ABSTRACT
Its choice of language is certainly consistent with its own notion of a national past that does not go beyond the immediate colonial history, and a vision of a cultural future that does not go beyond an ambience quite similar to a Hilton Hotel lobby anywhere in the world. Walk into any large book store in Singapore and one will be confronted by an array of material familiar to anyone from an English-dominant country, from Enid Blyton to Barbara Cartland, from business manuals to computer journals. The connections between English and various forms of culture and knowledge are still in some areas linked to Singapore's colonial history. Much of the success story of Singapore is well known: the rapid ascendancy of this small, scarcely industrialized island to become a major financial centre; the massive provision of government housing; the building of a modern, clean and beautiful city; and the development of a highly efficient education system.
