Ng Bee Chin works in the area of bilingualism and multilingualism with a focus on the impact of language contact on individuals and the community they live in. Her research approach is to explore both cognitive and social aspects of language use across the lifespan. Currently, she is working on language and emotion in multilinguals, language and trust, language attitudes, identity and social categorisation and communicative aspects of aging. A common thread running through her research is the connection between the self and the social. Invariably, our social interactions will have an impact on the way information is organized cognitively and she continues to navigate the nexus between these two fields. She is the co-editor of the recently published 3 volume Handbook of Language and Emotion by Mouton De Gruyter. She is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. 

In Singlish we trust? Real news, fake news, trust and language

This study examines Singaporeans’ perceptions of Singapore Standard English (SSE) and Singapore Colloquial English (SCE) within the dimensions of trust, status, and solidarity. Despite SCE’s common associations with the Singaporean identity, matched guise studies often find lower solidarity ratings for SCE compared to SSE. In some contexts, increased solidarity is often associated with heightened trust. Using an adapted Matched Guise Technique, 256 participants aged 18 to 70 evaluated recordings of news content delivered by actors in both SSE and SCE across four veracity conditions: Real, Fake, Ambiguous but Real, and Ambiguous but Fake. Participants assessed each guise using a semantic differential scale measuring traits associated with trust, status, and solidarity. The results show that SSE was rated significantly higher than SCE in all three dimensions, even for fake news. Additionally, female speakers were perceived as more trustworthy and slightly higher in status compared to male speakers. Trust and status ratings for SSE may be attributed to its associations with formality and prestige, bolstered by societal and educational influences. Solidarity ratings may be affected by the view of SCE as more suitable for informal settings rather than news sharing, making the perceived failure to codeswitch appropriately less relatable to participants. This research highlights the significant impact of language variety on public perceptions and its role in shaping credibility within the Singaporean context.