The expansion of semantic functions for already, got, and one
The parallel constructions between the ethnic languages and Colloquial Singapore English described in this section are important in helping us to understand the motivation behind the expansion of the semantic functions of Colloquial Singapore English already, got, and one. For an innovation to spread in the speech community and be widely used by the majority of speakers, especially in a community where there is strong normative pressure to speak Standard English, the basis for linguistic change has to come from the target language, or Standard English, in the case of Colloquial Singapore English. Nevertheless, the motivation or impetus for the change would still come from a bilingual’s knowledge of his or her ethnic language.
One of the main drivers of linguistic innovation in Colloquial Singapore English is the fact that certain linguistic features in the ethnic languages can be used in identical linguistic contexts as certain features in Standard English. The existence of these identical contexts between two language varieties allow speakers to view an English feature as the equivalent of an ethnic language feature, thereby expanding the semantic functions of the English feature to include those of the ethnic language feature. Examples (56) to (58) exemplify the linguistic contexts that motivate the expansion of the semantic functions of Colloquial Singapore English already, got, and one.
- (56a) I already ate.
- (56b) Saya sudah makan
- 1SG already eat
T already ate.’
Examples (56a) and (56b) show how Malay sudah ‘already’ can appear in the same linguistic context as Standard English already in indicating the completion of eating. Such identical contexts of use allow Malay-English bilinguals to identify already as equivalent to sudah. This motivates Malay-English bilinguals to expand the functions of already to the full extent of what sudah can do in Malay. As mentioned earlier in this section, there are also linguistic features in Chinese and Tamil that are similar to Standard English already.
- (57a) I’ve got five dollars.
- (57b) I got a present.
- (57c) Saya ada lima dolar
- 1SG POSS five dollar
‘I’ve got five dollars.'
Examples (57a) and (57c) show how Malay ada can appear in the same linguistic context as Standard English have got in indicating possession. Since have in have got is usually shoi-tened to -ve in speech and is perceptually non-salient, Colloquial Singapore English got begins to take on the meaning of possession as -ve and got frequently co-occur together. Additionally, even in Standard English, got has the meaning of ‘to receive or to obtain’ (see Example (57b)), which implies ‘possession’ as obtaining something suggests the thing is now in that person’s possession. Like regular semantic change, such conversational implicatures can sometimes be incorporated into the core semantics of a word or phrase (Hopper and Traugott 2003).
As for Chinese speakers who use Щ you as a realis modality marker (see previous discussion on Chinese уди) and have a beginner level of proficiency in English, they will also likely expand the semantic functions of got to include the function of a realis modality marker due to a superficial syntactic similarity as shown in Example (57d).
(57d) She got hit (by a bike).
Since Standard English got can appear in passive sentences like (57d), it appears to speakers who have a beginner level of English proficiency that got can appear in the syntactic frame ‘got + VP'. This is precisely the syntactic frame that realis modality marker yon appears in, and these speakers will very likely use got as a realis modality marker as in the example she got buy lunch ‘she did buy lunch’.
- (58a) I want the red one.
- (58b) Ш Щ %L №)
wo yao hong de
1SG want red NMZ
‘I want the red one.’
Examples (58a) and (58b) show how Chinese de can appear in the same linguistic context as Standard English one in indicating reference to something that is red in color. Such identical contexts of use allow Chinese-English bilinguals to extend the use of one to other contexts. As mentioned earlier in this section, Colloquial Singapore English one is the only linguistic feamre where there are no equivalent words or phrases in the Malay and Tamil languages. We shall see in the next section that this has an influence on the differential use of Colloquial Singapore English one by the three ethnic groups.
To conclude, the main motivation for the transfer of semantic functions from the ethnic languages to Colloquial Singapore English is the fact that certain linguistic features in the ethnic languages can be used in precisely the same linguistic contexts as certain Standard English features.
