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

90 Pages·2017·1.269 MB·English
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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 ©TheAuthor(s)2017 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor foranyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerNatureSingaporePteLtd. Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:152BeachRoad,#22-06/08GatewayEast,Singapore189721,Singapore 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 vii 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

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