Linguistic landscape of Singapore Housing Development Board estates

This study attempts to investigate the linguistic landscape (LL) of the Public Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates of Singapore. Two HDB estates are selected as the research sites and a total of 486 signs are collected as data for analysis. This empirical study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods to reveal how the three mother tongue languages are represented in the LL of the housing areas, the difference between top-down and bottom-up signs, and lastly, to identify any disparities in language usage between the two selected HDB estates. The study draws on theoretical frameworks such as geosemiotics by Scollon & Scollon (2003), and Reh’s (2004) model for types of multilingual information to aid in analysis.

The study affirms prior research indicating that Singapore is an English-dominated society, a fact that is also reflected in the LL of the two HDB estates. English is the predominant language on signage, alongside the presence of the three mother tongue languages: Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, reflecting the nation’s multilingual identity. Chinese emerges as the second most prevalent language in these estates, while Malay and Tamil appear somewhat marginalized.

In both HDB estates, the LL exhibits a clear prevalence of English. The study also uncovers disparities in the LL between the two HDB estates, in terms of aspects like language combination patterns and appearance of traditional Chinese script, suggesting inconsistency across Singapore’s housing areas. This implies that the impact of the official language policy on signage may vary by region, emphasizing the dynamic nature of LL in different locales.