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A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in SingaporeRegional Identities: Distinct but Undivided

A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore: Regional Identities: Distinct but... [Before the official legitimization of race by the census of 1891, identity may be said to have been more regional in nature, that is, dependent on whet her one’s language was sea-bound or land-bound (Reid, 2010).1 Hence, questions such as “Where are you from?” became common parlance, and indeed, almost always, the only relevant one (Bellwood, 2004). There was a palpable sharing and awareness of a common regional identity arising from the flexibility of boundaries, even if these may periodically erupt in chiefdom rivalry from time to time. A sense of regionalism came too with commonly used words, a likeness in customs, shared memories of emigration or settlement as a group and even anatomical similarities. The lingua franca Bazaar Malay, which may be regarded as the first major pidgin of Southeast Asia, also gave rise to a shared “we” feeling and a collective identity.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in SingaporeRegional Identities: Distinct but Undivided

Chew, Phyllis Ghim-Lian
Springer Journals — Oct 21, 2015
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Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2013
ISBN
978-1-349-43657-6
Pages
37 –53
DOI
10.1057/9781137012340_3
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Before the official legitimization of race by the census of 1891, identity may be said to have been more regional in nature, that is, dependent on whet her one’s language was sea-bound or land-bound (Reid, 2010).1 Hence, questions such as “Where are you from?” became common parlance, and indeed, almost always, the only relevant one (Bellwood, 2004). There was a palpable sharing and awareness of a common regional identity arising from the flexibility of boundaries, even if these may periodically erupt in chiefdom rivalry from time to time. A sense of regionalism came too with commonly used words, a likeness in customs, shared memories of emigration or settlement as a group and even anatomical similarities. The lingua franca Bazaar Malay, which may be regarded as the first major pidgin of Southeast Asia, also gave rise to a shared “we” feeling and a collective identity.]

Published: Oct 21, 2015

Keywords: Mother Tongue; Chinese Language; Oral History; Regional Identity; Malay Language

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