Nala H Lee
Biographic Data
| ID | 6917843 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nala H Lee |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nala H |
| FAMILY NAME | Lee |
| SIGNATURE | LEE N H |
| AFFILIATIONS | National University of Singapore |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3807-5193 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 6 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 11 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Between “Threatened” and “Endangered”—The Validity of Vitality Labels
Language vitality scales are commonly used in language documentation, yet assumptions behind labels such as “threatened” and “endangered” are often taken for granted. This study adopts a computational-based approach to disciplinary discourse analysis, examining how linguists deploy “threatened” and “endangered,” terms that appear on vitality scales, across scholarly discourse. We compared vocabulary and thematic content in “threatened” and “endan…
ChakapBot
This paper reports on the pilot implementation of ChakapBot, a generative AI-supported chatbot developed to support both the revitalisation and documentation of Baba Malay, an endangered heritage language in Singapore. A six-week pilot was conducted with 26 participants, the majority of whom were adult learners with limited prior exposure to the language and disrupted intergenerational transmission. Drawing on surveys, the study examines particip…
The early Baba Malay continuum
Baba Malay today is an endangered creole perceived to be a less flexible, easily identifiable language entity with static ascribed qualities. An investigation of resources from the late 1800s and early 1900s shows that such a characterization of early Baba Malay is not possible. Three novels and twenty letters demonstrate a wide range of variation, lexically and grammatically, emphasizing a wide creole continuum that plausibly existed in the heyd…
Variability or its loss in creole endangerment
A language’s endangerment is said to be typified by variation accompanied by some degree of unpredictability. This paper examines if this characterization is appropriate of Baba Malay, an endangered creole, as it is spoken in Singapore. Recent work suggests that the language is much less variable than one expects of a creole. A comparison between historical Baba Malay material and newer Baba Malay material, focusing on the language’s pronominal s…
Speech style variation in an endangered language
Baba Malay encodes a coarse-refined contrast in speech styles, with the vowel [ɛ] being traditionally restricted to the use of refined word forms. Coarse forms ending with [al], [aɾ], and [as] contrast with refined forms that end with [ɛ], which are used when the speaker wants to be perceived as being particularly refined. A comparison of natural conversational speech with careful performative speech supports the claim that speakers of endangered…
Language Change and Linguistic Diversity
Utilizing the Matched-guise as a Method of Examining Perceptual Change in an Endangered Creole
This article concerns the use of a matched-guise task in a language documentation project, showing how such a perceptual tool can be used to highlight ongoing language change and attitudes towards an endangered language. Baba Malay, an endangered creole spoken by the Peranakans, has two forms of words encoding coarseness or refinedness. Words ending with [–al], [-aɾ], and [-as], such as [tampal] ‘mend’, [bakaɾ] ‘burn’, and [nanas] ‘pineapple’ are…
The Status of Endangered Contact Languages of the World
This article provides an up-to-date perspective on the endangerment that contact languages around the world are facing, with a focus on pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages. While language contact is often associated with language shift and hence language endangerment, languages arising from contact also can and do face the risk of endangerment. Recent observations and studies show that contact languages may be at twice the risk of endangerment …
Language documentation
Digital documentation is increasingly important for theatre and performance studies. However, there are still few digital theatre and performance archives and many of them are not yet equipped to realize the potential of digital documentation; they have been slow to adopt standards for data reusability, findability and interoperability. A field that provides an example is language documentation, even though this comparison might not readily strik…
Baba Malay
This article sheds light on the systematic differences between the variety of Baba Malay spoken in Malacca and that spoken in Singapore. In the literature, the creole is usually discussed as if it is a single homogeneous variety. Language documentation work conducted in both Malacca and Singapore shows that there are crucial differences between how Baba Malay is spoken in both places. These differences are systematic, and they pervade areas of mo…
The vitality or endangerment of some nonindigenous languages
One critical assumption that Salikoko Mufwene (2017) makes about the field of language endangerment and loss is that linguists engaged in language endangerment, documentation, and revitalization are concerned with indigenous languages, which naturally leaves out nonindigenous languages. This response concerns itself with addressing this assumption, with a focus on a particular group of nonindigenous languages. It provides insight on the levels of…
The Status of Endangered Contact Languages of the World
This article provides an up-to-date perspective on the endangerment that contact languages around the world are facing, with a focus on pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages. While language contact is often associated with language shift and hence language endangerment, languages arising from contact also can and do face the risk of endangerment. Recent observations and studies show that contact languages may be at twice the risk of endangerment …
The vitality or endangerment of some nonindigenous languages
One critical assumption that Salikoko Mufwene (2017) makes about the field of language endangerment and loss is that linguists engaged in language endangerment, documentation, and revitalization are concerned with indigenous languages, which naturally leaves out nonindigenous languages. This response concerns itself with addressing this assumption, with a focus on a particular group of nonindigenous languages. It provides insight on the levels of…
Language documentation
Digital documentation is increasingly important for theatre and performance studies. However, there are still few digital theatre and performance archives and many of them are not yet equipped to realize the potential of digital documentation; they have been slow to adopt standards for data reusability, findability and interoperability. A field that provides an example is language documentation, even though this comparison might not readily strik…
Baba Malay
This article sheds light on the systematic differences between the variety of Baba Malay spoken in Malacca and that spoken in Singapore. In the literature, the creole is usually discussed as if it is a single homogeneous variety. Language documentation work conducted in both Malacca and Singapore shows that there are crucial differences between how Baba Malay is spoken in both places. These differences are systematic, and they pervade areas of mo…
The Status of Endangered Contact Languages of the World
This article provides an up-to-date perspective on the endangerment that contact languages around the world are facing, with a focus on pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages. While language contact is often associated with language shift and hence language endangerment, languages arising from contact also can and do face the risk of endangerment. Recent observations and studies show that contact languages may be at twice the risk of endangerment …
Utilizing the Matched-guise as a Method of Examining Perceptual Change in an Endangered Creole
This article concerns the use of a matched-guise task in a language documentation project, showing how such a perceptual tool can be used to highlight ongoing language change and attitudes towards an endangered language. Baba Malay, an endangered creole spoken by the Peranakans, has two forms of words encoding coarseness or refinedness. Words ending with [–al], [-aɾ], and [-as], such as [tampal] ‘mend’, [bakaɾ] ‘burn’, and [nanas] ‘pineapple’ are…
Speech style variation in an endangered language
Baba Malay encodes a coarse-refined contrast in speech styles, with the vowel [ɛ] being traditionally restricted to the use of refined word forms. Coarse forms ending with [al], [aɾ], and [as] contrast with refined forms that end with [ɛ], which are used when the speaker wants to be perceived as being particularly refined. A comparison of natural conversational speech with careful performative speech supports the claim that speakers of endangered…
Language Change and Linguistic Diversity
Variability or its loss in creole endangerment
A language’s endangerment is said to be typified by variation accompanied by some degree of unpredictability. This paper examines if this characterization is appropriate of Baba Malay, an endangered creole, as it is spoken in Singapore. Recent work suggests that the language is much less variable than one expects of a creole. A comparison between historical Baba Malay material and newer Baba Malay material, focusing on the language’s pronominal s…
The early Baba Malay continuum
Baba Malay today is an endangered creole perceived to be a less flexible, easily identifiable language entity with static ascribed qualities. An investigation of resources from the late 1800s and early 1900s shows that such a characterization of early Baba Malay is not possible. Three novels and twenty letters demonstrate a wide range of variation, lexically and grammatically, emphasizing a wide creole continuum that plausibly existed in the heyd…
Between “Threatened” and “Endangered”—The Validity of Vitality Labels
Language vitality scales are commonly used in language documentation, yet assumptions behind labels such as “threatened” and “endangered” are often taken for granted. This study adopts a computational-based approach to disciplinary discourse analysis, examining how linguists deploy “threatened” and “endangered,” terms that appear on vitality scales, across scholarly discourse. We compared vocabulary and thematic content in “threatened” and “endan…
ChakapBot
This paper reports on the pilot implementation of ChakapBot, a generative AI-supported chatbot developed to support both the revitalisation and documentation of Baba Malay, an endangered heritage language in Singapore. A six-week pilot was conducted with 26 participants, the majority of whom were adult learners with limited prior exposure to the language and disrupted intergenerational transmission. Drawing on surveys, the study examines particip…
Linguistic Variation and Morphology (8 works) · Linguistics (8 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Documentation (5 works) · History (5 works) · Artificial Intelligence (4 works) · Creole language (4 works) · Malay (4 works)