A study on Language Use and Ethnic Identity among Singaporean Chinese

• Main Authors: Tang, Chieh-En, 湯潔恩
• Other Authors: Chen, Luan-Feng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/qrpf68

碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 中國語文學系所 === 106 === Singapore is a multi-ethnic country where Chinese are the most populous among all other ethnic groups, and English is the common language used across ethnicities. This serves as the motivation of this study, which is to explore the relationship between Singaporean Chinese and Mandarin; including their competencies, attitudes, learning and choices. This paper also explores Singaporean Chinese’s sense of ethnic identity as well as attitudes, perceptions and behavior towards their ethnicity. The purpose of this research is to analyze: 1) the usage of Mandarin by Singaporean Chinese, and 2) analyze how Singaporean Chinese identify with their ethnicity. For the purpose of this study, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted. Participants comprised 18 Singaporean Chinese participants of four different age groups (youths, university students, young working adults, and seniors). Due to the influence of Singapore’s bilingual education policy, English has become the actual official administrative working language and is a common language of all ethnic groups. Mandarin is a common language within the Chinese and cannot be equalized with English. English is more practical and usable than Mandarin in society, schools, and work. Even under the school education system, the main language of instruction is English, and Mandarin is just a subject. The study found that although Singapore is an English-dominated society, older interviewees will choose to use Mandarin in their language use. In addition, in different age groups, there are interviewees who use Mandarin as their common language from small to large. Because they have a Chinese-speaking environment at home, they have one more opportunity and occasion to use Mandarin than other Singaporean Chinese. In terms of listening, speaking, reading and writing of Mandarin, all age groups are relatively strong in terms of listening and speaking in Mandarin, and the ability to read and write is relatively weak because of infrequent and no chance to use. The use of Mandarin in Singapore is less common than in English. Youth, undergraduates and young people use English in their daily lives rather than Mandarin, especially in their work. Another conclusion of this study is that the rise of China has influenced many Singaporean Chinese to pay more attention to learn Mandarin, especially for the purpose of communication. This study also finds that although English is the main language used among Singaporean Chinese, most participants still identify with their ethnicity (“As Chinese, one should learn Mandarin”); and how strongly they identify with their ethnicity is affected by their usage and competency of Mandarin. Finally, this study also finds that Christianity – where families tend to be more cohesive - also influences the degree to which Singaporean Chinese identify with their ethnicity as well as their opportunities to use Mandarin.