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].