Heteronormativity, then, underlies the basic tools of social control for the Singaporean government. Heteronormativity is a means to control the population, both in numbers and in the possibilities of the configurations of private spaces. The nuclear family is also one facet of Singapore’s view of modernity, a view that is undoubtedly influenced by transnational images of the modern—and, often, Western—family. Although British roots planted the basis of family control as a conduit to social control, it was the Singaporean government that took that concept to how it manifests today. It is with this background that I then turn to three examples of Singaporean cultural media and examine how they react to this compulsive heteronormativity.

為了懂新加坡的文化，我們必須先了解新加坡的歷史與文化發展時候 的情況。

Presentation handout for RhythmTools.pl writeup.

This experiment, and other experiments that target speech rhythm, produce a large number of files that need to be measured in a consistent manner. Although the script is not equipped to make automatic measurements of utterance and vowel boundaries, it is still able to automate a significant portion of the calculations in a consistent man- ner, thereby reducing the amount of human labor and human error. In particular, the script automatically calculates syllable duration based on vowel length, formants for each vowel, and the PVI for each utterance. The script works in conjunction with information from Praat and rewrites the information along with the output of each calculation into comma-separated value (CSV) files that can be read into other programs for further analysis.

Singapore is one of a number of different countries that have postcolonially adopted English as an official language and that continues to use English in a significant portion of its daily life. As such, English in Singapore, through constant use, has become its own linguistically distinct variety with a number of stabilized features that are different from Inner Circle varieties of English, such as Standard Southern British English (SSBE) or General American English (GA).

This paper will focus primarily on describing key features of Colloquial Singapore English (CSE), otherwise known as “Singlish”; I will also briefly touch upon the sociohistorical background of Singlish as well as the current social atmosphere surrounding the variety.

I approached my field research, then, with an exploratory perspective: Are the opinions as seen in the press representative of the opinions of the average Singaporean? How aware is the average Singaporean of the SGEM? What is the average Singaporean’s views towards the roles of English and Singlish in Singapore, and do these correspond with the government’s views on language? Is the debate about English and Singlish as fiery as it seems from the academic and media perspectives?

My interviews showed that the typical Singaporean (a term which is in itself very vague, and which I will discuss in my demographics section) is not as aware of the SGEM as previous research has assumed, but that, regardless, their opinion of the importance of Standard English in Singapore aligns closely to that of the government’s. The typical Singaporean also sees Singlish as important to Singaporean identity, in that it is a phe- nomenon unique to Singapore and therefore important for differentiating Singaporeans from other nations. I will then discuss these responses and locate Singlish in more detail in the Singaporean identity, as well as discuss current and potentially future shifts within the ideology of the SGEM as well as the government’s approach to English and Singlish.