May 16, 2018

From street signs to hawker centre signs, Singapore’s multilingual and multicultural society is reflected in how language is used. Often overlooked by us as we go about our daily lives, the linguistic landscape of public eating places is more telling about Singapore’s language policies than we may realise.

Recently awarded a Tier 1 Research Grant from MOE, NUS Associate Professor Lee Cher Leng (Department of Chinese Studies) will be embarking on her research regarding the linguistic landscape of Singapore food stall signs. She raises a point of comparison between hawker centres and air-conditioned food courts, where hawker centre stall owners seem to have more autonomy over what is being put on their stall signs. A/P Lee observes that many hawker centre signs use traditional script for Chinese and dialect romanization instead of simplified script and pinyin romanization, whereas others are a mix of both.

Interestingly, these varied combinations of language use can be seen as a product of past campaigns such as the Speak Mandarin Campaign. Launched in 1979, the campaign brought many changes in Chinese language use. These included the switch to pinyin romanization instead of dialect spelling, as well we the shift from traditional to simplified scripts in schools and public signs. Seen in the context of Singapore’s language policies, this unassuming signage reveals much about the Singapore’s linguistic landscape, and its changes across time.

Learn more about A/P Lee’s research project and the other Tier 1 projects here.