The (in)visibility of Indian languages in Singapore’s multilingual landscape

Abstract

Abstract Literature on Singapore’s linguistic landscape (LL) points to the prominence of English, and Mandarin, to a lesser extent. This is attributed to the city-state’s bilingual education policy and majority Chinese population. There is, however, lack of research on minority languages, and this paper addresses this gap by investigating the LL of Little India. This area serves multiple sociocultural functions: it is an enclave for the Indian minority in Singapore, a popular tourist attraction, and a gathering spot for migrant workers. While the findings show a strong dominance of English, in parts of Little India, there is greater prominence of the Indian languages, specifically Tamil, one of Singapore’s official languages, and Bengali, a language spoken by Bangladeshi migrant workers, typically employed in low-wage, labour-intensive jobs. English has both symbolic and informational functions in appealing to a wider demographic of tourists and Singapore’s multi-ethnic population, while Bengali serves an informational function.

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