anca

Table 1 shows the respondents’ language choice between SSE and Singlish. When talking with family members and friends, they spoke Singlish more frequently, whereas they spoke SSE when talking with bosses, teachers, and government officials. When conversing with foreigners except for Malaysians, who could speak Singlish-like Malaysian English, they used SSE.

This means that Singaporeans switch between SSE and Singlish according to situations. It follows from the findings of their language use that SSE and Singlish are used for two different functions. In other words, the relationship between SSE and Singlish is diglossic5). SSE is used for formal interactions as the H variety6), whereas Singlish is used for informal interactions as the L variety7) and both varieties of English complement each function.

CR.SQW