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