GENERAL PAPER (8005/2) PAPER 2 NOVEMBER 2002

The following passage is an edited version of an article which appeared in the

magazine SINGAPORE in December 1999.
NO SINGLISH PLEASE, WE ARE SINGAPOREAN
Singlish is in the limelight again. TAN DAWN WEI looks at the latest controversy on
a form of English that raises hackles but which every true-blue Singaporean can
speak.
1 Singlish is not easy to define. Given the variety of languages spoken in Singapore -
Mandarin, Chinese dialects, Malay - it is not surprising that a unique language has
developed, incorporating Malay and Tamil words and phrases, which is spoken in a
peculiarly Singapore-Malaysian pronunciation, and uses predominantly Hokkien
structures. Thus Singlish speakers commonly use verb endings which would be 5
incorrect in standard English, avoid past and future tenses, get agreements
between subject and verb wrong, use prepositions wrongly and omit or incorrectly
position the definite and indefinite articles. Their errors can produce amusing
howlers - 'listening to his speech I soon became boring' or 'he turned into a new
leaf' - but more often they produce a language which no-one outside Singapore 10
would understand.
2 This unique form of pidgin English has recently become more popular with the
younger generation, largely owing to the success of the actor Gurmit Singh's
portrayal of Phua Chu Kang in a popular sitcom. PM Goh recently hit out at the hero
who has glamorised Singlish and moved not only students but many Singaporeans 15
to adopt phrases from the show such as 'don't pray pray' (don't fool around with
me) and 'ah-baden' (ah, but then). 'In trying to imitate life, Phua Chu Kang has
made the teaching of proper English more difficult,' he said. 'Gurmit Singh can
speak many languages, but Phua Chu Kang speaks only Singlish. If our children
learn Singlish from him, they will not become as talented as Gurmit Singh.' SM Lee 20
made a similar point in a recent speech: 'Singlish is a handicap we must not wish
on Singaporeans. The better-educated can speak English English to native English
or Americans, standard English to foreigners who speak standard English, and
Singlish to less-educated Singaporeans. Unfortunately, if the less-educated half of
our people end up learning to speak only Singlish, they will suffer economically and 25
socially.'
3 The attacks on Singlish come on top of several disturbing signs that all is not well
with English standards in Singapore. Special English courses have been put on for
teachers to raise their competency in the language. Professor Raja Komaran, from
the National University of Singapore, complains his students 'seem to have little 30
interest in the art of communication; they are only interested in content.' He fears
that their standard of English is not good enough for them to comprehend fully
important articles or reports. Keeping up to date with new developments in their
various fields will be that much harder. Tertiary institutions '- from universities to
polytechnics - now have English proficiency departments whose role is to help beef 35
up the English language competency of their students. Two thirds of candidates
who fail the qualifying tests for degree courses do so because of poor English.
4 In his National Day speech, PM Goh warned of the dangers of speaking broken
English the world could not comprehend. This would make it harder for Singapore
to go global, and companies would lose their competitive edge to those with a 40
better grasp of n g l i ~ h As the world becomes increasingly interdependent, those
2 General Paper - Paper 2 Nov. (2002)
with a mastery of the international language of English will cut more deals and
weather more storms. 1000 million people now use English. The ability to speak
English gives its users access to this, the world's biggest market and the biggest
pool of talent, as well as to the greatest number of information sources - currently, 45
80% of web pages and by far the greater number of trade and scientific journals are
in English. Singapore's drive towards a knowledge-based economy underscores
the need to have the linguistic skills to access this large body of knowledge. '
5 The issue of Singlish is not new. It has surfaced now and again but never with such
intensity as with the rise in popularity of Phua Chu Kang and the suddenly 'hip' 50
image of Singlish. Even those who would normally speak English can now be heard
using it, albeit tongue-in-cheek. But PCK is not entirely to blame. 60% of primary
One students come from homes where a non-English mother tongue is the norm,
and all young people are exposed to a lot of Singlish from their neighbours, on TV,
and in the streets of Singapore. The fact that the Iinguafranca of Chinese 55
Singaporeans is still predominantly Mandarin means that many Chinese children
have difficulty in expressing themselves well in English.
6 PCK and Singlish have their defenders. They insist that Singlish is part of the
Singaporean identity. It is not, after all, confined to Chinese Singaporeans but can
be heard being spoken by those of other ethnic origins, especially the younger 60
ones. One 20-something Chinese Singaporean said, 'It would be hard to imagine
speaking polished English to our buddies. Somehow 'don't like dat, lah!' seems to
exude a greater sense of camaraderie than 'will you stop it?'. Prominent Singapore
author Catherine Lim said, 'I need Singlish to express Singaporean feeling. If I'm
speaking with my Singapore friends, I don't speak colonial English. I'd feel so false.' 65
Many concur that some expressions are best made in Singlish or they lose their
meaning and flavour. The quintessential 'lah' 'lor' 'meh' and 'hor' can actually playa
vital role in binding people emotionally and giving them a sense of rootedness.
7 In the world of the arts, the argument is finely balanced. Kuo Pao Kun's 'Sunset
Rise', in which old men and women spend their last years together communicating 70
in a sprinkling of bazaar Malay, a little bit of Mandarin and Cantonese and a whole
lot of Singlish, is a truly Singaporean play about Singaporeans. Ming Cher's 'Spider
Boys', a semi-autobiographical story of street boys in post-war Singapore, is written .
almost totally in Singlish, which undoubtedly adds to its authenticity; published by
no less than Penguin, it was shortlisted for .the Montana New Zealand Book 75
Awards. However, books, films or plays which are mainly in Singlish do not cross
international boundaries easily. The film 'Forever Fever' had to be dubbed in
English for international release, and actor Nicholas Lee who plays Ronnie Tan in
the sitcom 'Under One Roof' claims it is marketable beyond Singapore because it
uses standard English, and no-ons would say that this sitcom is not Singaporean 80
just because a minimarket owner speaks standard English.
8 And so the debate continues. Many would wonder what all the fuss is about. After
all, this talk of becoming a world-class economy cuts no ice with the provision-shop
owner downstairs or your neighbour, the chicken-rice seller. These are the people'
the government has recently labelled as the 'heartlanders', who, unlike your 85
cosmopolitans, form the backbone of society. In fact, they are more likely to get
across to their customers better if they speak in Singlish.
9 The consensus seems to be that if you can code-switch, English and Singlish can
co-exist harmoniously. Speak standard English when you have to, but Singlish can
be the language of choice when you're among your own. But the playing field for 90
young Singaporeans would not be level if they did not or could not learn to code-
switch. Thus, educational institutions, role models and society in general have to
improve their standard of English in order for the younger ones to be able to code-
switch. And if Singapore can only master one form of English, the official preference
is for standard English rather than Singlish. 95
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9 Using only the arguments and facts from line 1 to 48 of the article, summarise the case for
believing that the increased use of Singlish and declining standards of English are harmful to
the interests of Singapore as a whole and to some of its citizens in particular.
Write your summary in no more than 120 words, not counting the opening words which are
printed below. Use your own words as far as possible.
The growing popularity of Singlish hi Singapore is a harmful development because .
II , I I 11." II II II I I II II , I'" I II I I' I I I I ,,, II II" II II II I I" II II
10 The attempt to discourage Singlish raises two issues:
how far such an attempt is practical and likely to be successful, and to what extent it is to be
welcomed.
Give your views on these two issues, illustrating your arguments by referring both to what
you have read in the article and to your own experiences .
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