As I was pondering on what I should blog about for this week's entry, I reflected back on what Ms Hui said about culture. The first thing which strike me about Singapore's culture was our 'ever-so' famous "Singlish"!
I was browsing through some web pages aimlessly, and eventually ended up at http://www.stomp.com.sg/. Under the "English as it is broken" tab, I saw some very interesting pictures which totally brings out our "singlish" culture.
Apparently, the note "tap spoilt sorry for the inconvience caused" (first image) was seen at a MOS burger outlet in Singapore. With a spelling error of the word inconvenience, how would it reflect on the management themselves? They could justify that it is just a small error in a note which seems quite insignificant to them. However, how would foreigners think of Singaporeans English if they ever happen to chance upon such notice?
The second image says "There are more sittings at the rear". What has happened to our "Speak good English" campaign? I believe Singaporeans have a very long way to go in order to eliminate any traces of singlish around in Singapore.
Last but not least, the instructions shown on the claw machine (3rd image) is written so badly, with all sorts of mistakes that one can ever imagine. It is so awkward to read something that is so grammatically wrong.
Don't you find it an irony? We pride ourselves to be a English-speaking country, while on the other hand, signs and notices around us proves that we are only capable of such minimal English. The government has done quite a bit on their part to correct us and bring us to the right path by enforcing "Speak good English" movement. But I believe the responsibility of speaking good English and writing good signs and notice does not lie entirely with the government. We as citizens should be more careful in our daily speech. This would help us to be more cautious when we are writing notices which will be placed in public. In a way, it would improve our standard of language, and we will also be able to upkeep our reputation of a learned society. Undoubtedly, no one likes to be laughed at. Therefore we should not give others a chance to laugh at or make fun of our "Singlish".
All in all, what these notices say about our Singapore culture? That we are living in a society of "singlish"? I doubt you will be able to find this in other countries. Hence, this shows that every country will have a unique point in their culture which differs from any others.
All in all, what these notices say about our Singapore culture? That we are living in a society of "singlish"? I doubt you will be able to find this in other countries. Hence, this shows that every country will have a unique point in their culture which differs from any others.
15 comments:
Though it gets embarrassing at times when people use broken english, I feel tourist probably will not have a bad impression of Singapore based on that single mistake. But i do agree that people should pay more attention to their usage of English.
Hi quinn! Amos here!
I do agree that broken English like our Singapore created singlish does bring about much embarrassment to us when we compare ourselves with our English speaking counter parts. However as we learn in comms that culture influences language and communication. We all have heard about how many condemnations by the govt about Singlish but have you ever paused and think that sometimes speaking in such a manner would be a better option when communicating with locals here in Singapore? Why don't you try tell the Bak chor mee vendor that you want minced pork noodles and he will stare at you in utter confusion. Communication is diverse and nobody should be a judge on what culture does or the influence it has on the way we communicate? If everyone says we don't have a culture, why not let Singlish be a stepping stone to establishing a young nations identity? Go figure!
'There are more sitting at the rear'. ya mah, there are more Singaporeans sitting at the rear. they just didn't specify. if this was a sign in Geylang, maybe they meant 'there are more chickens sitting at the rear'!
this country spends alot of resources in various campaigns; we can easily recall many, but do we know of any which has been successful?
in a country where some things are done for the sake of doing, it is easy to be educated on the things to do, or not do. however, how many individuals, already tied down with a hectic lifestyle, make the effort to change?
Singlish is part of Singapore's culture. I believe it runs in the blood of almost fellow citizens out there. If we look at the brighter side this is what makes Singapore unique. Anyway the pictures are funny.
I think the issue here is that we take too much to our beloved Singlish that we lose touch with English as the way it should be.
If only Singaporeans could switch over to a "Singlish" mode and back to "English" mode whenever it is needed, I believe it would not be an issue.
Singlish is what makes us uniquely Singaporeans and it helps us to bond and communicate in our way. Perhaps it has grown to become part of our cultural norm. Like our own personalised identity and communication medium
nicely done and well summarised, but do bear in mind such occurances are actually part of the wonderful charm that our country has; Uniquely Singapore, anyone?
Yes, the way one speak, portray how Singapore looks as a whole... yet Singlish is also one of the distinct culture of Singaporeans... The way let ask feel at home... I believe as long as proper usage of proper English at right time (Signboards, business talks, talking to children), Singlish is not to be blame...
ruuderek made a very good point in saying "If only Singaporeans could switch over to a 'Singlish' mode and back to 'English' mode whenever it is needed, I believe it would not be an issue."
How true is it.. But right now, unfortunately, the reason why we are facing such a problem with 'Singlish' is because most singaporeans are so used to speaking and writing in singlish that we neglect the basic foundations of english..
Which, i supposed is the reason why we have such 'broken-english' notices around our country. Yes?
we living in singapore mah. Of course must have the singaporean flavour. Singlish is our culture. If we eliminate that aspect totally from our daily lifes, it won't make us that unique anymore. Just don't embarrass yourself in front of the ang-mohs. it'll be fine.
Let's put it as Singapore is 'Rojak Culture'.You can choose to be whatever you want to be but not get what you want to get.
which is good for some & bad for the majority in the long run...There is not another LKY & i hope he lives strong enough to change what he started.Give it back to those innocent people who have a Soul.
Sometimes we add singlish into conversations or text messages purposely to make it sound nicer and less formal. However, i discourage the usage of singlish to the extent where it becomes a habit. It isnt something to be really proud of. Personally, I find singlish being more of an excuse for being too lazy to employ accurate grammar and spelling.
People are creatures of habit. Hence, it is quite normal for Singaporeans to speak Singlish which is an unique Singaporean culture. But, as Singaporeans, we pride ourselves on our relatively high standard of education. As such, the proper use of standard English in our speech and writing in more serious setting would generally enhance our Singaporean image.
lolz, broken english is really a controversial issue here... if we are in another country, i guess it is more of a one sided answer, the one where standard english very much emphasized. but over here in singapore, the problem of broken english presents two views. one, 'broken english' in itself is already a term which uniquely describes the situation in singapore. in fact, one can say that it is started in singapore. however, much as we are aware of the problem and many forms of media has emphasized on the need to correct the problem, this has become our culture, the way in which we are identified.
in many sense, it is very much like the shorthand in which many 'netizens' are using. it's not 'proper' english yet many do understand it. so the point being, it lies in the understanding of the meaning more the way the 'sentence' is contructed.
whether this is something we should be happy or wary about is very much dependent on how people view it. for the time being, many seem to view 'broken english' as a taboo even though the practice is not stopped.
To be quite honest, singlish can be rather disgraceful sometimes! It's not exactly the worst trait we singaporeans have (our KIASUNESS is probably the worst), but it does show us in a bad light.
On the other hand.... you're right, it is something unique that we have, how many other countries can you see in this world using hokkien, cantonese, english and singlish all in one sentence?!
Post a Comment