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Xinjiapo ke jia she qun yu yan huo li diao cha yan jiu = A sociolinguistic survey on language vitality of the Hakka dialect in the Hakka community of Singapore
Other titles
新加坡客家社群语言活 力调查研究
Author
Saw, Shu
Supervisor
Goh, Yeng Seng
Abstract
This study aims to ascertain the language vitality of the Hakka dialect, particularly within the Hakka Community of Singapore. The analysis is based on data obtained from 97 Hakka informants through the use of questionnaires.
Language vitality was jointly derived by surveying on the following aspects:
(a) Subjective societal language vitality: This includes respondents perceived societal vitality of the Hakka dialect, Mandarin and English, pitched upon the dimensions of demography, institutional support and status.
(b) Language attitude: This touches on concerns like attitude towards the sentimental and pragmatic functions of the above-mentioned language mediums, attitude towards the Hakka dialect as a marker of community membership, as well as maintenance and transmission of the Hakka dialect.
(c) Ethnic identity: This indicates the extent to which people identify themselves with the culture, spirit and community they belong to.
(d) Language use: This identifies the usage level of the three language mediums (particularly the Hakka dialect) in different domains, namely, the family, social and the public domains.
Findings indicate that Hakka dialect is a low-vitality language in Singapore compared to Mandarin and English. Hakka dialect vitality also diminishes with younger age groups. This is because the Hakka community perceives their dialect to be at the bottom of the demographic hierarchy, difficult to obtain institutional support and of low status. Although the Hakka dialect poses a fair amount of sentimental value to them, it is of no pragmatic value compared to Mandarin and English. The sense of identity with their own community group has undergone a shift towards a "Singaporean identity , resulting in the Hakka dialect being restrained to home use. Findings also reveal the close linkage of language vitality with language policies implemented by the government.
Language vitality was jointly derived by surveying on the following aspects:
(a) Subjective societal language vitality: This includes respondents perceived societal vitality of the Hakka dialect, Mandarin and English, pitched upon the dimensions of demography, institutional support and status.
(b) Language attitude: This touches on concerns like attitude towards the sentimental and pragmatic functions of the above-mentioned language mediums, attitude towards the Hakka dialect as a marker of community membership, as well as maintenance and transmission of the Hakka dialect.
(c) Ethnic identity: This indicates the extent to which people identify themselves with the culture, spirit and community they belong to.
(d) Language use: This identifies the usage level of the three language mediums (particularly the Hakka dialect) in different domains, namely, the family, social and the public domains.
Findings indicate that Hakka dialect is a low-vitality language in Singapore compared to Mandarin and English. Hakka dialect vitality also diminishes with younger age groups. This is because the Hakka community perceives their dialect to be at the bottom of the demographic hierarchy, difficult to obtain institutional support and of low status. Although the Hakka dialect poses a fair amount of sentimental value to them, it is of no pragmatic value compared to Mandarin and English. The sense of identity with their own community group has undergone a shift towards a "Singaporean identity , resulting in the Hakka dialect being restrained to home use. Findings also reveal the close linkage of language vitality with language policies implemented by the government.
Date Issued
2000
Call Number
PL1860.S55 X5
Date Submitted
2000