Blog Post #4

I learnt something new that holiday.

I visited a cousin in Australia. It was through that trip that I realised there are different culture norms and values. When paying for our merchandise which cost $14.85, I gave the cashier $15 initially and then thought to relieve the amount of coins in my purse by volunteering to pay 85 cents. My cousin stopped me immediately and explained a moment later that Australians are not as proficient as Singaporeans in the area of mental calculations. I would receive 85 cents plus 15 cents instead of the dollar I expected if I were to do as I had planned. Imagine my surprise over that!

A while later, after a sumptuous meal at a restaurant, my cousin left the change with the waitress. Being conscious on the issue of money, I was indignant over it and questioned her move for in Singapore, we do not advocate giving gratuity. Unsurprisingly, it was another culture norm which I almost trespassed if not for her. Tipping waiters or waitresses is a customary act in Australia no matter which restaurant you are in. It may also explain why waitressing is not viewed as a second-rate job over in Australia like it is locally.

In order to communicate effectively, not only do we have to overcome the language barrier, but we also have to understand and accept the culture norms of the ones whom we are talking to. This is a form of basic courtesy we can give when we are interacting with others. Fortunately, my cousin was with me that trip. If not, who knows how many people I would have offended that holiday.

Blog Post #3

“Hey, wo men yao qu Megabytes for lunch, you coming?”

Does this sound familiar? Maybe this is one line you frequently use or hear from others? Welcome to the club! You would not be the first or the last to be caught using Singlish.

I’m not condemning the use of this language. To me, its alright to speak Singlish as long as you can switch from Singlish to English readily. However, more often than not, most people stumble when forced into a dialogue that involves only English.

One may then question the significance of conversing strictly in English. No doubt, Singlish brings Singaporeans of different race, age, gender and religion together. If not for the puzzled expressions of non-Singaporeans when we converse in this language, I would give my full support to the language. Singlish removes a level of formality among people, but this is not what we seek in a workplace or in an interview. Moreover, when English is the passport to the global economy and Singapore aims to develop herself as one of the key players in the international market, we have to reconsider our stand on Singlish.

There is a need to encourage speaking proper English among Singaporeans. Current campaigns (Speak Good English Campaign) are unsuccessful in their attempts to inculcate the importance of being polished English speakers. With this survey, we hope not to repeat their mistakes and to succeed where they failed. To do so, we have to first investigate how deeply locals feel about both languages. Our target group is NUS students. We can then assemble the methods which encourage the use of English and reduce the students’ reliance on Singlish. The surveys will help to determine the feasibility of the methods suggested. The purport is to create a new generation of undergraduates who can speak both languages fluently and interchange the use of either readily. With these, I conclude this blog with “How do NUS students feel about their daily usage of Singlish? What are the measures that can be implemented so that they are eloquent speakers of the English Language yet glib Singlish conversationalists?”