lecture+notes+on+language

Notes on languages (wk 8 lecture slides)

'not dependant on social class of speakers' [ English is a Diglossia in Singapore but because Singlish is used by all sectors of the community for communication ] learnt naturally at home - [ but is singlish learnt at home or in school? ]
 * language vs dialect ( 'language is a dialect with an army and a navy' Max Weichreich)
 * **Diglossia**: 'a relatively stable situation in which [...]there is a very divergent, highly codified superposed variety which is learned largely by formal education and is used for most formal written and spoken purposes but is not used in any sector of the community of ordinary conversation" (Ferguson 1959: 336)
 * **H Language:** Not native to anyone but needs to be learnt at school [standard english perhaps ]
 * **L Language:** Language learnt as a child, spoken language [ Singlish? ]
 * H has clearly stated standards - dictionaries and grammars exist; if such things exist for L they were probably done by outsiders

**Is Singlish the practical product of four official languages in a tiny nation (high population density to its land mass as a push factor)??**

 * How is Singlish written?New characters are written? Romanization of Chinese, Tamal or malay? borrowing characters on the basis of pronounciation?**
 * Parallels between Singlish and Cantonese?**
 * What language is used in pop culture, media and newspapers?**
 * Show examples of a sentence written in STE (Standard English) and SCE (Singapore English)???**
 * History of language in Singapore**
 * What language and ethnic groups are there?**
 * Does Singlish differ in usage between public and private school?**
 * Loan words (some examples of singlish sentence - where each word comes from)**

(Week 8 Wednesday lecture)

When languages come into contact - Borrowing - Imposition
 * - Pidgins**
 * Reduced grammatical structure
 * no-on'es native language
 * unintelligible speech communities attempt to communicate
 * For the sake of socio-economic benefit?
 * - Creoles**
 * Pidgins that become mother tongue of a community
 * expands pidginised language
 * increases in complexity



Differs from pidgin because speakers have a fairly good knowledge of both languages differ from creoles in that both parents are clearly identifiable. (Creoles have parents from diverse heritage)
 * Mixed languages**