A case of language indigenisation: Some features of colloquial Singapore English

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Abstract
The process of language nativisation or indigenisation implies the adaptation of the language to fit the communicative needs of those adopting it. This applies particularly to the use of the language in the more informal speech domains, leading to the development of a local, colloquial variety. Such nativisation involves more than the use of lexical items from local languages or the formation of caiques in the nativised variety. It involves more than simplification of the adopted language. In a situation such as Singapore, where the status of English is high and where its functions have increased rapidly with the move towards English‐medium education, several types of convergence have occurred in the development of Colloquial Singapore English, including the use of Chinese particles, an aspectual rather than a tense system, Chinese type question tagging and an existential‐locative verb, got. It is suggested that it is this distinctively Singaporean, colloquial nativised variety of English which serves increasingly as a panethnic lingua franca.