The Nature of Biliterate Signages (Research Paper Sample)

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Title: The nature of biliterate signages: A study on the linguistic visibility of Tamil orthography in Singapore's Little India
INTRODUCTION 
PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH 
Tamil is one of the FOUR main languages in Singapore, being taught as a Mother Tongue in most government schools and used in official government notices and letters. This research aims to examine the prevalence of the Tamil language and its orthography in Little India (Singapore). The research study will be replicated from Shang & Guo's (1) study on the linguistic landscape of shop names and its correlation to Singapore's multiculturalism. The main difference in the research paper would be that it is limited to the ethnic enclave of Little India. The purpose of the comparison is to streamline the focus on the Tamil language and its visibility in that specific area.
INTRODUCTION 
LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE IN SINGAPORE
Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multilingual state with four official English, Malay, Chinese, and Tamil. Singapore has a population of five point five million (Singapore Department of Statistics, of the year two thousand and sixteen). It comprises seventy-four percent (74.1%) Chinese Singaporeans, thirteen-point four percent (13.4%) Malays, nine-point two percent (9.2%) Indians, and three-point three percent (3.3%) others (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2010). the data from the analysis shows that it is reflective of the ethnically diverse background of the country. With this diversity, it is no surprise that English is the most widely spoken language in Singapore despite Malay being officially known as the national language. 
1. ENGLISH 
English is taught as the first language in schools, with the other three languages being taught as compulsory Mother Tongue subjects Wang, (2). English is also the language of choice from the top-down approach; government signages, official notices, media, and print speeches are always written or presented in English first. The great selection of using English as the official language is because many people know it; hence it is straightforward to communicate and deliver the required information to people without any strain. According to the Census that was conducted in the year two thousand and ten of Population (2010), approximately eighty percent (80%) of Singaporeans are literate in English, with more than 70% of the Population fluent in two or more languages (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2010). Malay is as well considered the official national language. The main reason that I would indicate and support that Malay is the official national language is that the real indigenous people of Singapore are considered to be Malaysians. Therefore, the Government tries to play its role b protecting and promoting the use of the language and making it the official language (Ramachandran, 2006). The growth of many of these languages has continued to make a tremendous and significant growth. By 2009, the research found that more than 20 languages were very conversant and known by more than three-quarters of the total Population. The study also clearly indicates that more than twenty languages have been spoken in the country. The researchers are also discovering many other languages that are still being used in the country. According to the researchers, languages use is growing fast, and the development is still on. 
A significant reason for the many languages in Singapore reflects its being a considerable trading settlement zone. After many languages in Singapore were given an important sense, the activity gave rise to an impulsive growth of foreign traders who also embedded their speeches in the area. From analysis, nearly all Singaporeans are bilingual since their bilingual language education policy encourages a dual form of learning (Tang, (3)They have also mandated the teaching of a second language in Primary schools since 1960.
2. Malay 
The Malay used in Singapore is known as Bahasa Malay, spoken mainly by the Malay community, who make up about 13% of the national population. Malay in Singapore is written in roman alphabets known as Rumi, and the script form is rarely used. The Malay language and other dialects are spoken in surrounding countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.
3. Mandarin 
The official Singaporean Chinese language is Mandarin or Huayu, similar to China's official Putonghua based on the Beijing dialect. Singapore also uses the simplified form for writing Chinese words. The Chinese diaspora comprises about three-quarters of Singapore's Population, many hailing from the southern part of China, where the most widely spoken dialects include Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, and Hainanese. In a bid to standardize the Chinese language in Singapore and align with China's official choice of Putonghua, regional dialects were banned from popular media like television and radio, and Mandarin was the only Chinese language taught in schools. These days, while the rules have loosened up, dialect use has been reduced to mostly being spoken at home and by older generations who grew up speaking the language.
4. TAMIL
"No language is as mysterious is it's original, as rich in history, as ancient in form and as copious in literature as Tamil is." is a quote by Dr. Ramachandran (2006). Tamil is one of the four main languages in Singapore, being taught as a Mother Tongue in most government schools and used in official government notices and letters. This research aims to examine the prevalence of the Tamil language and its orthography in Little India (Singapore). This study will be replicated from Shang & Guo's (2016) study on the linguistic landscape of shop names and its correlation to Singapore's multiculturalism. The main difference in the research paper would be that it is limited to the ethnic enclave of Little India. The primary purpose of checking the study's limitations is to streamline the focus on the Tamil language and its visibility in that specific area. Known as one of the world's oldest languages, many historians date Tamil languages' first origins to approximately 2500 BC, with currently about 78 million speakers worldwide (India Today, 2016). Tamil is also considered one of the world's classical languages, together with Latin, Sanskrit, and Arabic, to name a few. Tamil has gone to extend its borders and is currently used by stats such as; Panel, Vengl, and Odda. Besides, its ranking stands at the 20th most spoken language across the globe. Malaysia has more than 2 million speakers and is used by approximately 1.06% of the World's Population. Tamil is also considered a straightforward structure and grammar and is simplified; therefore, very easy to learn (Tan, P. K. W., 2014). Some people often confuse Tamil and Korean languages with being the same, but the truth is that the two are not the same despite their similarities.
SUMMARY OF THE Shang, G., & Guo, L. (2016). ARTICLE 
 Shang, G., & Guo, L. (2016). Linguistic landscape in Singapore: What shop names reveal about Singapore's multilingualism. International Journal of Multilingualism, 14(2), 183–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2016.1218497 
Shang and Gou are considered to be the original languages to be spoken in the Chinese land. The language is believed to have emerged during the Shang dynasty(1766-1123BC) and is rolling down to be the oldest written language globally. The Shang was in power from 1600 to 1046 and was famous for excellence in Astronomy, artwork, and military technology. Anyang became the capital around 1300BC, being led by their ruler King Pa Ganghwa was then referred to as Yin. Shang left a considerable legacy, and it is for that they are still t history up to date (Zhang, H., Seilhamer, M. & Cheung, Y.,2021). They have their graves still kept up to date. 
 This study by (Shang and Guo 2016)replicates a classic investigation by Clark and Clark. Clark and Clark (1947) developed a simple test using black and white dolls. They found that black children preferred white dolls when asked to choose which were excellent, which they would like to play with and which were a lovely color, and chose black dolls when asked which dolls looked terrible. Clark and Clark suggested that black children had negative attitudes towards themselves and their cultural background. Hrabal and Grant were interested to find out if the children's preference for white dolls had changed considering the changes that had happened in the USA since the Clark and Clark study had been carried out. Aim The study aimed to replicate Clark & Clark's study to re-examine the racial preferences of black children in an interracial setting.
It is difficult to say which explanation is correct but what is essential is that we see psychological studies in a historical context. Clark and Clark's study were carried out towards the end of the 1930s when most states had policies on segregation, and Black people were excluded from White areas and denied access to education, housing, welfare, politics, and jobs. Hrabal and Grant's study was carried out in 1969. The 1960s saw the growth of the civil rights movement and the growth of the Black religious and political organizations and figures. These changes led to some improvement in the opportunities and expectations for Black people in the USA. Since that time, Black people have made many advances within US society and now occupy an important place in the democratic structure. Despite this, the majority of Black people are still economically disadvantaged and the object of considerable ...