Newspapers in Singapore: a mass ceremony in the imagining of the nation

Bokhorst–Heng, Wendy D.

doi:10.1177/016344370202400407

Cited by 40 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…(1) Content analysis of the public treatment of the languages spoken. In Singapore, these have concentrated on government policies (Shepherd 2005; Schiffman 1995; Pennycook 1994; Bokhorst‐Heng 2005; Wee and Bokhorst‐Heng 2005; Wee 2005), the language used in the newspapers (Chng 2003; Bokhorst‐Heng 2002) and language debates in the newspapers (Rubdy 2001; Bokhorst‐Heng 2005). These studies generally harness public sentiments and evaluate them in the light of prevailing official educational policies.…”

Section: Language Attitude Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between status and solidarity in Singapore

Cavallaro¹,

Ng²

2009

World Englishes

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ABSTRACT:Language attitude studies have shown that the majority language and its speakers tend to be rated positively along status, intelligence, and power dimensions ('Educated', 'Successful', 'Intelligent'), while the minority variety and its speakers elicit positive responses in the solidarity semantic category ('Friendly', 'Honest', 'Responsible'). This study examines subjective reaction to Singapore Standard English (SSE) and Singapore Colloquial English (SCE), widely known as 'Singlish', using the matched guise technique. Though SCE has been widely reported to be a strong solidarity marker for Singaporeans, no systematic study has been carried out to attest this observation. In this study, 75 Singaporeans and 19 non-Singaporeans listened to a recorded speech sample in SCE and another in SSE and were asked to rate the 'speakers' on a series of semantic traits. The results conformed to widely reported trends of other matched guise studies showing clustering of responses along dimensions of status and solidarity. However, unlike previous studies in other contexts, which tend to show increased solidarity ratings with non-standard varieties, the data from this present study points to a different trend. Contrary to expectations, SCE was rated lower in solidarity traits compared to SSE. This raises questions about the widely perceived role of SCE as a high solidarity language. The discussion evaluates the attitudes of world Englishes in other contexts and seeks to explain the discrepancy in the findings by drawing on the unique and intense language awareness campaigns Singaporeans have been subjected to since independence.

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Section: Language Attitude Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between status and solidarity in Singapore

Cavallaro¹,

Ng²

2009

World Englishes

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“…Observers have noted that the development press relies heavily on official news sources (McDaniel, 1986). Some note that the Singapore press usually covers ministerial speeches extensively, sometimes for days, regardless of news value (Bokhorst-Heng, 2002;George, 2007). The development press may deviate from its original principles in practice, as authorities may 'hi-jack [it] for their own benefit' while insisting that young nations are not strong enough for a free press (Ali, 1996, p. 148).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perpetual development journalism? Balance and framing in the 2006 Singapore election coverage

Cenite

Yee

Juan

et al. 2008

Asian Journal of Communication

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This study sought to determine if Singapore's press model has evolved beyond the development model to take on characteristics of other press models. It examined balance and framing in election coverage in the Straits Times, Singapore's dominant English newspaper, over 16 days before the 2006 Singapore General Election. As expected under the development model, and contrary to expectations under the social responsibility model, we found coverage of the competing parties lacked balance, as indicated by more coverage with a more favorable tone for the ruling People's Action Party. In framing, we found game frames predominated over issue frames, as predicted by media intrusion theory, in which commercial media favor competitive aspects of campaigns as a result of following commercial journalistic values. This finding contradicts the expectation that development journalism would likely have more issue frames, since it emphasizes issues and policies, and suggests that some commercial journalistic imperatives outweigh development model imperatives in the Singapore press.

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“…The mainstream press in Singapore serves as a conduit that circulates discourses entrenched in nation-building ideologies (Bokhorst-Heng, 2002). On migrant workers, the authoritarian neoliberal management of migrant labor is key to manufacturing the profitabilities to Singapore's economy in dominant discourse; hence, their surveillance (Kaur et al, 2016).…”

Section: Culture-centered Media Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Outbreak Inequality: Mainstream Reporting of Singapore's Migrant Workers in the Margins

Kaur‐Gill

2020

Front. Commun.

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Singapore saw a majority of COVID-19 infections plaguing low-skilled migrant construction workers by late April 2020. In the initial phases of the outbreak, mainstream frames were quick to highlight the gathering of low-skilled workers in open areas as sites to be surveilled, shaping the divisive practices of othering in early frames on migrant worker behaviors. These reports were manufactured as Singaporeans continued to gather in public spaces in large groups during the outbreak. Mainstream reports were quick to inform audiences of the surveillance and control on display for disciplining migrant workers. As the crisis developed to impact migrant workers predominantly, the erasures are recovered with mainstream press reporting worker vulnerabilities and discussing the structural implications of managing migrant labor as neoliberal subjects. The structural conditions of migrant labor were, in fact, centered in mainstream narratives, and dormitories as public health threats were extensively discussed, shedding light on discourses relating to outbreak inequality. The rights framework, however, remained largely absent in mainstream news frames about migrant workers.

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Newspapers in Singapore: a mass ceremony in the imagining of the nation

Cited by 40 publications

References 5 publications

Between status and solidarity in Singapore

Between status and solidarity in Singapore

Perpetual development journalism? Balance and framing in the 2006 Singapore election coverage

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Outbreak Inequality: Mainstream Reporting of Singapore's Migrant Workers in the Margins

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