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A sociolinguistic history of early identities in Singapore : from colonialism to nationalism / Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew.
Van Pelt Library P40.45.S55 C44 2013
Available
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Chew, Phyllis Ghim Lian.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Sociolinguistics--Singapore--History.
- Sociolinguistics.
- Nationalism.
- History.
- Singapore--History.
- Singapore.
- Singapore--Languages.
- Language and languages.
- Nationalism--Singapore--History.
- Physical Description:
- xvii, 245 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
- Place of Publication:
- Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
- Summary:
- 'Pulau Panjan', 'Po Luo Chung', 'Pulau Ujong', 'Lung-ya-men', 'Temasek', 'Singapura' are all former names of Singapore and belie its colourful history as the El-Dorado and nexus of Southeast Asia. Who were Singapore's previous multilingual inhabitants? What were the pidgins, creoles and languages that thronged its market places and created its forgotten identities? How did polyglot migrants caught in the throes of an earlier globalization organize their respective identities? What hybrid identities arose from such cross-cultural interactions? This book presents a fascinating history of early identities in Singapore as examined through the retrospective lens of language. A long view has been chosen for its advantage in providing unexpected socio-political and linguistic insights into the long-term effects of change and continuity. Book jacket.
- Contents:
- 1 Introduction: A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore 1
- Group and individual identities 2
- Racial, regional, religious and national identities 3
- Bottom-up: individual identities 5
- A sociolinguistic history 8
- Time and place 10
- Singapore: sociolinguistic paradise 13
- Concluding remarks 16
- 2 Racial Identities: Plurality in the Making 19
- Ethnic and occupational compartmentalization 20
- Media representations 22
- Census taking 25
- Education and identity 27
- Malay-medium schools 27
- Chinese- and Indian-medium schools 28
- English-medium schools 30
- Religion and identity 32
- Concluding remarks 35
- 3 Regional Identities: Distinct but Undivided 37
- "Malay" identity 38
- The Orang Laut 39
- The Bugis 40
- The Minangkabaus 41
- The Javanese 41
- The Baweanese/Boyanese 42
- Critical commentary 42
- "Chinese" identity 43
- The Hokkiens (Minnanhua, Fujianese) 43
- The Teochews (Chaozhouhua) 44
- The Cantonese (Guangdonghua) 45
- The Hakkas (Kejia) 46
- The Hainanese (Hainanhua) 46
- Critical commentary 47
- "Indian" identity 48
- The Tamils 48
- The Telegus 49
- The Malayalams 49
- The Punjabis 50
- The Bengalis 50
- Critical commentary 51
- Concluding remarks 51
- 4 Religious Identities: Syncretic and Inclusive 54
- An animistic identity 55
- A Hindu identity 56
- A Buddhist identity 59
- An Islamic identity 62
- Chinese-Malay fraternity 65
- Concluding remarks 67
- 5 Orthographical Identity: Change and Ideology 70
- Sanskrit scripts and the creation of a Buddhist-Hindu identity 71
- Jawi and the creation of a Muslim identity 73
- Syncretic identities through Jawi: the Arabs and Arab Peranakans 75
- The Arabs 75
- The Jawi Peranakans 76
- Jawi or Rumi? Competing identities 78
- The decline of Jawi: reasons and implications 81
- Concluding remarks 85
- 6 Individual Identities: The Use of Lingua Francas and Language Choice 87
- Bazaar Malay 88
- Singapore English (SE) 95
- The origin of Singapore English 96
- Singapore Hokkien (SH) 98
- Language choice and identities in colonial Singapore 103
- Code-mixing and code-switching: flexible identities 106
- Concluding remarks 109
- 7 Hybrid Identities: Three Case Studies of Attraction and Engagement 111
- Pidgins and Creoles 112
- Baba Malay Creole 113
- Chetty Malay Creole 117
- Kristang Creole 120
- Input from other languages 123
- Concluding remarks 127
- 8 Intergenerational Identities: Negotiating Solidarity and Plurality 129
- An acculturation-assimilation cline 130
- Three principles 130
- A three-generational model 132
- First generation 133
- Second generation 134
- Third generation 134
- Later-generational interaction 136
- Other later-generational identity symbols 140
- Dress 141
- Food 143
- Religious rites 144
- Literary endeavours 148
- Concluding remarks 150
- 9 Language, Power and Political Identities: The 1959 Singapore Political Elections 152
- The education divide 152
- The emergent national elite and Lee Kuan Yew 157
- Riding the linguistic tiger 159
- Avoiding the English-educated incumbent 160
- Aligning with the Chinese-educated masses 161
- Forming a political party 162
- Other linguistic strategies 164
- Conclusion: a linguistic sequel 168
- 10 National Identities: The Reordering of Pluralities 170
- Top-down: the reordering of pluralities 170
- Racial compartmentalization 171
- Language shifts: the reordering of pluralities 173
- The ascendancy of English 175
- Race and migration 176
- The management of religious distinctiveness 177
- Bottom-up: individual identities in the 21st century 179
- The integrative nature of Singapore English (SE) 180
- Conclusion: new realities 182.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 9781137012333
- 1137012331
- OCLC:
- 802321064
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