
- ISSN 0920-9034
- E-ISSN: 1569-9870
Bazaar Malay topics
- Author(s):Bao Zhiming1 andKhin Khin Aye2
- View AffiliationsHide AffiliationsAffiliations:1 National University of Singapore2 Swinburne University of Technology, Kuching, Malaysia
- Source:Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages,Volume 25, Issue 1,Jan 2010,p.155 - 171
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.1075/jpcl.25.1.06bao
Abstract
Bazaar Malay is a Malay-lexified pidgin with a Chinese substratum spoken in the marketplace of Singapore (and elsewhere in Southeast Asia). Although it is no longer a lingua franca in Singapore today, it is nevertheless still spoken by older Singaporeans. Like Chinese and Malay, Bazaar Malay is a topic-prominent language. We document three types of the Bazaar Malay topic construction and show that they are identical to the topic structures found in Chinese. The degree of convergence in the topic construction between Chinese and Bazaar Malay, and between Chinese and Singapore English, supports the systemic view of substratum transfer.