Was listening to the new the other day. Singapore seems to be starting the anti-Singlish campagin. Maybe I'm foolish to think that Singapore would give up its speak good English campagin, but I thought that they have come to realise the importance of Singlish.
No, now they have confirmed that they don't.
They do not understand the importance of Singlish towards Singapore's society. Like any other great nation in the world, we need a language. A language common to ourselves is an important identity. Singlish fits in here very well. It is as important as national education in inculcating a sense of belonging to Singapore. So what if people don't understand us when we speak Singlish? You ask an American and a British to speak to each other, they are also unable to communicate with one tongue! American English and British English are 2 different dialects of English. So who shnould we follow? The mighty superpower of the world or the one great empire that the sun never sets? We can't be constantly talioring our policies to the world. Yes, Singapore is a small country, and our relationship with the rest of the world is the corestone to Singapore's survival in this harsh world. But Singlish is not a major issue here! So what stamp out Singlish? Singlish, in fact, like American English and British English are dialects of English. Okay dialect may not be a good word, for it makes the language a 'second class citizen' in the world of languanges. Just like how the government refers Hockkien, Teochew, Cantonese etc. as dialects of Mandrin when they are in fact independent languages. Aside from that, Singlish should still be recognised.
Singlish is an inseparable part of Singaporean's life, so much so that it affects the culture of Singapore. Why promote Rojak as Rojak and not mixed vegetable in prawn sauce, or roti prata as roti prata, and not Indian Pancake? Those alternate names sound hilarious, yes, and you also can say that those words are from another language. BUT, isn't Singlish a mixture of different languages? So why not?
I just feel that the language education in Singapore is a mistake. Yes, we should teach standard english and mandrin to the students, but at the same time we must make them realise that Singlish is an identification factor of Singaporeans. Its a trait, a trademark, a symbolism of Singapore. Why are most westerners able to distinguish between themselves? By the tongue that they speak. What differentiates us from mainland chinese, hongkong chinese, taiwan chinese - its Singlish.
The inability of the current generation to cope with standard English or/and Chinese is often loosely blamed upon the speaking of Singlish. That is a very wrong concept, in my opinion. The ability of a person to speak standard English and Chinese depends on the individual, whether he wants to put in the effort to study and master it, or he would rather just let it go. Speaking Singlish is not a problem. Latin Americans both speak Portugese and English, with Portugese being their native language. Why are they able to do so? Because the can code-switch. Singaporeans in this age are definitely more than capable of code switching - speaking standard English and Chinese in formal occasions, while speaking Singlish in a colloquial context.
Few years ago, I was in Cologne Bonn Airport. It was a busy day, and I was waiting with my dad for the flight back to Singapore. When we were in the departure hall, we saw a quarrel break out between a British and a Chinese. Apparently the British was claiming that the Chinese had an accomplice who cheated him of his money and escaped back to China. The Chinese claimed that he isn't from China, and that he did not know about this other guy. As an onlooker, I thought the British was right, as the man dressed similarly to a typical Chinaman. But, one of his replies told me otherwise. He said, "If I had cheated you of your money, I wouldn't be here already what. You really got the wrong person LA" That sentence was enough to tell me that he is a Singaporean. I helped to testify that he is a Singapore. After investigations, it was found that the British really made a mistake.
I know that the example i quoted isn't exactly the most direct one, but it is an example to show how important Singlish is as an identity to Singaporeans. Americans speak American English, British speak British English - so why Singaporeans cannot speak Singlish?
left; 10:49 AM
