ABSTRACT
The first chapter introduces the concept of crosslinguistic influence in the context of Colloquial Singapore English, and explains how a statistical approach to the study of the concept can give us a more complete picture of the phenomenon. The use of statistical tools like logistic regressions and Poisson regressions in illuminating the specific question of the way in which crosslinguistic influence interacts with social and linguistic factors is a novel approach to the study of crosslinguistic influence in Colloquial Singapore English that allows for a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon. In addition to this, Chapter 1 will also provide the reader with a brief summary of the major theoretical studies of Singapore English, and conclude with how a study of the linguistic and social aspects of crosslinguistic influence may complement previous studies of Singapore English. For instance, a unified approach to the study of crosslinguistic influence will inform us the way in which an individual’s social characteristics like language dominance and language attitude influence the likelihood of that individual’s acquisition and usage of a transfer feature from an ethnic language.
