Singapore is in a dilemma: to continue to use the Queen's English which the citizens have been taught all this while or to adopt the American English which is so prevalent in the business and entertainment world.
Lee Kuan Yu seems to have have his mind made up to go along with the current trend of adopting the American style of the English language for all its citizens.
My personal view is Singapore such stick with its British English. The reason being is that Singapore English (and also Malaysian English) is accent less or spoken English which is relatively clear of accent. This has been verified when I meet foreign speakers of the English language who can identify from which part of the world we are from and they will compliment us on the clarity in our speech and communication.
Anyway, here's the write up on this issue.
Rodney Tan
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Singapore’s language
battle: American vs ‘the Queen’s English’
By reddotrevolver Sep 07, 2011 10:23PM
UTC
Known as a country in Southeast Asia with a highly
educated workforce, Singapore is also one of the only countries in the region
that uses English as a working language, and as a medium of instruction in schools.
The ease of communication has established the country as the headquarters in
Asia for many multinational companies.
A report
by the Educational Testing Services (ETS) based on data from Jan-Dec 2010 shows
that Singapore came in third in TOEFL (The Test of English as a Foreign
Language) scores out of 163 countries. It is the only Asian country in the top
three.
However, students in Singapore are taught in British
English, or ‘the Queen’s English’, since elementary school. To Singapore’s
former Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, this poses a serious and imminent
challenge.
According to Channel NewsAsia, Lee said:
“There is an intense
worldwide competition for talent, especially for English-speaking skilled
professionals, managers and executives. Our English-speaking environment is one
reason why Singapore has managed to attract a number of these talented
individuals to complement our own talent pool.
“They find it easy to
work and live in Singapore, and remain plugged into the global economy.
Singapore is a popular educational choice for many young Asians who want to
learn English, and they get a quality education. This has kept our city
vibrant.”
Mr Lee said one of the
challenges ahead is to decide whether to adopt British English or American
English.
He said: “I think the
increasing dominance of the American media means that increasingly our people,
teachers and students will be hearing the American version, whether it is
‘potatoes’ or ‘tomatoes’. They will be the dominant force through sheer numbers
and the dominance of their economy.
“I believe we will be exposed more
and more to American English and so it might be as well to accept it as
inevitable and to teach our students to recognise and maybe, to even speak
American English.”
Lee added that “communication skills” will be one of the
most valuable qualities to possess in the twenty-first century.
Be it fashion, music, food or movies, American popular
culture has had a pervasive influence on Singaporean society, as the adoption
of the American slang has made its way to the lexicon of Singapore English.
However, in official documents, and even in text messages, British spelling is
used. Yet, a good command of English is a good command of English, regardless
of whether it is written in British spelling or spoken with an American accent.
Perhaps American investors will appreciate an American accent when speaking to
Singaporean businessmen, but Americans have long done business with their
British counterparts who have thick British accents. To be able to be
understood by the other party is still what remains the most imperative.
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