Resumen de Names in the Linguistic Landscape Provided by Different Agencies in Singapore
In Singapore, the constitution identifies four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin Chinese and Tamil. These four languages also become the basis of the state�s bilingual policy, often christened the �English-knowing bilingual policy� as it involves English and another official language. Singapore has to struggle to be even-handed with its treatment of the official languages, although it also stresses the need to take on a pragmatic (as opposed to ideological) approach to problem-solving. In this paper, I examine the way names are represented in the linguistic landscape by considering signs put up by several agencies: in particular, street names, names of schools and public buildings, names of MRT (metro) stations and names of tourist attractions. The extent and kind of cross-linguistic representation in these signs are different. Some of this is the result of the difficulty surrounding the issue of the translatability of names and of whether names �belong� to languages. Another issue is whether the language employs a writing system that is closely identified with the language itself. The fact that two of the official languages, English and Malay, share the same Latin script makes it difficult to distinguish between them. I see the resulting mixed treatment of names in the linguistic landscape as a result of the tension between ideology and pragmatism; it is also a result of when, during the swing between the two, the guidelines for signs in particular agencies were drawn up.
