The Sociolinguistic Context of Singapore and Oak

Abstract

This chapter explores the complex sociolinguistic landscape into which my focal designer immigrant students stepped. The chapter starts with an introduction to the different official languages of Singapore – English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil – and Singapore’s national bilingual policy. Following this introduction and in keeping with an earlier discussion of how globalization has affected the status of the languages, I examine how linguistic instrumentalism (i.e., how economic value is attached to a language) is conceptualized in Singapore. Particular attention is given to the unequal statuses assigned to Standard English and Singlish (i.e., Singapore Colloquial English). I then turn to the public debate over falling English language standards in Singapore that resulted in the Speak Good English Movement before focusing on the national English language syllabus. By doing so, I move from the official sphere and its influence on languages to the situation on the ground where I examine how languages are actually used in the Singaporean school context. The chapter closes with a consideration of how issues of social class shape the national and school discourse over English language use.