DEFINITIONS OF AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS SINGLISH IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

This study has four objectives (i) to find out how Singaporeans define Singlish. (ii) to find out Singaporeans' attitudes towards the appropriateness of use of Singlish, (iii) to relate objectives (i) and (ii) to show correlations between definitions and attitudes. (iv) to relate objective ( ii) to the factor of educational level. The study was conducted using the administered questionnaire method. A total of sixty respondents were selected to form the sample population. The findings show that there is a consensus concerning the definitions of Singlish. The majority of the respondents defined Singlish as a colloquial variety of Singapore English ( SE) which is spoken by proficient as well as non-proficient speakers of English in informal situations. Not all English that that is not SSE was regarded as Singlish. Singlish is characterised by the use of local expressions, code-mixing/switching, discourse particles, and direct translations from other languages. With regard to attitudes, it was found that the respondents had positive attitudes towards the use of Singlish as an informal style and realized that Singlish is not used for all purposes. It was also found that there was a correlation between definitions and attitudes, and that attitude towards the use of Singlish in formal situations were dependent on educational levels. In general, the more educated respondents had stronger negative attitudes towards Singlish being used in formal settings.