The maintenance of bilingual and bicultural identities: A case study of minority Indian communities in Singapore

Abstract

The paper examines the political and social role of English language in homogenising both majority and minority linguistic communities in Singapore. It examines to what extent the original, distinctive, separate identities expressed in the distinctive language-culture codes have undergone a process of diffusion when overwhelmed by a homogeneous national identity. While there has been a shift to an English-based cultural orientation, it is not a simplistic case of a total cultural assimilation for all groups in the communities. The paper discusses the Tamil speaking community's attempts at maintaining some of their distinctive bilingual and bicultural identities within a multicultural context.