Attitudes towards Literary Tamil and Standard Spoken Tamil in Singapore

Autor/in	Saravanan, Vanithamani
Titel	Attitudes towards Literary Tamil and Standard Spoken Tamil in Singapore
Quelle	In: International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10 (2007) 1, S.58-79 (22 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1367-0050
DOI	10.2167/beb366.0
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Teacher Attitudes; Multilingualism; Dravidian Languages; Semantics; Language Attitudes; Comparative Analysis; Bilingualism; Measures (Individuals); Standard Spoken Usage; Language Variation; Singapore + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Lehrerverhalten; Mehrsprachigkeit; Multilingualismus; Semantik; Sprachverhalten; Bilingualismus; Messdaten; Gesprochene Sprache; Umgangssprache; Sprachenvielfalt; Singapur
Abstract	This is the first empirical study that focused on attitudes towards two varieties of Tamil, Literary Tamil (LT) and Standard Spoken Tamil (SST), with the multilingual state of Singapore as the backdrop. The attitudes of 46 Singapore Tamil teachers towards speakers of LT and SST were investigated using the matched-guise approach along with four-point semantic differential attitude scales. The scales formed three dimensions--status, solidarity and social attractiveness; and three additional distinct traits--love for language, suitability for Tamil teaching and suitability for media presentation. The teachers' perceptions of LT and SST guises of two out of three speakers were found predominantly comparable for all attitude dimensions (status, solidarity, and social attractiveness) and two discrete attitude items (love for language and suitability for Tamil teaching). Two speakers were rated lower when using SST than when using LT in terms of perceived suitability for media presentation. Tamil teachers' attitudes were influenced by the pitch and pitch variation of the speakers' voice. Differences in teachers' perceptions of SST and LT guises were detected primarily only for the speaker whose voice has the highest pitch and highest pitch variation. The same speaker was rated highest in all measures given above. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10