A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore : From Colonialism to Nationalism

If names are a part of identity, then the many historical names of Singapore belie its singular nature. In old maps, it was referred to as Pulau Panjang (in Malay, "Long Island") or Po Luo Chung (a Chinese way of saying Pulau Ujong , "Island at the Tip of the Peninsula"). Fourteenthcentury writers also knew of a place they called Lung-ya-men (龍牙門), the "Dragon's Tooth Straits", which refers to the western entrance of Keppel Harbour -the main trade route from the South China Sea to the Straits of Malacca and beyond (Miksic and Low, 2004: 19-20). Li Chung Chu travelled south from Shanghai to visit an old friend, the first Chinese consul to Singapore. He wrote a full account of what he discovered during his month's stay in the Nanyang (meaning "South Seas") and silat (meaning "Straits") -also alternative names for Singapore. The most well-known name, from the modern name of Singapore is derived, is Singapura , a Sanskrit term meaning "Lion City". 1 The second-best-known is Temasek , a Javanese word meaning "Sea Town" (from Tumasik ). Then there was Malayura Tamil word meaning "Hill Town" -mentioned in the library of Marco Polo. What part do all these names play in a sociolinguistic history of early identities?As early as the 14th century, Temasek was viewed as the nexus of the trade routes in Southeast Asia . This prominence is substantiated by very recent discoveries of archeological artifacts such as ceramics and glassware from the Riau Archipelago. Shards of Thai ceramics from the 15th century, and late 16th-and 17th-century Chinese blue-and-white porcelain shards, have also recently been recovered from the Singapore River and Kallang River (Miksic and Low, 2004). The Johor-Riau-Lingga Empire, a Malay maritime empire, made a living from ships passing through the Straits of Malacca. Singapore competed with rival polyglot ports along the Straits of Malacca coast, such as Palembang, Jambi, Kota Cina, South Kedah, Lambri and Semudra. Before the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century, there were the Arabs, Persians and Indian traders a millennium earlier. Who were Singapore's multilingual inhabitants, who must necessarily have included women and children? What were the pidgins, Creoles and lingua francas that thronged its market places and created its forgotten identities? What role does race, geography, religion, orthography and nationalism play in the crafting of identities? What are the origins of Singlish? This book offers a thorough investigation of old and new identities in Asia's most global city, examined through the lens of language. 'Pulau Panjan', 'Po Luo Chung', 'Pulau Ujong', 'Lung -ya-men', 'Temasek', 'Singapura' are all former names of Singapore and belie its colourful history as the El-Dorado and nexus of Southeast Asia. Who were Singapore's previous multilingual inhabitants? What were the pidgins, creoles and languages that thronged its market places and created its forgotten identities? How did polyglot migrants caught in the throes of an earlier globalization organize their respective identities? What hybrid identities arose from such cross-cultural interactions? This book presents a fascinating history of early identities in Singapore as examined through the retrospective lens of language. A long view has been chosen for its advantage in providing unexpected socio-political and linguistic insights into the long term effects of change and continuity 'Pulau Panjan', 'Po Luo Chung', 'Pulau Ujong', 'Lung-ya-men', 'Temasek', 'Singapura' are all former names of Singapore and belie its colourful history as the El-Dorado and nexus of Southeast Asia. Who were Singapore's previous multilingual inhabitants? What were the pidgins, creoles and languages that thronged its market places and created its forgotten identities? How did polyglot migrants caught in the throes of an earlier globalization organize their respective identities? What hybrid identities arose from such cross-cultural interactions? This book presents a fascinating history of early identities in Singapore as examined through the retrospective lens of language. A long view has been chosen for its advantage in providing unexpected socio-political and linguistic insights into the long-term effects of change and continuity. Book jacket 'Pulau Panjan', 'Po Luo Chung', 'Pulau Ujong', 'Lung 6ya-men', 'Temasek', 'Singapura' are all former names of Singapore and belie its colourful history as the El-Dorado and nexus of Southeast Asia. Who were Singapore's previous multilingual inhabitants? What were the pidgins, creoles and languages that thronged its market places and created its forgotten identities? How did polyglot migrants caught in the throes of an earlier globalization organize their respective identities? What hybrid identities arose from such cross-cultural interactions? This book presents a fascinating history of early identities in Singapore as examined through the retrospective lens of language. A long view has been chosen for its advantage in providing unexpected socio-political and linguistic insights into the long term effects of change and continuity