Are Singaporeans Considered Native English Speakers?

last SG · 2011-10-15T22:21:28+00:00

US universities do not require TOEFL for Singaporeans I believe.So you have a chance with the Korean university.

Dalforce 25 SG

He brings bad name to the peranakan.

Even among peranakans, there are sub divisions. Tony Tan is more open and proud of his peranakan heritage.

Dr Tony Tan attends Peranakan 'wedding banquet'

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/66178.html

Not so for Harry Lee Kuan Yew.

I suspect that hakka peranakan is also a minority within the peranakan community. Lee Kuan Yew himself could be some sort of pariah in the peranakan world.

Needs more investigation.

gorgorlokaychyong SG

Even among peranakans, there are sub divisions. Tony Tan is more open and proud of his peranakan heritage.

Dr Tony Tan attends Peranakan 'wedding banquet'

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/66178.html

Not so for Harry Lee Kuan Yew.

I suspect that hakka peranakan is also a minority within the peranakan community.

Needs more investigation.

Tony is hokkien peranakan. old dictator is hakka peranakan. Hakka blood in him, money money money!

Dalforce 25 SG

Tony is hokkien peranakan. old dictator is hakka peranakan. Hakka blood in him, money money money!

According to some purist Hokkien Babas, who regard themselves as true-blue Baba jati, non-Hokkien Babas are only Baba chelup.

The expression suggests that the Baba chelup are only superficially dipped in the paint of Babaness and are at best "nominal" Babas.

Apart from the conceptual history until the late '50s which contradicts such a narrow conception of a Baba, we have a few examples of prominent non-Hokkien Babas.

First and foremost, there is Hakka Baba Lee Kuan Yew (who regards himself as a Baba only technically).

Dr Tony Tan attends Peranakan 'wedding banquet'

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/66178.html

dangerboi SG

Sorry to disappoint you, the fact is Singapore is not a native speaking country. Native speaking countries are Australia, New Zealand, and of course the place of English origin England.

We were under the British rule once upon a time but this did not make us a native English speaking country.

The fact that you scored distinction A1 in your GCE "O" Level may put you in a very good position for entry to the uni. You may want to find out directly from that uni you want to go on whether they accept distinction in the English language for "O" Level.

Are you stating that the origin of English is in England? English came from Germany. Half of Britons have German blood. You're right that Singapore isn't a native english speaking country. However, you're wrong that english came from England. English is actually a German language.

BanguIzai SG

kenn3th SG

learn something everyday

Casopia-maplesea SG

no LAH. u sure MEH? WHERE GOT? dont SCREW ME LAH. OI! WHAT YOU WANT?
AH.. basically this is… AH YAR! right!

i dunno, but this is the standard language of students nowadays. u tell me, native language of kids nowadays is:

1.Singlish
2.English

not saying its any better in SE asia, in fact its worst in malaysia and indonesia. still rmb once i went to indonesia, GOD, close to everyone i talked to there didnt even understand what i was saying!

BanguIzai SG

go malaysia or indonesia, its better to learn and use bahasa malay. more useful and for practicality.

Fryderyk HPH SG

大发

which is like...... wish u success.

Actually '대박' ["daebak"] is the colloquial Singapore English equivalent of "piang eh~ / walao", or what you would say "damn epic siah"...

Haha but I get your drift. Thanks for the congrats though.

Fryderyk HPH SG

You received A1 for English in the GCE'O' levels.

That should indicate that you are indeed proficient in the English Language.

You should check if the Korean authorities recognise the certification.

oh!

BTW I do not think Singapore have the status of Native English Speaking country. Singapore is not like Australia or New Zealand. What with Malay as a national language, English as a working language, and Mandarin as the preparatory language for the future rise of China, it is a mess here.

Yes. I checked earlier today. Singapore is indeed not considered a 'Native English Country', or at least by the South Korean Ministry of Education.

The ten countries they consider nationals to be 'Native English Speakers' are the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Jamaica, Ghana, South Africa and Ireland. How the heck Nigeria, Ghana and Jamaica got in that list I have no idea.

Fryderyk HPH SG

Sorry to disappoint you, the fact is Singapore is not a native speaking country. Native speaking countries are Australia, New Zealand, and of course the place of English origin England.

We were under the British rule once upon a time but this did not make us a native English speaking country.

Thanks for the insight.

Personally, I would also want to go for the TOEFL/TOEIC tests just in case. I mean, for me, English (written or aural or whatsoever) isn't really a problem. I guess I will just see this getting another paper qualification. Ain't that troublesome either. For the TOEFL iBT I believe I can attain a 100 over 120.

Fryderyk HPH SG

It's true that the modern English Language is a West Germanic language by virtue of linguistic transfer. But I guess we can leave that argument elsewhere...

DylanZuckowski SG

hey there! PLEASE GO FOR YOUR TOEFL/TOEIC TEST!!!

i had met with the same situation as u a while ago. i was accepted by a few UK universities but due to singaporeans not being recognized as native english speakers, the condition is that i have to go and take the IELTS (which is also a form of english proficiency test).

But due to time constraint, I had to give up the chance to go overseas as i couldnt make it for the uni orientation day.

telling them u got A1 for O level is useless. As some universities recognize more of the english proficiency tests result than O level which u took some time ago. (mine was 5 years ago)

so please dont follow my footsteps! please go for the test as soon as possible!

Fryderyk HPH SG

hey there! PLEASE GO FOR YOUR TOEFL/TOEIC TEST!!!

But due to time constraint, I had to give up the chance to go overseas as i couldnt make it for the uni orientation day.

telling them u got A1 for O level is useless. As some universities recognize more of the english proficiency tests result than O level which u took some time ago. (mine was 5 years ago)

so please dont follow my footsteps! please go for the test as soon as possible!

Thanks for your advice...

That brings about another problem. I don't want to apply to Yonsei University - Underwood Int'l College after getting my Diploma, and then ask for a stay till 2014 to accommodate my NS obligations, as it won't look good on me. The TOEFL test is only valid for 2 years upon receival of test results. So do I only take the TOEFL test when I'm serving my second year of NS? I fear NS would somehow 'corrupt' my standard of English, and I'm sure that fear isn't without grounds. After all, your vocabulary gets very 'advanced' after NS...

DylanZuckowski SG

well if u want to apply only after your ns, then do your toefl during second year of your ns, since it is only valid for 2 years. anyway, doing it now is redundant too, since by then it would be "expired" and not recognized.

but then if its me, i would apply to the uni after my diploma, and tell them i want to defer my commencement on whichever year i finishes my ns. i dont think it will look bad on you, as ns is practised in south korea too.

i would want to set my future path right before doing ns. ultimately, the standards of acceptance of universities usually becomes higher as the years go by.

troublemaker2005 SG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpJmJRupjDE

Sounds familiar? What do you think?

Bio-Hawk SG

In paper may be yes. In reality no waaay.

Fryderyk HPH SG

i would want to set my future path right before doing ns. ultimately, the standards of acceptance of universities usually becomes higher as the years go by.

I guess I would do the TOEFL twice, once at the end of this year so I can use the results if I need to apply next year, and once during my second year of National Service which would likely be used for Yonsei UIC.

In South Korea, their NS can be done at the age of 28, so most students going to Unis/Colleges there serve their national obligations after completion of their academics. That is why I mentioned about not deferring for Yonsei UIC.

Rooney9 SG

why dun u enquire from the korean embassy or the uni?

Fryderyk HPH SG

In paper may be yes. In reality no waaay.

I checked. Singapore is NOT considered a 'Native English Speaking' country.
So in either case, Singaporeans are not considered 'Native English Speakers'.

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