Trendz, just who are you to be proclaiming this as the
'official' anti-Singlish thread? Are you acting on behalf of the
government or something? You sure need remedial lessons, all right-
in modesty.
Singlish is one of the few things which truly defines us as
uniquely Singaporean.
I see nothing wrong with Singlish. I only have problems with people
who don't seem to know when to use Singlish and when to use
standard English. By all means, use Singlish in informal
conversations with your peers, but when it comes to formal matters,
the Queen's English reigns supreme.
Singlish was forged out of the need for the various races to try to
understand each other in the early days of National Service. There
was no government policy dictating the formation of Singlish, but
rather, it was the product of the gradual integration of the
various races while in camp.
Besides, even the English themselves have several dialects of their
own with their own unique slang each. I bet dollars to donuts that
you don't know that there's Geordie or Liverpudlian slang which
can't be understood by a Singaporean, or by any non-Englishman, for
that matter.
So by all means promote the Queen's English, but leave Singlish
alone.
