Singlish As A Language In Singapore

Singlish As A Language In Singapore To begin, we need to establish the difference between English and Singlish. English in this essay refers to standard international English that is used by native speakers of English and bilingual users of English for cross-cultural communication. (McKay 2002:132) It is the language formally used in public administration, law and education in Singapore. On the other hand, Singlish refers to Singapore Colloquial English, which is used by many Singaporeans. It is fused with the terms and intonations with the native mother tongues such as Bahasa Malayu, Chinese, Hokkien, Cantonese and Tamil. Singlish can be spoken both by people who do not have a good grasp of English, as well as those who have a strong command of international standard English. Firstly, Singaporeans understand the need for proper English for economical purposes. In the increasingly globalised and interconnected world, the government realizes the need to be able to communicate fluently with others not from Singapore. Singapore is an economically prominent city and does much of its trade with other countries, America being the second largest consumer of Singaporean exports after China. (Statistics Singapore: Ministry of Trade and industry, 2008) The economic situation of Singapore requires the people to be fluent in English so as to be able to communicate well with foreigners who are doing business with them. As such, the government has put in place measures to ensure that Singaporeans are able to speak English fluently. The first language of the Singaporean education system is English and very recently, in September 2009, the Education Minister Ng Eng Hen mentioned in his ministrys work plan seminar that raising the standard of English of students will be a main goal for schools in the coming years. He indicated that they would realize this by allowing students to speak up more often in class. Another government measure to raise help Singaporeans speak proper English is the initiation of the Speak Good English Movement that started in 2000 and is still in effect. The then deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke at the launch of the Speak Good English Movement 2001, and voicing that there is a need for Singapore to grow into an attractive economic hub for foreign companies and foreign talent. Through out his speech, DPM Lee Hsien Loong constantly draws the link between Singapore being an economic center and the need for Singaporeans to be fluent in English. From these examples, we can see that th e government in Singapore recognizes the need for English and thereby initiates practices in education and public campaigns to increase the use of English in Singapore. I personally feel that greater emphasis on standard English in the Singaporean education system is in the right direction. I had previously tried relief teaching at a neighborhood school for a few months. On many occasions, I had the opportunity to read the English essays of the students and was rather unsettled by the fact that the students could not express themselves clearly in proper English. Many times, it was apparent that they used the sentence structure of mandarin and translated it to their written English. On many occasions, I find that the students are unable to switch between the use of standard English and Singlish, even when speaking. If they continue to use English and Singlish interchangeably, there is no doubt that people from other countries would not be able to understand them. Due to this, I agree that there is a need to raise the standard of English in Singapore. The government is not the only party who is aware of the need for proper English. Many Singaporeans are aware of this as well, especially when it comes to representing Singapore to the global world. This is clearly exemplified in the recent controversy over Miss Singapore World beauty queen, Ris Low. A local news channel, Razor TV, interviewed Low and it was revealed that her standard of spoken English was not up to the standards of many Singaporeans. Viewers were appalled that she was chosen to represent Singapore despite her low standard of spoken English. Soon after, it was made known that she was charged for credit card fraud. Nonetheless, there were many requests by the public who wrote in to the Straits Times forum, as well as other online forums, to oppose her being chosen as Miss Singapore World even before her credit card fraud case was publicized. This shows that Singaporeans understand the need to speak proper English when portraying Singapore to other countries. Together with their call for the usage of proper English in Singapore, government figures have also expressed concern over the use if Singlish in Singapore. In the opening speech at the launch of the Speak Good English Movement 2000 by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, he expressed concern over Singlish, instead of English, becoming Singapores common language. He maintained that if Singaporeans continue to use Singlish, something he referred to as a corrupted form of English not understood by others, we would lose our competitiveness in the economy. He also mentioned, if they (young Singaporeans) speak Singlish when they can speak good English, they are doing a disservice to Singapore. DPM Lee Hsien Loong highlighted a similar concern regarding this issue in his speech the following year. DPM Lee stated that on top of having more people speaking English, it is equally, if not more important to get Singaporeans to speak good, standard English à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ rather than Singlish, a local dialect unique to Singapore. He added that if we want to reinforce our identity as Singaporeans, we should choose something other than Singlish. Through this, we can see that together with their call for proper English, DPM Lee and PM Goh were also calling for a reduced usage of Singlish. Although I agree with the implementations in educational policies and public campaigns for the usage of proper English due to the need for economic competitiveness, I think that Singlish has a role to play in Singaporean Society. Singlish is unique to Singapore as it is a direct result of the interactions between people of different races and native tongues and is part of the national identity because people are connected to the language and to each other when they use it. Language is fundamentally a tool for us to communicate with one another and Singlish enables Singaporeans to do this effectively among ourselves. In fact, Singlish came about precisely to perform this function. Singapore, before and during the colonial times, already had a wide variety of people from different native tongues working here. Due to its situation as a port along the naval Spice Route, there were many emigrants from the region, such as southern Chinese and Indian laborers. Coupled with the indigenous Malay speaking population, this made Singapore a place with diverse language background. English was introduced when the British colonists used English as the medium for administration. Soon after independence in 1965, the government made English that main medium of education in Singapore. (Low, Brown, 2005, 20) Gradually, English came to be localized with terms from the native tongues of the people in Singapore. Malay, Mandarin and its dialects, and Tamil words were incorpor ated into this local version of English. This is especially so for words which seem to have no direct English equivalent, such as kiasu, blanjah or shiok. Singlish also often takes on the syntax of Chinese and Malay. (Wee, 2009, 56-59) It is seen that the Singaporean version of English, or Singlish, has come about as a result of the interactions between the different cultures and languages here and this mix is not observed anywhere else in the world. Wee (2009, 63-66) states that the formation of Singlish was not from a committee who sat down and discussed the structure, grammar and vocabulary of Singlish. Rather, Singlish was a natural result of the people from different native tongues and cultures in Singapore, communicating and interacting with one another. It is precisely because of the fact that Singlish is a cultural product that came about naturally from Singaporeans that makes it relevant to Singaporean society. While English can be used by everyone in Singapore and allow them to communicate with one another effectively, Singlish has an added quality to it. It allows Singlish speakers to feel a sense of connection to and through the language because Singlish is localized and English does not possess this trait. From my personal experience as a student in Singapore, it is apparent that my teachers try to use proper English during lessons where it is in a formal setting. As a student, I would answer and pose questions to my teachers in standard English. However, I would use Singlish when conversing with my friends because it is an informal setting. In fact, sometimes when we hear someone speaking in proper English in an informal setting, my friends would comment that that person was pretentious and that there was no need to use proper English among friends. In another experience, where I went for an inter- secondary school leadership camp, we were put in groups with students from other schools and backgrounds. During the first group discussion session, I had taken to speaking in standard English because I had thought that it would be more appropriate. However, I realized that some of my group mates were not responsive so I decided to switch to Singlish, hoping that they would open up and contribute more. As I had hoped, they immediately started to speak up more during the discussion. In the following group discussion sessions, I realized that when the facilitator posed a question in standard English, my group mates did not seem forthcoming with their thoughts, but once someone contributed to the discussion in Singlish, they would speak up more and subsequent contributions were in Singlish. Perhaps they initially didnt contribute because they had trouble understand that question or topic of discussion. However, I do not think that they had any trouble grasping what was being asked or discussed. Rather, they started to open up because Singlish provided us the opportunity t o establish a bond with each other. Although simple, these examples show us that Singlish connects Singaporeans together through a common colloquial language in which we are comfortable in expressing our thoughts. Singlish is also used in the media in Singapore to give it an authentic sense of being Singaporean. Singaporean sitcoms like Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, My Sassy Neighbor, Police and Thief, Under One Roof and Growing Up are seen as portraying the lives of Singaporeans and the characters in these shows speak in Singlish. Local films like I Not Stupid, Money No Enough and Just Follow Law had actors speaking in Singlish throughout the film. Even their titles are in Singlish. Musicals like Beauty World, Dim Sum Dollies and $ing Dollar incorporate Singlish as well. In fact, Beauty World was originally a play and it is seen as one of the more successful creative literature locally and has been produced into a musical a few times. It is about a girl called Ivy from Malaysia who comes to Singapore to find the true identity of her father. Her boyfriend, Frankie, accompanies her to Singapore as well. As noted by Low and Brown, both Ivy and Frankie speak in standard English throughout the show while the other Singaporean characters speak in Singlish (Low, Brown, 2005, p. 181). This amplifies how the use of English and Singlish by different characters help identify their nationalities in the show. These shows target the local audience and as a result, include the Singlish language to depict an authentic local portrayal. The Singapore tourism Board portrays Singapore as Uniquely Singapore and a common question asked is whether Singapore has anything to call their own. Singlish is definitely something that is uniquely Singaporean. A poll by NUS Students Political Association done on 750 undergrads revealed that Singlish was considered most Singaporean with 75.3% of the votes (Leo, 2005). Similarly, in a recent Political Science forum, the topic of debate was whether Singapore had a national identity. Singlish came up quite often because many forum participants recognized people who speak Singlish as being Singaporean. Whenever I visited Malaysia, my sister and I would even play a game where we would try to distinguish if a person was Malaysian or Singaporean simply by the way they spoke. Despite the fact that Manglish (Malaysian English) and Singlish are somewhat similar, we were still able to find something distinctive and unique in the way that Singaporeans speak. In this sense, Singlish can be said to be part of Singapores national identity because it differentiates us from people of other places and nations. In conclusion, I do agree that there is a need for Singaporeans to be fluent in standard English so as to be competitive in the global world and raising the standard of English is indeed the right course of action by the Singaporean government. However, I do not think that Singlish should be excluded from being used in Singapore. Not only does it transcend people of different racial identities in Singapore, it allows people to feel a sense of connection to the language itself, which English does not offer. Singlish is part of the nation identity because people are connected to the language and to each other when they use it.

Impact of Public Debt on the Economic Growth Essay

Government debt is also known as public debt. It is the debt owed by a federal government to the internal or external sources. It is required when the stocks of government securities are insufficient to cover previous budget deficits. Budget deficits occur when the level of government expenditures exceeds its revenues. Based on macroeconomic theory, the level of government expenditure must be positive with the economic growth. The higher the expenditure, the higher will be the economic growth. Government expenditure can be divided into productive and unproductive expenditure. Productive expenditure will be contributed to the economic growth in a few years’ time. Meanwhile, the unproductive expenditure will lead to the decline in the economic growth. Productive expenditure comprise of education and health. Besides, the unproductive expenditure consists of expenditure like pension and subsidies. Meanwhile, high budget deficit will reduce the level of economic growth. In order to finance additional expenditures, the government will borrow money from internal sources. Since the demand of the loanable funds is also derived from the private sector, additional demand from the government will boost the interest rate. Consequently, high interest rate will distort the level of investment. Finally, the lower level of investment will lead to lower economic growth for the country. In addition, high public debt will also result to a financial crisis. If a country is experiencing a trend of an increasing public debt, the investors may be worried about the capabilities of that country to pay its debt. Apart from that, they will ask for higher interest rate as a safety and profitable measures for them to keep financing the deficits. An increase in interest rate can distort the level of economic growth and would create financial crisis. Besides, it is also acts as an obstacle to the development because it will weakens the government’s ability to achieve macroeconomic stability. It comprises the stability of inflation, interest rate and exchange rate target. It will also create adverse incentives associated with future taxes. High debt also will stop the social and developmental progress. Malaysian economy may not be able to achieve high and sustainable economic growth in the long-run if the federal government keeps borrowing money from the domestic sources in order to finance the budget deficit. However, there is no such evidence to conclude that the external debt can distort the economic growth in the long-run.

Life After Slavery Essay Topics

Life After Slavery Essay Topics The History of Slavery Essay Topics Refuted Its primary aim is attempting to capture the interest of your reader. The American portion of the story lasted fewer than 400 decades. Each your part is dependent on other. It can be broken into several pieces. At any point in time, any variety of decisions might have been made to another end. The labor-intensive character of tobacco was another reason it required a big work force. The issue is we speak various languages not only with respect to ethnic groups but regarding the way every individual sees the world. Conclusion, in this instance, is your tool to display your understanding of the subject and make the previous impression on your audience. Thus, writing a history paper will definitely be fun, if you simply select a really intriguing history essay topic. Though a melodramatic account, it's arguably the one most important book in American history. It will produce the history essay writing process faster and easier, and you won't need to devote a good deal of time doing research. If you still find it tough to work on your expository essay, get in touch with our on-line writing team made from professional writers with over 10 decades of experience to receive your own personal a cademic lifebuoy! Perhaps you simply do not know the subject well enough, and that's the reason you cannot locate the idea for your history essay. You must also restate the thesis and bring your principal notion to the stage. You will need to see that conclusion isn't only a very simple overview of evidence you've provided in your primary portion of the essay. If you wish to learn to compose a conclusion for an expository essay, you also will need to concentrate on your primary idea and thesis statement. What Slavery Essay Topics Is - and What it Is Not Essay writing presupposes using the right format, the proper grammar, and the proper selection of words. There was simply no financial alternative. Write a list of ideas you've got or a list of things you're interested in. Consult your teacher to assist you to earn a choice or search for interesting ideas online. The conclusion should consist of a couple of sentences. Draw the last line and tell what your research was able to produce. Pleas e be aware that the variety of sentences of essay conclusion is dependent upon the quantity of paragraphs within your body part. Depict the main goal of the whole project in a couple of sentences. If you're creating a database driven site you have to be cautious. These days, it's simple to find needed information. Really, for the majority of us it doesn't really matter in addition to the standard and services information provided via the webhost is a good deal more important. There's plenty if useful information regarding the Web. By mid-century, many enslaved women and men in the Chesapeake hadn't ever seen Africa. Contemporary day slave markets in Sudan exist owing to a civil war in the area. There was no hope for those slaves. Although black individuals never challenged white numerical dominance in the area, they achieved majorities in a couple of localities. Slavery Essay Topics: No Longer a Mystery The idea of African Slavery isn't as easy as you may think. Additi onally, tied together with a mutual cord of slavery, slaves strove with each other to build strategies that would permit them to live satisfactorily. Slavery was thought to be a sinful practice. Slavery generally is quite a hard issue to manage, and it is quite a dark time in American history. Abolition Finally, the topics within this section encourage students to comprehend what eventually resulted in the abolition of slavery. Some novels are extremely detailed and gruesome and just focus on the beatings and torturous sections of slavery. Deciding on the most suitable essay topic can occasionally be rather tricky. Slavery Essay Topics - the Conspiracy The individual who bid the most would then have that slave. So now, the master had a tidy amount of money with which to pop to the slave market and receive a replacement. In Africa, chattel slaverymeans that an individual can develop into someone else's property for life. Such person shouldn't be forgotten. In spite of the fact that it's easy for some to believe that homelessness is due to mental issues or basic laziness, there are different elements to look at. Thus, the governments and worldwide communities should tackle the issue through the enactment of treaties and laws prohibiting the trend and illegalizing p rostitution. You should better begin with a draft. The most important reason for the American civil was the matter of slavery. The Supreme Court began to break all the rules regarding slavery, and congress's laws, and it's simply not fair. Slavery in the USA was not inevitable. South, wanted to prevent the issue of the increasing black population in the united states.

Essay The Rise of Political Parties - 533 Words

In 1790, the United States had just recently broke free from the British crown and united under the cause of liberty. But in spite of this, Americans saw political rifts brought about by the rise of political parties. The rise of political parties in 1790 was caused by general distrust, disagreements on policies, and constitutional disagreements between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties, which were led by Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, respectively. The rise of political parties was facilitated by general distrust amongst politicians. In document 1, Thomas Jefferson claims that Hamilton is in support of a monarchy. This statement reflects Jeffersons distrust for Hamilton, believing that he is trying to regress†¦show more content†¦This assertion expresses Hamiltons dissidence with Democratic-Republican foreign affairs, as they tended to be more sympathetic to France, whereas Federalist foreign policies tended to be more sympathetic to Britain, accord ing to Democratic-Republicans. Furthermore, Constitutional disagreements led to the creation of political parties as well. In document 6, Federalist congressman John Allen expresses his support of the Alien and Sedition acts. He claims that the 1st amendment was never intended to allow citizens to propagate lies. This expresses a Federalistic loose interpretation of the Constitution. In contrast, George Hay, a Democratic-Republican, expresses his strict interpretation of the Constitution. In document 7, he states that the press should be free from any from of legislative control, and that the Alien and Sedition acts were forbidden in the Constitution. Such conflicting views on interpreting the Constitution played a key role in the formation of political parties. In conclusion, the American populace gained a sense of national identity and united under the motive of independence after fighting a revolutionary war, in order to break free from Great Britain. It was following 1790 that t he United States started seeing the formation of political parties. Most notably, the Federalist party lead by Hamilton, and the Democratic-Republican party led by Jefferson became prominent in AmericanShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Rise and Fall of Political Parties2443 Words   |  10 Pageslegitimate means to express political disagreement is really up to the citizens. As long as the parties dont become too powerful then there shouldnt be a problem at all. If somebody wishes to express a disagreement and they dont agree with either of the current two parties then by all means let them start their own party. As long as the citizens agree with what you are saying it shouldnt really matter what political party you belong to or what political office. Political participation is influencedRead MorePolitical Polarization Is Defined As The Division Into Two Opposites1221 Words   |  5 Pagesopposites†. (Merriam-Webster) Political Polarization refers to the perceived division of id eologies espoused between the two major political parties in the United States. The topic of political polarization is one frequently referenced in the media and in political discussions. Does political polarization actually exist or is it a myth? In this paper, this question will be analyzed and examined and a conclusion will be reached. In order to understand the concept of political polarization one must firstRead MorePolitical Parties in George Washingtons Cabinet758 Words   |  4 PagesA political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous â€Å"Farewell Address†. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support of the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’sRead MoreAssess the Reasons Why Mussolini Was Appointed Prime Minister in 19221001 Words   |  5 Pagessociety. The war destroyed Italy economically leading to a rise in socialism. This in turn lead to highlighting the weaknesses of the liberals as the country was torn apart in the red years. This strengthened the appeal of fascism as it was the cure that Italy needed to get rid of the socialists. The fascists needed only to organise their party and take advantage of the open opportunity to seize power in Rome. However organisation of the party was no mean feat as it contained many different viewpointsRead MoreThe Political Structure Of The Libertarian Party1241 Words   |  5 PagesIn a political atmosphere where it is easy to be grouped up in either conservative or liberal, it is harder to see such an easy split more and more each day. Non-traditional candidates are now emerging into the political arena that in prior elections would have been scoffed at. Whether we are talking about the unusually high polling Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, the Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders or the Authoritarian Republican Nominee, Donald Trump, It is getting harder and harder toRead MoreTwo Party Preferred System in Australian Politics925 Words   |  4 Pagesargues that the 2010 election shows that the Australian two-party system is â€Å"past its used- by date†. Do you agree? Why/why not? Today for most Australian’s the potential of what a vote can represent is lost in political apathy and some could argue that this directly relates to how the leaders of the two main political parties continually compete for the populist vote. This environment is dominated by the media portrayal of our political parties and as a result of this, policies for the long term interestsRead MoreLibertarian Party Vs. Liberal Politics1294 Words   |  6 PagesIn a political atmosphere where it is easy to be labeled as either conservative or liberal, this simple label is becoming more difficult. Non-traditional ideologies are now emerging into the political arena that in prior elections would have been scoffed at. This 2016 election has shown a clear rise in support for Libertarianism, Democratic Socialism, and Authoritarianism. That is why it is important to understand what these ideologies mean through definition, policy preferences and the true impactRead MoreIb Contemporary World : The Economic, Political, And Religious Polarization Of Society1164 Words   |  5 PagesSahana Duff December 11, 2015 IB Contemporary World â€Å"It was the economic, political, and religious polarization of society, and the failure to find and support a middle ground which brought the dictators to power in Europe between the wars.† Economic Polarization of society Germany and economic polarization Beginning with Zollverein (1833) By abolishing tolls, the Zollverein made Germany a common market. Industrialization was much farther behind than the rest of Europe → Germany tried to catch upRead MoreReasons for the Rise of Nazi Party and the Collapse of the Weimar Repu1102 Words   |  5 PagesWhy did Hitler rise to Power and why did the Weimar Republic collapse? Hitlers rise to power was the result of many factors, but Hitlers ability to take advantage of Germanys poor leadership and economical and political conditions was the most significant factor. His ability to manipulate the media and the German public whilst taking advantage of Germanys poor leadership resulted in both the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler and the nazi party. During the early 1920sRead MoreEssay on The Rise of the Nazi Party1091 Words   |  5 PagesThe Rise of the Nazi Party Hitler’s rise to power was the result of many factors, but Hitler’s ability to take advantage of Germany’s poor leadership and economical and political conditions was the most significant factor. His ability to manipulate the media and the German public whilst taking advantage of Germany’s poor leadership resulted in both the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler and the nazi party. During the early 1920s, Germany was struggling with economic instability