Itchy Backside
Language plays such a huge part in our lives that i think many of us have started taking it for granted. It is not only our primary vessel for communication, it is something that can be highly reflective of its users as well!
Meanings are attached to words & phrases when the society or a group of people are in agreement or consensus of their meanings. What then happens when 2 people of different culture have trouble understanding each other even when they speak the same language?
Watch the clip below from the 1.30 sec mark onwards! (:
In the video, foreigners who are native speakers of English do not understand the terms presented to them even though they were in English, because they did not understand the context they could be used in! Many of these terms, such as ‘itchy backside’, ‘shaking your leg’ & ‘vomit blood’, are terms derived from sayings that were originally in dialects or other ‘Singaporean’ languages.
Other than illustrating the fact that language can be arbitrary & highly contextual, i believe that the above clip has brought up a very good point about being uniquely Singaporean!
While some might argue that speaking Singlish reflects poorly on Singaporeans, it holds true for me that as long as we are able to differentiate between situations which call for us to speak in proper English (such as business meetings, social settings), & colloquial ones where we can be less formal, i do not see why we should not embrace the unique flavor that makes us truly Singaporean! How many countries can say that they have their own special language resulting from having about a million different wonderful races in their nation? (:
I do not feel that we should view Singlish as being a less “correct” version of another language. If language is a “system of symbols derived from social convention & consensus,” then i guess this pretty much makes Singlish a language all on its own! Just like any other form of language, it has to be learned & used in the correct context in order for it to make sense. Shaking leg is not a new dance move & neither is itchy backside a form of disease!
I feel that as long as Singaporeans conduct ourselves with the grace & warmth as any gracious host with any guests invited into their homes, i do not see how speaking Singlish would reflect poorly on us! I definitely know more than a couple of Singaporeans who have a great command of the language & yet still speak Singlish because its part of who they are (:
What about you? Do you think conversing in Singlish mars our reputation? Here are more videos to pick your brains!
For those who do not understand Chinese, it is a group of Taiwanese criticizing our ‘broken’ English on a local Talkshow!
This is an example of self-serving bias & I do not think its fair to pass judgment based on the few people they came into contact with. While i admit we do speak Singlish (i’m proud of it!), they’re basically saying is that it is so bad that they find it impossible for them to understand us! Mrs kaveri is so going to kick their asses for judging our culture as inferior to their own!
Radio DJs conversing in Singlish on the airwaves
A fellow citizen who almost seems embarrased by Singlish. P.s. She is the voice behind those Train Service Announcements!
Please share with me your views! (:
love love love, makes the world go round – ppg (:
I have to admit that i am not someone who keeps up with our country’s politics very often. I am however, someone who loves Singapore very dearly. Since young, i have always gotten the impression that Singapore was a nation that embraced its many different sub-groups & multi-cultural races readily (hello racial harmony day!).
Why does it have to different for people who chose to love differently? I came across this article while i was on the Straits Times website today.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_376705.html
When asked about the government’s stand on homosexuality, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng cited reasons like ‘conservative society’ & ‘traditional heterosexual values’ as reasons for why homosexuals should continue living their lives ‘privately’ without causing polorisation.
Just because someone isn’t part of the ‘majority’ does not mean that they should be made to feel any less as human beings.
From a social constructionist perspective, i could see how our culture might have helped shape us into thinking that anything that did not fit in with our ‘reality’ should not be accepted as the norm.
But from a psychological point of view, i see LGBT (lesbians gays bisexuals & transgender) as just people who made different choices. It is heart wrenching to think that someone (it could have easily been you or me!!) would have to live their lives hiding away in the shadows day after day just because they did not fit in with the majority.
Like a million other girls out there, i must have dreamt of wearing my white beautiful fluffy dress on the happiest day of my life. I couldn’t imagine that the chance of doing that may someday be that taken away from me just because somewhere, somehow, someone did not agree with the person i chose to marry.
I love singapore dearly & we have been through so much together as a country (SARS OMG. BIRD FLU OMG. PIG FLU OMG), that i know that we would get there someday. To put down our differences & these silly rules & regulations that someone decided a long, long, longlonglonglonglong time ago was wrong (the person has probably been dead for 500@#%Y%#% years now by the way).
To open our eyes & see that ‘reality’ was merely someone’s perspective of what is right or wrong, outrageous or acceptable, merely traditions & customs that have been passed down to us through the generations.
It takes a million chances to find that one person we love in the sea of 6 billion people worldwide. That makes it about a billion gazillion chances in 1 to find someone we love who loves us back as well. This shouldn’t have to be any harder for people who already have their inner struggles to contend with as well as external pressures given to them by their families & friends. Love was never really meant to be like that.
