The Range and Depth of English-Knowing Bilinguals in Singapore

Abstract

The concept of "English-knowing bilingualism" is examined with reference to the special nature of bilingualism in Singapore & the spread of English in various domains there. The discourse of English-knowing bilingual speakers in the two principal domains - home & school - is examined in terms of the range & depth of the functional use of English. A new "expanding triangles" model is used to explain the linguistic diversity involved in English use in Singapore. This model involves the notion of a growing English-speaking base population & two distinctive English speech clines - upper & lower end - that are applied to representative /heuristic & regulative/interpersonal functions, respectively.