I work on issues pertaining to language use and perception in bilingual and multilingual communities within the frameworks of sociophonetics and sociolinguistics. My initial research focused on the phonetic and prosodic features of Singapore English, inquiring into what these features can say about Singapore English as a legitimate variety of English that has some form of global status and recognition. My concern with seeking legitimacy for languages in Singapore has also led me to examine policy and social issues that shape and affect language planning and policies in Singapore and internationally. For my work on language planning and policy, I am particularly interested in understanding and unveiling how the Singaporean state manages ethnolinguistic diversity and engineers multilingual individuals through language, education and media policies.
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Sociophonetics, Acoustic phonetics (prosody in particular), Language Planning & Policy, Contact phonology (especially tone)
RESEARCH LANGUAGES:
Singapore English; Chinese languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Teochew (Southern Min), Hokkien and Cantonese; Malay.
Some non-academic writing/podcasts/documentaries:
On Singlish -
https://www.ourgrandfatherstory.com/video/what-is-singlish
On accents -
https://knowornot.com/2019/09/10/singapore-accent-english-s2e3/
On mother tongues-
https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/what-our-singaporean-mother-tongue
Updated: 26 12 2019