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16 - Eurasian Singapore English

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2010

By
Lionel Wee
Edited by
Daniel Schreier ,
Peter Trudgill ,
Edgar W. Schneider  and
Jeffrey P. Williams
Daniel Schreier
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
Peter Trudgill
Affiliation:
Universitetet i Agder, Norway
Edgar W. Schneider
Affiliation:
University of Regensberg
Jeffrey P. Williams
Affiliation:
Texas Tech University
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Summary

Introduction

Singapore is an ethnically diverse society, and the state is guided by the principle of multiracialism, where respect and equal treatment must be accorded each ethnic community (Benjamin 1976). This commitment to multiracialism stems from the state's belief that the desire to maintain ethnic and cultural distinctiveness is a primordial fact, and any policy that tries to force different ‘tribes’ to submerge their differences can only lead to insurgency. We see this in the following statement by Singapore's first Prime Minister and currently Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew (in Han, Fernandez and Tan 1998: 163–5):

The Indians have their own method. So do the Malays. The Malays: Islam and kinship ties…I don't think you can erase all that. That's for hundreds of years, or thousands of years…In every culture, there is a desire to preserve your distinctiveness. And I think if you go against that, you will create unnecessary problems, whether it is with the Indians and their caste or with the Chinese and their clans.

To facilitate the management of this diversity, the state divides the population into four ethnically based categories. As a result, a population of about 3.2 million is effectively seen as being made up of 76.8 per cent Chinese, 13.9 per cent Malays, 7.9 per cent Indians, and 1.4 per cent Others (2000 Census of Population).

Type
Chapter
Information
The Lesser-Known Varieties of English
An Introduction
 , pp. 313 - 326
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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References

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