Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 127 views

    Should We Stop Speaking Singlish Lah

    Uploaded by

    zuomin
    This document proposes researching whether Singlish should be spoken in Singapore. It provides background on Singlish, including that it developed as a hybrid language incorporating elements of English, Malay, Chinese and Indian dialects. Singlish is commonly spoken for its effectiveness and allowing quicker communication. However, the government advocates the Speak Good English Movement to promote Standard English for Singapore's role in the global economy. There are alternative views that Singlish is an important part of Singaporean culture and identity, uniting different races and cultures. The document discusses perspectives from the government, schools, citizens and foreigners on the issue of whether Singlish should be spoken.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Should We Stop Speaking Singlish Lah

    Uploaded by

    zuomin
    127 views4 pages
    This document proposes researching whether Singlish should be spoken in Singapore. It provides background on Singlish, including that it developed as a hybrid language incorporating elements of English, Malay, Chinese and Indian dialects. Singlish is commonly spoken for its effectiveness and allowing quicker communication. However, the government advocates the Speak Good English Movement to promote Standard English for Singapore's role in the global economy. There are alternative views that Singlish is an important part of Singaporean culture and identity, uniting different races and cultures. The document discusses perspectives from the government, schools, citizens and foreigners on the issue of whether Singlish should be spoken.

    Original Description:

    e

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This document proposes researching whether Singlish should be spoken in Singapore. It provides background on Singlish, including that it developed as a hybrid language incorporating elements of English, Malay, Chinese and Indian dialects. Singlish is commonly spoken for its effectiveness and allowing quicker communication. However, the government advocates the Speak Good English Movement to promote Standard English for Singapore's role in the global economy. There are alternative views that Singlish is an important part of Singaporean culture and identity, uniting different races and cultures. The document discusses perspectives from the government, schools, citizens and foreigners on the issue of whether Singlish should be spoken.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    127 views4 pages

    Should We Stop Speaking Singlish Lah

    Uploaded by

    zuomin
    This document proposes researching whether Singlish should be spoken in Singapore. It provides background on Singlish, including that it developed as a hybrid language incorporating elements of English, Malay, Chinese and Indian dialects. Singlish is commonly spoken for its effectiveness and allowing quicker communication. However, the government advocates the Speak Good English Movement to promote Standard English for Singapore's role in the global economy. There are alternative views that Singlish is an important part of Singaporean culture and identity, uniting different races and cultures. The document discusses perspectives from the government, schools, citizens and foreigners on the issue of whether Singlish should be spoken.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Should we Stop Speaking Singlish Lah?

    Social Documentary Proposal 2012

    What is your research question? Our research question is Should we Stop Speaking Singlish Lah?. We chose this interesting and unique topic because in Singapore, a multi-ethnic society, there is a language that is commonly used by all walks of life. This language is spoken by almost all races Chinese, Malays, Indians, and even some Europeans. Moreover, it is spoken by Singaporeans regardless of his socio-economic status. In fact, it is not uncommon to see a hawker, a taxi driver, or even a CEO speak Singlish to his friends and family. This language is called Singlish, Singapores very own hybrid language. We aim to investigate if Singlish should be spoken in day-to-day life. Background of Social Issue history, current status and why it is controversial 1. History of how Singlish developed Singlish is a hybrid language of English, Malay, Chinese dialects (Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese) and Indian dialects (Tamil, Bengali and Punjabi) widely spoken by local Singaporeans.

    2. Why Singlish is commonly spoken amongst Singaporeans (effectiveness, quick) With the rising emphasis on pragmatism and efficiency in Singapore in 1980s, Singlish started to abandon the Standard English grammatical rules and adopt a simpler rule to allow faster communication (Choo, 2011). Singlish has become a topic-prominent language often begin with a topic (or a known reference of the conversation), followed by a comment (or new information) compared to the unimportance of the semantic relationship between topic and comment in English. Moreover, some of the linguistic devices such as pronouns and articles are omitted. 3. Governments stance on Singlish and why it should not be spoken (believes that Singaporeans only have a superficial knowledge of Standard English and are unable to speak Standard English in full) Yet, Singlish is rendered by the government as a barrier for Singapore to play a big bigger role in global economy. Singlish that Singaporeans use can be only understood by other fellow Singaporeans. This will be counterproductive in todays globalized marketplace. Hence, in 2000, then Prime Minister Goh

    Chok Tong launched the Speak Good English Movement (SGEM), which aims to ensure that Singaporeans recognize the importance of speaking Standard English and also to encourage them to use it (Toh & Cai, 2010). However, many Singaporeans hold an alternative point of view. In 2002, TalkingCock, a Singaporean satirical website, launched the Save Our Singlish Campaign to counteract the SGEM. They declare that they completely support the writing and speaking of good English but they believe Why were fighting for Singlish, is because its simply a part of our culture. In fact, it may be the ONLY thing that makes us uniquely Singaporean. It mixes all the various languages, which to me, seems to spread multi-cultural understanding. I thought this was something to be proud of. They argue that speaking good English should not be promoted at the expense of Singlish. In addition, the Speak Good Singlish Movement on Facebook in response to SGEM 2010 is another case in point.

    Why is this issue important? 1. National identity Language, as a symbol of culture, is also a sign of identity. When in a countries where people of different races are living together, hybrid languages is crucial in national identity building. - Hybrid Language is unique to each nation state - Able to unite various races - Sense of familiarity and homeliness - Proud of Singlish, only Singaporeans can understand and use effectively

    2. Multicultural Integration Hybrid languages allow citizens to have a better understanding and perspective of other cultures and thus help to integrate people from different cultures. For instance, in Singapore, where a hybrid language of Singlish is widely used by her citizens, Chinese understand some words of Malay and Indians also understand what is Kuay Teow (a traditional Chinese cuisine from Teochew) and Siew Mai (a delicious Cantonese Dim Sum). Improves Communication between one another During the process of interacting with one another, different races are bonded together and live together harmoniously in an integrated society. This kind of integration is common in other area where hybrid languages are widely used and accepted by the residents.

    3. Government Strong Stance against Singlish Against: The Speak Good English movement should help create the right conditions so that the degree of immersion is increased. Suggest and encourage a high value to learning and using good English. Start with the leaders of society and the iconic figures. The rest will slowly fall into place. Singlish is rendered by the government as a barrier for Singapore to play a big bigger role in global economy.

    For: They declare that they completely support the writing and speaking of good English but they believe Why were fighting for Singlish, is because its simply a part of our culture. In fact, it may be the ONLY thing that makes us uniquely Singaporean. It mixes all the various languages, which to me, seems to spread multi-cultural understanding. I thought this was something to be proud of.

    Who should it concern? 1. Singaporean citizens from different ethnicities (builds national identity and sense of belonging) 2. Government 3. Schools 4. Teachers, Students

    What are some possible perspectives to it? 1. Government 2. Schools 3. Singaporeans 4. Foreigners?

    What are some suggestions/resolutions to the issue? - Unnecessary and a waste to get rid of Singlish completely (culturally important) - Still important to learn Standard English - Speak Good English only when necessary (business negotiations, work, speaking to foreigners etc)

    - Speak Singlish during informal conversation to friends, hawkers, colleagues - 'Speak Good English' (when necessary)

    You might also like