From The Linguistic-contact, Look Chinese Affects The Singapore Colloquial English

The colloquial English in Singapore is clearly contributed and influenced by the long term conglomerate of multi-variety cultures (and its representative languages). The difference between it and Standard English is most significant in terms of pronunciation, intonation, lexicon, and grammar. This thesis attempts to explain the formation of "New" English, through the exemplary observations of the language used in Southern China; focusing on the subtle infiltration of Hokkien language into the English language.0. ForwardIn recognition of the possible negative repercussions and impediment to Economic. developments and diplomacy caused by the widespread usage of local colloquial English, the Singapore Government inaugurated the "Speak Good English" campaign in April 2000. However, in August 2000, supporters of local colloquial English - spearheaded by lawyer Colin Goh, responded by establishing their own "Save Our Singlish" campaign. The philosophy of these supporters lie in their view that both Standard and local colloquial English can exist co-harmoniously and that there is no need to forcibly segregate either's' existence and importance. The government, in response to this, stood firmly in their views.1. The contributing environmentSingapore's population foundation is based on a large influx of immigrants in the 19th century, hosting immigrants from India, Indonesia, Ceylon, and China etc. Together with these immigrants come a total of 33 forms of language. Due to numbers, Hokkien became the local representative of the Chinese population; second to it comes Melayu which represents the Malay population. These 2 languages are seen as sub-languages when put in juxtaposition with the Standard English language used by SingaporeSprevious colonial master - Britain. Due to this, the uneasy marriage of Hokkien and Melayu formed a local colloquial climate which is eventually linked to social identity of the masses.Post 1950s, formal English educated factions exceeded the number of mainstream Chinese educated factions, leading to a divergence in social fate. One must consider the fact that school children already understood the basics of their mother tongue(which is the sub-Variety) before formal education starts, thus it is inevitable that elements of their culture and language is composite with Standard English taught at education institutes. This is further characterized by the addition of accent brought in from English tutorscoming from India, Ceylon, and Scotland etc. The feedback cycle is completed when these children, bringing with them these mixed linguistic characteristics, becomes the educators in the future.2. Linguistic characteristics of the local colloquial EnglishLocal colloquial English is a modification to the Standard English. The difference is most obvious in word form, linguistic rules and pronunciation habits. For example, /6/ thin and /5/ then is clearly different from HI /d/; having a "staccato" effect, and frequently ending with lah/leh/lor. Local colloquial English has a lack of aspect markers.3. ConclusionAlthough the Singapore Government tries to curb the growth of colloquial English by not recognizing them, it is surprising to know that two thirds of students surveyed at the National University of Singapore believes that colloquial English can better represent national identity when compared with the national flag. It is no wonder that the committee chairman of the "Speak Good English" campaign, Professor Koh Tai Ann softened his stance and admitted the social cohesive ability of colloquial English. In such, he recognized the diglossia system; stratifying the English language in line with social classes.