Virtual Singlish as a lingua franca: Translingual entrepreneurship through poetry

Eunice Ying Ci Lim, Suresh Canagarajah

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Singapore is a multiracial and multilingual nation that designated Singapore Standard English (SSE) as its lingua franca. Despite the state’s disapproval of Singlish (Singapore Colloquial English, SCE) and the launching of the Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) in 2000 to curb its use, Singlish has accrued covert prestige as the country’s informal lingua franca. While the state frequently claims that Singlish is unintelligible to international speakers of English and has no practical use beyond local contexts, the Internet has significantly expanded the language’s domain and complicated Singlish’s production, circulation, and reception. This chapter compares the online reception of two Singlish poems among Singaporean and non-Singaporean participants, arguing that Singlish is a capacious virtual and global lingua franca that facilitates translingual practices. Virtual Singlish as a lingua franca (VSLF) shifts the language away from its limited topolectal use to consider its international value. While Singlish is typically positioned as an obstacle to English language education and international communication, VSLF witnesses how creative deployments of Singlish invite enterprising negotiations of unfamiliar expressions among non-Singaporeans. This practice has implications for Singlish’s pedagogical role in classrooms, whether international or local, virtual or in-person.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationVirtual English as a Lingua Franca
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages85-108
Number of pages24
ISBN (Electronic)9781000882841
ISBN (Print)9781032379814
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Arts and Humanities
  • General Social Sciences

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