INVESTIGATING THE INFLUENCE OF SINGAPORE'S LANGUAGE POLICIES ON FAMILY LANGUAGE POLICY AMONG TAMIL-INDIAN PARENTS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Language planning in the multilingual city-state of Singapore has been characterized by a complex set of campaigns and policies aimed at maximizing economic competitiveness and increasing national cohesion, while simultaneously preserving the country’s ethnic heritage and multicultural identity. While English and Mandarin have been promoted for their economic utility, Singapore’s other official languages, Malay and Tamil, have primarily been identified as anchors to cultural heritage. It is in this context that the present study examines Family Language Policy (FLP) among Tamil Singaporeans, specifically investigating how FLPs are shaped by parental attitudes towards the various languages used in the community, and how these attitudes are, in turn, influenced by governmental language planning efforts. 35 Tamil-Indian parents of children between the ages of 0 and 16 took part in a matched-guise study assessing language attitudes and a semi-structured interview.