A contemplation of the emergence of World Englishes is essentially a contemplation of the phenome... more A contemplation of the emergence of World Englishes is essentially a contemplation of the phenomenon of contact between communities and languages. This chapter outlines the evolution of Englishes outside the British Isles, with particular attention to non-settler, exploitation colonies, in many ways viewed as the epitome of language contact dynamics. It takes into account not only contact between the English-speaking and indigenous language communities during Britain’s trade and colonisation ventures from the 17th through 19th centuries, but also highlights other circumstances pre-dating British colonisation often overlooked in the field, comprising a larger group of players, in a chain of contact, such as that amongst various Asian communities, and with the Portuguese. Features such as tone, particles, and mixed codes are discussed: although traditionally regarded as the outcome of imperfect learning, such restructuring illustrates how, with diverse ecologies and typologies, there are no constraints on the typology of the emergent World English varieties. Also underscored is the fact that the dynamics and outcomes of contact in World Englishes are not distinct from those observed in other contact scenarios in which creole languages evolve. This chapter concludes by evaluating the current and future evolution of English as a result of contemporary contact ecologies, including computer-mediated communication, the language teaching industry, and trade.
To contemplate the current state of English and multilingualism in Singapore at the point of Sing... more To contemplate the current state of English and multilingualism in Singapore at the point of Singapore’s 50th anniversary is to contemplate not only the language policies which have been enacted in the city-state since its independence in 1965 – an obvious point – but also other social policies which have shaped the ecology of modern Singapore in the past five decades. To talk about Singapore 50 years on from independence – at its golden jubilee, or SG50, as it is branded nationally – is also to invoke Lee Kuan Yew and his legacies, a discourse that intensified since his passing in April this year.
This paper highlights a less well known player in the contact dynamics involved in the evolution ... more This paper highlights a less well known player in the contact dynamics involved in the evolution of Singapore English (SgE): the Peranakans – descendants of 18th / 19th-century southern Chinese traders in Malaya and local women, who became a prestigious minority group. As multilingual, early English adopters, and dominant in the ecology, the Peranakans demonstrate the significance of a founder population, in how their features – here, their original vernacular Baba Malay via Peranakan English – are persistent and influential in the evolution of contact varieties in a multilingual ecology. This paper also considers the current positioning of the Peranakans in their 21st-century revival in the changed sociolinguistic context of Singapore and what this means for the current and future evolution of SgE.
Abstract The term “Singlish” figures prominently in local discussions of English in Singapore. Bu... more Abstract The term “Singlish” figures prominently in local discussions of English in Singapore. But because the term has been used by different people to mean different things, this has resulted in (undetected) confusion, leading to discussions where not much progress is being made. In this paper, we first attempt to tear apart the various meanings of “Singlish”. We then discuss how these different uses of “Singlish”, and, by implication, its contrast with Standard English, also embody a number of assumptions about the nature of language, culture, and society, and how some of these assumptions turn out to be fallacious. In many ways, the “Singlish” issue mirrors similar recent language debates in the UK and USA. Our discussion highlights the academic as well as advocacy work that linguists must continue to engage in, to bring about a more (socio)linguistically sophisticated public, and to find ways to make public discussion about English in Singapore better-informed.
To appreciate the situation of English in Singapore, one must recognize the multilingual context ... more To appreciate the situation of English in Singapore, one must recognize the multilingual context in which English has existed from the outset. Claimed by the British East India Company in 1819 as a nonsettler exploitation colony, Singapore saw both the introduction of English and the development of a multicultural, multilingual population that characterizes the nation today. Keywords: Southeastern Asia; World Englishes; contact; multilingualism
The diasporic Malay communities of Sri Lanka were brought to Sri Lanka through various waves of d... more The diasporic Malay communities of Sri Lanka were brought to Sri Lanka through various waves of deportation from Indonesia by the Dutch and British colonial powers. Though lacking official identity, the Sri Lanka Malays (SLM) are characterised by a unique mixed language of ...
Singapore's population is characterized by a high degree of multilingualism, with four offici... more Singapore's population is characterized by a high degree of multilingualism, with four official languages and numerous vernacular varieties. As such, it is a true laboratory for sociolinguistic enterprises. It is rich in language planning and policy making, shows complex patterns of polyglossia, and code mixing is very common.
A consideration of the Asian region in the history of English must view the element of contact in... more A consideration of the Asian region in the history of English must view the element of contact in multilingual contexts as probably the most significant phenomenon affecting the development of English. Several critical factors of contact prompting rethinking what “the English language” has become are discussed, viz. changes in different eras in the sociopolitical contexts, the diversity of vernaculars in Asia that have come into contact with English, the range of input varieties, and the general context of multilingualism. Linguistic features which are shared across a number of Asian languages and which look set to continue their influence on English are highlighted: zero copula, predicative adjectives and topic prominence, discourse particles, and tone. Finally, two contemporary and significant trends in Asia – the rapid spread of English in noncolonial Asian countries, and globalization phenomena such as electronic media, global music, and call centre outsourcing – are also noted for their contribution to contact dynamics and their subsequent impact on the continuing development of English.
That “World Englishes” owes its existence to language contact hardly needs mention nowadays. Ther... more That “World Englishes” owes its existence to language contact hardly needs mention nowadays. There is recognition, in particular, of how the evolution of Englishes in the non-settler, exploitation colonies in Asia is in many ways viewed as the epitome of language contact dynamics – because of the range of typologies of the indigenous languages in multilingual ecologies, which make for radically diverse Englishes, as well as because of language policies which have afforded the spread and penetration and thus evolution of the new varieties. The significance of a language contact analysis of Asian Englishes for the theorisation of World Englishes is however sometimes understated. In this paper we distil several of these contributions. We consider not only the usual account of contact between the English-speaking and indigenous language communities during Britain’s trade and colonisation ventures from the 17th through 19th centuries, but also highlight other contact circumstances pre-dating British, such as that amongst various Asian communities, and with the Portuguese, evaluating the importance of contact chains. We illustrate how the evolution of features such as tone, particles, and mixed codes demonstrates the limits or otherwise on the typology of the emergent World English varieties. We also reflect on how, with communities who, even with English as a post/colonial language, are essentially other-language-dominant, contemporary contact situations such as computer-mediated communication (CMC) serves as a vital platform and catalyst for the evolution of multilingual English varieties – favouring the use of English, promoting significantly more mixing with and calqueing into English compared to spoken discourse, and prompting subsequent spread to other domains. In all the above, we draw parallels with other contact scenarios, to underscore how the dynamics and outcomes in World Englishes align with general patterns of contact and evolution. In so doing, we call for greater attention not just to the significance of the multilingual ecology in investigating World Englishes, but also to the positioning of World Englishes research more broadly within language contact, for a more unified theorising in the discipline.
A contemplation of the emergence of World Englishes is essentially a contemplation of the phenome... more A contemplation of the emergence of World Englishes is essentially a contemplation of the phenomenon of contact between communities and languages. This chapter outlines the evolution of Englishes outside the British Isles, with particular attention to non-settler, exploitation colonies, in many ways viewed as the epitome of language contact dynamics. It takes into account not only contact between the English-speaking and indigenous language communities during Britain’s trade and colonisation ventures from the 17th through 19th centuries, but also highlights other circumstances pre-dating British colonisation often overlooked in the field, comprising a larger group of players, in a chain of contact, such as that amongst various Asian communities, and with the Portuguese. Features such as tone, particles, and mixed codes are discussed: although traditionally regarded as the outcome of imperfect learning, such restructuring illustrates how, with diverse ecologies and typologies, there are no constraints on the typology of the emergent World English varieties. Also underscored is the fact that the dynamics and outcomes of contact in World Englishes are not distinct from those observed in other contact scenarios in which creole languages evolve. This chapter concludes by evaluating the current and future evolution of English as a result of contemporary contact ecologies, including computer-mediated communication, the language teaching industry, and trade.
Fifty years on from independence, Singapore, who has long been a study for language policy and ma... more Fifty years on from independence, Singapore, who has long been a study for language policy and management, appears to be moving in a new direction. In this paper I offer an evaluation of the (re-)positioning of the various language varieties in Singapore’s multilingual ecology over the past five decades – including not only the official languages English and the three official ‘Mother Tongues’ Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, but also the other vernaculars, namely the Chinese ‘dialects’, the Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTILs), and Singlish/ Singapore English. I first provide an overview of Singapore’s more well documented language policies and language management practices post-independence, highlighting how these policies led in the late 20th century to officially undesired outcomes and tensions. I go on to evaluate the apparent sea change that has occurred in the new millennium, leading up to and at the nation’s golden jubilee in 2015, whereby features of once-maligned vernaculars Singlish and the Chinese dialects are now styled as representing the Singapore identity. I end by discussing issues and challenges that need to be addressed in order for policy to remain relevant and effective in the future.
What factors prompt the evolution and stabilisation of a new contact variety? It has been argued ... more What factors prompt the evolution and stabilisation of a new contact variety? It has been argued that, for a new variety of English to genuinely qualify as a variety, it has to be used widely and spontaneously in a society, for internally driven norms to emerge. In a context such as Hong Kong which is essentially Cantonese-dominant, and where, for the majority of Hongkongers, English, in spite of its co-official status, is really only used in education, how is Hong Kong English (HKE) meant to develop? This paper discusses three factors characteristic of the global knowledge economy that act as catalysts which advance the evolution of linguistic practices in Hong Kong and the development of HKE. First, computer-mediated communication favours the use of English, and subsequently prompts its spread to other domains. Second, popular culture and the media assist in the spread of cultural concepts and their associated terms, and the consequent dissemination of innovations. And third, education (and human capital) brings about deep learning and transformation in the users themselves, such that any linguistic insecurity and self-censorship in the use, and thus spread and penetration of the New English, a common hurdle in such communities, are overcome. The paper closes by discussing dominance in an ecology, and speed of change, as well as critically evaluating what Hong Kong English actually encompasses.
Endangered Languages and Languages in Danger: Issues of Ecology, Policy and Documentation, Martin Pütz & Luna Filipović, eds. , 2016
This paper discusses issues in endangerment and postvernacularity in the context of Asia, a regio... more This paper discusses issues in endangerment and postvernacularity in the context of Asia, a region with complex dynamics in multilingual ecologies that also includes the presence – dominance – of English, a language that entered the ecologies through colonisation. I use as illustration two minority communities with endangered vernaculars – the Malays of Sri Lanka, brought from various parts of the Malay archipelago by the Dutch and British colonial powers, and their vernacular Sri Lanka Malay, traditionally known as java, a mixed language of trilingual base (Malay, Sinhala, Tamil); and the Peranakans, descendants of southern Chinese merchants who settled in Malaya and intermarried with local women, and their vernacular Baba Malay, a restructured variety of Malay with southern Sinitic influences, usually referred to as patois. I query if linguistic and cultural loss is inevitable, or if such situations of shift – to a language of wider communication or an emergent variety – are in fact instances of empowerment and evolution in response to change, where a repositioning of the periphery in the new global economy brings greater accessibility to and participation in the Centre, and better adaptation for surviving and thriving.
Multilingualism in the Chinese Diaspora World-Wide, edited by Li Wei
The Peranakans – descendants of 18th/19th-century southern Chinese seafaring traders in Malaya an... more The Peranakans – descendants of 18th/19th-century southern Chinese seafaring traders in Malaya and local women, a privileged minority group in the Straits Settlements with pro-British alignments and access to English education – are well placed as a locus for contact dynamics in a diverse, multilingual context, their linguistic repertoire comprising Baba Malay (BM), (Peranakan) English (PerE), and Chinese languages. This paper suggests that recognising the role of the Peranakans’ positioning and multilingual repertoire is instructive in appreciating language contact in Singapore, in particular the evolution of Singapore English (SgE). This confluence of factors – the Peranakans being dominant, multilingual, early English-adopting intermediaries – reinforces the argument for BM influence via PerE on the emergent SgE, demonstrating the significance of a founder population’s features as persistent and influential in a multilingual ecology. The paper concludes by highlighting the Peranakans’ evolution and continuing significance as a multicultural community in the 21st century.
A contemplation of the emergence of World Englishes is essentially a contemplation of the phenome... more A contemplation of the emergence of World Englishes is essentially a contemplation of the phenomenon of contact between communities and languages. This chapter outlines the evolution of Englishes outside the British Isles, with particular attention to non-settler, exploitation colonies, in many ways viewed as the epitome of language contact dynamics. It takes into account not only contact between the English-speaking and indigenous language communities during Britain’s trade and colonisation ventures from the 17th through 19th centuries, but also highlights other circumstances pre-dating British colonisation often overlooked in the field, comprising a larger group of players, in a chain of contact, such as that amongst various Asian communities, and with the Portuguese. Features such as tone, particles, and mixed codes are discussed: although traditionally regarded as the outcome of imperfect learning, such restructuring illustrates how, with diverse ecologies and typologies, there are no constraints on the typology of the emergent World English varieties. Also underscored is the fact that the dynamics and outcomes of contact in World Englishes are not distinct from those observed in other contact scenarios in which creole languages evolve. This chapter concludes by evaluating the current and future evolution of English as a result of contemporary contact ecologies, including computer-mediated communication, the language teaching industry, and trade.
To contemplate the current state of English and multilingualism in Singapore at the point of Sing... more To contemplate the current state of English and multilingualism in Singapore at the point of Singapore’s 50th anniversary is to contemplate not only the language policies which have been enacted in the city-state since its independence in 1965 – an obvious point – but also other social policies which have shaped the ecology of modern Singapore in the past five decades. To talk about Singapore 50 years on from independence – at its golden jubilee, or SG50, as it is branded nationally – is also to invoke Lee Kuan Yew and his legacies, a discourse that intensified since his passing in April this year.
This paper highlights a less well known player in the contact dynamics involved in the evolution ... more This paper highlights a less well known player in the contact dynamics involved in the evolution of Singapore English (SgE): the Peranakans – descendants of 18th / 19th-century southern Chinese traders in Malaya and local women, who became a prestigious minority group. As multilingual, early English adopters, and dominant in the ecology, the Peranakans demonstrate the significance of a founder population, in how their features – here, their original vernacular Baba Malay via Peranakan English – are persistent and influential in the evolution of contact varieties in a multilingual ecology. This paper also considers the current positioning of the Peranakans in their 21st-century revival in the changed sociolinguistic context of Singapore and what this means for the current and future evolution of SgE.
Abstract The term “Singlish” figures prominently in local discussions of English in Singapore. Bu... more Abstract The term “Singlish” figures prominently in local discussions of English in Singapore. But because the term has been used by different people to mean different things, this has resulted in (undetected) confusion, leading to discussions where not much progress is being made. In this paper, we first attempt to tear apart the various meanings of “Singlish”. We then discuss how these different uses of “Singlish”, and, by implication, its contrast with Standard English, also embody a number of assumptions about the nature of language, culture, and society, and how some of these assumptions turn out to be fallacious. In many ways, the “Singlish” issue mirrors similar recent language debates in the UK and USA. Our discussion highlights the academic as well as advocacy work that linguists must continue to engage in, to bring about a more (socio)linguistically sophisticated public, and to find ways to make public discussion about English in Singapore better-informed.
To appreciate the situation of English in Singapore, one must recognize the multilingual context ... more To appreciate the situation of English in Singapore, one must recognize the multilingual context in which English has existed from the outset. Claimed by the British East India Company in 1819 as a nonsettler exploitation colony, Singapore saw both the introduction of English and the development of a multicultural, multilingual population that characterizes the nation today. Keywords: Southeastern Asia; World Englishes; contact; multilingualism
The diasporic Malay communities of Sri Lanka were brought to Sri Lanka through various waves of d... more The diasporic Malay communities of Sri Lanka were brought to Sri Lanka through various waves of deportation from Indonesia by the Dutch and British colonial powers. Though lacking official identity, the Sri Lanka Malays (SLM) are characterised by a unique mixed language of ...
Singapore's population is characterized by a high degree of multilingualism, with four offici... more Singapore's population is characterized by a high degree of multilingualism, with four official languages and numerous vernacular varieties. As such, it is a true laboratory for sociolinguistic enterprises. It is rich in language planning and policy making, shows complex patterns of polyglossia, and code mixing is very common.
A consideration of the Asian region in the history of English must view the element of contact in... more A consideration of the Asian region in the history of English must view the element of contact in multilingual contexts as probably the most significant phenomenon affecting the development of English. Several critical factors of contact prompting rethinking what “the English language” has become are discussed, viz. changes in different eras in the sociopolitical contexts, the diversity of vernaculars in Asia that have come into contact with English, the range of input varieties, and the general context of multilingualism. Linguistic features which are shared across a number of Asian languages and which look set to continue their influence on English are highlighted: zero copula, predicative adjectives and topic prominence, discourse particles, and tone. Finally, two contemporary and significant trends in Asia – the rapid spread of English in noncolonial Asian countries, and globalization phenomena such as electronic media, global music, and call centre outsourcing – are also noted for their contribution to contact dynamics and their subsequent impact on the continuing development of English.
That “World Englishes” owes its existence to language contact hardly needs mention nowadays. Ther... more That “World Englishes” owes its existence to language contact hardly needs mention nowadays. There is recognition, in particular, of how the evolution of Englishes in the non-settler, exploitation colonies in Asia is in many ways viewed as the epitome of language contact dynamics – because of the range of typologies of the indigenous languages in multilingual ecologies, which make for radically diverse Englishes, as well as because of language policies which have afforded the spread and penetration and thus evolution of the new varieties. The significance of a language contact analysis of Asian Englishes for the theorisation of World Englishes is however sometimes understated. In this paper we distil several of these contributions. We consider not only the usual account of contact between the English-speaking and indigenous language communities during Britain’s trade and colonisation ventures from the 17th through 19th centuries, but also highlight other contact circumstances pre-dating British, such as that amongst various Asian communities, and with the Portuguese, evaluating the importance of contact chains. We illustrate how the evolution of features such as tone, particles, and mixed codes demonstrates the limits or otherwise on the typology of the emergent World English varieties. We also reflect on how, with communities who, even with English as a post/colonial language, are essentially other-language-dominant, contemporary contact situations such as computer-mediated communication (CMC) serves as a vital platform and catalyst for the evolution of multilingual English varieties – favouring the use of English, promoting significantly more mixing with and calqueing into English compared to spoken discourse, and prompting subsequent spread to other domains. In all the above, we draw parallels with other contact scenarios, to underscore how the dynamics and outcomes in World Englishes align with general patterns of contact and evolution. In so doing, we call for greater attention not just to the significance of the multilingual ecology in investigating World Englishes, but also to the positioning of World Englishes research more broadly within language contact, for a more unified theorising in the discipline.
A contemplation of the emergence of World Englishes is essentially a contemplation of the phenome... more A contemplation of the emergence of World Englishes is essentially a contemplation of the phenomenon of contact between communities and languages. This chapter outlines the evolution of Englishes outside the British Isles, with particular attention to non-settler, exploitation colonies, in many ways viewed as the epitome of language contact dynamics. It takes into account not only contact between the English-speaking and indigenous language communities during Britain’s trade and colonisation ventures from the 17th through 19th centuries, but also highlights other circumstances pre-dating British colonisation often overlooked in the field, comprising a larger group of players, in a chain of contact, such as that amongst various Asian communities, and with the Portuguese. Features such as tone, particles, and mixed codes are discussed: although traditionally regarded as the outcome of imperfect learning, such restructuring illustrates how, with diverse ecologies and typologies, there are no constraints on the typology of the emergent World English varieties. Also underscored is the fact that the dynamics and outcomes of contact in World Englishes are not distinct from those observed in other contact scenarios in which creole languages evolve. This chapter concludes by evaluating the current and future evolution of English as a result of contemporary contact ecologies, including computer-mediated communication, the language teaching industry, and trade.
Fifty years on from independence, Singapore, who has long been a study for language policy and ma... more Fifty years on from independence, Singapore, who has long been a study for language policy and management, appears to be moving in a new direction. In this paper I offer an evaluation of the (re-)positioning of the various language varieties in Singapore’s multilingual ecology over the past five decades – including not only the official languages English and the three official ‘Mother Tongues’ Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, but also the other vernaculars, namely the Chinese ‘dialects’, the Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTILs), and Singlish/ Singapore English. I first provide an overview of Singapore’s more well documented language policies and language management practices post-independence, highlighting how these policies led in the late 20th century to officially undesired outcomes and tensions. I go on to evaluate the apparent sea change that has occurred in the new millennium, leading up to and at the nation’s golden jubilee in 2015, whereby features of once-maligned vernaculars Singlish and the Chinese dialects are now styled as representing the Singapore identity. I end by discussing issues and challenges that need to be addressed in order for policy to remain relevant and effective in the future.
What factors prompt the evolution and stabilisation of a new contact variety? It has been argued ... more What factors prompt the evolution and stabilisation of a new contact variety? It has been argued that, for a new variety of English to genuinely qualify as a variety, it has to be used widely and spontaneously in a society, for internally driven norms to emerge. In a context such as Hong Kong which is essentially Cantonese-dominant, and where, for the majority of Hongkongers, English, in spite of its co-official status, is really only used in education, how is Hong Kong English (HKE) meant to develop? This paper discusses three factors characteristic of the global knowledge economy that act as catalysts which advance the evolution of linguistic practices in Hong Kong and the development of HKE. First, computer-mediated communication favours the use of English, and subsequently prompts its spread to other domains. Second, popular culture and the media assist in the spread of cultural concepts and their associated terms, and the consequent dissemination of innovations. And third, education (and human capital) brings about deep learning and transformation in the users themselves, such that any linguistic insecurity and self-censorship in the use, and thus spread and penetration of the New English, a common hurdle in such communities, are overcome. The paper closes by discussing dominance in an ecology, and speed of change, as well as critically evaluating what Hong Kong English actually encompasses.
Endangered Languages and Languages in Danger: Issues of Ecology, Policy and Documentation, Martin Pütz & Luna Filipović, eds. , 2016
This paper discusses issues in endangerment and postvernacularity in the context of Asia, a regio... more This paper discusses issues in endangerment and postvernacularity in the context of Asia, a region with complex dynamics in multilingual ecologies that also includes the presence – dominance – of English, a language that entered the ecologies through colonisation. I use as illustration two minority communities with endangered vernaculars – the Malays of Sri Lanka, brought from various parts of the Malay archipelago by the Dutch and British colonial powers, and their vernacular Sri Lanka Malay, traditionally known as java, a mixed language of trilingual base (Malay, Sinhala, Tamil); and the Peranakans, descendants of southern Chinese merchants who settled in Malaya and intermarried with local women, and their vernacular Baba Malay, a restructured variety of Malay with southern Sinitic influences, usually referred to as patois. I query if linguistic and cultural loss is inevitable, or if such situations of shift – to a language of wider communication or an emergent variety – are in fact instances of empowerment and evolution in response to change, where a repositioning of the periphery in the new global economy brings greater accessibility to and participation in the Centre, and better adaptation for surviving and thriving.
Multilingualism in the Chinese Diaspora World-Wide, edited by Li Wei
The Peranakans – descendants of 18th/19th-century southern Chinese seafaring traders in Malaya an... more The Peranakans – descendants of 18th/19th-century southern Chinese seafaring traders in Malaya and local women, a privileged minority group in the Straits Settlements with pro-British alignments and access to English education – are well placed as a locus for contact dynamics in a diverse, multilingual context, their linguistic repertoire comprising Baba Malay (BM), (Peranakan) English (PerE), and Chinese languages. This paper suggests that recognising the role of the Peranakans’ positioning and multilingual repertoire is instructive in appreciating language contact in Singapore, in particular the evolution of Singapore English (SgE). This confluence of factors – the Peranakans being dominant, multilingual, early English-adopting intermediaries – reinforces the argument for BM influence via PerE on the emergent SgE, demonstrating the significance of a founder population’s features as persistent and influential in a multilingual ecology. The paper concludes by highlighting the Peranakans’ evolution and continuing significance as a multicultural community in the 21st century.
Introducing new findings from popular culture, the globalised new economy and computer-mediated c... more Introducing new findings from popular culture, the globalised new economy and computer-mediated communication, this is a fascinating study of contact between languages of pre-modern and modern societies. Lim and Ansaldo bring together research on multilingualism, code-switching, language endangerment, and globalisation into a comprehensive overview of World Englishes, creoles and other contact languages. Illustrated with a wide range of original examples from typologically diverse languages, including Sinitic, Austronesian, Dravidian and other non-Indo-European varieties, the book focuses on social and structural analyses of Asian ecologies and their relevance for current theories of contact phenomena. Full of new insights, it is essential reading for students and researchers across linguistics, culture and communication.
This volume brings together contributions that explore the increasingly important roles that Engl... more This volume brings together contributions that explore the increasingly important roles that English plays in Asia, including its contribution to economic growth, national imaginaries and creative writing. These are issues that are political in a broad sense, but the diversity of Asian contexts also means that the social, political and cultural ramifications of the spread of English into Asia will have to be understood in relation to the challenges facing specific societies. The chapters in the book collectively illustrate this diversity by focusing on countries from South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific. Each country has two contributions devoted to it: one paper provides an overview of the country's language policy and its positioning of English, and another provides a critical discussion of creative expressions involving the use of English. Taken together, the papers in the volume detail the most recent developments concerning the politics of English in Asia.
" ft1e paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National St... more " ft1e paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI z39. 48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Deconstructing ...
Journal of The International Phonetic Association, 2002
This volume in honor of one of the leading phoneticians of recent times contains important papers... more This volume in honor of one of the leading phoneticians of recent times contains important papers by twelve prominent phoneticians from Europe and America, as well as introductory material usual to Festschriften. Part of this consists of an impressive list of the honoree's ...
Before you say "stop that American habit of eating everything with ketchup!", consider that the o... more Before you say "stop that American habit of eating everything with ketchup!", consider that the origins of this tangy sauce and its name actually lie in this region.
Consider this: Within a century or even half that time, some 50-90% of the world’s 6,500 language... more Consider this: Within a century or even half that time, some 50-90% of the world’s 6,500 languages will no longer be spoken. [...] But consider this too: In contemporary times, as a consequence of modern day migrations, it is in urban contexts that one finds extensive cultural and linguistic diversity, many communities speaking minority or endangered languages. [...] And consider also this: Even while languages are being lost, numerous new varieties are being created – creoles and New Englishes, and multicultural urban vernaculars, a result of historical and contemporary contact between communities and languages, including, increasingly, on social media platforms. [...] This column aims to consider all this.
Extract: Functionally, there is but one ocean. Indeed 'ocean' comes, via Old French occean, from ... more Extract: Functionally, there is but one ocean. Indeed 'ocean' comes, via Old French occean, from Latin oceanus, ultimately from Greek okeanos (after the Ancient Greek water deity Ōkeanós) – meaning the great river or sea surrounding the disk of the Earth. The word 'surround' comes from Latin super ‘over’ + undare ‘to flow’ (from unda ‘wave’) – but with global warming’s rising sea levels, this etymology now assumes an ominous foretaste. A sea change is called for in the impact of human actions, for the sustainable management of the ocean and the planet it supports, on World Oceans Day, and every day.
Shame. [...] The fine arts also articulate a language of shame, clearly evident in Danish artist ... more Shame. [...] The fine arts also articulate a language of shame, clearly evident in Danish artist Jens Galschiøt’s Pillar of Shame sculptures. His series of 8-metre tall obelisks, each a memorial of a severe infringement against humanity – including the 1997 paramilitary massacre of unarmed indigenous peoples (in Mexico), the 1996 Eldorado dos Carajás killing of landless farmers by military police (Brazil), and the Chinese authorities’ brutal crackdown on peaceful student protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989 (whose sculpture has stood on HKU’s campus for 24 years, until Wednesday) – ultimately serve to communicate a reminder of a shameful event which should never recur. Expunging such a symbol – that is truly an absence of shame.
[...] Such increased embracing of New Englishes is daebak-excellent, fantastic. In the K-spirit o... more [...] Such increased embracing of New Englishes is daebak-excellent, fantastic. In the K-spirit of expressing encouragement to go for it: Fighting!
The word vigil entered English from Anglo-French/ Old French vigile, meaning a watch or guard, or... more The word vigil entered English from Anglo-French/ Old French vigile, meaning a watch or guard, or the eve of a holy day, which stems from Latin vigilia 'a watch, watchfulness, wakefulness', from Latin vigil 'watchful, awake, alert'. This ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo European root *wegmeaning 'to be strong, lively'. [...]
This column explores the etymology of 'sorry', apologies as speech acts, change in meaning over t... more This column explores the etymology of 'sorry', apologies as speech acts, change in meaning over time, and Australia's National Sorry Day.
Language matters in education. More precisely, languages matter – not just officially recognised ... more Language matters in education. More precisely, languages matter – not just officially recognised ones, but, crucially, the multilingual repertoires and home language practices of students. One dimension garnering attention for some decades now is codeswitching or code mixing. This comprises the routine switching between or mixing of different language varieties in everyday social interactions – a pattern of flexible multilingualism that the majority of the world’s communities engage in. You might well do this with family members or friends from different backgrounds, at wet markets, kopitiams and cha chaan tengs, or on social media and hiphop. Closely related to and a development of this is translanguaging, a concept emerging in early 2000s in the field of bilingual education. [...] Prevailing dominant language policies and ideologies nonetheless present real challenges for practice. Scholars’ suggestions include more explicit recognition of diversity (e.g. the value of different varieties of English, including e.g. African American Vernacular English, Singlish), and the inclusion of material that explores and builds on existing cultural and linguistic knowledge of students, to reinforce how content learning in school is not incompatible with home competencies. The recognition of multilingualism (and multiculturalism) as a resource, not a problem, is truly a cornerstone for inclusive, sustainable education for all.
“Stop press! Stop the presses!” No, not a call to inhibit journalists, but idiomatic exclamations... more “Stop press! Stop the presses!” No, not a call to inhibit journalists, but idiomatic exclamations to delay the release of news, usually when significant information is discovered, the phrases originating in the printed news industry. A press, after all, is an instrument or machine which exerts pressure – examples include for torture, or extracting juice or oil – the word coming from French pres (with other senses including the crowding of people). The specific meaning of leaving the impression of type on paper, i.e. a printing press, developed in the 1530s, extending in the 1570s to the place of business centred on printing, and to publishing generally (e.g. freedom of the press) from c.1680. Use of the press to mean journalists collectively is attested from 1868. [...]
The 5th or 6th of January, depending on when counting starts, is Twelfth Night, the last evening ... more The 5th or 6th of January, depending on when counting starts, is Twelfth Night, the last evening of the traditional twelve days of Christmas. Why do the words twelve and eleven diverge from other English numerals’ patterns? From twenty-one to ninety-nine, there is a logical principle of stating the tens place, followed by the units. With the teens, conversely, the unit is followed by an inflected form of ten from Old English (originating in Germanic). Thirteen, for example, derives from Old English þréo ‘three’ and tíene ‘ten’. In contrast, twelve, from Old English twelf, comprises twa ‘two’, plus liƀ- or lif-, which is generally considered to belong to the same root as Old Germanic *liƀan ‘to leave’. [...] Rather than an arithmetic base, an extended body-part system, found in Kobon and other languages of Highland New Guinea, uses the names of numerous body parts – starting at the little finger (on the left side of the body), up to the wrist (for 6), to collarbone, and hole above breastbone (for 11 and 12), and continuing down the right side, to 23 on the right little finger. Mögan ‘hole above breastbone’ (Kobon), sahpyih ‘ten-two’ (Cantonese), twelve ‘two remaining after ten’ (per Old English). Such different numeral expressions and systems provide fascinating insights into human cognition and cultural practices.
It’s that time of year when dictionaries and other language-related bodies announce their Word of... more It’s that time of year when dictionaries and other language-related bodies announce their Word of The Year (WOTY) – a word or phrase judged (by analysis, committee, or poll) to have been one of the most highly searched, prominent or notable that year. No prizes, really, for guessing that most 2020 WOTYs relate to the ongoing covid19 pandemic, including pandemic (Merriam-Webster), quarantine (Cambridge), lockdown (Collins). Several of these terms have been previously explored in this column. WOTY choices are revealing not only of a year’s preoccupations, but also of characteristic regional variation and interesting linguistic processes.
The #MilkTeaAlliance continues to burgeon as a regional solidarity movement of protestors from Th... more The #MilkTeaAlliance continues to burgeon as a regional solidarity movement of protestors from Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan, its moniker coming from the beverage typically found in their cultures. The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as “any of various drinks made with tea and milk or cream” – but milk tea is not just ‘tea with milk’; the referent is actually more specific. Cultures worldwide have long consumed ‘milk tea’ beverages, including masala chai ‘mixed-spice tea’ in India, traditionally using water buffalo milk, and Mongolian salty ‘tea with milk’ suutei tsai. An early appearance of the term in English dates from 1897 describing how “a decoction known as nai-ch'a, or ‘milk-tea’, is drunk at the Manchu court, and is served out on state occasions”. However the version which prompted the adoption of the term in English evolved in colonial Hong Kong. While origins lie in British ‘tea with milk’, Hong Kong-style uses evaporated (or condensed) milk – forms which kept better in the colonies then – with tea leaves strained through sackcloth. Ordered in Cantonese as náaihchà ‘milk tea’ – distinguished from chà ‘(Chinese) tea’ served without milk – this in bilingual Hong Kong got readily calqued into English as milk tea. [...]
The quest for the development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 will likely extend beyond this year... more The quest for the development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 will likely extend beyond this year. The search for the origins of the word vaccine takes us back to the end of the 18 th century, when the highly infectious and devastating disease of the time was smallpox, caused by the variola virus. Variola refers both to the lesions and the disease itself-from post-classical Latin 'pustule, pox', deriving from varus 'pimple'. Smallpox was a common infection for centuries-noted in 3 rd C BCE Egyptian mummies and in early descriptions from 4 th C China and 7 th C India, and spreading across the globe through trade and colonisation. It was dreaded for its high mortality rate and disfiguring effects. Notably, immunisations against disease, as we now know them, were not a reality. That is, until 1796, when English physician Edward Jenner observed how people previously infected with cowpox from cows, especially dairy workers, were unafflicted by smallpox's oozing lesions, save for pustules on hands. He injected matter from a dairy maid's cowpox pustule into an 8-year-old boy, who was, 6 weeks later, variolated with smallpox but showed no infection. Jenner's 1798 report documented variolae vaccinae 'cow-pox'-from Latin vaccinus 'from cows', from Latin vacca 'cow'-and vaccine inoculation, thus giving the world both procedure and word. While the term vaccination was originally used in reference to smallpox, Louis Pasteur in 1881 proposed generalising it to encompass all protective immunisation procedures. The advent of vaccination brought its critics. The words anti-vaccinator and anti-vaccinationist appeared in 1806 and 1876, in British scientific and medical journals, with clipped versions anti-vac and anti-vacc emerging in the late 19th century. These terms have, in the last decade, evolved to anti-vax and anti-vaxxer, and used more specifically in reference to opponents of influenza and MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccinations. Orthographically, letter <x> faithfully preserves the /ks/ consonants in the middle of the word vaccine. More significantly, replacing conventional <c> with relatively rarer (in English) <x> not only renders it more eye-catching; it also indexes a negative value on the term, connoting a censorial effect. Returning to vaccine's roots, recent research by José Esparza and colleagues have furthered other studies, as well as Jenner's own investigations, that the contemporary virus used for the smallpox vaccine may well have also been derived from another, related virus-horsepox. If the origin 'from horses'-Latin equinus, from Latin equus 'horse'-had also been better recognised, then it might be equines and equination that we speak of now. Published as: Lim, Lisa. 2020. Cows and horses. Language Matters. Post Magazine, South China Morning Post. 2 Aug 2020. Lim, Lisa. 2020. We don't know how close a coronavirus vaccine is, but where does the word come from? 2 Aug 2020. https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3095354/we-dont-know-how-close-coronavirus-vaccine
When one thinks of "language", one usually considers speech, words, writing, gestures, even emoji... more When one thinks of "language", one usually considers speech, words, writing, gestures, even emojis. Yet silence-the gaps between all these productions-is not just the absence of speech; in many cases, it also constitutes communication, a "form of doing" in its own right. Linguistic anthropological research has long studied the role of silence across diverse cultures. Keith Basso's foundational 1970 work documented how, in West Apache ideology, silence is encouraged and deemed appropriate in certain socially ambiguous situations, including when meeting strangers, or during courtship, or mourning. Work on Finnish and Japanese cultures explore how the preference for silence relates to the high social value placed on privacy, discreteness, face saving, and communication feedback. And silence is used in different communicative situations to achieve the same communicative goals through talk elsewhere: while getting to know a new person occurs in American English through (formulaic) talk, Finnish uses observation and silence.
Travellers from mainland China, epicentre of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak, are required to rema... more Travellers from mainland China, epicentre of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak, are required to remain in self-isolation – i.e. quarantine – for 14 days after their departure from China (or contact with an infected person). Etymologically, the word quarantine stipulates a different number – 40 – deriving as it does from Italian quarantina (giorni) ‘space of forty (days)’ (originally in the regional Venetian form quarentena), from quaranta ‘forty’, from Classical Latin quadraginta ‘forty’, tallied up from quattuor ‘four’ and -ginta ‘ten times’. While the practice of separating sick from healthy was already noted in the Biblical book of Leviticus, the third book of the Jewish Torah, the origin of the term quarantine stems from the time of the bubonic plague or Black Death which, starting in 1343, spread devastatingly across continental Europe. The Great Council of the Venetian-controlled port city of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia) passed a law in 1377 requiring that ships arriving from plague-affected areas be isolated for a month – 30 days – known as trentina, for ‘thirty’. This Venetian policy was swiftly adopted by other cities like Marseilles, Pisa, Venice, and Genoa, the isolation eventually extending to 40 days (though in practice the number varied greatly). [...]
Kafka’s 1915 novel The Metamorphosis has a man waking up to find himself transformed into – as tr... more Kafka’s 1915 novel The Metamorphosis has a man waking up to find himself transformed into – as translated into English – a “monstrous insect”. Although Kafka’s intent was to have the creature remain unidentifiable, it has a carapace and several legs, and, with German ungeziefer meaning ‘bug, vermin’ (in Old High German, an unclean animal unfit for sacrifice), many usually interpret it as a cockroach. Our morbid fascination with cockroaches is perhaps because, alongside its association with filth and pestilence, it is one of the oldest insects, with fossils dating 320 million years. Far more recent is its English name. [...] The ‘cockroach’ epithet, unsurprisingly derogatory, has been used widely in politics, primarily to dehumanise. The traditional Spanish folksong La Cucaracha became popular during the Mexican Revolution (1910-20), with stanzas composed mocking politicians’ drunkenness and villainy. The 1994 Rwandan genocide saw ethnic Hutu extremists repeatedly describing the Tutsis as inyenzi ‘cockroaches’. Police in the recent 2019 Hong Kong protests regularly describe or insult protestors and journalists as cockroaches. But another side to the cockroach does get foregrounded, especially in popular culture. It is a cockroach that survives on uninhabitable post-apocalypse Earth in WALL-E (although in reality they are not the most resistant organism against radiation). More locally, the 1993 film Flirting Scholar coined Cantonese síu kèuhng ‘little power’ for the pet cockroach character. A more popular slang term for ‘cockroach’ than gaht zaht, it is also a term of admiration for a spirit of resilience in the face of adversity.
What is a mask? The English word was an anglicisation, around 1530, of Middle French masque, a co... more What is a mask? The English word was an anglicisation, around 1530, of Middle French masque, a covering to hide or guard the face, coming from Italian maschera, deriving from Medieval Latin masca 'mask, spectre, nightmare'. The English adoption would have been an outcome of the flourishing of the form of festive courtly entertainment of acting, music, dance, and song by masked players, which, having developed earlier in Italy, flourished in 16th and early 17th-century Europe. The figurative meaning involving anything used or practised for disguise or concealment came into use by the 1570s. Earlier origins, preceding Medieval Latin masca, are however -- aptly, for the word -- more shrouded in uncertainty, and suggested to have resulted from the merger of two or more sources. [...]
Unless you’ve been living in a galaxy far, far away, you’ll know that 4th May is celebrated by fa... more Unless you’ve been living in a galaxy far, far away, you’ll know that 4th May is celebrated by fans as Star Wars Day – playing on the catchphrase “may the force be with you”, where the change of a single sound segment – at the end of the word “force” – gives a different word (known in linguistics as a minimal pair). Language matters in the Star Wars universe. Interspecies communication is addressed by droids like C-3PO fluent in over 6 million forms of communication, and by an intergalactic lingua franca, Galactic Basic (English to film-goers). Most characters display multilingualism in the form of mutual passive bilingualism – understanding the languages of their interlocutor, but continuing to speak their own. Notably, though, the code mixing and translanguaging practices which are widespread in our real world are not reflected – not even in that marvellous multilingual marketplace of Mos Eisley Cantina. [...]
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One dimension garnering attention for some decades now is codeswitching or code mixing. This comprises the routine switching between or mixing of different language varieties in everyday social interactions – a pattern of flexible multilingualism that the majority of the world’s communities engage in. You might well do this with family members or friends from different backgrounds, at wet markets, kopitiams and cha chaan tengs, or on social media and hiphop.
Closely related to and a development of this is translanguaging, a concept emerging in early 2000s in the field of bilingual education.
[...]
Prevailing dominant language policies and ideologies nonetheless present real challenges for practice. Scholars’ suggestions include more explicit recognition of diversity (e.g. the value of different varieties of English, including e.g. African American Vernacular English, Singlish), and the inclusion of material that explores and builds on existing cultural and linguistic knowledge of students, to reinforce how content learning in school is not incompatible with home competencies.
The recognition of multilingualism (and multiculturalism) as a resource, not a problem, is truly a cornerstone for inclusive, sustainable education for all.
A press, after all, is an instrument or machine which exerts pressure – examples include for torture, or extracting juice or oil – the word coming from French pres (with other senses including the crowding of people). The specific meaning of leaving the impression of type on paper, i.e. a printing press, developed in the 1530s, extending in the 1570s to the place of business centred on printing, and to publishing generally (e.g. freedom of the press) from c.1680. Use of the press to mean journalists collectively is attested from 1868.
[...]
[...]
Rather than an arithmetic base, an extended body-part system, found in Kobon and other languages of Highland New Guinea, uses the names of numerous body parts – starting at the little finger (on the left side of the body), up to the wrist (for 6), to collarbone, and hole above breastbone (for 11 and 12), and continuing down the right side, to 23 on the right little finger. Mögan ‘hole above breastbone’ (Kobon), sahpyih ‘ten-two’ (Cantonese), twelve ‘two remaining after ten’ (per Old English). Such different numeral expressions and systems provide fascinating insights into human cognition and cultural practices.
The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as “any of various drinks made with tea and milk or cream” – but milk tea is not just ‘tea with milk’; the referent is actually more specific.
Cultures worldwide have long consumed ‘milk tea’ beverages, including masala chai ‘mixed-spice tea’ in India, traditionally using water buffalo milk, and Mongolian salty ‘tea with milk’ suutei tsai. An early appearance of the term in English dates from 1897 describing how “a decoction known as nai-ch'a, or ‘milk-tea’, is drunk at the Manchu court, and is served out on state occasions”.
However the version which prompted the adoption of the term in English evolved in colonial Hong Kong. While origins lie in British ‘tea with milk’, Hong Kong-style uses evaporated (or condensed) milk – forms which kept better in the colonies then – with tea leaves strained through sackcloth. Ordered in Cantonese as náaihchà ‘milk tea’ – distinguished from chà ‘(Chinese) tea’ served without milk – this in bilingual Hong Kong got readily calqued into English as milk tea.
[...]
While the practice of separating sick from healthy was already noted in the Biblical book of Leviticus, the third book of the Jewish Torah, the origin of the term quarantine stems from the time of the bubonic plague or Black Death which, starting in 1343, spread devastatingly across continental Europe. The Great Council of the Venetian-controlled port city of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik, Croatia) passed a law in 1377 requiring that ships arriving from plague-affected areas be isolated for a month – 30 days – known as trentina, for ‘thirty’. This Venetian policy was swiftly adopted by other cities like Marseilles, Pisa, Venice, and Genoa, the isolation eventually extending to 40 days (though in practice the number varied greatly).
[...]
Our morbid fascination with cockroaches is perhaps because, alongside its association with filth and pestilence, it is one of the oldest insects, with fossils dating 320 million years. Far more recent is its English name.
[...]
The ‘cockroach’ epithet, unsurprisingly derogatory, has been used widely in politics, primarily to dehumanise. The traditional Spanish folksong La Cucaracha became popular during the Mexican Revolution (1910-20), with stanzas composed mocking politicians’ drunkenness and villainy. The 1994 Rwandan genocide saw ethnic Hutu extremists repeatedly describing the Tutsis as inyenzi ‘cockroaches’. Police in the recent 2019 Hong Kong protests regularly describe or insult protestors and journalists as cockroaches.
But another side to the cockroach does get foregrounded, especially in popular culture. It is a cockroach that survives on uninhabitable post-apocalypse Earth in WALL-E (although in reality they are not the most resistant organism against radiation). More locally, the 1993 film Flirting Scholar coined Cantonese síu kèuhng ‘little power’ for the pet cockroach character. A more popular slang term for ‘cockroach’ than gaht zaht, it is also a term of admiration for a spirit of resilience in the face of adversity.
[...]
Language matters in the Star Wars universe. Interspecies communication is addressed by droids like C-3PO fluent in over 6 million forms of communication, and by an intergalactic lingua franca, Galactic Basic (English to film-goers). Most characters display multilingualism in the form of mutual passive bilingualism – understanding the languages of their interlocutor, but continuing to speak their own. Notably, though, the code mixing and translanguaging practices which are widespread in our real world are not reflected – not even in that marvellous multilingual marketplace of Mos Eisley Cantina.
[...]