Reader Response (Draft Three)

In his article “Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?”, Lu (2013) advocated the recognition of English as Singaporean mother tongue. He observed that there was an increasing proportion of Singaporean speaking mainly English at home and having English regarded as their core identity. As English had become a dominant language in Singapore, the government and communities had been struggling to revive the diminishing presence of mother tongue languages. Moreover, the conflicting “linguistic interests” by different groups of generation had caused a language divide in Singapore, and Lu claimed that this gap would shrink in oppression. Lu also highlighted in his article that “The notion “native speaker of English” is tied to particular nationalities and ethnicities — that is, Anglo-Saxons”. He argued that Singaporean students were not substantially recognized by international colleges for their proficiency in English, and therefore there was a need to acknowledge English as Singaporean mother tongue so as to gain acceptance from the world.

English should not be recognized as Singaporean mother tongue because it would devalue the current mother tongues that promote culture awareness and intergeneration bonding. 

Language divide has evolved in Singapore over the years due to the conflicting linguistic desires and beliefs between the pioneer generation and the younger generation. I would certainly disagree with Lu (2013)’s assumption that the conflict would diminish in “aggression and regularity”. It is important to understand that Singapore is a multi-ethnic nation and everyone has different potential and ability. It would be an infeasible approach if we were to forcefully insist one language to fit all. Furthermore, if we were to designate English as our mother tongue, I foresee that the younger generation would lose faith in learning their current mother tongues. This implication would consequently reduce the intergeneration interaction and weaken the “generationship”. Therefore, I feel that it is vital to acknowledge our own ethnic language as our mother tongue instead of English. In a sense, it reminds us of our unique culture and roots, as well as strengthens the bond between the youngsters and the elderlies.

Singapore has been a leading country in the world in many aspects and yet the nation has not attained substantial international recognition for proficiency in English. According to Lu (2013), Singaporean students had not been granted for exemption by the universities in international test in aptitude for English despite their seniors having achieved consistent and remarkable scores in that test. However, we should not be misled by this information and conclude that Singaporeans are overall good in English as it only reflects the performance of our fellow pre-university students. As far as I know, average Singaporeans are not exceptionally good in English and majority of them are accustomed to speak the localized form of English particularly known as ‘Singlish’ with negative connotations. Thus I think it is inappropriate for us to expect any global acceptance. We still have a lot more to do to refine our English before we can actually appeal for external recognition or even consider English as a mother tongue in our internal social dynamics.

English has long been the core language in our education, administration, commerce and judiciary. Despite the dominance of English in our everyday lives, we must not deny the essentials of our mother tongues. In my opinion, transforming our mother tongues to English literally means converting our own race to "English". I hereby strongly oppose the idea of having English recognized as our mother tongue. We Singaporean must stand tall with our rich heritage and preserve our mother tongue to keep our unique and vibrant island alive.



Reference
Lu, L. (2013, July 15). Today Online. Retrieved from Today Online: http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/can-english-be-singaporean-mother-tongue?singlepage=true

Essay Outline

Main Topic Area:
Age digital divide among the younger generation and older generation in Singapore.

Main Problem Identified:
Majority of the elderly are disconnected from the world due to the fact that they do not know how to access to internet.

Proposed Solution (set):
Conducting workshops in the neighbourhood community centres for the elderly and teach them how to access to internet.

Proposed Thesis:
Elderly in Singapore should connect themselves to the world by accessing internet.

Reader Response (Draft Two)

In Lu’s article “Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?”, he advocated the recognition of English as Singaporean mother tongue (Lu, 2013). He observed that there was an increasing proportion of Singaporean speaking mainly English at home and having English regarded as their core identity. As English had become a dominant language in Singapore, the government and communities had been struggling to revive the diminishing presence of mother tongue languages. Moreover, the conflicting linguistic interests by different groups of generation had caused a linguistic divide in Singapore, and Lu (2013) claimed that this gap would shrink in oppression. He also argued that Singaporean students were not substantially recognized by international colleges for their proficiency in English, and therefore there was a need to acknowledge English as Singaporean mother tongue so as to gain acceptance from the world.

Singapore is currently in linguistic transition whereby more and more Singaporeans are recognizing English as their de facto mother tongue. It is ironic that some of our fellow Singaporeans are unable to speak a simple sentence in mother tongue.

Linguistic gap has evolved in Singapore overall the years due to the contrasting linguistic desires and beliefs between the pioneer generation and the younger generation. I would disagree with Lu (2013)’s assumption that the contrast would diminish in aggression and regularity. It is important to understand that Singapore is a multi-ethnic nation and everyone has different potential and ability. It would be an infeasible approach if we were to forcefully insist one language to fit all. Furthermore, if we were to designate English as our mother tongue, I foresee that the younger generation would lose faith in learning their current mother tongue. This implication would consequently reduce the intergeneration interaction and weaken the relationship. Therefore, I feel that it is vital to acknowledge our own ethnic language as our mother tongue instead of English. In a sense, it reminds us of our unique culture and roots, as well as strengthens the bond between the youngsters and the elderlies.

Singapore has been a leading country in the world in many aspects and yet the nation has not gained substantial international recognition for her proficiency in English. According to Lu (2013), Singaporean students had not been granted for exemption by the universities in international test in aptitude for English despite their seniors attaining consistent remarkable results. However, we should not be misled by this information and conclude that Singaporeans are overall good in English as it only reflects the performance of our fellow pre-university students. As far as I know, average Singaporean are not exceptionally good in English and majority of them are accustomed to the localized form of English particularly known as ‘Singlish’ with negative connotations. Thus, I think it is inappropriate for us to expect any global acceptance. We still have a lot more to do to refine our English before we can actually appeal for external recognition or even acknowledge English as mother tongue in our internal social dynamic.

English has long been the core language in our education, administration, commerce and judiciary. Despite the dominance of English in our everyday lives, we must not deny the essentials of our mother tongues. In my opinion, a transformation of our own mother tongue to English literally means a conversion of our own race to ‘English’. I hereby strongly oppose the idea of having English being recognized as our mother tongue. We must stand tall with our rich heritage and preserved our mother tongue to keep our unique and vibrant island alive.

Reference

Lu, L. (2013, July 15). Today Online. Retrieved from Today Online: http://www.todayonline.com/commentary/can-english-be-singaporean-mother-tongue?singlepage=true

An Event That Has Shaped My Life

I have a list of pet peeves and dog was one of them. A thing that dogs irked me the most was the time when they were licking my legs and trying to hump me. I also could not tolerate of their noisy barks and strange odor. Moreover, I found it a nuisance when I saw dog owners treating their dogs like their children. I would always give dogs a threatening look, without the owners’ conscious, whenever they strolled past me. However, my feelings toward dog had changed after I served in National Service (NS).

Having been through months of basic trainings and courses in NS, I was subsequently posted to Military Working Dog Unit. I was dumbfound upon knowing that I would be working with guard dogs. I felt so unlucky that I would have to work with creatures that I had been hating, and I also worried of being bitten by them. Prior to our posting confirmation, we were given the chance to drop out. However, after much considerations, I decided to stay partly because I could not bear to leave my group of buddies.

I initially felt uneasy standing close with the dogs and tried to stop them from licking me. After spending so much time with the dogs, I gradually overcame my fear and annoyance feelings toward dogs. Subsequently, I was assigned with a Belgium Shepard named Tikka, and I spent most of the rest of my NS life with her. I fed her, groom her, bathed her, played with her, prowled with her, and trained with her. There were occasions that she made me feel mad, amused, disappointed, and worried. There were times when I had to appease her, calm her, stroke her, and delight her. It had been a great pleasure for me to know Tikka and other dogs and be with them during that period.

At present, dog is no longer my pet peeve. My negative impression and attitude for dogs have completely changed after I bonded with the dogs during NS. I am now a dog lover. I find them cute, loving and sweet, and I wish to keep them as a pet or rather a companion very soon.

Reader Response (Draft One)

Lu (2013) proposes the recognition of English as Singaporean mother tongue. The surveys conduct by the Ministry of Education reflect a significant growth of Singaporeans speaking mainly English at home and regarding English as their core identity. Singapore experiences linguistic divides due to the conflicting linguistic interests between the young and old generations, as well as the diversified language among the new immigrants. The correlation of Singapore and English has not been substantially recognized by the world despite the fact that fellow students perform better than other nations, including the British, in international tests in aptitude for English.

Singapore is currently in linguistic transition whereby more and more Singaporeans are recognizing English as their de facto mother tongue. As far as I know, some Singaporeans despise their mother tongue as they perceive it as inferior language. I find it ridiculous and hard to believe. They are simply living in their own fairy land world thinking that being very ‘Ang Mo’ appears to be classy. Some claim to have embraced English and western culture totally and yet they cannot even speak proper English. It is also ironic that some fellow Singaporeans are not able to speak a simple sentence in mother tongue.

The linguistic gap between our pioneer and new generations is getting wider. As more children are brought up in English-speaking environment, they are less likely proficient in their mother tongue. This situation has consequently posted a challenge to the interaction between the youngsters and the elderlies who are literate in mother tongue or dialect. I foresee that if we were to designate English as our mother tongue, the younger generation will subsequently lose faith in learning their current mother tongue. This implication will further weaken the intergeneration relationship. Therefore, it is vital to acknowledge our ethnic languages as our mother tongues. It in a sense reminds us of our unique culture and roots, as well as to ties our generation gap.

Most of us would agree that the influx of foreigners in the recent years has an impact to our ecology. However, the impact is not completely negative. I personally see them, mainly the Chinese nationals, as the antidotes to our poisoned local Chinese language. It is similar to the benefit we get when talking to a Caucasian who is a native English speaker.

Singapore is not a native English speaking country and thus, we should not expect the world to certainly recognize for our good command of English. In reality, not all Singaporean can speak fluent and proper English. I believe majority of us are accustomed to the localized form of English particularly known as ‘Singlish’ with negative connotations. Given the unique and vibrant multi-racial society in Singapore, I strongly oppose the idea of having English being recognized as our mother tongue to achieve international acceptance. After all, the Whites will still regard us as Asians no matter how impressive we are in their language

English has long been the core language in our education, administration, commerce and judiciary. Despite the dominance of English in our everyday lives, we must not deny the essentials of our mother tongue. In my opinion, transforming our mother tongue to English literally means converting our race to English. The government and various communities should do more to promote awareness for our mother tongues. We must stand tall with our rich heritage and preserved our mother tongue.

Reference

Lu, L. (2013, July 15). Can English be Singaporean Mother Tongue [Electronic version].

Summary Practice (Facebook)

Leake & Warren (2009) observe from the ‘Ohio report’ that students who sacrifice their study time on surfing the Facebook tend do poorly in their to obtain poorer academic results as well as their overall performance in school.

References:
Leake, J., & Warren, G. (2009, April 12). Facebook fans do worse in exams. The Sunday Times. Retrieved from http://www.timesonline.co.uk