Language Planning and Policy

Status Accorded to Tamil Language

            Tamil language is one of the four official languages in Singapore. The other three are English, Malay and Mandarin. Each language represents each of the major ethnic groups and is considered to a certain extent to be the mother tongue of the members of that particular group. The choice of Tamil as the Indian language representative of the Singaporean Indians was made on the basis that majority[1] of the Indian population speak it and it was the “associated language” of the majority of the Indian population.    

Such a policy is in line with the two overall government ideologies, i.e. the maintenance of separate ethnic identities as well as language, specifically the mother tongue[2], being thought to be a means of maintaining a person’s ethnic identity. As an official language, Tamil is expected to be used in the family domain and in cultural pursuits, i.e. in the learning of one’s traditions, morals and value systems.

Although Tamil is one of the four official languages, we see that speaking in Tamil is regarded as maTTam, meaning, “having no prestige”, by the elite. In addition, those monolingual in Tamil are regarded as patikaata muTTaal or as illiterates. One reason for such an association is that the low socio-economic status of workers is often linked to the lack of English education.

Institutional support for the use of Tamil, in official documents, the media and schools is rising but that alone is inadequate in gaining widespread support for the use of the language. Many feel that the public use of Tamil, for instance, in Parliament and during cultural celebrations would help to show a sense of solidarity. As such, we see that there is a need for an interplay of many institutional as well as non-institutional factors to allow the Tamil language to flourish as an official language in Singapore.

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Tamil Language and the Media

            Compared to the publishing industry with its range of novels and magazines, it is the movie industry in India that attracts a large audience amongst the masses.[3] Tamil pop music, too has a big following amongst young Tamils in Singapore. A less literary, more colloquial Tamil with its regional varieties is prevalent in the entertainment industry.

            In contrast, the Tamil Radio and Television Sections of the Singapore Broadcasting Corporations (SBC), now MediaCorp, have an official policy not to use Spoken Tamil or peecu tamiR in their programmes. Instead, the only variety used in the programmes is literary Tamil. Such a policy has greatly reduced the appeal of such programmes.

            In an attempt to expand its audience base, the use of colloquial Tamil code-mixing in Tamil-English and Tamil-Malay amongst the interviewees in such programmes is now “tolerated” on some occasions where once only literary Tamil was the only register acceptable

Education Policy

            With the closing of the last Tamil-medium school in 1982, Tamil education in Singapore today, is confined to its teaching as a second language in English medium schools. This is also in line with the policy of bilingualism. English is now the working language and medium of instruction in schools. The primary function of learning a second language, Tamil in this instance, is to enable people to understand their cultural past and what it means to be of a certain ethnicity.

            However, as more students study Tamil at a second language level, standards of attainment and proficiency levels are far lower than what it was twenty years ago. The younger generation regards Tamil only as an educational requirement till the completion of their ‘A’ Levels. Despite the support for the language, middle-class Indians are aware that as the Singapore educational system is based on language achievement as well as academic achievement, Indian children should concentrate on securing places in colleges and universities. Many would therefore want their children to concentrate on academic achievement and English language as a passport to tertiary education.

            As a result, we see that although the policy of bilingualism has, to a certain extent, help to ensure that the Tamil language is kept alive, it has also resulted in lessening the significance of the language. Instead, English is preferred over Tamil, as many feel it is the passport to a brighter future. Also, a prescriptivist attitude has been adopted in the teaching of the Tamil language, which has further reduced the interest in learning the language.

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