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Article published In: Heterolingualism in/and Translation
Edited by Reine Meylaerts
[Target 18:1] 2006
► pp. 139–161

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Revealing the invisible

Heterolingualism in three generations of Singaporean playwrights

 | The University of Manchester
Published online: 5 December 2006
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.18.1.08sta
Despite official disapproval, playwrights and their translators in Singapore use heterolingualism to establish a Singaporean identity. Kuo Pao Kun’s work shows us the “little man” and demonstrates that English is the language of power. Quah Sy Ren’s work explores the plight of the local Chinese-speaker, suggesting that Chinese-Singaporeans are more firmly anchored in their cultural identity. In Alfian Sa’at’s work the single heterolingual speaker is splintered into a variety of roles shaped by age, ethnicity, and gender, with heterolingualism being a mark of intergenerational and interracial tension. These three plays offer three solutions to the problem of forging a Singaporean identity: one based on Singlish, one based on Chinese, and one based on multilingualism and translation. They destabilize the notion of independent and self-sufficient languages, thereby challenging the notion of equivalence in translation.
Résumé
Malgré sa désapprobation officielle, l’hétérolinguisme est utilisé par les dramaturges et les traducteurs au Singapore pour créer une identité singapourienne. Les pièces de théâtre de Kuo Pao Kun mettent en scène ‘Monsieur Tout le Monde’ et démontrent que l’anglais est la langue du pouvoir. L’oeuvre de Quah Sy Ren explore le dilemme du Chinois local, suggérant que les Singapouriens chinois sont plus fermement ancrés dans leur identité culturelle. Dans l’oeuvre d’Alfian Sa’at, le sujet hétérolingue est fracturé en une variété de rôles différenciés par leur âge, race, genre; l’hétérolinguisme y marque la tension intergénérationnelle et interraciale. Les trois pièces offrent trois solutions différentes au problème de la création d’une identité singapourienne : une basée sur le singlish, une sur le chinois et une autre sur le multilinguisme et la traduction. Elles déstabilisent la notion de langues indépendantes et autosuffisantes tout en mettant en question la notion d’équivalence en traduction.
Article outline
  • 0.Introduction
  • 1.The linguistic situation in Singapore
  • 2.Theatricals in Singapore
  • 3.“No parking on odd days” and the man in the street
  • 4.The vanishing Chinese-speaker: Quah Sy Ren’s “Invisibility”
  • 5.Singaporeans on the run
  • 6.Writing at the edge of intelligibility
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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