Linguistic insecurity and the linguistic ownership of English among Singaporean Chinese

Abstract

Linguistic insecurity and linguistic ownership rest on the same foundational ideas. However, despite the extensive study of both, the two concepts have never been discussed in conjunction. This paper refines both concepts and puts forth a set of conditions to test for the presence of linguistic insecurity and the exercise of linguistic ownership in 287 Singaporeans through an empirical survey examining their use of English, as well as their perceptions of other speakers in the Singapore English‐speaking community and Singapore English itself. The results reveal that Singaporeans are linguistically insecure but yet exercise full ownership of the English language. These somewhat paradoxical findings uncover an unusual relationship between linguistic insecurity and ownership. We argue in this paper that there exists a new type of linguistic ownership in Singapore, one that does not invoke notions of authority or legitimacy. It is this new notion of linguistic ownership that drives a new brand of linguistic insecurity documented in this paper.

Can you tell by their English if they can speak Welsh? Accent perception in a language contact situation

“…There is also an extensive body of research on the perception of 'World Englishes', i.e. contact varieties of English that have arisen in multilingual settings (e.g., Lambert, Alam & Stuart-Smith, 2007;Cavallaro & Chin, 2009;Cheshire, Kerswill, Fox & Torgersen, 2011;Zhang, 2013;Hansen Edwards, Zampini & Cunningham, 2018;Limin Foo & Tan, 2019).…”

“…There is also an extensive body of research on the perception of ‘World Englishes’, that is, contact varieties of English that have arisen in multilingual settings (e.g. Cavallaro & Chin, 2009; Cheshire, Kerswill, Fox & Torgersen, 2011; Hansen Edwards, Zampini, & Cunningham, 2019; Lambert, Alam, & Stuart-Smith, 2007; Limin Foo & Tan, 2019; Zhang, 2013). These studies suggest that non-educated contact varieties, such as broad Hong Kong English (Zhang, 2013) or Colloquial Singapore English (Cavallero & Chin, 2009), are commonly perceived negatively, with lower ratings than non-educated inner circle varieties, for example, Tyneside English (Zhang, 2013).…”

The link between linguistic subordination and linguistic inferiority complexes: English as a second language migrants in Australia

“…Examples of linguistic subordination include the ideologies of pre-determining that certain linguistic practices are (in)correct (De Costa, 2020), labelling the ESL users as non-proficient English speakers, regardless of their actual proficiency (Dovchin, 2020b), and the use of stereotypes to reduce migrant identity to one of a foreign non-native speaker of English (Tankosić, 2020). This leads to ESL-migrants being othered as outgroup figures and abnormal English speakers with “ ugly ” accents (Blommaert, 2009), which results in their social stigmatisation (Foo & Tan, 2019). These forms of linguistic subordination breed identity suppression, and maintain the dominant society’s existing linguistic, cultural, and hierarchical ideologies.…”

Standard Singapore English : evaluating Singapore's standard English variety

“…They suggest that such a sense of authority and ownership will only increase with usage and with time, nurturing a "growing endonormative stabilization of English in Singapore, and with it a sense of there being a community of speakers with which to identify " (Bokhorst-Heng et al, 2010, p. 152) -the first steps to Singaporeans being confident in owning their own (Standard) English. Similarly, Foo & Tan (2019) found that Singaporeans possess linguistic ownership while simultaneously, and somewhat paradoxically, being linguistically insecure. They attribute this to the discrepancy between what is advocated and pushed for by the state and what citizens experience and feel on the ground.…”

“…Especially among younger generations, it may even be "the only language spoken confidently" (L. Lim & Foley, 2004, p. 6). Yet, ideologically, English speakers in Singapore continue to grapple with issues of linguistic insecurity and language ownership (Foo & Tan, 2019). They struggle to accept themselves as native speakers of English, much less accept that a local standard exists and "even considering such a notion to be chimerical" (Wee, 2018, p. 4).…”