Bilingual policy in Singapore has been characterized by dynamic government interventions since the nation’s independence in 1965. The elevation of English to the medium of instruction in education has inevitably come into conflict with Chinese, the lingua franca of Singapore’s dominant ethnic group. Drawing upon a theoretical perspective of prestige language planning, we show that the Chinese language has gradually lost prestige in Singaporean society in general, and in particular it has lost ground to English in terms of linguistic capital. A succinct re-examination of Singapore’s language-in-education planning shows that education alone cannot arrest the declining status of the Chinese language, neither does any image-fostering. The study highlights the importance of prestige promotion for the future success of Chinese language maintenance. The rapid rise of China provides an enabling environment for prestige manipulation. However, the socio-political goals of the Singaporean bilingual policy restrain the government’s willingness to support the unrestricted growth of Mandarin in the official discourse. While it is not possible in this paper to provide solutions or to suggest specific directions for solving this problem, it is our hope that the analysis of the complex interplay of the official discourse on language issues and the surrounding socio-political variables can shed some fresh light on understanding the intricacies and difficulties of a bilingual policy in a multicultural society.
2024. Monolingual disobedience, multilingual guilt?: an autoethnographic exploration of heritage language maintenance during COVID-19 lockdowns. Multilingua 43:2 ► pp. 267 ff.
Zhang, Dongbo, Shouhui Zhao & Xiaoxi Sun
2023. Evaluating the Modular Curriculum of Chinese Language in Singapore Primary Schools: Insights from Students and Teachers. In Crossing Boundaries in Researching, Understanding, and Improving Language Education [Educational Linguistics, 58], ► pp. 231 ff.
Cheong, Yun-Yee
2022. Chinese Language Education and Assessment Policy in Singapore (1965–2021). In Education in Singapore [Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, 66], ► pp. 261 ff.
Poh Aw, Guat, Shouhui Zhao & Xiangqing Hu
2022. Comparative Study of the Two Sets of Chinese Textbooks in Singaporean Secondary Schools. Researching and Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language 3:2
Zhang, Limei, Xiaoqin Yu & Christine CM Goh
2022. Improving Performance and Metacognitive Awareness in Listening through Metacognitive Instruction for Chinese Language Learners. RELC Journal► pp. 003368822211296 ff.
Carson, Lorna & Ning Jiang
2021. Offensive Language and Sociocultural Homogeneity in Singapore: An Ethnolinguistic Perspective. In An Anatomy of Chinese Offensive Words, ► pp. 177 ff.
Han, Yanmei & Xiaodan Wu
2020. Language policy, linguistic landscape and residents’ perception in Guangzhou, China: dissents and conflicts. Current Issues in Language Planning 21:3 ► pp. 229 ff.
2023. Salvaging Mandarin education in Singapore through community. Current Issues in Language Planning 24:2 ► pp. 221 ff.
Tseng, Amelia & Lars Hinrichs
2020. Mobility and the English Language. In The Handbook of English Linguistics, ► pp. 637 ff.
Zhang, Dongbo, Keiko Koda, Che Kan Leong & Elizabeth Pang
2019. Cross‐lagged panel analysis of reciprocal effects of morphological processing and reading in Chinese in a multilingual context. Journal of Research in Reading 42:1 ► pp. 58 ff.
Goh, Hock Huan, Chunsheng Zhao & Siew Hoon Kwek
2018. Mandarin Competence of Primary School Students in Singapore: A Preliminary Comparison Across Academic Level and Home Language Backgrounds. In Teaching Chinese Language in Singapore, ► pp. 51 ff.
Lee, Daphnee
2017. Singapore Society in Transition, Really?. In Managing Chineseness, ► pp. 189 ff.
Shang, Guowen & Shouhui Zhao
2017. What Standard and Whose Standard: Issues in the Development of Chinese Proficiency Descriptors in Singapore. In Chinese as a Second Language Assessment [Chinese Language Learning Sciences, ], ► pp. 159 ff.
Sun, Xiaoxi, Jinghua Fan & Chee-Kuen Chin
2017. Developing a Speaking Diagnostic Tool for Teachers to Differentiate Instruction for Young Learners of Chinese. In Chinese as a Second Language Assessment [Chinese Language Learning Sciences, ], ► pp. 249 ff.
Yew, Chiew Ping
2017. The Evolution of Contemporary China Studies in Singapore: From the Regional Cold War to the Present. Journal of Chinese Political Science 22:1 ► pp. 135 ff.
Curdt-Christiansen, Xiao Lan & Baoqi Sun
2016. Nurturing bilingual learners: challenges and concerns in Singapore. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 19:6 ► pp. 689 ff.
Xie, Wenhan & Francesco Cavallaro
2016. Attitudes towards Mandarin–English bilingualism: a study of Chinese youths in Singapore. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 37:6 ► pp. 628 ff.
Zhang, Dongbo
2016. Morphology in Malay–English biliteracy acquisition: an intervention study. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 19:5 ► pp. 546 ff.
Zhang, Dongbo
2017. Word Reading in L1 and L2 Learners of Chinese: Similarities and Differences in the Functioning of Component Processes. The Modern Language Journal 101:2 ► pp. 391 ff.
Zhang, Dongbo, Keiko Koda & Che Kan Leong
2016. Morphological awareness and bilingual word learning: a longitudinal structural equation modeling study. Reading and Writing 29:3 ► pp. 383 ff.
Zhao, Shouhui & Guowen Shang
2016. Coding and Comparing Pedagogic Features of Teaching Practices: What Happens in Chinese Language Classes in Singapore’s Primary Schools?. In Quadrilingual Education in Singapore [Education Innovation Series, ], ► pp. 271 ff.
2014. Planning for Development or Decline? Education Policy for Chinese Language in Singapore. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 11:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Curdt-Christiansen, Xiao Lan
2016. Conflicting language ideologies and contradictory language practices in Singaporean multilingual families. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 37:7 ► pp. 694 ff.
2012. Saving Chinese-language education in Singapore. Current Issues in Language Planning 13:4 ► pp. 285 ff.
Lee, Cher Leng
2016. Learning Mandarin in Singapore Preschools: Laying the Foundation for Multilingualism. Global Chinese 2:2 ► pp. 213 ff.
Lee, Cher Leng
2019. Filling gaps or code choice? Code-switching across generations in colloquial Singapore Mandarin
. Global Chinese 5:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 8 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.