Mandarin serves Sporeans?

[whoami]

Mandarin serves S'poreans too

Published on Dec 08, 2012

MS JAYANTHI Govindarajoo ("Unfortunate perception of messages in Mandarin"; Thursday) may be unaware that there are many Chinese Singaporeans who are not conversant in English at all.

It should also be pointed out that many station names in Mandarin are very different from that of English. Hence, Mandarin announcements are necessary.

Looking beyond our shores, we should reconcile ourselves to the fact that conversational Mandarin is as important as English in daily life, and we would be at a disadvantage if we are in denial about such a development.

Albert Tye

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/mandarin-serves-sporeans-too-20121208


So Mr Albert is assuming all Malays, Indians can understand Mandarin and English?

 

[streetsmart73]

hi there


1. those mandarin annoucement on the name of the respective stations while on the train is totally hopeless.
2. looking at it, this is to serve chins
3. making the world-crass transport system cheap & noisy!

 

[whoami]

I believe tat may juz be tip of the iceberg.

Now tat they cant ustand spoken English, they announce in Mandarin. Wats next?

How abt existing signs written in English? Do they need a Mandarin version too?

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

What's your problem you POS? There are english signs and announcements right? FYI the majority of this country are chinese ppl. What's wrong with having mandarin announcements and chinese wordings?


It's idiots like you that are always trying to nit pick and complain of "racism" at every turn. Oh now they have announcements only in mandarin but not malay cos malays are a minority oh that's racist.

 

[Froggy]

I saw the title of the thread I assume we talking about the language as in spoken. I can't read nuts the chinese characters always fail in written chinese same goes for writing the Chinese characters. But I speak pretty ok. My spoken Hokkien and Teochew and Cantonese are very good. For my work and business it had served me very well particularly the dialects that got me closer to suppliers and customers who know these dialects, always get special prices from suppliers if I speak their dialects. Anyway what I really want to say is fucking PAP had killed the dialects in their quest to promote Mandarin. I pity the younger generations.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Anyway the issue at hand is these bunch of ppl that always try and nit pick at every damn single thing. Most ppl in singapore speak english and if you speak english you can get by in singapore. The fact of the matter is that the majority of singaporeans are chinese and the majority of ppl in this country are chinese. It would be plain obvious that they would have chinese signs and mandarin announcements right? It has nothing to do with chinese dialects or what. Let's say suppose most sinkies actually speak a chinese dialect say hokkien and so they have hokkien announcements. This TS would have made the same exact complaint.



Now let's assume the majority of this country were malays instead. Suffice to say they would have malay announcements and i doubt no chinese would actually start a similar thread like this. I can bet that the TS would be damn happy cos it's ok to discriminate chinese.

When threads are these are started you need to speak up and shout them down. These ppl are trying their best means to demand more and more and more. Trust me if you keep giving them more yards one day it will be racist if you don't bow down to them.

 

[Froggy]

Anyway the issue at hand is these bunch of ppl that always try and nit pick at every damn single thing. Most ppl in singapore speak english and if you speak english you can get by in singapore. The fact of the matter is that the majority of singaporeans are chinese and the majority of ppl in this country are chinese. It would be plain obvious that they would have chinese signs and mandarin announcements right? It has nothing to do with chinese dialects or what. Let's say suppose most sinkies actually speak a chinese dialect say hokkien and so they have hokkien announcements. This TS would have made the same exact complaint.



Now let's assume the majority of this country were malays instead. Suffice to say they would have malay announcements and i doubt no chinese would actually start a similar thread like this. I can bet that the TS would be damn happy cos it's ok to discriminate chinese.

When threads are these are started you need to speak up and shout them down. These ppl are trying their best means to demand more and more and more. Trust me if you keep giving them more yards one day it will be racist if you don't bow down to them.

In Taiwan MRT they announce in Mandarin, English, Hokkien and Hakka.

 

[Sideswipe]

it's good to announce the station names in Mandarin as well. our elderly Chinese folks need the Mandarin announcements. they should do it long ago. whether there should be Malay/Indian announcements. don't give a shit. but it's better if they don't...

 

[Froggy]

it's good to announce the station names in Mandarin as well. our elderly Chinese folks need the Mandarin announcements. they should do it long ago. whether there should be Malay/Indian announcements. don't give a shit. but it's better if they don't...

Should include Hindi and Tagalog, I'm not joking, like that we can be considered a real inclusive society.

 

[Sideswipe]

Should include Hindi and Tagalog, I'm not joking, like that we can be considered a real inclusive society.

i think our minorities should accept their position in Singapore. not this racist, that is insensitive. of course Singapore will cater to the majority Chinese population.

but the minorities are free to fight for their rights in SG society like having their language announcements on MRT journey if it makes them any happier...

 

[tualingong]

I am stunned when a Chinese looking auntie said the following.

"Hah? Speak Chinese one?"

There must be serious flaws in our education system. How did she manage to escape bilingual education?

 

[CheongSam]

it's good to announce the station names in Mandarin as well. our elderly Chinese folks need the Mandarin announcements. they should do it long ago. whether there should be Malay/Indian announcements. don't give a shit. but it's better if they don't...

This beg the question ,why only now? Why not years ago when MRT was launched.Most of the elderly during that time had already up lorry.

 

[Received_by_Kings]

It should also be pointed out that many station names in Mandarin are very different from that of English. Hence, Mandarin announcements are necessary.

Looking beyond our shores, we should reconcile ourselves to the fact that conversational Mandarin is as important as English in daily life, and we would be at a disadvantage if we are in denial about such a development.

This stupid and useless Chinese Singaporean is retarded.

 

[yellow_people]

i think our minorities should accept their position in Singapore. not this racist, that is insensitive. of course Singapore will cater to the majority Chinese population.

but the minorities are free to fight for their rights in SG society like having their language announcements on MRT journey if it makes them any happier...

It is from reading views like this that validates my belief the foreigner policy will indeed be beneficial to Singapore in the long run. With Singapore's abysmal TFR mainly amongst the Chinese, the minorities need to if not already get behind the foreign talent policy because - what difference is it going to make!!!! ????

Isn't it far better to be part of a true melting pot of races and multi- cultural ism then be assimilated into a homogeneously Chinese one?

At least Singapore will be better diversified culturally in the long run with more English speaking talents from Philippines, India and Caucasians from all over, given "there are many Chinese Singaporeans who are not conversant in English at all." - A prime justification for these talents and one that I have heard numerous times from banks and other FSI players.

Let these talents take up compete for and take up more mid and senior level positions in SG.

 

[MOOLahMOJO]

This beg the question ,why only now? Why not years ago when MRT was launched.Most of the elderly during that time had already up lorry.

It's hypocrisy working itself here. With PRC on the rise, no choice but to accede. Not for the elderly locals.

 

[Bigfuck]

Mandarin serves S'poreans too

Published on Dec 08, 2012

MS JAYANTHI Govindarajoo ("Unfortunate perception of messages in Mandarin"; Thursday) may be unaware that there are many Chinese Singaporeans who are not conversant in English at all.

It should also be pointed out that many station names in Mandarin are very different from that of English. Hence, Mandarin announcements are necessary.

Looking beyond our shores, we should reconcile ourselves to the fact that conversational Mandarin is as important as English in daily life, and we would be at a disadvantage if we are in denial about such a development.

Albert Tye

http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/mandarin-serves-sporeans-too-20121208


So Mr Albert is assuming all Malays, Indians can understand Mandarin and English?

You may wish to dump this garbage troll comment into the bin. We wish to state that SPH is a non-credible newspaper that is a propaganda agency. Hopes it clarifies. Thank you for your feedback.

 

[whoami]

You may wish to dump this garbage troll comment into the bin. We wish to state that SPH is a non-credible newspaper that is a propaganda agency. Hopes it clarifies. Thank you for your feedback.

The title itself puzzled me. Tats why i copy and paste the article fm ST. In wat way the announcement serves the Non Chinese?

Looks like Minorities cannot question the majority here. Or else we will be labelled as racist. But Chinese the like of Jamban moderator troll can go around calling Malays and Indians names. And tat is not racist?

 

[Agoraphobic]

I grew up in a Chinese home. My parents and grandparents spoke Teochew, Hokkien, and some Cantonese. I had friends who came from Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainan and other Chinese ancestral backgrounds. We ate Hokkien mee, teochew kwey teow, hainanese cooking too. But NEVER have I known anyone with Mandarin roots. It is a foreign language as fas as I see it, whether one wishes to learn it or not should be optional, just like Japanese.

Cheers!

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

i think our minorities should accept their position in Singapore. not this racist, that is insensitive. of course Singapore will cater to the majority Chinese population.

but the minorities are free to fight for their rights in SG society like having their language announcements on MRT journey if it makes them any happier...

It's only common sense. If a race is a majority in any other country hey the chances are there will be more "resources" devoted to this race's culture, language and so on. If chinese weren't the majority here let's say filippinos were instead there would be tagalog accouncements on trains instead.


It's this sickening mollycoddling this dumb society loves to do to minorities here that's why it emboldens them and makes them demand more and more. Peace and stability for them isn't enough. They aren't targetted in violent racial attacks, they aren't discriminated by society as a whole and the sky is the limit for them but that's not enough it's now nit picking and trying to find fault with every small thing in singapore. That's why you have people complaining about auntie in the shop didn't smile at him = racist. They have xin msn which sounds chinese and that's racist. They publish stats that don't put this race in a good light = racist and of course announcements in chinese = racist.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

The title itself puzzled me. Tats why i copy and paste the article fm ST. In wat way the announcement serves the Non Chinese?

Looks like Minorities cannot question the majority here. Or else we will be labelled as racist. But Chinese the like of Jamban moderator troll can go around calling Malays and Indians names. And tat is not racist?

It's just an accouncement you bodoh. I believe they have english announcements too. Since you don't understand it even though you have lived you singapore for so long and should understand some mandarin just ignore it then. It's not for you.


Minorities cannot question the majority when we have threads with stupid titles like this? What a lying troll you are. You are very lucky to be a minority in singapore where you can live your life how you please and nobody comes in to harrass you. Why not you try being a chinese in malaysia or indonesia.