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Singapore

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Klara Chmielewska
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65 views6 pages

Singapore

Uploaded by

Klara Chmielewska
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 5 Population diversity Traditional cultures aaa ret as 75 Street and Chinese gold shops in Singapore In Lite India, Farhermore, there are marks of the British SINGAPORE 1S strategically 45 others making up a combined clonal influence inthe neo located atthe southern tip of 3.2%. Singapore'salkohometo __asscal buildings all around the Malaysian peninsula, This many expatriates, with almost go the city centre. However, has ensured itsmporiance on __—-20% of the population made "Jest we forget. Singapore is 5 South East Aslan trade routes up. of non-reddent workers now busiling 2141 century and, as the port and city 59 fromthe Plppines, Indonesia Gty-with high-rise buildings developed inthe 1h century, and Bangladesh. Therestcome and landscape gardens so did its multicultural from places as diverse as North 45 allover the city centre population. The national America, Australia, Europe sai 10 culture of Singapore stems Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, apapctngaporeen erm from the cultural diversity 58 China and inda an ene of this isand state. I is a -D__ However, behind the facade Cosmopolitan. society where of a modern_ industrialised Malay, Chinese, Indian, and city, etlnie_endaves are 15 Furopean influences have all sil evident. The areas for intertined G0 the Before you read her blog, imagine you were living in another country and make a list of the aspects of society you might comment on. In what order of importance might you put the different topics? Why would you give certain aspects more importance than others? > The writer talks about the differences between Standard English and Singlish, the local dialect. Make a list of the different aspects of language the writer might talk about in her blog. > There are many different varieties of English throughout the world. Who decides what is good English or bad English? Are there differences between good and bad spoken and written English? What is the difference hetween an accent and a dialect? Think about your own culture and society. Are there many different accents and dialects? Which ones have high status or prestige and which do not? Why? > Do you use the same accent and dialect at all times or does your language change depending on the social context you find yourself in? Why is this? ve Penn Singlish vocabulary makan — to eat hope ~ to reserve something ‘cheem ~ dificult, complicated ‘ang mo — a white person rojak — mixed, a ix of Hiao — finished, the end kiasu ~ afraid t lose face Speakers of Singlish will sually end ther sentences wth a dstincive exclamation. The four mast commen are ‘ah, ia, ‘ey’ and ‘what. For example’ “OK lah, bye bye” "Don't like that lah” "You are going there ah?" "No parking ots here, what” "The price is too high for me lah? id then how many rooms ah?” is very troublesome "Don't be like that ley” © ‘tm not at hame lah, Thats why ah? Bowe Cultural diversity @ 10 15 2» 2 30 as 0 SINGLISH: Broken English or Badge of Identity? An intelligent way of experiencing a new country and its people's mentality is earning the Tocal language. In the ease of Singapore, nothing could be truer. 1 Two things struck me as incomprehensible when I first came to Singapore: is incessant humid heat and the local English, quirky enough to insti an inferiority complex in a linguist like me who had been painstakingly mastering English as a second language. With Professor Higgins as a role model, could differentiate a ‘Manchester accent from that of a Dubliner’s, and ‘would never confuse the dynamic verbalisation lf New Yorkers with the sluggish Dixie dravl. ‘But the language spoken in the Lion City remained a mystery to me for months. 2 Singlish is rooted in Singapore's short but tumultuous history. Immigrants of three major ethnicities ~ Malay, Chinese and Indian ~ came to the island in the early 19th century to establish trade here, They all spake different languages and dialects, turning Singapore into Babylon of sorts. Over time, these tongues affected each other and, in a much stronger the English language of the British colonisers. This resulted in Singlish, a colourful and unique Singaporean English that lives by the rules of Chinese grammar and is generously sprinkled with words from Hokkien, Malay and Indian dialects. On top of that, the intonation has a sing-song quality to it drawn from indigenous Asian cultures a 3. Asif it isnot mind-boggling enough, Singlish fs spoken at machine-gun speed with words pronounced so abruptly that the most common. and simplest of them become a challenge to ‘Western ears, For instance, “act, “eas”, ‘stopped! or “file” are chopped in Singlish to ‘ac, ‘cas’ ‘stop’, and ‘fi’. The dental fricative ‘th’ is more often than not substituted with ‘tor ‘é’, taming ‘thighs’ into ‘ties, ‘three’ into ‘tree’ and ‘that’ into ‘dav’ 4 In written form, Singlish is no less puzzling: complex phrases are avoided, verbs may be left ‘out, definite articles are generally ignored and 7 * 0 Indications of plurality, tenses and voices are optional. Have a look at an eye surgery ad which Tpersonally have come across more than once in Jocal media: “Advantage of Epi-LASIK: preserve ‘more cornea tissue; suitable for those involve in. contact or aggressive sports.” [assure you, those are not typos ~ this is Singlish at work, 5 Nearly all Singaporeans are bilingual, leaming an Asian language or dialect with the family and English at school. Many speak three or four languages. The influence of their mother tongue is evident in the way Singaporeans pronounce English words and the intonation they employ. If you are exposed to Singlish long enough, you will be abe to tll to which ethnic group a person who telephones you belongs. Chinese Singaporeans have the strongest accent. This was the reason why a Russian friend of mine, while taking driving classes in Singapore, asked for an instructor of Malay origin. 6 The government admonishes its citizens for speaking Singlish and advises them to learn proper English to boost the city-state’s image asa commercial and financial huib. Since 1980, all school education has been taught in the English language which serves as the official language for business and administration among ‘Singapore's four state languages. 17 Today, most of averseas-educated or simply language-conscious Singaporeans are able to. switch smoothly from Singlish to standard English, while less educated citizens stick to the grammatically and phonetically unconventional Singlish, which is a recipe for disaster for tourists visiting Singapore, especially those whose mother tongue is not English 8 While purists may bemoan the loss of Queen’s English, those who see a broader picture admit, thal Singlish is the first building block of a Singaporean cultural identity and a distinet legacy of the country’s unique story. Fun, energetic, and extremely laconic, Singlish is spoken by al classes of Singaporean society. Julia Sherstyuk we Chapie 1 From the list below, choose an appropriate heading for paragraphs 1-8. There are more headings than you will need, In print The future of Singlish A national hadge First impressions, Grammatical features Local culture ori Singapore accents Singlish in the local media Pronunciation Language Hlexibility The official view MACHO IM On aD Read the text carefully and answer the following questions. a From the perspective of a language expert, what was unu about Singlish? According to the writer why did Singlish develop? How did Singlish develop? What were the two features of spoken Singlish that the writer noticed? © Tn. what ways is the grammar of written Singlish different to standard English? {What was unusual about the language of the local advertisement for eye surgery? 8 Why is there no single variety of Singlish? hh Why does the Singapore government criticize the use of, Singlish? i How do educated Singaporeans use Singlish? J What is the writer’s overall view of Singlish? nd synonyms for the following words and phrases that appear in the text. incessant (line 6) painstakingly (line 9) 1e 13) tumultuous (line 18) indigenous (line 31) bemoan (line 82) laconic (line 87) verbalisation aan Paragraphs | and 2 contain the following cultural references. Look them up and explain their origins and significance in the text. a Professor Higgins b The Lion City © Dixie Babylon Whatever happened to the English language? Cultural diversity Le... Individual oral activity: Analysing a photograph When analysing the photograph, go from the general to the specific. ‘¢ The photograph will always exemplify or emphasize a point related to the options. Think about why the photograph was, chosen and how it relates to an English B option, for example, cultural diversity. Ask yourself: “Why did the photographer take the picture?" ‘© Photos rarely have an existence of their own. They usually have a context. Think about where, when, and why the photograph was taken, Is the photograph part of a larger narrative? What had happened before the photograph? What might happen next? ‘© Describe the general details of the photograph such as people, animals, or objects and their position in relation to one another. © Ttis also useful to think about the target audience. Who was the photograph taken for? What was the audience supposed to see, to think, and to feel? What evidence in the picture gives you these ideas? ‘* Next look at the picture and identify what it shows. Deseribe the general details. If appropriate, you can go into further details (colours, proportions, and their effect) ‘¢ After examining the picture for what it shows, look at it again and decide what message it conveys. Is it supposed to speak for or against an issue? Singapore in the 21st century Beyond » You could research the spread of English Pidgins and Creoles Pidgins and Creoles throughout the world Pidgins are grammatically simpified forms of a language > How would you react if you were told that Modern which include elements from local languages. Creoles: English is a Creole developed from French, Norse, ‘are new languages which (may) have pidgin beginnings. German, and other languages? Would you believe i? That is, they start as pidgins but develop into full Can you prove that the statement is true? languages. A Creole has first language speakers and is 2 language in its own right. can communicate complex ideas in a full range of social situations. Creoles have the same linguistic and intellectual range as ather languages. > Take any text witen in English and find out withthe Use of dictionaries the etymology of individual words

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