ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies two characteristics of the Peranakans that are significant: their early, settled presence in the region, and their mixed origins, and highlights the significance of these factors in the ecology of Singapore and in the Peranakan's linguistic practices and the evolution of what later became Singapore English (SgE). It also underlines how such a community-seemingly of the past-does in fact continue to impact on ecology and evolution in the present day. In the 21st century, it appears that the Peranakans still have relevance in Singapore's multiracial ecology, their position as mediators as a consequence of their multilingual resources still maintained in a slightly different form, such as representatives of the multicultural ecology. The chapter expresses that the linguistic practice observed, should really be viewed as a single English-Baba Malay (BM) mixed code in its own right. In other words, it is mixed codes such as BM and Peranakan 'English' that characterise the Peranakan's multilingual repertoire.
