2018 年 2 月

立教女学院短期大学紀要第 49 号（2017）抜刷

Language Use of Chinese Singaporean College Students: The Roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese Dialects

原田 慎一 Shinichi HARADA Language Use of Chinese Singaporean College Students: The Roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese Dialects

Shinichi HARADA*

Abstract

The objectives of the present study are to elucidate the language use of Chinese Singaporean college students and the roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects in their language use. A sociolinguistic survey regarding language choice was conducted in 2016. Participants were 95 Chinese Singaporean students at two universities in Singapore (the number of valid respondents was 83). Based on the results of the survey as well as those of the Singapore censuses from 1980 to 2010, their language use of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects was analyzed in order to clarify the roles of the three languages. The findings of the survey show that approximately 60 percent of the respondents spoke English as their mother tongue, and used it more frequently than the other languages in almost all domains. They used Mandarin mainly in the Chinese community, while they used Chinese dialects with their grandparents at home. With regard to the roles of the three languages, currently, English is used in Singapore as an inter- ethnic lingua franca; in contrast, Mandarin is used in the Chinese community as an intra-ethnic lingua franca. English has been replacing Mandarin as the predominant language. Chinese dialects play a limited role in informal situations, and are on the verge of extinction. In conclusion, the transition from a polyglossic society with English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects, to a diglossic society with English and Mandarin has been clarified.

Keywords: Chinese Singaporean, college students, English, Mandarin, Chinese dialects, diglossia, polyglossia, Singapore

＊ Assistant Professor, Department of Contemporary Communication, St. Margaret’s Junior College

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Introduction

According to the 2010 census, the population of Singapore reached a total of 3,771,721. Singaporeans mainly comprise three ethnic groups: Chinese (2,793,980, 74.1 percent), Malay (503,868, 13.4 percent), and Indian (348,119, 9.2 percent). Of the total of 2,793,980 Chinese, 1,118,817 (40.0 percent) are Hokkien; 562,139 (20.1 percent) are Teochew; 408,517 (14.6 percent) are Cantonese; 232,914 (8.3 percent) are Hakka; 177,541 (6.4 percent) are Hainanese; 54,233 (1.9 percent) are Foochow; 25,549 (0.9 percent) are Henghua; 22,053 (0.7 percent) are Shanghainese; 16,556 (0.5 percent) are Hockchia; 175,661 (6.3 percent) are other Chinese. The Chinese community in Singapore was a heterogeneous community formed by immigrants and their descendants from mainly the southern provinces in China, speaking various dialects that were mostly mutually unintelligible (Kuo & Chan, 2016). Chinese Singaporeans are known as multilinguals. For example, in the past, most Chinese Singaporeans used to speak Hokkien, Mandarin, and English as well as their mother tongue. However, the results of some surveys indicate that the number of Chinese Singaporeans who do not have a command of Chinese dialects has been increasing. In other words, there is a possibility that Chinese Singaporeans may be becoming bilingual though they were multilingual in the past. Also, the recent census reveals that the younger generations of Chinese Singaporeans speak English as their first language. In particular, this tendency would be applicable to college students, who have more opportunities to speak English than other Chinese Singaporeans. The purpose of this study is to examine the language use of Chinese Singaporean college students and clarify the roles of the three languages.

Literature Review

The roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects in the language use of Chinese Singaporeans A great number of studies have been conducted on language use over the last 50 years. In this section, the roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects in the language use of Chinese Singaporeans will be reviewed. Table 1 shows the language most frequently spoken at home by Chinese Singaporeans in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010.

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Table 1 The language most frequently spoken at home by Chinese Singaporeans (percent)

1980 1990 2000 2010 English 7.9 19.3 23.9 32.6 Mandarin 10.2 30.1 45.1 47.7 Chinese dialects 81.4 50.3 30.7 19.2 Source: Singapore Census of Population 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010

1971−1980 According to the results of the 1980 census conducted by the Singapore government, Chinese dialects were spoken most frequently at home. It can be explained by the fact that at that time each Chinese dialect group lived separately. For example, the Hokkien group lived in Telok Ayer, whereas the Hainanese lived in Bras Basah. Each dialect group had its own clan associations, which educated group members and helped them to find jobs (Yamashita, 1988). Although some Chinese Singaporeans started to move to housing complexes called HDB (Housing and Development Board) flats, they still used Chinese dialects for everyday conversation. Also, they used English as an inter-ethnic lingua franca when talking with Malays and Indians. In those days, the predominant lingua franca used by most Chinese Singaporeans in the Chinese community was Hokkien. A survey in 1974 showed that 93 percent of the respondents were able to speak Hokkien though only 49 percent of their parents spoke Hokkien as their mother tongue (Platt, 1980). Similarly, another survey conducted by Kuo (1978) indicated that although there were approximately 30 percent of the participants whose mother tongue was Hokkien, 78 percent of them understood the language. It seems right to presume that between 1971 and 1980, Hokkien served as an intra-ethnic lingua franca among Chinese Singaporeans. At that time, Singapore was a polyglossic society where English was H language, used in public places, and Hokkien was M language, used in the Chinese community, while Chinese dialects were L language, used at home (Figure 1).

HOME L language: Chinese dialects

THE CHIMESE COMMUNITY M language: Hokkien

PUBLIC PLACES H language: English

1980 Figure 1 The roles of languages in the language use of Chinese Singaporeans in 1980

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1981−1990

The use of Chinese dialects plummeted by as much as 31.1 percent, while Mandarin increased by 19.9 percent and English by 11.4 percent. There are three main reasons for this: the collapse of residential segmentation by the dialect group, bilingual education, and the Speak Mandarin Campaign. Since the Singapore government designated dialect group districts, which were located downtown, as redevelopment areas for modernization, Chinese Singaporeans living there were forced to move out of their districts and live in HDB flats (Noguchi, 1994; Ogi, 1995). The government allocated them HDB flats regardless of dialect groups. As of 1980, 69 percent of Singaporeans lived in HDB flats. At that time, they were taught in English and Mandarin at school, so they had a good command of both languages. Moreover, Chinese dialects disappeared in the mass media such as television and radio, owing to the Speak Mandarin Campaign, which was launched in 1979 to encourage Chinese Singaporeans to speak Mandarin and discourage them from speaking Chinese dialects. These three causes led Chinese Singaporeans to start to use Mandarin and English instead of Hokkien. Similarly, other results demonstrated a considerable increase in the use of Mandarin. According to the results of a survey administered by The Straits Times in 1985, 82 percent of 270 Chinese Singaporeans were able to speak Mandarin and 25 percent talked to their children in Mandarin (Pakir, 1994). In the 1987 survey by The Straits Times, 87 percent of the respondents aged 12 or more spoke Mandarin fluently, and 22 percent of their grandparents spoke Mandarin (ibid). It is plausible to suggest that although Chinese dialects were still the predominant language, Mandarin was taking the place of them as an intra-ethnic lingua franca in those days.

1991−2000 In the last decade of the 20th century, the use of Chinese dialects declined by an additional 19.6 percent; in contrast, the use of Mandarin increased by 15 percent and the use of English rose by 4.6 percent. Nearly half of Chinese Singaporeans most frequently spoke Mandarin at home. This is an indication that Mandarin replaced Chinese dialects as their mother tongue. At the same time, numerous Chinese Singaporeans thought of Mandarin as a language belonging to their identity. For instance, Xu, Chew, and Chen (1998) found in a survey that the majority of Chinese Singaporean respondents felt a closeness toward Mandarin that they did not toward English. The results of surveys by Ohara (2002) in 1992 and 1994 indicated a similar trend. The use of Mandarin spread broadly into the Chinese community; as a consequence, Chinese Singaporeans identified themselves with Mandarin. Because the number of people who used Mandarin as their mother tongue increased, the use of Chinese dialects decreased significantly. In summary, it was

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extrapolated from these results that Mandarin superseded Chinese dialects as the predominant language. In those days, Singapore was a polyglossic society where English was H language, used in public places, and Mandarin was M language, used in the Chinese community, whereas Chinese dialects were L language, used at home (Figure 2). Additionally, it can be inferred from these data that the transition from the polyglossic society with English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects to the diglossic one, was progressing at that time.

HOME L language: Chinese dialects

THE CHIMESE COMMUNITY M language: Mandarin

PUBLIC PLACES H language: English

2000 Figure 2 The roles of languages in the language use of Chinese Singaporeans in 2000

2001−2010 The use of Chinese dialects decreased by 11.5 percent, while the use of English increased by 8.7 percent. Consequently, English (32.6 percent) was spoken more frequently than Chinese dialects (19.2 percent) at home in 2010. Mandarin was spoken at home by 47.7 percent of the respondents. Regarding the results, Harada (2003) explained:

It is no exaggeration to say that the language spoken most frequently at home is their mother tongue. Thus, Mandarin not only has played a role as the intra-ethnic in the Chinese community but also has become their mother tongue instead of Chinese dialects. As the number of Chinese Singaporeans speaking Mandarin most frequently has been increasing because of alteration of generations, Mandarin has been replacing Chinese dialects as their mother tongue. Chinese dialects will disappear in the future. (p. 61)

Other research showed the same tendency. Harada (2003) found in a survey in 2002 that educated Chinese Singaporeans, who had graduated from college or were college students, used English in public places and Mandarin in the Chinese community, while they primarily used Chinese dialects with their

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grandparents at home. In addition, Vaish, Tan, Bokhorst-Heng, Hogan, and Kang (2010) discovered in a 2006 survey that 65.3 percent of 5th graders spoke English in public places. Harada (2009) claimed that English serves as an inter-ethnic lingua franca for the three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Malay, and Indian. The use of English enables Singaporeans to communicate with each other regardless of their mother tongues. From these findings, it can be said that at that time Singapore was a diglossic society where English was H language, used in formal situations, and Mandarin was L language, used in informal situations, whereas Chinese dialects did not have an important function (Figure 3).

HOME L language: Mandarin

THE CHIMESE COMMUNITY L language: Mandarin

PUBLIC PLACES H language: English

2010 Figure 3 The roles of languages in the language use of Chinese Singaporeans in 2010

2010−2015 In the 2000 census, Mandarin was the predominant language among English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects; however, the opposite trend was observable in the results of recent surveys. In a survey by the Housing and Development Board in 2015, 61.3 percent of Chinese Singaporeans aged 5-14 and 50.2 percent aged 15-24 used English most frequently at home (Table 2). This shows that English has taken the place of Mandarin as the predominant language. These findings provide sufficient evidence to predict that when the younger generations become parents, a large number of Chinese Singaporeans will speak English most frequently throughout Singapore, including in their homes, schools, and offices.

Table 2 The language most frequently spoken by Chinese Singaporeans at home (percent)

age group 5-14 15-24 year 2010 2015 2010 2015 English 51.9 61.3 40.7 50.2 Mandarin 46.4 37.4 55.3 47.6 Chinese dialects 1.4 0.9 3.6 1.8 Source: General Household Survey 2015

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Research Questions

In order to elucidate the language use of Chinese Singaporeans college students, and changes in the roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects, the following two research questions were posed.

RQ1: What is the language choice of Chinese Singaporean college students? RQ2: What are the roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects?

Method

Participants A total of 95 Singaporean students from two universities in Singapore participated in the survey, and the number of valid respondents was 83 (87.4 percent). The participants consisted of 29 male students and 54 female students. Their ages ranged from 19 to 26 (M = 22.5, SD = 1.73).

Procedure In order to clarify the language use of Chinese Singaporean college students, a sociolinguistic survey was conducted in March 2016. In the survey, the following four questions were asked:

1. What is your mother tongue? 2. What language(s) or dialect(s) can you speak? 3. What language or dialect do you use most frequently when you talk with the following persons? The persons: grandparents, parents, siblings, Chinese friends, Malay friends, Indian friends, foreigners 4. What language or dialect do you use most frequently when you go to the following places? The places: home, hawker center (Chinese), hawker center (Malay), hawker center (Indian), western restaurant, department store, university

Results & Discussion

Language Ability Table 3 shows their mother tongue. Some students responded that they spoke two or three languages as their mother tongue. That is to say, they think that they are equally bilingual or multilingual. Adding up the

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number of such students, 60.2 percent of them spoke English as their mother tongue, and 60.2 percent spoke Mandarin. On the other hand, the ratio of students whose mother tongue was a Chinese dialect was 8.4 percent. In the past, there were a large number of Chinese Singaporeans who spoke Mandarin or a Chinese dialect as their mother tongue. However, nowadays the number of English native speakers has been increasing. This tendency suggests that the nativization of English has been progressing rapidly. In regard to Chinese dialects, these are not taught at school at all, so the number of Chinese dialect native speakers has become extremely low. It is assumed that most Chinese Singaporean infants acquire English or Mandarin as their first language, and this is then reinforced through school education.

Table 3 The respondents’ mother tongue (N = 83)

mother tongue percent English 37.3 Mandarin 37.3 English & Mandarin 16.9 English & Mandarin & Chinese dialects 3.6 English & Chinese dialects 2.4 Mandarin & Chinese dialects 2.4

The languages that the respondents were able to speak are shown in Table 4. All the respondents spoke both English and Mandarin. This stands to reason in light of the fact that at school, most courses are taught in English and a few courses in Mandarin. In addition, the result that 54.2 percent of them were able to speak Chinese dialects, even though they had not been taught in Chinese dialects, clearly indicates that Chinese Singaporeans still use Chinese dialects for daily conversation at home or in other places. In contrast, the result of a survey by the author in 2002 was that more than 80 percent of the respondents, who were educated Chinese Singaporeans aged 20-38, were able to speak three languages. A sharp decrease from 80 percent to 54.2 percent shows that Chinese Singaporean college students have gradually been changing into bilinguals from multilinguals.

Table 4 The languages that the respondents can speak (N = 83)

language percent English & Mandarin 45.8 English & Mandarin & Chinese dialects 47.0 English & Mandarin & Chinese dialects & Malay 4.8 English & Mandarin & Malay 1.2 English & Mandarin & Chinese dialects & Tamil 1.2 English & Mandarin & Chinese dialects & Malay & Tamil 1.2

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Language Choice

Table 5 shows the language choice according to the interlocutor. Even at home, the respondents changed languages depending on the interlocutor. When talking with grandparents whose mother tongue was Mandarin or Chinese dialects, the use of Mandarin was 65.0 percent, including concomitant use with other languages. When talking with parents who were fluent in English, the respondents used English most (73.4 percent). When talking with siblings who spoke English more fluently than parents, the use of English was predominant (86.7 percent); on the contrary, the use of Chinese dialects was only 2.7 percent. This is because many young Chinese Singaporeans cannot speak Chinese dialects. Interestingly, when talking with Chinese friends, the use of English is predominant. Thus, Mandarin is not an intra-ethnic lingua franca anymore. When talking with Malay friends, Indian friends, and foreigners, almost all the respondents used English. The reason why 13.6 percent spoke Mandarin with foreigners can be explained by the fact that currently, a great number of Chinese people visit Singapore.

Table 5 Language choice according to the interlocutor (N = 83, percent)

E* M** C*** E&M E&M&C M&C grandparents 14.3 42.9 20.8 7.8 1.3 13.0 parents 60.2 21.7 4.8 9.6 3.6 0.0 siblings 80.0 13.3 0.0 4.0 2.7 0.0 Chinese friends 65.9 22.0 0.0 7.3 4.9 0.0 Malay friends 96.4 0.0 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 Indian friends 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 foreigners 86.4 0.0 0.0 11.1 2.5 0.0 *English, **Mandarin, ***Chinese dialects Languages other than English, Mandarin, Chinese dialects were omitted.

Table 6 illustrates the language choice according to the place. At home, the use of English was dominant (73.5 percent). The use of language differed depending on which ethnic group ran the hawker, or food stand. When the respondents went to Chinese hawkers, 90 percent of them used Mandarin. This suggests that in the Chinese community where Chinese Singaporeans gather, Mandarin is preferred because they think they can make themselves understood easily and regard the language as friendly. Unlike Chinese hawkers, 97.3 percent used English at Malay hawkers; 100 percent used English at Indian hawkers. Thus, in public places where all the ethnic groups gather, English is used. This is because English is the inter-ethnic lingua franca, so they do not have any problems with communication even though their first languages are different.

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Table 6 Language choice according to the place (N = 83, percent)

E* M** C*** E&M E&M&C home 63.9 22.9 3.6 8.4 1.2 Chinese hawkers 5.3 80.3 2.6 7.9 2.6 Malay hawkers 95.9 0.0 0.0 1.4 0.0 Indian hawkers 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Western restaurants 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 department stores 92.8 0.0 0.0 7.2 0.0 university 92.8 1.2 0.0 3.6 2.4 *English, **Mandarin, ***Chinese dialects Languages other than English, Mandarin, Chinese dialects were omitted.

Roles of three languages in the language use of college students Based on the results, the roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects in the language use of Chinese Singaporean college students have been clarified. The main roles of the three languages are shown in Table 7.

Table 7 The main roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects in the language use of Chinese Singaporean college students

Singapore society Chinese community home English inter-ethnic mother tongue lingua franca home language Mandarin intra-ethnic mother tongue lingua franca home language Chinese dialects home language

English is used in any domain. English mainly serves as an inter-ethnic lingua franca in the Singapore society, and a mother tongue or a household language. Mandarin plays a main role as an intra-ethnic lingua franca in the Chinese community, and a mother tongue at home. Chinese dialects are a household language for some Chinese Singaporean college students. It follows from what has been discussed that English is the H language and Mandarin is the L language. In other words, the relationship between English and Mandarin is diglossic. In the past, Chinese dialects used to serve as the M language or L language; however, nowadays they do not play an important role in college students’ communication (Figure 4).

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HOME L language: English/Mandarin

THE CHIMESE COMMUNITY L language: Mandarin

PUBLIC PLACES H language: English

2016 Figure 4 The roles of languages in the language use of Chinese Singaporean College students in

The results of other surveys such as censuses clearly show that English has replaced Mandarin as most frequently used language at home by the younger generations. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that English will establish its status as the predominant language more and more firmly in the future.

Conclusion

From the findings, the language use of Chinese Singaporean college students and the roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects have been clarified. The answers to the research questions are as follows:

RQ1: What is the language choice of Chinese Singaporean college students? A1. Chinese Singaporean college students speak English or Mandarin (or both) as their mother tongue. Regarding their language choice according to the interlocutor, English is used except when talking with grandparents. With respect to the language choice according to the place, the use of English is predominant except in the Chinese community.

RQ2: What are the roles of English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects? A2: English is mainly used as a mother tongue, an inter-ethnic lingua franca, and a home lingua franca, whereas Mandarin is mainly used as a mother tongue, or an intra-ethnic lingua franca. Chinese dialects are used as a household language for a small number of Chinese Singaporean college students.

In view of the results of the Censuses, the above tendency would apply to other generations. If the tendency continues, Chinese dialects will disappear and most Chinese Singaporeans will become bilingual

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in the future. Additionally, it is predicted that the number of English native speakers will increase; meanwhile, Mandarin native speakers will decrease in the future. This study focused on only the language use of Chinese Singaporean college students. Therefore, further research on their language attitudes toward English, Mandarin, and Chinese dialects should be conducted in order to clarify psychological factors of their language use.

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