Final Essay

Why or How Should Singlish Be Preserved?

Fig.1 This is a symbol of “Speak Good English Movement” by the government. Illustration from Speak Good English Movement n.d.; Web; 29 Oct. 2011

Fig.2 Singlish dictionary is published, and it means that it has a large vocabulary. Photograph from The Other Side of the World, n.d. Web; 29 Oct. 2011

What is “Singlish”? It means “Singapore English” and has different grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation and is used in informal situations. There is also English called “Singapore Standard English (SSE)”, and it is used in formal situations. Singapore is the multi-ethnic society mainly by Chinese, Malay and Indian and each build a community. English is one of the official languages and the administrative language. “Although most Singaporeans usually use Singlish, the Singapore government sees the use of Singlish as a serious problem to deal with” (Harada 71). According to Yeo, Teresa Rebecca in “Singlish” on SINGAPORE PAGES/Singapore Infopedia, to encourage standard English for Singaporeans, the government started "Speak Good English Movement" in 2001(Yeo). For the government, Singlish is an obstacle and the government wants to make it disappear and want people to use standard English only. However, Singlish is widely spread. Thus, it should be preserved because it is a valuable culture for Singaporeans and some people cherish it and need it. In order to achieve a better balance between use of standard English and that of Singlish, the government should not only encourage standard English but also promote “Speak-Singlish Campaign”.    

Of course, the standard English also should be taught at school because it is needed when Singaporeans communicate with people from other countries. Yeo, Teresa Rebecca says “In Singapore, English was not common and there were few people who mastered it. After Singapore got independence in 1965, the government started to encourage English for the economic because Singapore does not have natural resources” (Yeo). It means that now English is a necessary and important tool for Singapore to survive. In the globalizing world and under the situation without natural resources, Singapore should state that English is a strong weapon and it is easy to start the business in English and needs to develop more and more. From those reasons, standard English, which is worldwide used, needs to be encouraged for the future of Singapore. In addition, the very important industry in Singapore is sightseeing so the relation between Singapore and other countries is strong. People who belong to sightseeing industry need to speak standard English for tourists or sometimes, other people have to speak it. To keep sightseeing industry well for the economy, Singapore should make tourists feel like returning to Singapore again by giving them good impression with standard English. Therefore, Singaporean should learn standard English for the future.

However, Singlish should be preserved because some people cherish it and feel that they need it. According to Harada Shinichi in his 2009 report “The Roles of Singapore Standard English and Singlish”, the government has started to abolish Singlish but many Singaporean keep using it as their identity (Harada 69). Anasuya Balamurugan, whose post is Senior Research Associate 1 in National Industry Board, says “ ‘Speak Good English campaign’ firstly started in 2000 and the purpose of the government is to encourage standard English and discourage Singlish” (Anasuya). It means that the government is trying to make Singlish disappear though there are still people who like Singlish and keep using it. Unless there are those people, the government should not eradicate it because Singlish is their precious language and the government does not have the right to derive it. According to Rani Rubdy, who is at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in “Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development”, there are negative comments to Singlish but some says Singlish is a cool, funny and relaxed language.“ ‘Without Singlish, life will be pretty boring’ ‘Senior citizens will be confused without Singlish’ ”(Rubdy 310)　These opinions show that there are people who  think Singlish as a unique culture or an useful language. Thus, Singlish is needed by people and needed to be cherished.

In addition, Singlish should not be disappeared because language is an important culture and languages’ disappearance is dangerous. According to Nora C. England, who is a doctor of philosophy at University of Florida, in her 1992 book “Endangered Languages”, language plays a very important role in people’s identity, culture and society. “Local communities who have lost their language speak about it as a deeply personal loss which is accompanied by a loss of a sense of self” (Nora 140). If language disappear, people can lose their identity because language is strongly related to culture or it is culture itself. For example, the word “lah” is a famous and original Singlish words and the nuance are different in some kinds of sentences. Thus, those words are important to change the atmosphere of sentences. Also, in the future, if children can speak only standard English though there are older people who can speak only Singlish, those people can not communicate with each other. Singapore is the multi-ethnic society and need a language to communicate so if it loses Singlish and makes a barrier between the older generation and the younger one, they can not live well together. Culture should be passed down to generation to generation so Singlish, which was made by the older generation, should be took over. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve Singlish as a factor of culture.

Finally, the government should make some solutions to save Singlish and encourage standard English at the same time. The problem is mainly how the government preserves Singlish. This is because the government now tries to encourage only standard English so Singlish will be disappear someday at this rate. For example, one way to encourage Singlish is to start “Speak-Singlish campaign” opposed to “Speak Good English Movement”. The government already did “Speak Mandarin Campaign” so “Speak Singlish Campaign” can be possible too. The campaign should focus on the conversation in daily life and some TV programs in Singlish can be broadcasted so that people can be familiar with it. Teresa Rebecca Yeo says that the supporters of Singlish mainly argue that it removes racial differences so “Singlish is an essential part of local culture and heritage”(Teresa). It shows that Singlish is an important communication tool in multi-ethnic society and it is needed in their lives for social harmony. From that point, in the campaign, the interchange among different communities should be also encouraged by Singlish. Also, it is possible or good chance to learn history or culture again through Singlish. Thus, the government needs to keep action to encourage both standard English and Singlish.

Therefore, the government should encourage standard English for the economy or the nation’s survival and preserve Singlish as culture and keep the balance by better solutions. The job of the government is not only to make people adapt to worldwide criteria or improve the economy but also to preserve its own culture or identity. People’s feeling toward languages or culture should be cherished and it is important to think the importance or history of their culture again. In such a globalizing world, however, it might be impossible or it is difficult to keep all cultures because each country can not avoid competing with other countries. Each country has to survive but their identity should not be forgotten. Thus, the balance between adapting globalization and preserving culture is important. Now is time to rethink the importance of Singlish as culture for Singapore.

Works Cited

Balamurugan, Anasuya. "First Speak Good English Campaign." Infopedia - National

Library Board, Singapore. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.

England Nora C. Endangered Languages. Texas, Elsevier Ltd. 2006. Print.

Harada, Shinichi. The Roles of Singapore Standard English and Singlish. Bunkyo University, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.

Rubdy, Rani. "Singlish in the School: An Impediment or a Resource." Journal of Multiligual and Multicultural Development 28.4 (2007): 310. Taylor Francis Online. Web. 11 Oct. 2011.

Yeo, Teresa Rebecca. "Singlish." Infopedia - National Library Board, Singapore. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2011.