(37/42) varieties of SgE Flashcards
history of eng in sg?
- brought to sg by stamford raffles in 1819 as a 2nd lang
- by 1987: all national sch offered it as a 1st lang
% of sg who uses eng at home?
[WE]
hint: 1980-2020
1980: 11.6%
1990: 18.8%
2000: 23%
2010: 32.3%
2020: 48.3%
(singapore dept of statistics, 2020)
how many ppl speak eng ard the world?
[WR]
“1348mil ppl speak eng ard the world” (Szmigiera, 2021)
define SSE (sg standard eng)
the variety of eng (spoken and written) used by educated sgeans for formal purposes (edu, law, media, etc)
define SCE (sg colloquial eng)
WR: Low & Brown, 2005
informal, colloquial variety of SgE with its own unique linguistic features and own system of rules, aka singlish
“used either by those who have limited proficiency in teh lan or proficient speakers who choose to use it for informal purposes” (Low & Brown, 2005)
The Lectal Continuum (Platt, 1977)
[WR]
Acrolect: higher edu standard (tertiary edu), likely to have higher societal status
Upper Mesolect: speakers have A-level qualification and often some further training (jobs w higher clerical positions)
Lowe Mesolect: O-level qualification and often some further training (jobs w medium status positions, eg sales assistant)
Basilect: only primary education (jobs as cleaners, hawker assistants, construction workers, etc
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- link to todays globalised and highly connected world, where we can learn from e/o and informal edu, so its not so segregated
- also link to Low & Brown, where highly educated ppl can speak in the Basilect during informal convos
Diglossia Theory (Gupta, 1986 & 1994)
[WR]
high variety (H): for formal purposes & writing. carries prestige. literary heritage normally encoded in H acquired in sch. much like SSE
low variety (L): for informal purposes & language acquisition. BUT is increasingly used in artistic writing & musical compositions (SCE)
- diglossic approach towards lang var views it as a matter of choice & intent, not determined by edu lvl or socioeconomic status (diff from lectal continuum)
cultural orientation model (Alsagoff, 2010)
globalist orientation: sg uses eng due to its use as a global lang
localist orientation: believes that SCE is the lingua franca of the multicultural & multiethnic sg
english as a global language (globalist orientation)
Wee, 2003
LKY, 2014
[WR]
“the role of eng as a global alnd is alway discussed hang in hand w its economic capital and status as a lang of sci, commerce, and tech, clearly indicating that the need to use eng is motivated and associated w a global perspective - eng is clearly seen as an instrument and means of global participation in financial and economic markets” (Wee, 2003)
“[eng is the] intl lang of commerce and trade” (PM Lee, 2014)
features of SgE: morphological processes
[WE]
acromyms: CISCO (commercial and industrial security corporation), SAM (sg art museum), FOMO
initialisms: MRT, MOE, HDB, CPF, SCDF
conversion: butter, party
coinage: kleenex (for any tissue), maggi mee (for any instant noodles), colgate (for any toothpaste)
reduplication (repeating words): jalan jalan, agak agak
blending: technopark, cineplex
features of SgE: redundancy
lack of articles: does she have a car? → she got car?
pragmatic particles: lah, lor, meh, leh
features of SgE: verbless complements
missing main verb: she -so- naughty
missing auxiliary verb: today i -am- going swimming
features of SgE: tag qn
he thinks i want to?
he thinks i want to is it?
-ve attitudes towards SCE?
[WE]
speak good english mvmt (2000)
- launched by then PM Goh Chok Tong
- aims to ensure sgeans recognise the imptance of SSE
SBC (sg broadcasting corporation) 1993:
new guideline that singlish was not to be aired freely over the tele
—————————————
- these both show language planning → deliberate lang change
processes of lang change: lexical change
lexical change due to word formation
- blending: cineplex
- affiliation
- conversion: party, butter, blur (verb/noun → adj)
- abbreviation: initialisms/ acronyms
- coinage/ neologism: shiok, aiyoh
- compounding: housewife, goldenvillage
processes of lang change: slang
- usually restricted to certain speech communities
- youth are a strong source of linguistic innov, esp thru slang
xmm, yp, etc
processes of lang change: semantic change
broadening (word acquires extra layer of meaning): blur, sotong, black face
narrowing: one specialised meaning becomes more dom: intercourse
amelioration (word improves in meaning): dreadlocks, slut
degeneration/pejoration (word takes on a more -ve meaning): spinster, mistress
euphemism (word that’s more polite): ladies room, passed on, laid off
dysphemism (use of an offensive word instead of a polite one): snail mail, died, fired
metaphor
metaphorical extension: mouse (animal → tech)
