Singapore is worse than a prostitute...

[char_jig_kar]

If we wanna be Asian, then we should not ignore Asian languages.

If we wanna be Ang Mo wannabes, then, by all means, carry on with this overly emphasis on English language: speak english language to kids, sing english rhyme to babies, give them ang moh names, and cut down in asian language at home. using asian langauge? its only a afterthought.

 

[char_jig_kar]

like it or not, s'pore turning into a cosmopolitan city and the government wants to attract all the rich people here to stay. any race/country can so long as can contribute to the economy

its not about cosmopolitan. its language policies. our language policies are selling out Asian languages.

we are worse than a prostitute.

 

[Leongsam]

the question is not about what ONE official language it should be. the question is WHO WE WANNA BE? Asian or Ang Moh wannabe?

It's all very well to make motherhood statements but you still have to make a hard decision at the end of the day regarding which language should be used for communication between different ethnic groups.

If each ethnic groups learns their own language without learning a 2nd common language which they use to communicate with their fellow citizens, the country will split apart and it's already small enough as it is.

If you were the PM and you wanted to discard all remnants of colonial rule, what would you do?

 

[Ramseth]

The reason why English was chosen as the "neutral" language which all ethnic groups could use to interact with each other is because the language already enjoyed a solid foundation. (thanks to Singapore's colonial history).

Take English away and some other language will have to be chosen as the common language for communication between the ethnic Chinese, Indians, Malays and "others". The chosen language will have to be implemented in schools so that the foundation is built from an early age when language skills are at their peak.

Which language do you propose?

I propose Japanese. It sounds like Malay when spoken and looks like Chinese when written.

Or Thai. It sounds like Chinese when spoken and looks like Tamil when written.

 

[char_jig_kar]

It's all very well to make motherhood statements but you still have to make a hard decision at the end of the day regarding which language should be used for communication between different ethnic groups.

If each ethnic groups learns their own language without learning a 2nd common language which they use to communicate with their fellow citizens, the country will split apart and it's already small enough as it is.

If you were the PM and you wanted to discard all remnants of colonial rule, what would you do?

i will look in history. how does the people talk to each other here during 18-19 and early 20th century?

did they use english? u sure about that?

 

[char_jig_kar]

It's all very well to make motherhood statements but you still have to make a hard decision at the end of the day regarding which language should be used for communication between different ethnic groups.

If each ethnic groups learns their own language without learning a 2nd common language which they use to communicate with their fellow citizens, the country will split apart and it's already small enough as it is.

If you were the PM and you wanted to discard all remnants of colonial rule, what would you do?

i suggest chinese. why so? 'cause the population 75 over percent are chinese here. simple as that. if i am not wrong, the high ranking official from british posted to this island, during raffles time, they learn chinese too.

 

[char_jig_kar]

I propose Japanese. It sounds like Malay when spoken and looks like Chinese when written.

Or Thai. It sounds like Chinese when spoken and looks like Tamil when written.

i don't know. chinese are 75 percent of the population. so why use a foreign language to talk to each other instead???

 

[Ramseth]

i will look in history. how does the people talk to each other here during 18-19 and early 20th century?

I understand that when Europeans started opening up and colonizing Asia, they learned the native languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Malay etc.) Sir Stamford Raffles famously recorded that he spent three months on the ship enroute to Singapore learning Malay with his Malay scout. During the Opium War, most British invaders spoke Chinese or Cantonese. These people are not only invaders and colonists, they were adventurers and survivros. Many of the African, Indian and Red Indian languages seen were first translated by British and European colonists. They took the trouble to learn it first. One of the reasons they won and conquered. The Japanese realised that too. In the 18th century, any Japanese teaching the Japanese language to Europeans might be charged for treason.

 

[Leongsam]

i suggest chinese. why so? 'cause the population 75 over percent are chinese here. simple as that. if i am not wrong, the high ranking official from british posted to this island, during raffles time, they learn chinese too.

But Chinese is not the language of the region. The native language is Malay. It was spoken for hundreds of years on the Island before the Brits or the foreigners arrived.

Surely Malay would be the most appropriate.

To complicate matters, forcing 15% of the population to learn a language that is absolutely foreign to them can have huge repercussions given the fact that Singapore is but a small dot and is surrounded by 200 million Bahasa speaking natives. It would be a political hot potato and could very well cause bloodshed and a long period of turmoil and instability. LKY was fully aware of this and that's why he chose the Malay as the National Language. All Singaporeans know some Malay. The National Anthem is in Malay and so are all commands in the armed forces.

As an alternative, I propose Arabic. After all, Singapore is in a Muslim region and most Muslims nowadays learn some Arabic as part of their religious studies. If all ethnic Chinese learnt Arabic, it would help them to better assimilate with the muslims in the region and peace and harmony would prevail.

 

[char_jig_kar]

whatever. it just doesn't add up to me. our language policies. doesn't make sense at all.

 

[char_jig_kar]

But Chinese is not the language of the region. The native language is Malay. It was spoken for hundreds of years on the Island before the Brits or the foreigners arrived.

Surely Malay would be the most appropriate.

To complicate matters, forcing 15% of the population to learn a language that is absolutely foreign to them can have huge repercussions given the fact that Singapore is but a small dot and is surrounded by 200 million Bahasa speaking natives. It would be a political hot potato and could very well cause bloodshed and a long period of turmoil and instability. LKY was fully aware of this and that's why he chose the Malay as the National Language. All Singaporeans know some Malay. The National Anthem is in Malay and so are all commands in the armed forces.

As an alternative, I propose Arabic. After all, Singapore is in a Muslim region and most Muslims nowadays learn some Arabic as part of their religious studies. If all ethnic Chinese learnt Arabic, it would help them to better assimilate with the muslims in the region and peace and harmony would prevail.

malay is a better choice as compare to arabic. because we could use malay with our neighbours malaysia and indonesia.

whatever it is, singapore put WAY TOO MUCH EMPHASIS on english language. which is a sell out for asian language and culture by the asian population.

we sell away our language and culture.

 

[Leongsam]

i don't know. chinese are 75 percent of the population. so why use a foreign language to talk to each other instead???

To be blunt, they aren't Chinese anymore are they. Most are now Singaporeans.

By your definition, many Americans speak a foreign language too. Americans of English descent are a distinct minority in the USA of today. Many "white" Americans come from Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland, Wales, South Africa etc. Michael Phelps, their latest olympic star has his roots in Scandinavia.

Then there's the blacks from the African continent, each with their own tribal lingo, the Hispanics, the Jews from all over Europe, the Koreans, the Japs, the Chinese... and so on. All of them are united by one foreign language which is English. If it wasn't for this common language, America wouldn't be the superpower that it is today.

You're beginning to sound like a language chauvinist... the sort that justifies the continuous existence of the ISA!

 

[Leongsam]

whatever it is, singapore put WAY TOO MUCH EMPHASIS on english language. which is a sell out for asian language and culture by the asian population.

we sell away our language and culture.

My view of a language is it's simply a communications tool. I hate all this culture shit. People use the world "culture" without knowing what it really means.

 

[Ramseth]

But Chinese is not the language of the region. The native language is Malay. It was spoken for hundreds of years on the Island before the Brits or the foreigners arrived.

Surely Malay would be the most appropriate.

Betul dan patut, saya bersentuju. Lagu negeri pun bahasa Melayu. Arahan tentera pun bahasa Melayu. Bahasa Melayu ialah bahasa negeri Singapura. Tertapi, berapa orang Singapura bukan Melayu boleh bercakap bahasa Melayu? Banyak orang India sedikit-sedikit boleh. Banyak orang Cina sedikit-sedikit pun tidak ada boleh lah.

Bagaimana menteri perdana Lee Hsien Loong bercakap, sekarang tidak ada menteri boleh menjadi menteri perdana dekat? Menteri-menteri orang Cina semua tidak boleh bercakap bahasa Melayu lah! Koh Boon Wan boleh bercakap, tertapi dia datang dari Pulau Pinang.

 

[hughgrant]

Betul dan patut, saya bersentuju. Lagu negeri pun bahasa Melayu. Arahan tentera pun bahasa Melayu. Bahasa Melayu ialah bahasa negeri Singapura.

errr.. translation please

 

[char_jig_kar]

To be blunt, they aren't Chinese anymore are they. Most are now Singaporeans.

By your definition, many Americans speak a foreign language too. Americans of English descent are a distinct minority in the USA of today. Many "white" Americans come from Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland, Wales, South Africa etc. Michael Phelps, their latest olympic star has his roots in Scandinavia.

Then there's the blacks from the African continent, each with their own tribal lingo, the Hispanics, the Jews from all over Europe, the Koreans, the Japs, the Chinese... and so on. All of them are united by one foreign language which is English. If it wasn't for this common language, America wouldn't be the superpower that it is today.

You're beginning to sound like a language chauvinist... the sort that justifies the continuous existence of the ISA!

there were high number of British set foot on America right? naturally English would have strong influence on the country. and naturally, it became the unifying language.

now, here in spore, who are the majority of the immigrants here? chinese or ang moh?

i am just stating it as it is. i am no chauvinist. but when i see unnatural social phenomenon on a day to day basis, i just hate it. i hate fake. i hate phony. and singapore is turning into one freakish phony asian country. one which is not western nor asian. a weird shit freakish town.

i hope this town will wake the fuck up. force spooning the kids by speaking chinese in english would not help the kid. it ruin the kids language capability. this speaking chinese in english is just ruining this country.

 

[char_jig_kar]

My view of a language is it's simply a communications tool. I hate all this culture shit. People use the world "culture" without knowing what it really means.

sure. it is a tool. i agree. but when one use more of a language, say 90 percent of his life, one would have the tendency to be highly influence by the media of that language, no?

 

[hughgrant]

there are high number of British set foot on America right? naturally English would have strong influence on the county. and naturally, it became the unifying language.

who are the majority of the immigrants here? chinese or ang moh?

i am just stating it as it is. i am no chauvinist. but when i see unnatural social phenomenon on a day to day basis, i just hate it. i hate fake. i hate phony. and singapore is turning into one freakish phony asian country. one which is not western nor asian. a weird shit freakish town.

i hope this town will wake the fuck up. force spooning the kids with english speaking in chinese style would not help the kid. it ruin this society.

s'pore is a unique example of how different races of people can come together and be integrated successfully to work.

nobody teaches our kids to speak singlish. it is a lazy form of english that has deep roots in many and difficult to eradicate. we were all taught to speak properly in school. everyone has a choice, u can also teach yr kids to speak properly if u wish.

 

[char_jig_kar]

s'pore is a unique example of how different races of people can come together and be integrated successfully to work.

nobody teaches our kids to speak singlish. it is a lazy form of english that has deep roots in many and difficult to eradicate. we were all taught to speak properly in school. everyone has a choice, u can also teach yr kids to speak properly if u wish.

what about chinese language? chinese language standard is getting lower and lower. did the PAP do something about it? no. so its okay to sell out asian language such as chinese language as long as spore have a economic edge? isn't that worse than a prostitute? the prostitute sell their body, but spore sell their language and culture away.

 

[Ramseth]

Betul dan patut, saya bersentuju. Lagu negeri pun bahasa Melayu. Arahan tentera pun bahasa Melayu. Bahasa Melayu ialah bahasa negeri Singapura. Tertapi, berapa orang Singapura bukan Melayu boleh bercakap bahasa Melayu? Banyak orang India sedikit-sedikit boleh. Banyak orang Cina sedikit-sedikit pun tidak ada boleh lah.

Bagaimana menteri perdana Lee Hsien Loong bercakap, sekarang tidak ada menteri boleh menjadi menteri perdana dekat? Menteri-menteri orang Cina semua tidak boleh bercakap bahasa Melayu lah! Koh Boon Wan boleh bercakap, tertapi dia datang dari Pulau Pinang.

(Translation)


Right and reasonable, I agree. Singapore's national anthem is also in Malay. Singapore's military commands are also given in Malay. However, how many non-Malay Singaporeans can actually speak Malay? Many Indians can, but most Chinese can't.

Why did PM Lee Hsien Loong said that there's no suitable candidate in the cabinet for the next PM? All the Chinese ministers can't speak Malay. Koh Boon Wan can, but he's from Penang.