Introduction: A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore

Abstract

A brief look through recent publications in sociolinguistics convinces us that the notion of identity is central. It is “sociolinguistics’ home ground” (Coupland, 2001: 18). Common identity markers include parental status, ethnicity, age, gender, job, religion, personality and political persuasion. A study of identities is also closely related to the study of language, not least because language is the principal means to hold and communicate thoughts and emotions (Sapir, 1949; Spolsky, 2010; Bucholtz and Kira, 2010). Language and identity are, as Joseph (2004: 13) concludes, “ultimately inseparable”. For example, bearing the marks of culture and history, language carries with it past identities and this is seen in the language of the Sejarah Melayu (“Malay Annals”), which exemplifies the identity of 17th century Malay (Johor-Riau) aristocratic society just as the Tuhfat al-Nafis (“The Precious Gift”) exemplifies a later 19th century society (cf. Matheson and Andaya, 1982). Lexical borrowings from the Portuguese in Bahasa Malaysia (Malaysian language) are also seen through common Malay words such as bola (“ball”) and amah (“Chinese nurse”). Human beings therefore enter a world already filled with words or linguistic categories which has assimilated social and historical experiences. It follows then that a child who is brought up in a particular society speaking a particular language is already “socialized or “culturalized” with an identity from the day he or she is born.