A Study of Attitudes of Dialect Speakers Towards the Speak Mandarin Campaign in Singapore

90 Pages·2017·1.269 MB·English

by  Patrick Chin Leong Ng (auth.)

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN LINGUISTICS
Patrick Chin Leong Ng
A Study of Attitudes
of Dialect Speakers
Towards the Speak
Mandarin Campaign
in Singapore
123
SpringerBriefs in Linguistics
Series editor
Helen Aristar-Dry, Dripping Springs, TX, USA
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11940
Patrick Chin Leong Ng
A Study of Attitudes
of Dialect Speakers Towards
the Speak Mandarin
Campaign in Singapore
123
Patrick ChinLeong Ng
University of Niigata Prefecture
Niigata-shi, Niigata
Japan
ISSN 2197-0009 ISSN 2197-0017 (electronic)
SpringerBriefs inLinguistics
ISBN978-981-10-3441-1 ISBN978-981-10-3443-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-3443-5
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016960569
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Foreword
The phenomenon of language defies simple description or categorization. Whether
one chooses to think of language as a kind of abstract system of relationships
betweensounds,morphemes,wordsandsentences,orasasetoflanguagepractices
ofindividualsinteractingwithoneanother,itwouldbemisguidedtothinkthatone
canfullydojustice tothephenomenonoflanguage.Languageistoomulti-faceted
to be completely understood in terms of any one intellectual tradition or any one
methodology.Theuniversity-baseddisciplineoflinguistics,evenwithitsrelatively
narrow focus of interest, has given rise to a plethora of sub-disciplines, competing
methods, and alternative understandings of language. Linguistics is characterized
more by the proliferation of competing approaches than by convergence of
approaches towards one all-encompassing theory of language.
The study of language in a society is one further example of just how complex
and challenging the phenomenon of language can be. Bringing the larger societal
contextintothepictureimmediatelyintroducesmorelayersofcomplexityandmore
potential interactions of factors. When we seek to understand language in the
contextof society, we must acknowledge notonly theindividual languagechoices
that speakers make but also the social and political realities that govern language
behaviour.Onemayverywellexploreanindividual’suseoflanguageinthisorthat
context,andhowaperson’slinguistic repertoireexpressestheindividualityofthat
person.Imay,forexample,choosetouseamorearchaicformofawordinacertain
contexttocreate aparticulareffect, perhaps a comiceffect, perhaps a poetic effect.
Thisisanindividual’spersonalityatwork,expressing itselfthroughchoicesinthe
useoflanguage.Buttheuseoflanguageisalsogovernedbysocietalnormsthatare
bothcreatedbyspeakersandactonspeakers.Societyimposescertainrequirements
on its members when it comes to speaking and interacting, sometimes through the
subtle effects of barely perceived norms that permeate society and at other times
through the blunt force of legal and political imposition. The study of language in
thelargersettingofthesocietythatsupportsitamountstothestudyofmultifarious
linguistic, educational, behavioural, psychological, sociological, political, legal,
religious, and historical factors. When the study of language is approached in this
v
vi Foreword
manner,wecannolongerexpectanyonediscipline,asunderstoodinthecontextof
higher learning, to provide all the answers or to provide a complete ready-made
methodology.
It is against this background that the present work should be read and appre-
ciated.Atitscore,thepresentworkisastudyoftheSpeakMandarinCampaignin
Singapore, a campaign designed to effect a change in the use of language in
Singapore. This is a study, in other words, of language in the larger social context
andsoonemustbepreparedtoconsideranynumberoffactorsifoneiswantingto
reach a full understanding of the raison d’être of the campaign, its effectiveness in
producing change, and the lasting significance of the campaign. Among other
things, such a study will need to duly acknowledge the presence of different
varieties of languages in Singapore. Immediately, one must confront issues arising
from the use of the English terms language and dialect in discussions of Chinese
languages. These are not neutral, technical terms borrowed from linguistics in the
case of discourse about Chinese in Singapore. Rather, they are loaded with deeper
cultural meaning which needs to be taken into account. The Speak Mandarin
Campaign needs to be appreciated in light of the educational policies promulgated
by the Singapore government. Educational needs and goals played an important
part in the initial justification of the campaign and continue to do so. Educational
policy,inturn,mustnecessarilybeunderstoodinthecontextofthelargerpolitical
goals of government. In the case of the Speak Mandarin Campaign, the larger
political goals relate, in particular, to the formation of an independent Singapore
nation and a perceived need to politically unify the nation.
Inanyevaluationofgovernmentpolicy,onemustconsidernotjustthepolicyin
the abstract but also the policy in practice. In the case of the Speak Mandarin
Campaign, this means that it is not sufficient to just look for motivations for the
campaignandanalyzethecomponentsofthepolicy.Onemustalsoexplorehowthe
campaignhasbeenreceivedbythetargetpopulation(dialectspeakersofChinesein
Singapore)andtowhatextentchangeinlanguageusehasbeenimplementedduring
theyearsofthecampaign.Itisthisaspectofthecampaign,inparticular,thatisthe
focus of the research reported on here. It is an aspect that is critical in any evalu-
ationofthecampaign,importantnotjustforacademicpurposesbutimportant,too,
for government’s own understanding of realities, and for this reason I very much
welcome Patrick Ng’s book. It is a book that looks beyond public rhetoric and
succeeds in penetrating the linguistic realities of speakers, how they think about
dialect, Mandarin, and the Speak Mandarin Campaign.
June 2016 Prof. John Newman
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Contents
1 Introduction.... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 1
1.1 Background of Research.... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 1
1.2 The Scope and Objectives of the Study .... .... .... ..... .... 4
1.3 Data Collection.. .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 4
1.4 Conclusion. .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 5
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 7
2 Review of Literature on Planning for Language.... .... ..... .... 9
2.1 Language Planning: Work of Government.. .... .... ..... .... 9
2.2 Two Perspectives to Language Planning:
The Macrosociological and the Microlinguistic .. .... ..... .... 11
2.3 Language Planning and Language Management.. .... ..... .... 12
2.4 Sociolinguistics of Language Use. .... .... .... .... ..... .... 13
2.5 Language and Identity ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 14
2.6 Conclusion. .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 14
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 15
3 Singapore: The Contextual Background .. .... .... .... ..... .... 17
3.1 The Sociopolitical Background of Singapore .... .... ..... .... 17
3.2 The Sociolinguistic Situation in Singapore.. .... .... ..... .... 18
3.3 Language Planning in Singapore . .... .... .... .... ..... .... 19
3.4 The Policy of Multilingualism ... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 19
3.5 The English-Knowing Bilingual School Policy... .... ..... .... 20
3.6 Conclusion. .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 22
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 23
4 Review of Literature on the Speak Mandarin
Campaign (SMC) ... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 25
4.1 Organization of the SMC... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 25
4.2 Implementation of the SMC. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 26
4.3 The Official Arguments of the SMC... .... .... .... ..... .... 27
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viii Contents
4.4 Conclusion: Impact of the SMC.. .... .... .... .... ..... .... 29
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 29
5 Quantitative Analysis: Reported Language
Use and Attitudes ... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 31
5.1 Demographic Distribution of Sample .. .... .... .... ..... .... 31
5.2 Attitude of Respondents Toward Mandarin . .... .... ..... .... 33
5.3 Attitudes of Respondents Toward the Status
and Functions of Mandarin.. .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 35
5.4 Comparison of Attitudes Toward English and Mandarin .... .... 36
5.5 Attitudes of Respondents Toward the Transmission
of Chinese Dialects... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 37
5.6 Attitudes Toward the Official Arguments of the SMC . ..... .... 38
5.7 Attitudes Toward the Planned Language Efforts.. .... ..... .... 40
5.8 Discussion of the Results of the SAS.. .... .... .... ..... .... 41
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 43
6 Qualitative Analysis: Views Towards the Speak Mandarin
Campaign.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 45
6.1 Informants’ Views on the Goals of the SMC.... .... ..... .... 45
6.2 Informants’ Views on the Continuation of the SMC... ..... .... 51
6.3 Informants’ Views on the Campaign’s Objective
of Eliminating Chinese Dialects.. .... .... .... .... ..... .... 55
6.4 Informants’ View on the Effectiveness of the SMC ... ..... .... 58
6.5 Discussions on the Results of the SSI . .... .... .... ..... .... 62
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 64
7 Conclusion. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 65
7.1 Repercussions on the Decline of Chinese Dialects.... ..... .... 65
7.2 Future Challenge of the SMC.... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 67
7.3 Future Research on the SMC .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 70
7.4 Limitations of Study.. ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 71
References.. .... .... .... ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .... 72
Appendix A: Self-administered Survey Form. .... .... .... ..... .... 75
Appendix B: Semi-structured Interview Schedule . .... .... ..... .... 81
List of Figure
Figure 1.1 The Speak Mandarin Campaign poster:
Be heard in Chinese . ..... .... .... .... .... .... ..... .. 3
ix