Singapore (by Erlend J.C.)
English is
one of four official languages in Singapore, and Singapore English is divided
into two different sub-forms, Standard Singapore English (SSE) and Singapore
Colloquial English. Singapore was a British Colony from 1819-1965, and like in many
of the other nations that were British colonies in the past, English has
maintained a firm ground. English was the administrative language of the
British colonial government, and the Singaporean government chose to keep
English as their main language, when they gained self-government in 1959 and
independence in 1965. This decision to keep English was made in order to
maximize the economical prosperity of Singapore, as well as being a lingua
franca for the various different ethnicities and cultures of Singapore.
Standard
Singapore English resembles British English in its’ grammar and way of writing,
but differs in the pronunciation. Unlike SSE, Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish)
includes linguistic features from Malay, Mandarin and Hokkien. Singlish is not
commonly used in formal speech or writing, due to it´s reputation of being a
low-prestige form of English. Wikipedia states, on based on various sources,
that 71% of Singapore´s population in 2010 spoke English as their native or
second language. These are quite a few Singaporeans!
This video displays some Singlish charateristics.
South Africa (by Jørgen F.)
In
South-Africa there was apartheid for 46 years, from 1948 to 1994. The white European descendants controlled South Africa, and used apartheid to suppress
the natives/ black people. Because of this, the South-African English today is heavily influenced by the British English.
English is only one of the eleven official languages in South-Africa. That also
means that The South-African English not only is influenced by the British, but
also by the ten other languages in the country.
What
characterizes the South-African English depends on the form. In South-Africa there are three different forms of English, often referred to as “The Great Trichotomy”, or just three groupings. The three different forms have are much affected by the social varieties. The most formal and "finest" of the three forms is the Cultivated. This type of English
is often associated with the upper class. The second type is called General, and is a social indicator of
the middle class. The third type of English is called Broad, this form of speaking is mostly associated with the working
class. It is also in many ways similar to the other official language Afrikaans. In other words, the more formal the setting, the more British
English they talk in South-Africa, and the more informal the occasions are,
the more influenced by the other official languages the English is.
A scene taken from the film Invictus, South African accent.
India (by Sindre G.)
The British
first arrived in India in the early 1600s and they established trading posts in
a number of cities under the control of The East India Company. Over the next
hundred years, the British influence grew to a much greater extent, and English
became the administrative language. The British did not force their language on
the Indian population, but it was slowly accepted as the language of the
government, the national press and the social elite. India became a British
colony in 1858, and it stayed so until 1947. The intentions of the Indian
government after they gained their independence, was that English gradually
would be phased out as the administrative language. The government had problems
finding a language to replace English, due to the fact that there are many
different languages, so choosing one as the national language became almost
impossible. Even Gandhi, who was a proponent of a native variety as a national
language, expressed that his message was most widely understood when he used English.
Therefore, English stayed as a strong language in India, widely used in the
media, the government and higher education. Recent studies shows that nearly 4%
of the Indian population speak English as their main language. This equals to
approximately 35 million speakers. India is the largest English speaking
country in the world, apart from America and the UK.
English is
mostly taught as a second language. Many Indians are therefore strongly
influenced by the linguistic habits of their first language. Because there are
large diversities in the Indian language and culture, there are also different
accents depending on where in India, and the social background of the speaker. Some
Indians speak English with an accent very close to a Standard British accent,
while others lean towards a more vernacular accent. The diversity is so large
that some words can even have different meanings in different parts of India.
The grammar, such as the accents, is influenced by the native language of the
speaker. Indians tend to often use idioms literal translated from their own
native language, although this is less common amongst the proficient speakers,
who also tend to use grammar closer to standard British.
A sampling of different Indian English Accents.
Comparison
All of the countries above were British colonies, and bear linguistic traits from the colonial times. Local languages and others have influenced the further development of the English, differentiating the varieties today. They serve to some degree as a lingua franca in the Singapore, South Africa and India, but aren´t necessarily the mother tong of the majority of the population. By looking at some characteristics for these English varieties they can be recognized.
This post was written as collaboration post with two of my fellow students. Links to their blogs:
