Research on English in Singapore

Abstract

ABSTRACTResearch on English in Singapore has been the topic of many studies from the late 1970s to the present. Past surveys on the topic have tended to focus on the phasing of the study of Singapore English, rather than on the broader issue of English in Singapore per se. From the late 1990s, we see the birth of a new generation of scholars on Singapore English whose doctoral dissertations have focused on Singapore English, and who have focused on the systematic, features‐based linguistic description of Singapore English as well as the broader consideration of English in Singapore in general. The present paper takes its reference from an up‐to‐date compilation of published works of English in Singapore and doctoral dissertations, and attempts a meta‐analysis via a systematic coding of all the works done. A critical evaluation of what existing research implies about the theoretical modelling of English in Singapore and areas requiring further research will be elucidated in the final section.