'Sek Fan!": language attitudes and language practices within Cantonese households

Abstract

The Cantonese are the third largest group of Chinese in Singapore. Census data seems to show that Cantonese has the highest level of maintenance as the main household language among all the Chinese vernaculars. A mixed method approach was adopted to investigate the language attitudes towards Cantonese and Cantonese usage within the Cantonese community. An online questionnaire collected data from 114 young adults aged 18 to 35, who identified as Cantonese, and interviews were carried out with two elderly Cantonese women. The survey participants were stratified based on their educational level, age and whether they grew up in a Cantonese-speaking environment. The findings suggest that growing up in a Cantonese-speaking environment had the most significant effect on Cantonese use and led to more positive attitude towards the vernacular. The findings provide evidence to the importance of language exposure at a young age. The study also found that grandparents have conflicting views and roles in the promotion and maintenance of Cantonese within the family domain. The study provides evidence that language ideology is a dynamic issue in Singapore, especially when it concerns heritage languages. The high reported amount of Cantonese usage paired with positive language attitudes suggest that Cantonese may still be viable in Singapore. The Cantonese community should maintain or even increase its usage of Cantonese both within the home domain and outside of it, providing more Cantonese exposure for all, especially the younger generation.