I really don't know what to say about this topic.
Words just fail me....
First, it was Speak Mandarin campagne, and then now, we have Speak
Proper English campagne. What actually does our government
want?
This affects local comedies like PCK Pte Ltd; the lead character
played by none other than Mr Gurmit Singh, was "advised" to use
Proper English instead of so much Singlish. In the first place,
that's what PCK is all about! Singlish is an IDENTITY we can all
relate well to! I write reasonable and speak reasonable English,
and I'm also comfortable and 'at home' with Singlish. I can switch
and differentiate between the two forms. I am flexible, so can
everyone else. Why must everything be FORCED? Turn left, turn
right, and now U-turns. (!!)
I mean, we aren't EXACTLY mainland Chinese, we ARE SINGAPOREAN
Chinese. We talk so much about our very own identity and culture,
but yet, when a comedie like PCK started and became hugely popular,
some smarty-pants had to act high class and start remarking that
PCK uses broken English, which is Singlish. WTF
So what do we want to become? Or, what does our authorities want us
to become or rather - FOLLOW who?
