Singlish or Globish: Multiple language ideologies and global identities among Korean educational migrants in Singapore¹

Abstract

South Korean early study abroad students and their parents in Singapore negotiate and redefine the values of Mandarin, English, and Singlish used in Singapore in an attempt to forge their own transnational identities. In this process, these Korean migrants tend to place more emphasis on metapragmatic discourses; that is, how to speak the languages appropriately. They then use such metapragmatic evaluations to justify their use of the local varieties and practices of language in Singapore. Their discourses are based on two language ideologies –pragmatism and sociolinguistic competence – which are examined here as alternative forms of language legitimacy that coexist with the dominant notion of legitimate language. These multiple language ideologies provide the basis for Korean migrants’ emerging notions of the ‘Asian global,’ a desirable transnational subject who is more practical and sociocentric than the conventional image of high‐ranking elites, with greater adaptability to various local situations. 조기유학을 위해 싱가포르로 이주해온 한국인 가족들은, 자신들의 세계적 정체성을 형성하는 과정에서, 영어, 중국어, 싱글리쉬의 세가지 언어에 대하여 다양한 가치와 태도를 보인다. 이러한 정체성 형성 과정에서, 한국인 조기유학 이주민들은 그들의 메타화용론적 담론, 즉 무슨 언어를 사용할 수 있는가 보다는, 어떻게 언어를 사회적으로 적절하게 구사하는가에 대해 더욱 강조하며, 이러한 평가는 동시에 싱가포르 내에서 사용되는 지역적 언어변이와 그 사용양식을 정당화하는 주요 기제가 된다. 나아가 이러한 메타화용적 담론은 실용주의와 사회언어적 능력의 중시라는 두 가지 언어이데올로기에 의해 매개되며, 이러한 대체적 언어이데올로기는 보다 공식적인 언어이데올로기와 공존하고 있다. 한편, 한국이주민들이 가지고 있는 다중 언어이데올로기는 이들이 새롭게 제시하는 ‘아시아적 세계인’의 모습, 즉 기존의 개인주의적이고 서구 중심적인 상층 엘리트의 이미지와는 다른, 보다 실용주의적이고 사회중심적이며, 어떠한 사회적 변화에도 유연하게 잘 적응할 수 있는 이상적인 초국가적 주체의 모습을 반영한다. [Korean]

Scalar politics, language ideologies, and the sociolinguistics of globalization among transnational Korean professionals in Hong Kong

“…A third ideology involves tensions between Global Language and Local Language. Among Koreans, similar ideologies have been reported before (Kang ; Park ). Park () noted tensions between Korean as a local language and English as a global language and termed this an ‘externalization ideology,’ in which English is seen as a threat to Korean ethnic and national identity.…”

“…Recent work has expanded the focus upon identity. In research on Korean educational migrants in Singapore, Kang () describes a new type of transnational subject, the ‘Asian Global’. Kang also points to an ideology of pragmatism which foregrounds the instrumental value of language and downplays implications for identity.…”

East Asian English learners crossing Outer and Inner Circle boundaries

“…In the meantime, none of the respondents refers to the dual learning of English and Mandarin as one of the reasons for having decided to study in Singapore, a finding distinct from that of previous studies on South Korean mothers’ and children's years‐long education in Singapore's formal schooling (Bae, ; Kang, ; Park & Bae, ). This distinction is presumably ascribed to the profile of many Japanese survey resondents in their 20s and 30s whose employment status and limited command of English impede their invesment in another foreign language during their short‐term oveseas stay.…”

“…As reviewed above, one of the sociolinguistic factors affecting decisions to study in the ASEAN Outer Circle nations is: (1) a (mis)conceptualized image of ‘standardized English’‐speaking Singaporeans and local/Western teachers (Kobayashi, ; Young, ). Other factors include: (2) Singapore's multilingualism that affords the dual learning of English and Mandarin, which is believed to promise Korean students’ global marketability (Bae, ; Kang, ; Park & Bae, ) and (3) the perception of study‐in‐ASEAN Outer Circle nations as a stepping stone to the next full‐fledged sojourn in the West or as a trial site for novice migrants with a high level of anxiety and beginner‐level English proficiency (Abelmann, Kwon, Lo, & Okazaki, ; Kobayashi, , , ). Somewhat relating to the above third factor, (4) Asians’ (perceived) secondary racial status in the West and their expectation to be ‘categorized as being at the top of the local racial hierarchy’ in Singapore (Kang, , p. 139) are found to constitute one of the factors behind the option of studying in Asian‐dominated Singapore.…”

“…Although the trend remains intact, an increasing number of East Asian students have been studying in the ASEAN Outer Circle nations due to financial, educational and other reasons. So far, as reviewed later, previous studies on educational migration in the ASEAN Outer Circle nations have been based primarily on South Korean families and students who embarked on early study abroad to pursue English‐medium education at local public or international schools in Singapore (Bae, ; Kang, ; Park & Bae, ). Aside from a few English publications intended for applied linguists and L2 educators (Kobayashi, , , ), scholarly reports on Japanese students’ sojourn in the ASEAN context are limitedly available in Japanese publications designed for those in charge of study‐abroad programs (Hoshino, , ; Ochi, ) and as paper presentations at non‐linguistics international conferences (Hoshino, ; Hoshino, Suematsu, Boonlert‐U‐Thai, & Ogake, ).…”