CHINESE DIALECTS IN SINGAPORE: REVERSING LANGUAGE SHIFT

Abstract

In this study, I will look at the Language Maintenance and Language Shift of the Chinese population in Singapore as they experience Language Shift from Chinese Dialects to the official languages of English and Mandarin Chinese. While language shift factors have been relatively well-studied (e.g. Li et al 1997, Saravanan 1998), factors important for the maintenance of languages are not as well-researched. The aim of this study is therefore to examine factors that contribute to language maintenance of Chinese Dialects for a selected group of young Chinese individuals in an environment that fosters language shift. This is done by analysing their domains of Chinese Dialect language use, language attitudes and beliefs with data from a series of tape-recorded interviews. The theoretical basis for this study is Fishman's theoretical framework concerning Reversing Language Shift (RLS), which emphasizes the home domain as the ftilcrum and "crucial nexus of inter-generational mother tongue transmission" (Fishman 2001: 467) However, to understand and account for the linguistic behaviour and practices of the individuals, we need to relate this study to Pierre Bourdieu's social theory that uses notions such as habitus, fields, linguistic capital and language legitimacy, to provide us with the insight into social reproduction and change. Particularly, Fishman's (1965) notions of Domains will be re-conceptualized in a Bourdieu-ian framework. It is shown that Domains, as "fields", are also characterised as sites of representation of the social self, sites of struggle for legitimacy between the state-legitimised languages (English and Mandarin Chinese) and Chinese Dialects, and sites of resistance to the field of power. Also, Chinese Dialects are shown to have high social value in certain fields. The implications from these findings for any efforts to reverse Chinese Dialect Language Shift are considered and practical measures are proposed, if any such efforts are to be taken.