浅析新加坡华语特有词汇 : 以“SIAN”为例 = ANALYSING SELECTED SINGAPORE CHINESE LEXICON : A CASE STUDY OF "SIAN"

Abstract

Singapore is a multi-racial country, mainly made up of Chinese, Malays and Indians. The Chinese in Singapore originated from different parts of China with different dialects background. This contributes to the variety of languages used in Singapore. Many Singapore Chinese lexicon, including lexicon from the Chinese dialects are cultural keywords of the Singapore society. They are produced in Singapore are not used in other Chinese speaking countries. They therefore depict cultures of the Singapore society. Sian, is a Singapore Chinese lexicon which originated from the Hokkien dialect and slowly fuses into the Singapore Mandarin and Singlish. Being a lexicon of Singapore Mandarin and Singlish, the users of sian is therefore not limited to only Hokkien speakers but also the Singapore Mandarin and Singlish speakers, thus it is widely used in the Singapore society. In this thesis, the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach will be used to analysis the semantic meanings of the Selected Chinese lexicon, Sian. The analysis of the semantic meanings of Sian can help understand the use of this lexicon and also to understand any cultural meaning behind it.