Language shift, mother tongue, and identity in Singapore

Abstract

A review of the development of Singapore reveals that as a result ofa host ofinteractingfactors, there has appeared an intricate pattern of Islands of people within the island-state, which are constantly realigning themselves. At a basic level, three major Islands, the Chinese, the Malays, and the Indians, wereformed based on ethnicity withfurther Islands formed within each based on the regional language spoken. Education further made the pattern of Islands even more intricate. In the early days of Singapore, education was offered in the regional languages, which reinforced the ethnolinguistic Islands. In addition to the regional language, the British colonial government introduced English-medium education, which resulted in the creation of a new, socially powerful island comprising those who had had English-medium education. With time, two major Islands stood out in clear Opposition, the English-educated forming the privileged group, and the Chinese-educated forming the disadvantaged group, resulting in political unrest. The Singapore government adopted the policy of unitary language-medium of education (English) to resolve Ms. However, with English becoming more popularly used, rather than being restricted to the privileged few, the language as used by the mass took on a localflavoring, leading interestingly to yet further Islands in Singapore today. Those who can code-switch between the uneducated variety of English in Singapore (Singlish) and the educated or internationally accepted variety inhabit one island, while those whose repertoire is limited to only the uneducated variety inhabit yet another island.

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