Chitchat What simple and day to day stuff that irks you most in Singapore

[scroobal]

This is mine ;

1. Sight of e-bikes doing things that they are not supposed too - speeding on pedestrians walkways, not following traffic rules
2. Seeing the press misrepresenting facts - collision becomes contact etc
3. Gullible people donating money to well to do people and families
4. Foreigners doing stuff that Singaporeans can do better - I see this often
5. Foreign retail staff treating our elderly folks poorly

 

[Leongsam]

People speaking Singlish! I hate Singlish to the core! It's the Asian version of the Gomer Pyle accent. It makes people sound really dumb.

For those who are too young to know who Gomer Pyle is here's a sample...

 

[scroobal]

I have seen the command and accent of English from Singapore english speaking households deteriorate since the PAP took over and the slide became prominent in the 80s. It was so bad that NUS in the 80s had to introduce an english test even for those who came from English speaking schools who did not do well in the General Paper.

The saddest part is the old man in particular allowed this slide to carry on as it made them unable to engage in politics and debate. So we ended up as a nation when we have little command of any of our official language. People laugh at our Mandarin, Tamil etc. Only Malay seemed to be spared.

Gone are the days when Westerns complemented our english and I do recall that in the early 80s, research showed that Canadian and Singapore spoken English was the most intelligible. It was not only grammatically correct but spoken with the right intonation and accent free.

People speaking Singlish! I hate Singlish to the core! It's the Asian version of the Gomer Pyle accent. It makes people sound really dumb.

For those who are too young to know who Gomer Pyle is here's a sample...

 

[Leongsam]

I have seen the command and accent of English from Singapore english speaking households deteriorate since the PAP took over and the slide became prominent in the 80s. It was so bad that NUS in the 80s had to introduce an english test even for those who came from English speaking schools who did not do well in the General Paper.

The saddest part is the old man in particular allowed this slide to carry on as it made them unable to engage in politics and debate. So we ended up as a nation when we have little command of any of our official language. People laugh at our Mandarin, Tamil etc. Only Malay seemed to be spared.

Gone are the days when Westerns complemented our english and I do recall that in the early 80s, research showed that Canadian and Singapore spoken English was the most intelligible. It was not only grammatically correct but spoken with the right intonation and accent free.

There's no such thing is "accent free". Everyone has an accent. Singaporeans who speak grammatically correct English do so with a Singaporean accent.

 

[sweetiepie]

my uncle say for him is dodging sinkie and ft the moment he step out of house and kanning hp users. for me is also the same without the kanning part.

 

[myfoot123]

Listening to Singapore news the moment you turned on your TV, as if Singapore has no other interesting programs other than pro-establishment news broadcasted on half-hourly basis.

 

[halsey02]

"garang guni" "garang guni"....when you want to shut eyes...& you can count 4-5 each day.. People stopping at the head of the escalator or the end of it in a group talking. Share bikes, despite the fact, now they have yellow boxes at bus stops, HDB buildings etc...you find them strewn everywhere..

Your intelligence..being insulted time & time again, the recent with the sELECTED PRESIDENT, to the statements made by the MOT & others over the train breakdowns & accident..

 

[Leongsam]

Proper English spoken with a Singaporean accent.

 

[pakchewcheng]

Proper English spoken with a Singaporean accent.

My class Master and my teacher of English.
Long long long long time ago

 

[batman1]

Foreign workers talking loudly in mrts,buses,shopping malls,etc as if they are afraid the whole world don't know they are foreign workers.
Bicycles imposing a right of way by speeding and ringing on pedestrian walkways.
PAP ministers talking cock daily such as Cow declaring that the MRT casualties of 29 in 2017 is lower than 150 plus casualties in 1993 so there is an improvement in safety standards !?

 

[JohnTan]

Oppies criticizing our good government, unappreciative of living in singapore and earning sing dollar instead of the increasingly worthless ringgit and ruppiah. So ungrateful!

We should make volunteering in the PA grassroots compulsory for all sinkies, like an add on national service for all sinkies regardless whether they served their 2 years with the SAF or Home Team.

 

[sweetiepie]

This is mine ;

1. Sight of e-bikes doing things that they are not supposed too - speeding on pedestrians walkways, not following traffic rules
2. Seeing the press misrepresenting facts - collision becomes contact etc
3. Gullible people donating money to well to do people and families
4. Foreigners doing stuff that Singaporeans can do better - I see this often
5. Foreign retail staff treating our elderly folks poorly

my uncle say your point number 4 is due to amdk. He say when amdk do the same thing or action with sinkie, amdk one looks better. He say not sure why. He also say eg when amdk wear casual with a japanese slipper and t-shirt look better than sinkie in smart casual.

 

[scroobal]

Should be close to neutral as possible. Kiwis and Canadians are easily understood everywhere in the English speaking World. Even the English struggle to understand the Scots and sometimes the Irish even when the actual words were used and not locally known words.

I am sure in your early years you would have come across those who spoke to with close as neutral accent as they got the intonation right. Senior Counsel Kenneth Tan is one such chap. I am not talking about grago English which is distinct.

There's no such thing is "accent free". Everyone has an accent. Singaporeans who speak grammatically correct English do so with a Singaporean accent.

 

[tanwahtiu]

English language sucks. This race was founded in 1066 the year after Jesus was killed in London where the St Paul church stood.

Jesus was the Prince of Carbolene married to the English king princes.

That why u see even the writing of Bible in English language sucks. Shakespear English sucks.

 

[zhihau]

This is mine

A number of pet peeves but this irks me most - food wastage.

be it hawker centre, food court, cafes and restaurants... eat what ever that's on your plate.

 

[scroobal]

Wow bro, I knew you were kind person but thats the first I heard. Kudos to you.

A number of pet peeves but this irks me most - food wastage.

be it hawker centre, food court, cafes and restaurants... eat what ever that's on your plate.

 

[johnny333]

Proper English spoken with a Singaporean accent.

He looks much older. I never had him as a teacher but we used the grammar book he wrote.

 

[Leongsam]

Should be close to neutral as possible. Kiwis and Canadians are easily understood everywhere in the English speaking World. Even the English struggle to understand the Scots and sometimes the Irish even when the actual words were used and not locally known words.

I am sure in your early years you would have come across those who spoke to with close as neutral accent as they got the intonation right. Senior Counsel Kenneth Tan is one such chap. I am not talking about grago English which is distinct.

The Kiwi accent is far from neutral. They prounounce "e"s like "i"s so "pen" sounds like "pin". "Deck" sounds like "dick" and so on.

"i" becomes "u" so "fish and chips" sounds like "fush and chups".

I had a terrible time trying to understand Kiwis when I first arrived here.

If you ask me what the most "neutral" English is I'd have to say BBC English, not what is spoken today but what it used to be before the BBC went to hell.