FREE ESSAY ON NORMS OF LANGUAGE USE IN SINGAPORE

NORMS OF LANGUAGE USE IN SINGAPORE

Norms of Language Use in Singapore
A multiethnic nation such as Singapore, the uses of languages are constantly changing and
will never be fixed. In Singapore there are only 2.5 million people on a small island in
the South Pacific. In this multiethnic nation there are over 30 mother tongues and 20
with a thousand speakers or more. Singapore recognizes four official languages, Malay,
Tamil, Mandarin and English(Borkhorst-Heng 287). At the time of independence these four
languages were given official status, but the first three represented Singapore's rich
multiethnic traditions, but English was chosen because of Singapore's important position
as a trading nation. These four languages each play an important role in Singaporean
society and hold their own status. The uses of these languages in the home, in the
school, in government, and in religion differ vastly among these domains The role that
these languages play along with what domain that these languages are used in will be
discussed. 
Language in the Home
As in other multiethnic states the languages spoken in the home can vary depending on the
ethnicity of the citizen. There are many different languages spoken in the home but it
varies from household to household. According to the author, English has had the central
role of enabling multilingual members of a community to be the social brokers in bridging
the communicative gaps in cross-cultural communication(Foley 220). This may be one reason
why over the last fifteen years researchers have seen a large increase in the use of
English in the home. For example, in 1980 only 11.6% of the population considered English
as the dominant language of the home but by 1990 over 20% felt English was the more
dominant language in their home. However this does not mean that all in the household
used English but more so a form of code-switching between English and their mother
tongue. But overall if there is an increase in one language there must be a decrease in
another. Which is why in only ten years there are fewer people who speak a mother tongue
language such as Tamil or Mandarin(Foley 219). 
The recent decrease in the use of these mother tongues and the increase in the use of
English was due mainly to the fact that the younger generation received their education
in English. Also contributing to that fact is the socioeconomic status of the population.
First the relationship between monthly income and language use in the home is believed to
lead to the rise of use of English in the home. For example, households with incomes of
less than $1000 per month, only 7.6% reported using English in the home, whereas
households with incomes of $4000 and over, 33.5% reported using English in the home(Foley
219).
Although Chinese dialects make up the majority of language use in the home at over 50%,
more and more households are using English in the home.
For a typical child living in Singapore today, their family would use either the mother
tongue spoken by the family or sometimes English. Most of the younger children growing up
today use English in the home, this is primarily due to the fact that these children are
using English more frequently at school and with their friends. However most children
that grew up in the late 1970's used their mother tongue at home and English in the
school and with their playmates(Foley 221).
Language in the School
Historically, the education policies in Singapore have changed and developed over the
past 100 hundred years and since independence has changed even more. The colonial
education policy in Singapore was one of noninterference meaning that each community was
free to establish their own form of education. Therefore establishing four separate
educational systems based on the different languages--Mandarin, Tamil, Malay and English
and each were modeled after education in their respective homelands. 
At the time, the high cost of English education and the scarcity of qualified English
teachers were the most common reasons for the limited amount of English schools in
Singapore. But according to the author there was another reason, she states the colonial
administration had a fear called a 'pathological fear' of overeducating the natives and
of producing unemployed clerks and intellectuals -- lessons painfully learned in India.
The argument was thus to limit English education. Although during this time English
schools received the bulk of government funding(Borkhorst-Heng 288). These schools
charged the highest fees that only the wealthy could afford, and were the only schools
that led to higher education. 
This all started to slowly change after many policymakers feared that the Chinese
speakers in Singapore would support the revolution in China in the early 1950's. So many
more English teaching schools were being implemented into Singapore from the late 1950's
to the end of the 1960's. These such implementations brought on policies that require a
student to learn two languages starting in elementary school (Primary one). In 1963
policymakers of the All Party Report instituted a policy that required students to learn
two languages other than their mother tongue. This committee felt that without one or
more common languages officially encouraged in Singapore, the ideal of unifying various
races into one common people cannot be realized without being able to speak many other
languages(Borkhorst-Heng 292)
Today most students attend an English teaching school where they must learn two languages
other than their mother tongue. However students also learn more of their mother tongue
at school but it is mostly intended to give students insights into their ethnic and
cultural identity. Depending on what type of school children attend, most of them now use
English in school with their friends and teachers. 
Language in Religion
In Singapore today there is a wide array of religions that are practiced by its citizens.
Almost all of the world religions are represented in Singapore -- Buddhism, Christianity,
Hinduism, Judaism and Taoism. Although there is a high proportion of the Singapore
population that is bilingual, there is a popular tendency to equate particular religions
with specific linguistic groups(Clammer 90).
First it would be virtually impossible to participate in Islamic religious activities in
Singapore without a good knowledge of Malay and to some extent an identification with
Malay culture or lifestyle. It would be the same for participation in the Chinese folk
religions, one would have to have knowledge of the Chinese language and often a specific
dialect(Clammer 91). Despite these facts, where choice of language is concerned, one
finds a variety of reasons why members choose a particular language congregation. Often
older people tend to prefer vernacular services because of language competence; if their
children want to accompany them and worship together as a family then that choice would
overrule their English education. So children often attend an English stream school but a
Chinese language church for the sake of family togetherness(Clammer 105).
For most people, they attend the church that uses the language they were educated in.
Others choose their church because of the ethnic factor, for example, Straits Chinese
would rather prefer to attend the Malay service rather than English services. There are
bilingual congregations where even those who are not proficiently bilingual would attend.
These services are conducted in either English or in the various Chinese dialects and
there are translations that go along with the service(Clammer 106).
Although there is a large number of different ethnic groups in Singapore, religion in
this country still seems to prosper and continue. Many citizens are bilingual and have
very little trouble understanding a different language service in church. However there
are some religions that must be conducted in a specific language that coincides with that
denomination, for example Islamic religion must be practiced in Malay. However many
people who practice other religions tend to have no problem attending services in their
preferred language.
Language in Government 
The government in Singapore is like no other domain in Singapore society. In religion, at
home or in school citizens of Singapore use many different languages and dialects.
However language in the government in Singapore is very different, almost 95% of the
workings in the government take place in English. English has become the working language
of Singapore, it is the language of government bureaucracy, the authoritative language of
all legislation and court judgments, and the language of occupational mobility and social
and economic advancement(Wardhaugh 362).
It is also the language of banking, work in government offices, public transportation,
hotels and tourism and much nonfood shopping. However this seems strange for a nation
where less than 2% of the population take English as their mother tongue. Most of this
will change with the fact that there are more and more English medium schools and more
people are attending them. At the national level, English was chosen to meet the
government's larger economic objectives. 
Overall a multiethnic, multilingual nation such as Singapore seems to have much success
with practicing their government, educating their children and conducting religion in
many languages. However English has become the dominant language in school and government
there is still a large majority of people who do speak many other languages. I feel that
one main reason that government is in English and there are more English teaching schools
is the fact that Singapore and its people have realized that without accepting English,
joining the world in international trade and relations would be virtually impossible.
Singapore is a nation unlike others that can be multiethnic, multilingual and prosper
without losing a language or losing certain ethnicities. 
Bibliography
Bibliography
Borhorst-Heng, Wendy. Language Planning and Management in Singapore. English in New
Cultural Contexts. Ed. J.A. Foley. Oxford University, UK: 1998 287-309.
Clammer, John. Religion and Language in Singapore Language and Society in Singapore. Ed.
Joshua A. Fishman. Singapore University Press: 1980. 87-115.
Foley, J.A. The New Englishes: Language in the Home. English in New Cultural Contexts.
J.A. Foley. Oxford University, UK: 1998. 218-242.
Foley, J.A. Language in the School. English in New Cultural Contexts. Ed. J.A. Foley.
Oxford University, UK: 1998. 244-269.
Wardhaugh, Ronald. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Blackwell Publishers, Malden, MA.
1998. 362-363.1