EL1101E/ GEK1011 The Nature of Language Week 11, Tutorial 9

1. EL1101E/GEK1011The Nature of LanguageWeek 11, Tutorial 9 Colloquial Singapore English and Contact Linguistics

2. Question 1 Contact Linguistics and Singapore English

3. A pidgin is a simplified form of speech which arises to fulfil certain restricted communication needs among people who have no common language. Example: Chinese Pidgin English

4. Example: Chinese Pidgin English (CPE) • English: Can you do it? • Mandarin: 可以不可以? • CPE: Can do, no can do?

5. A creole arises when a pidgin becomes the mother tongue of a speech community, the next generation grow up speaking this language as their first language. Example: Jamaican Creole aka Patois

6. Singapore English is a ‘creoloid’ because 1. It has similar structural variables to post-creoles based on the same ‘standard’ language. 2. Did not develop from a pidgin but by some other process. 3. It developed from the transference of features into the ‘standard’ language from the languages of several (sometimes unrelated) ethnic groups. 4. The superordinate language is usually only one of the official languages. 5. It is usually also used as lingua franca in inter-ethnic group communication within the speech community where it is one of the sub-varieties. (Platt, 1975)

8. Part 2B)

9. Question 2 NP Ellipsis and SubstratistExplanation

10. What is noun phrase ellipsis? It refers to subject, object and possessor omission in Colloquial Singapore English.

11. Subject Omission Standard English: After one gets sick, one cannot help it. Colloquial Singapore English: After Ø get some sickness, Ø can’t help it. The subject “one” is ommited

12. Object Omission Standard English: ‘I have never tried it before.’ Colloquial Singapore English: I never try Ø before lah. The object ‘it’ is ommited.

13. Possessor omission Standard English: ‘My head is painful.’ Colloquial Singapore English: Ø Head very pain. The possessor ‘my’ is ommited

14. So where did noun phrase ellipsis in Colloquial Singapore English originate from?

15. Subject Omission Standard English: How do I get to Malacca Train Station? Hokkien: Ba la kacia tau bhe an zuaki Malacca station will how go The subject ‘I’ is ommited

16. Subject Omission Standard English: I remember, when I was still small, I often went fishing. Malay: Ingat-ingat, waktumasihkecil, seringpergimemancing remember when still small often go fishing The subject ‘I’ is omitted

17. Object Omission Standard English: I have never tried it before Chinese: Womeishiguo I never try before The object ‘it’ is omitted

18. Object Omission Standard English: I have never tried it before Malay: tidakpernahcubasebelumini Never tried before The object ‘it’ is omitted

19. Possessor Omission Standard English: My head is painful Mandarin: tou hen tong Head very painful The possessor ‘my’ is omitted

20. Possessor Omission Standard English: My head is painful Cantonese: Tao ho tong wor Head very pain The possessor “my” is omitted

21. In our examples, we see that noun phrase ellipsis can be found in Malay Mandarin Hokkien Cantonese Noun phrase ellipsis in CSE does come from both Malay and varieties of Chinese such as Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese.

22. Question 3 Pragmatics of Sentence-Final Particles

23. Example 1 - LAH Yes, I love you! Do you love me? Do you REALLY love me? I REALLY love you LAH! • Function: • Aggressive statement of emotion

24. Example 1 - LEH Yes, I love you! Do you love me? Do you REALLY love me? I REALLY love you LEH! • Function: • Makes the sentence sounds softer than the previous

25. Example 1 - LOR Yes, I love you! Do you love me? I tell you how many times already! I REALLY love you LOR! Do you REALLY love me? • Function: • Resigned expression of a feuding spouse which has no choice

26. Example 2(a) - LAH Can help me do this survey? You’ll stand to win attractive prizes! Huh? Are you sure can win? Really! There’s something here for everyone LAH. • Function: • Appeal for accommodation. • Persuade you to help to do the survey.

27. Example 2(a) - LAH OI! Can help me with this question? What LAH! • Function: • Mood marker (annoyance) • The mood or attitude being conveyed will depend on specific contextual factors.

28. Example 2(a) - LAH Maybe not, I have a lot of assignments due this week. We’re going to catch a movie. Do you want to join us? Just come with us LAH! • Function: • Soften the force of an utterance • “Come with us”  A request • “Come with us LAH”  makes it more politeand persuasive

29. Example 2(b) - WHAT No car parks here, WHAT. You stupid ah? Why you don’t just park here? • Function: • Indicate obviousness that the person asking the question did not think twice about it. • Marks contradiction - A thinks that B can park here but B replies that he can’t cause there are no other cars around.

30. Example 2(b) - WHAT Mabel’s cooking very lousy leh! But she can cook WHAT. Her fried rice very tasty! • Function: • Marks contradiction – Edelia and Gabrielle has different thoughts about the standard of Mabel’s cooking.

31. Example 2(c) - HOR This shopping centre very nice HOR. Yeah, super big and a lot of shops! I like it too! • Function: • Attempt to garner support for a proposition

32. Example 2(c) - HOR That guy is always trying to take advantage of others. Never do his part for the group project. (no response) Yeah lor!! HOR? • Function: • Attempt to garner support for a proposition

33. Example 2(c) - HOR The use of HOR requires that the speaker assert a proposition. Hence, HORis only found with questions which have a declarative form. I bought a prada wallet yesterday at the shopping centre! You very rich hor?

34. Example 2(d) - MEH Which book should I buy? A or B ah? I think I’m going to get book B. Confirm? You don’t like that one (book A) MEH? • Function: • Indicate skepticism/surprise • Mabel thought that Gabrielle will choose book A instead of book B.

35. Example 2(d) - MEH Yeah! You didn’t know MEH? Mabel! You can bake ah! Why you never tell me! • Function: • Indicates surprise

36. Question 4 Ownselfin CSE = 自己’ziji’ in Chinese?

37. 自己 (ZIJI) Chinese dialects SINGLISH Vernacular Malay OWNSELF

38. Ownselfis likely to have derived from ziji

39. Both exclude involvement of others Semantically, zijican express a contrastbetween the ‘self’ in question and others who could be involved Zheshiwozijizuo de! This is I ownselfdo one! {as opposed to having other people involved}

40. In imperatives, both do not require the subject (NP) to precede it Example 1 (You) Ownselfopen the door lah! Example 2 (Ni)zijichifan! (You) eat rice by yourself! Take note You can’t do this in English! You yourself open the door! *Yourself open the door!

41. Ownself is may not have derived from ziji

42. Ziji—regular reflexive Zijican function like a regular reflexive (Used to refer back to the subject/object of the sentence) BUT ownselfcannot function as a regular reflexive Example 4 Lisi is blaming himself. Lisizaizebei (ta) ziji Example 3 He cut himself. *He cut ownself.

43. Overall Seems like they can replace each other Even though zijiis in fact a Chinese expression Based on example 1 Why you keep asking me! You zijigo open door lah! Why you keep asking me! You ownselfgo open door lah!

44. Conclusion Ownselfis likely to have developed on the basis of the form and functions of the Chinese expression 自己 ‘self’ Although the functions of zijiseems to be wider

45. THANK YOU! 

46. References Deterding, D. (2007). Dialects of english: Singapore english Edinburgh University Press. Sato, Y., & Kim, C. (2012). Radical pro drop and the role of syntactic agreement in colloquial singaporeenglish. Lingua, 122(8), 858. Lim, L. (2004). Singapore English : A Grammatical Description. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Pub. Co.) Nordquist, R. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/West-African-Pidgin-English-Wape.htm Last accessed 1 April 2014. The British Library Board. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/minority-ethnic/caribbean/ Last accessed 1 April 2014. Wee, L. (2007). Singapore English X-self and ownself. World Englishes, 26, 360-372.

47. Platt, John T. 1975. The Singapore English speech continuum and its basilect‘Singlish’ as a ‘creoloid’. Anthropological Linguistics 17:363–374. BBC News. (1999, Aug 30). Singapore declares war on singlish . BBC News World: Asia-Pacific. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/433745.stm Last accessed 1 April 2014. The University of the West Indies. (n.d.). Creole languages of the caribbean. Retrieved from http://www.mona.uwi.edu/dllp/linguistics/creole.htm Last accessed 1 April 2014. Carons, T. A. & Onyioha, A. M. (n.d.). The origin of the pidgin. AfroStyle Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.afrostylemag.com/pidgin.html Last accessed 1 April 2014. Richards, N. (2010, May 17). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2010/05/pidgin-english/ Last accessed 1 April 2014. Versteegh, K. (2008). Non-indo-european pidgins and creoles. In S. Kouwenberg & V. Singler (Eds.), The handbook of pidgin and creole studies Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/store/10.1002/9781444305982.ch7/asset/ch7.pdf?v=1&t=hth5a2yf&s=8a9769c7c837c4c07f5b0bc1d66e74ace7488cb5 Last accessed 1 April 2014.