For my next blog post I decided to look into an English dialect used in South East Asia called Singlish (also known as Singaporean English). For those who don’t know, Singlish is a mix of English and Chinese grammar, and “sprinkled with words from Hokkien, Malay and Indian dialects”. I decided to do this because this past summer, my family moved to Singapore. As I spent my last couple weeks at home in an unfamiliar environment, I noticed that the colloquial English was entirely different from what I was used to. For instance, many Singaporeans use the phrase “can do” or place the particle “lah” at the end of every sentence. After having read for class Should Writers Use They Own English? by Vershawn Ashanti Young, an article written in Black English which also stresses upon the importance of keeping different dialects of English alive, I couldn’t help but think about Singlish.
As I started to do more research on Singlish, I came across several articles that mention how the Singaporean government launched a campaign that promoted the practice of “proper” English (the campaign is called Speak Good English Movement). I was shocked to hear about this, because I always thought that the use of this dialect made Singapore unique. Young says on pg. 65 “We should, for instance, teach how language functions within and from various cultural perspectives”. I completely agree with this statement because I find it so important for this local language to keep existing. As long as Singlish remains alive, it gives Singaporeans an identity and makes them different from the ordinary person who speaks standard English.
LINKS
Blog/article I decided to base my post on: http://meridian103.com/issue-7/made-in-singapore/singlish-broken-english/
Articles on attack on Singlish:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1261986.stm
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/07/speak-singlish-singapore-fears-local-patois-crowd-proper-english/
Speak Good English Movement:
http://www.goodenglish.org.sg/site/index.html
As I started to do more research on Singlish, I came across several articles that mention how the Singaporean government launched a campaign that promoted the practice of “proper” English (the campaign is called Speak Good English Movement). I was shocked to hear about this, because I always thought that the use of this dialect made Singapore unique. Young says on pg. 65 “We should, for instance, teach how language functions within and from various cultural perspectives”. I completely agree with this statement because I find it so important for this local language to keep existing. As long as Singlish remains alive, it gives Singaporeans an identity and makes them different from the ordinary person who speaks standard English.
LINKS
Blog/article I decided to base my post on: http://meridian103.com/issue-7/made-in-singapore/singlish-broken-english/
Articles on attack on Singlish:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1261986.stm
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/07/speak-singlish-singapore-fears-local-patois-crowd-proper-english/
Speak Good English Movement:
http://www.goodenglish.org.sg/site/index.html