Singapore is worse than a prostitute...

[shining shin]

Put it this way.

97 percent of the population in Spore are Asian. When the country 'promote' English as 1st language, and 'demote' Asian language as 2nd language, something is seriously wrong with this country.

Its like 97 percent of the whole country starting out using mac and all kind of linux os, but the PAP govt impose a policy forcing the whole country to use Windows XP, Windows Vista as the default OS. doesn't sound right to me.

the sum is not right. 97 percent of the population are asian, and we put some so much emphasis on english language. thats a sell out to the asian language and culture.

you should be writing this in an 'asian' language to promote asian culture...

 

[char_jig_kar]

chance on a chinese tv programe. months ago. (6-12 months or maybe more?)

some interview with a old shanghainese. he could speak some broken english. his english, just remind me of singlish. of course, our singlish is much better than the broken english of this chap. he had learned some english when he was young, because he has to deal with the ang moh (westerners) in shanghai.

but the point i wanna bring up here is this...

that old shanghainese, he could speak some broken english. but thats not HIS FIRST LANGUAGE, its not his NATIVE LANGUAGE. he has good grasp of at least a chinese dialect shanghainese and mandarin language.

most of the young sporeans, their first language is SINGLISH. and they don't know much about chinese dialect, and they have poor grasp of mandarin and chinese language. so where do we stand? why is the PAP, LKY and the lot, so proud of this dire language situation???

 

[char_jig_kar]

The standard of maths/science had always ben maintained at a high level becoz the citizens believe in the importance and thus force it upon their children to excel. However the mother tongue is often overlooked.

We are always complaining that the govt intervenes too much in our daily lives and yet when something bad happens, we ask why the govt did not do something improve it. I believe that much has been sone but society failed to heed the advice. As previous thread, the campaigns have been around for many many years but blame it on the Chinese who felt being too Cheena to speak proper Mandarin.

no. its the system. the system had effectively convinced the parents that more time and effort should be placed on english. look at our textbooks. how many of the subjects are in english how many are in asian language?

the system had convinced us that english is the language. remember Ong TC? Lee Kuan Yew in one of his public speech, had told this country, he didn't choose OTC to be PM because OTC command of english language is not good. all kind of messages, hidden messages, open policies are pointing (like neon lights arrow), nudging sporeans to put more effort and time on english language 'cause thats the route to success here in our country.

speaking mandarin campaign is just some smoke screen. what would the average sporeans gain from speaking mandarin? wat are the reward?

 

[zack123]

chance on a chinese tv programe. months ago. (6-12 months or maybe more?)

some interview with a old shanghainese. he could speak some broken english. his english, just remind me of singlish. of course, our singlish is much better than the broekn english of this chap. he had some learned english when he was young, because he has to deal with the ang moh (westerners) in shanghai.

but the point i wanna bring up here is this...

that old shanghainese, he could speak some broken english. but thats not HIS FIRST LANGUAGE, its not his NATIVE LANGUAGE. i believe he has good grasp of at least a chinese dialect shanghainese and mandarin language.

most of the young sporeans, their first language is SINGLISH. and they don't know much about chinese dialect, and they have poor grasp of mandarin and chinese language. so where do we stand? why is the PAP, LKY and the lot, so proud of this dire language situation???

The govt has always promoted good command of the language be it English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil etc. However the citizens have failed to heed the advice.

 

[char_jig_kar]

The govt has always promoted good command of the language be it English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil etc. However the citizens have failed to heed the advice.

so its sporeans' fault to have poor command of the language english, chinese, malay, tamil, etc? nothing to do with the PAP govt policies?

 

[zack123]

so its sporeans' fault to have poor command of the language english, chinese, malay, tamil, etc? nothing to do with the PAP govt policies?

The introduction of mandatory mother tongue in primary to pre-U have underlined the govt's stance on the importance of the language. Yet some people frown on it.

You can pull the horse to the water but you can't make it drink.

 

[char_jig_kar]

The introduction of mandatory mother tongue in primary to pre-U have underlined the govt's stance on the importance of the language. Yet some people frown on it.

You can pull the horse to the water but you can't make it drink.

PAP Govt has gotta to take at least 50 percent of the responsibility. Don't u agree? Or u wanna put all the blame on the people?

 

[Ramseth]

何必鸡蛋里挑骨头？华文不也是亚洲语文？

马来语也是亚洲语，更是土族语，为何厚此薄彼？

Bahasa Melayu pun bahasa Asia, lagi ialah bahasa bumiputra. Bagaimana tidak adil?

 

[char_jig_kar]

马来语也是亚洲语，更是土族语，为何厚此薄彼？

bahasa melayu pun bahasa asia, lagi ialah bahasa bumiputra. Bagaimana tidak adil?

你没看到我对萨米说些什么？

 

[zack123]

PAP Govt has gotta to take at least 50 percent of the responsibility. Don't u agree? Or u wanna put all the blame on the people?

Why 50%? Because they did not impose a fine for S'poreans who speak badly?

 

[char_jig_kar]

Why 50%? Because they did not impose a fine for S'poreans who speak badly?

education policy. the PAP govt education policy had fail in upholding, maintaining the language standard of sporean students.

 

[zack123]

education policy. the PAP govt education policy had fail in upholding, maintaining the language standard of sporean students.

The education policy had been consistent. It is the parent's inconsistent attitude towards the subjects which they deem as non-core which is affecting the standard of the language.

Can you say for sure that the recrutiment of English teachers or the syllabus had not been scrutinized? There had been several changes made to increase the attraction of the language which includes more palatable syllabus.

However things may change as more Sporeans are finding more value to the Chinese language due to the China's booming economy. Many of our businessman blush when they cannot speak properly with their Chinese counterparts in Mandarin.

All this is typical of the Singaporean practical approach to their lives. They would only embrace things which gives them an advantage but not for the appreciation of the language itself.

 

[rainnix]

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 propose Hokkien - everybody knows Hokkien in Singapore.

 

[zhihau]

<p>

I propose Hokkien - everybody knows Hokkien in Singapore.

</p>
<p> is like that ar? then can i propose this Singapore Lion? captured by <a href="http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2005/01/sne_part_105.html">mrbrown</a> about 3 years back.
<br /> <a href="http://www.mrbrown.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/rojak_lion2.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=150,height=200,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><img alt="Rojak_lion2" title="Rojak_lion2" src="http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/images/rojak_lion2.jpg" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left;" border="0" height="133" width="100" /></a><a href="http://www.mrbrown.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/rojak_lion.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=500,height=375,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><img alt="Rojak_lion" title="Rojak_lion" src="http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/images/rojak_lion.jpg" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left; width: 179px; height: 134px;" border="0" /></a> <a></a>
</p>
<p>&nbsp;
</p>
<p>&nbsp;
</p>
<p><a> i quote from mrbrown's site:&nbsp; <em></em></a>
</p>
<p><a><em> 15. That Singapore has a new dancing Lion icon that is supposed to be a mix between Chinese, Malay and Indian culture. And yes, it was designed by committee.</em></a><em>
<br />"A new Singapore icon roars to life
<br />FRIENDLY FELINE: PM Lee pats the hybrid dancing lion, which blends elements of Chinese, Malay and Indian culture to symbolise Singapore, while Dr Khor and Mr Ang look on.
<br />By Li Xueying</em> <em>YOU'VE photographed the spurting Merlion, cheered the football-dribbling Lions, and gaped at the sleeping cats in the zoo. Now, meet a new leonine species: the dancing Singapore Lion. The new national icon was born last night in Jurong East Stadium. With 10,000 spectators looking on under a full moon, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong dotted the eyes of a lion head designed to symbolise the mythical creature discovered by Sang Nila Utama." ST- 24 Jan 2005</em> <em>16. That the new Singapore Lion has elements of Chinese, Malay and Indian culture. Er, what happened to the "Others" race?</em> <em>Sorry, we cannot feature the "Others" race, because according to our research, they have no culture we can blend into the Rojak* Lion. They only know how to play guitar in the void deck, and we could not create a dance for that.
<br />*Rojak, for our international readers, <a href="http://www.can.com.sg/content/neocan/en/streetwise/eat/fruity_salad_toss.html" target="_blank">is a lovely Asian salad</a>.
<br /> 17. That the new Singapore Lion is a symbol for racial harmony, and is not a symbol for the racially confused.</em><em>
<br />18. That every time you mix cultures into a symbol and try to be something for everyone, you end up with a mutant symbol that no self-respecting race or country wants to own.</em><em>
<br />19. That our new Singapore Rojak Lion has a streamlined pointed snout, bared fangs, and five stars and a crescent on its forehead. That's just cruel, man. Now the other iconic Lions from the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Montenegro, Netherlands and Sweden are just going to laugh at it.
<br />"Ooh, look at Singa! What's with the five stars and crescent on your forehead, dude? Bwahahahahahaha!"</em><em>
<br />20. That just when you thought the puking Merlion looks silly, along comes the new Singapore Lion.</em>
</p>

 

[char_jig_kar]

The education policy had been consistent. It is the parent's inconsistent attitude towards the subjects which they deem as non-core which is affecting the standard of the language.

Can you say for sure that the recrutiment of English teachers or the syllabus had not been scrutinized? There had been several changes made to increase the attraction of the language which includes more palatable syllabus.

However things may change as more Sporeans are finding more value to the Chinese language due to the China's booming economy. Many of our businessman blush when they cannot speak properly with their Chinese counterparts in Mandarin.

All this is typical of the Singaporean practical approach to their lives. They would only embrace things which gives them an advantage but not for the appreciation of the language itself.

singaporeans attitude and mindset have got nothing to do with the PAP govt? no. the PAP govt has strong influence on the people's behavior and mindset.

like many other aspect here in spore, (e.g. kiasu kiasi, lack of social graciousness, etc) the attitude and behavior towards languages are just the reflection of the PAP mindset.

 

[angry_one]

I'm tired of all the chinese/asia chaunivist comments on this thread. We are NOT a chinese country, malay country and so forth. The chinese mainlanders and Taiwanese do NOT consider Sinkees as part of them. We are a multi-racial, new nation with english is our FIRST langauge! And that has helped many sinkees gain in their overseas ventures and migration. It has helped bring business and investment here because we are not some alien culture with a language barrier. English is the language of the times, deal with it. Even PRCs are scrambling to study it!

 

[char_jig_kar]

I'm tired of all the chinese/asia chaunivist comments on this thread. We are NOT a chinese country, malay country and so forth. The chinese mainlanders and Taiwanese do NOT consider Sinkees as part of them. We are a multi-racial, new nation with english is our FIRST langauge! And that has helped many sinkees gain in their overseas ventures and migration. It has helped bring business and investment here because we are not some alien culture with a language barrier. English is the language of the times, deal with it. Even PRCs are scrambling to study it!

so its okay for the chinese here to ditch chinese language, treat chinese language as dirt?

who is the chauvinist here? is english language under threat right now here in spore? the problem is with Chinese language, the standard is fucking low. so why is it i am a chauvinist to bring this issue up?

 

[zack123]

singaporeans attitude and mindset have got nothing to do with the PAP govt? no. the PAP govt has strong influence on the people's behavior and mindset.

like many other aspect here in spore, (e.g. kiasu kiasi, lack of social graciousness, etc) the attitude and behavior towards languages are just the reflection of the PAP mindset.

That is my argument that in spite of the govt's strong policy towards bilingualism, the attitude of the people had not been on par with it. So don't blame the govt if the people do not want to follow as Sporeans would only move if it involves a penalty.

I'm tired of all the chinese/asia chaunivist comments on this thread. We are NOT a chinese country, malay country and so forth. The chinese mainlanders and Taiwanese do NOT consider Sinkees as part of them. We are a multi-racial, new nation with english is our FIRST langauge! And that has helped many sinkees gain in their overseas ventures and migration. It has helped bring business and investment here because we are not some alien culture with a language barrier. English is the language of the times, deal with it. Even PRCs are scrambling to study it!

I think you may have misread the arguments..it is about our ability to maintain our cultutal values and language amidst westernization. Yes we do accept English as the lingua franca but at the same time it is important to have our own identity.

 

[Leongsam]

Even PRCs are scrambling to study it!

Long live the US of A! America rules!:p

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[char_jig_kar]

like i said, wanna do business with ang moh, stay global stay competitive, communicating with other races in our society, english as 2nd language is sufficient. why go to the extreme and push english as 1st language??

obviously its a sell out. do watever it takes for the monetary, economic edge and gain.

thats worse than a prostitute, singapore. get that right.