24 research outputs found
Mergers and acquisitions: On the ages and origins of Singapore English particles
No full textThis paper presents a comprehensive account of the discourse particles in colloquial Singapore English (SE), considering their etymology in the light of both structure and sociohistory. While the object of many studies, mostly focusing on their meaning and use, and generally recognised as coming from Southern Chinese languages, the establishment of the origins and evolution of SE particles has not before been attempted. The thrust of this paper is thus twofold: (i) it outlines the linguistic ecology of Singapore over the decades and proposes a framework involving three ages in which different languages are recognised as dominant, influencing the feature pool in the evolution of SE, and (ii) it identifies the most likely sources of SE particles, through (a) a systematic comparison of the forms and functions of SE particles with particles from the substrates, including, in particular, their original tone, and (b) recourse to sociohistorical facts to support the linguistic postulation. I suggest that in an early era Bazaar Malay and Hokkien contributed the particles lah, ah and what, and Cantonese in a later age provided lor, hor, leh, meh and ma, inclusive of tone. This argument highlights issues interesting for contact dynamics and new varieties of English. © 2007 The Author. Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
Phonetic absence as syntactic prominence: Grammaticalization in isolating tonal languages
No full text
Appreciating language contact in pronunciation teaching: local languages' effect on Singapore English
No full textDiversity in Neukölln: Maintaining or creating accessibility (for a diversity of social groups) in a gentrifying central neighbourhood in the case of Berlin
No full textThe project tries to anticipate on the gentrification issues in the case of Neukölln in Berlin. How to stimulate/maintain accessibility for a diversity of social groups in a central gentrifying area [in the case of Neukölln, Berlin] ? This is the main research question of the thesis. This resulted in a project that consists of a strategy for Neukölln (and a part of Alt-Treptow). The strategy proposes to use different interventions on different layers. The implementation of the strategy is illustrated with designs of these interventions.Urban FabricsUrbanismArchitecture and The Built Environmen
