ON THE (AC)SCENT OF LINGUISTIC INSECURITY: A STUDY OF ACCENT ACCOMMODATION IN SINGAPOREAN YOUTH
LEE QING PING
LEE QING PING
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Abstract
Accommodation is an inherent and necessary part of successful communication. We adjust our speech for a variety of reasons, like to facilitate understanding, signal ingroup solidarity, or disassociate ourselves from our interlocutor. Perhaps we think switching our accent makes us sound more refined, or friendly, or that it would be easier for the interlocutor to understand.
The Singapore government has had a long history of language planning through a “strong interventionist approach, or linguistic dirigisme” (Xu & Li, 2002: 275). One such example is the Speak Good English Movement (SGEM), launched in 2000, which has polarised Singaporeans with some in favour, and some accusing it of being anti-Singlish. No matter their stance, however, Singaporeans’ ideas of English ownership and English standards in Singapore have been sorely influenced by the SGEM. This thesis uses accent accommodation as a lens through which I study issues of linguistic insecurity and English language ownership in Singapore. It is the hope of this thesis that a strong case be made for increased English ownership in Singapore, that we be able to speak our Singaporean accent (whatever that may be) with pride.
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2021-04-12
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