ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a historical precis of Singapore's language policies, arguing that they are intertwined with nation-building and economic objectives. It outlines the context and ideological basis for why and how certain language policies came to be adopted in Singapore. The cornerstone of the government's nation branding exercise includes the pre-eminent valuation of English for economic reasons, and concomitant position that it cannot be representative of cultural heritage. The chapter illustrates three aspects of tension as a result of these initiatives: the policies of multiracialism and bilingualism against a backdrop of massive language shift towards English; the state's linguistic insecurity towards English amidst a population increasingly proficient in and demonstrating ownership of the language; the state's disdain towards the emergence of Singlish, a local vernacular, as representative of national identity. The chapter explores that the nation branding efforts in Singapore might be seen as a form of ‘commercial nationalism’ by virtue of its emphasis on neoliberal capitalism.
