Very often, many ALs who visit our blog have mentioned that their bad standard of English is not an issue as the usage of language is up to an individual. However, this very idea in fact is quite shallow as the negative impacts that bad language command can bring about are existent, and adverse.
Recently, Ris Low has sparked media attention due to her appalling English standards despite her being crowned Miss Singapore 2009. Many have also mentioned that her bad language command reflects the standard of English in Singapore’s society, and that her being chosen was a downright disgrace to our country. However, another question that we have to ask ourselves is: why are many Singaporeans such weak in the language?
Singlish, a term coined from the combination of Singapore and English, is often used by Singaporeans to communicate to one another. Originating due to the multicultural society, Singlish has become an idiosyncratic Lingua Franca of Singaporeans. Singlish does not cause any negative impacts per se, but the inability of many people to code switch, especially those weak in the language, usually leads to a bad standard of English in formal situations. One example would be the abovementioned Ris Low.
This brings me back to the topic of ALs. Most of the time, ALs employ an atrocious command of language in conversing with others. Despite having such bad language, they refuse to look up a dictionary in order to improve their English. As a result of constantly twitting and/or combining other languages with English, their standard of English drops radically.
Singapore’s economy depends largely on foreign investments and tourism. Due to our small land space and lack of natural resources, Singapore is forced to depend on other countries for its continued economic survival and progress as a nation. English is an international language, thought not everyone can speak it. Yet, it is the only language that we need to know fundamentally in order to converse with people of different nationalities. The United States of America (USA) has the highest GDP in the world, and is also a country that Singapore’s economy depends on largely. If we lack the Basic English skills, how is it possible to invest there, and perhaps survive economically?
A relatively short post, but it brings the point across: bad English does not simply affect an individual. Especially if it is on a large scale, it can affect an entire nation’s image and perhaps economy. If anyone thinks that the blog which we have created is a waste of time, think again.
Recently, Ris Low has sparked media attention due to her appalling English standards despite her being crowned Miss Singapore 2009. Many have also mentioned that her bad language command reflects the standard of English in Singapore’s society, and that her being chosen was a downright disgrace to our country. However, another question that we have to ask ourselves is: why are many Singaporeans such weak in the language?
Singlish, a term coined from the combination of Singapore and English, is often used by Singaporeans to communicate to one another. Originating due to the multicultural society, Singlish has become an idiosyncratic Lingua Franca of Singaporeans. Singlish does not cause any negative impacts per se, but the inability of many people to code switch, especially those weak in the language, usually leads to a bad standard of English in formal situations. One example would be the abovementioned Ris Low.
This brings me back to the topic of ALs. Most of the time, ALs employ an atrocious command of language in conversing with others. Despite having such bad language, they refuse to look up a dictionary in order to improve their English. As a result of constantly twitting and/or combining other languages with English, their standard of English drops radically.
Singapore’s economy depends largely on foreign investments and tourism. Due to our small land space and lack of natural resources, Singapore is forced to depend on other countries for its continued economic survival and progress as a nation. English is an international language, thought not everyone can speak it. Yet, it is the only language that we need to know fundamentally in order to converse with people of different nationalities. The United States of America (USA) has the highest GDP in the world, and is also a country that Singapore’s economy depends on largely. If we lack the Basic English skills, how is it possible to invest there, and perhaps survive economically?
A relatively short post, but it brings the point across: bad English does not simply affect an individual. Especially if it is on a large scale, it can affect an entire nation’s image and perhaps economy. If anyone thinks that the blog which we have created is a waste of time, think again.
3 comments:
I am not sure that English is as widespread or useful as people claim. Good English is used even less. I would like to argue the case for Esperanto as the international language. It is a planned language which belongs to no one country or group of states.
Take a look at www.esperanto.net
Esperanto works!
I've used it in speech and writing in about fifteen countries over recent years.
Yes, I have heard of Esperanto. However, it is not widely accepted to be used as the international language due to objections by certain groups of people who do not want to learn a new language all over again. However, English is more widely known, despite countries such as China having few people being able to communicate in the language.
Although Esperato might be important in allowing us to transform into a type I civilisation, English is still the main language that is used today.
hey this is evone- here.
i hate being here going about against your post, but i must say what i have on my mind.
i do agree with you that most ALs(i said most, not ALL) have bad english command. however, what you said in the paragraph is entirely biased to the ALs. i believe many a times, ourselves, the anti ALs people, make the same mistake of mixing a few languages together while conversing. and it does not necessarily mean it is bad or degenerating. there is nothing wrong with using double language in a sentence while conversing with your friends or families, however, like the usage of the singlish language(do you even call it a language?), the key to do is to know when to code switch. as long as you present yourself well enough in formal occasions, who cares if you speak horrible english at your own free time?
also, alot of people have the misconception that our counterparts from the Australian side and the European side have very good english command. while most people do speak fluently over at their side, their english may not be grammatically correct as well.
while it is true that we are largely dependent on the US market for our ricebowl, we must not forget another rising country that is thriving even in the lows of the economy. Yes, im talking about China. singapore had seen many job opportunities in china and are gradually moving over for investments. i agree with bill chapman that there is an over emphasis in the english language, resulting in much reluctance to take their second language or even a third language seriously. i do agree with zee too that we must at least have the basic english skills, but while putting in our efforts on english, we must not forget about other languages as well.
summing up, i think bad english is not necessarily a bad thing, provided we know how to code switch.
Evone-
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