This paper presents a chronological study of the changing status of Malayalam in Singapore across three different periods over the last century, identified on the basis of significant migration trends: (1)1900 - 1960s, a period predominantly oriented toward language maintenance; (2) 1970 - 1990s, a period of language shift; and (3) 2000 - the present, a period of revitalization. It examines how these processes of language maintenance, language shift and language revitalization during each of these periods are linked to two key factors that have impacted the status of Malayalam in Singapore: changes in the degree of its ethnolinguistic vitality brought about by demographic changes, on the one hand, and Singapore’s language-in-education policy, on the other. In doing this, it utilizes an autobiographic narrative approach to analyze interviews conducted with representatives of the Malayalee community as corroborative evidence of language shift and language maintenance of Malayalam language in Singapore over the century.
