Stand on dialects: Keep it up, Jack Neo
IN REGARD to the Insight article, 'Neo: Open the door to dialects
and satire' (ST, July 6), I fully support Jack Neo's stand on
dialects.
Why ban dialects? I am only 20 but after years of working
part-time, I realise dialects are a useful tool, if not the main
language used in the local working environment - especially in the
service industry.
Singapore claims to want to improve the service industry to achieve
international standards, but where is the improvement to meet local
standards? In a situation where I should serve older folk using the
language they are most conversant in, must I deprive them of the
good service everyone deserves?
Banning apples will not make people eat more oranges if they do not
like oranges in the first place.
Frankly, I don't think the younger generation hate Mandarin - they
just hate the stress that comes with learning it (think spelling
tests).
Yet everyone knows that is inevitable: You cannot take short cuts
to learning.
Even simplifying Chinese characters takes away the beauty and
meaning from the language itself. We may be young, yet that does
not mean we do not sense the loss.
I am Hokkien, but I want to learn other dialects too. I want to be
exposed to the languages, especially via the media as it is one of
the best and most convenient ways to pick up a language or
dialect.
I have even contemplated taking up 'dialect courses', though even
the thought sounds laughable. Lessons on the language our elders
knew so well!
As a pharmacy undergraduate, I want to be equipped with the tools
that allow my patients to understand me best - minimising language
barriers and potential harm caused - when I go on to work in the
health-care industry in the future.
All I can say is, jia you ('keep it up'), Jack Neo!
Liora Lee Ting Yee (Miss)
