Language and social identity amongst Tamil-English bilinguals in Singapore

Abstract

The paper examines the position of the Tamil language in Singapore. It is one of the four official languages of the country, but shows signs of decline in recent years relative to English, Chinese and Malay. The reasons for this are explored. Its low social status is the primary factor. Tamil is still associated with poverty and lack of social and political influence. But other factors, some of them more amenable to planned intervention, are also working against it. Formal varieties of the language are still dominant in the media, limiting its popular appeal to many Indians and even its comprehensibility. A prescriptive, language-centred attitude dominates in the schools also, making Tamil increasingly a 'classroom language' that has little likelihood of being used for everyday communication. The paper argues that it will be essential in the coming years to increase the out-of-school use of the language among young Singaporean and Malaysian Tamils. To achieve this it will be necessary to get them to use the language more often in the home, thus bridging the gulf between the formal varieties of the language, associated with school, media, and temple, and the informal varieties that still flourish in everyday transactions.