Doctoral Dissertation Research: Variation in Singapore English

新加坡的英语并不是一个单一的统一实体；相反，新加坡英语有很好的记录范围。一端是标准新加坡英语(SSE)，这是一种语法上类似于其他标准英语的变体，用于教育机构和媒体等正式场合；另一端是口语新加坡英语(CSE)，这是朋友和家人之间使用的一种非正式变体，与标准明显不同。每个人掌握着不同的光谱范围，并根据背景、主题和受众在他们所掌握的不同种类之间变换。区分这些变体涉及到多种语言特征，包括语音变量如句尾停顿的删除，以及语法特征如现在时动词使用第三个单数-S后缀。在Gregory Guy教授的指导下，Laureen Lim女士将研究博士论文中这些可变过程的限制因素，以便对个人和整个演讲群体中明显的语言习得进行动态分析。这项研究项目将研究来自英语学校的新加坡华裔学生在社会语言学和民族志访谈中的语言变化方式。面对这种多样性，出现的问题是，是将这些变体视为单一语言中的不同风格，还是将其视为更类似于不同语言的变体。关于其他语言复杂社会的语言工作提出了几种可能相关的模式：不同语言之间的交替(代码转换，双语)，一种语言的高变种和低变种之间的交替(双语症)，以及一种语言中的文体变异。当说话人在SSE和CSE之间变化时，这些模型中的哪一种是合适的？新加坡英语的变异能以单一语言社区为范本来恰当地描述吗？如果这两个变种有不同的语言规则代表两种心理语法，双语框架会更适用吗？或者，新加坡英语是分析语言变异的一种新的综合体吗？新加坡处于明确的语言规划和意识形态的背景下，为社会语言学家提供了一个学习这种独特英语的多语言环境。我们对说话人内部和说话人之间的变异进行研究，将有助于我们了解哪种理论模式最能反映新加坡英语的变异模式。通过这样做，我们将补充现有的语言变异理论。这项拟议的研究更广泛地为新加坡的语言教育实践提供了信息，目前新加坡受到了对CSE的普遍污名的影响。通过证明CSE的使用也存在于掌握SSE的个人中，本研究支持了另一种重视这种语言多样性的做法，通过证明CSE的能力不需要干扰标准语种的获得。事实上，同时掌握这两种语言的演讲者会根据社会情况巧妙地调整他们的选择。这种语言灵活性可被视为增强了社会资本，加强了国家认同感和团结。

The English in Singapore is not a single uniform entity; rather there is a well-documented range of Singapore Englishes. At one end of the spectrum lies Standard Singapore English (SSE), a variety grammatically similar to other standard varieties of English, which is used in formal settings such as educational institutions and the media; at the other end lies Colloquial Singapore English (CSE), an informal variety spoken among friends and family, which is markedly different from the standard. Individuals command different ranges of this spectrum, and shift among the varieties they command according to setting, topic, and audience. A variety of linguistic features are involved in differentiating these varieties, including phonological variables like the deletion of final stops and grammatical characteristics like the use of the third singular -s suffix on present tense verbs. Under the direction of Prof. Gregory Guy, Ms. Laureen Lim will investigate the constraints on these variable processes for her doctoral dissertation, in order to develop a dynamic analysis of the linguistic repertoire evident both in an individual and across the speech community. This research project will study the ways in which Chinese Singaporeans from English-medium schools vary their speech in sociolinguistic and ethnographic interviews. The question that arises in the face of such diversity is whether to treat these varieties as different styles within a single language, or as more analogous to distinct languages. Linguistic work on other linguistically complex societies presents several models that are potentially relevant: alternation between different languages (code-switching, bilingualism), alternation between High and Low varieties of one language (diglossia), and stylistic variation within one language. Which of these models is appropriate when speakers vary between SSE and CSE? Can the variation in Singapore English be properly characterized using monolingual communities as a model? If these two varieties have distinct language rules representing two mental grammars, would a bilingual framework be more applicable? Or, does Singapore English represent a new synthesis for the analysis of linguistic variation? Situated in a context of explicit language planning and ideology, Singapore offers the sociolinguist a multilingual environment in which this unique variety of English can be studied. Our investigation into the variation both within a speaker and across speakers will enable us to shed light as to which theoretical model most aptly captures the pattern of variation in Singapore English. In doing so, we will complement existing theories of language variation. The proposed research more broadly informs language education practices in Singapore, currently influenced by a general stigmatization of CSE. By demonstrating that CSE usage is found among individuals who also command SSE, this research supports an alternative practice valuing such linguistic diversity, by showing that competence in CSE need not interfere with the acquisition of a standard variety. In fact, speakers who command both resourcefully adapt their choice of variety to the social situation. Such linguistic flexibility may be valued as enhanced social capital, reinforcing national identity and solidarity.