mexico border: using the index of dissimilarity to measure inequality in employment among monolingual speakers and Spanish–English bilinguals
- Discussion
- The linguistic division of labour across occupations: moving the discussion on
- Book Review
- Antoni Vidal-Suñe and Amado Alarcón Alarcón: Ocupaciones y Lenguaje: Indicadores y análisis de competencias lingüísticas en el ámbito laboral
- Varia
- Individual variation in attitudes towards Chinese-English code-switching
- Multilingualism among the elderly Chinese in Singapore: an oral account
