Hi all,
I’m a newbie of this forum. Accidentally I read the posts regarding PRC students or working professionals. I would like to say something too. It seems that lots of locals are just having lots of fun to laugh at Chinese English or Chinglish. That’s why some started to share about the bad English of Chinese students or professionals. Fair enough. I came from a central region of China. After my high school education, I came to Singapore to study 7 years ago. Even among us, we tend to laugh at the bad uses of English among our peers. Through the laughing and jeering, we kinda try to rectify the mistakes. Some do get seriously offended, though. That’s why they are so shy that they never want to open up their mouth to utter a single English word again. Naturally, they love to converse in Chinese. Some of those I have known for years have gotten this pseudo Singaporean Mandarin accent. Maybe I should not put it as “pseudo”. They DO sound like a local when speaking Mandarin with the precise decoration of “lah”, “lor” or “hor”s. But under some specific circumstances, English has to be used. This is when they get so much frustrated and ridiculed. For instance, during tutorial discussions, or making phone calls to companies run by Indians, they are already nervous even before they speak. Trying to brush away the embarrassment, they just start to rush out their sentences. Out of nervousness, they tend to get the whole conversation to further confusion.
I guess when some of you come to University, you will come across Chinglish a lot more often. Quite a large no of tutors and lecturers are from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hongkong. Well, you will probably get more varieties of Chinglish. I used to have one horrendous lecturer from Shanghai. He lectured with his unique accented English with little possibility of being understood by a fellow Chinese student like me. However, my friend who happened to be a Shanghainese, was a big fan of this lecturer, claiming that he was enjoying the best English ever since he graduated from high school. Again I have met a couple of China-born lectures who deliver fantastic English for some courses.
Another thing I have personally felt is that quite a lot of Singaporeans like to generalize a statement based on a sensationalized report in the news. A few weeks back, a TAB TV show featured some Chinese women were obliged into prostitution because of financial difficulty. In stead of giving them the compassion and assistance, spits were all over their faces. Chinese girls were labeled as “cheats and prostitutes”. I just felt that this is highly sensationalized show that tends to stir up dislike and despise of Chinese among locals. What good it will do? Maybe those who enjoy laughing at others are just feeling better about themselves. Whenever, a finger is pointed at the less advantageous group, the bearer of the finger is right then enjoying a wonderful feeling of superiority. This happens everywhere and in every country. Americans dislike Asians. They don’t even like their originated country-UK much. In local settings, schools of a higher ranking despise the neighborhood schools.
Again, I have met a handful of Singaporeans that love to communicate with Chinese students in Mandarin. One point is that they may take the opportunities to learn to speak good mandarin. Another point is also they show great hospitality to someone from a different cultural background. Being an English learner myself, in my early years of undergraduate, my English got so much inconvenience and embarrassment that I could write a whole log book if I jot down every incident. Lots of Singaporeans showed tremendous patience to catch what I was trying to put across. I was full of gratitude that so far no one walked away or shouted “what the heck r u trying to say” at me? It takes a lot of maturity and patience not to ridicule someone that speaks the language not as well as you. On the other hand, we love to joke about the bad aspects of Singapore mandarin including TV programs, newspapers. Some hated it so much that they just wanted to get out of the country as quickly as possible. I lost many friends like this. On one hand, their mandarin could not be understood with ease by locals. On the other hand, their English also “cannot make it”. You know what they want to do? They want to be with themselves. That may help to explain why they love to hang around with fellow Chinese. In that secluded group of Chinese, they feel home, they feel secure. No worry whatsoever not being understood or jeered. This has been viewed as not willing to mix with locals by some Singaporeans. Well, this is a result of both ends. Chinese are scared to speak English that Singaporeans love to converse in, and feel more comfortable among themselves. Singaporeans cannot understand how come Chinese just speak BAD BAD English without realizing it. To understand each other, I guess, is to start with knowing each other’s background. Yes. I’m in Rome, I gotta do the way as Romans do. But it will take time to get used to it. And surely ridiculing and despising them will not help them to do as you “Romans” do. Also, some locals may say, “I have never laughed at anyone, how come they still behave like that? Rude lah, irresponsible lah, blah blah”. I guess those who cannot get themselves integrated well into the flow, will eventually cease to enjoy the life here. The ultimate solution is to leave the country with little emotional memory. Another solution is also to be just with the fellow Chinese. In their social circles, only fellow Chinese are in association with.
Next I would like to discuss a little a bit on why Singaporeans sometimes think that Chinese in Singapore do not appreciate the country much even after spending years. Again, let’s look at the history 200 years ago. The very first few batches of Chinese immigrants were from the villages along the coastal line of southern China. These were the fore-father of this nation. The dialects have been preserved and passed on along with the customs of Southern China. But do you know that nowadays, China has largely gone customs-less. For instance, the wedding or funeral practices here in Singapore are seen as obsolete by us. A large proportion of Chinese students or professionals are actually from the central (like me) or northern part of China. Of course you get lots of Chinese from Fu Jian or Guangdong Province as well. Interestingly, those guys from the southern part of China feel more close to home in Singapore than those who are from the central and northern part of China. Language-wise or food-wise, Singapore is more homely to those from the south. How about those not from the south? Historically speaking, the northern provinces look down upon the southern provinces as “Nan Yi”, generalize them as calculating merchants and narrow-minded peasants. Of course, the southern provinces also show similar dislike of the north, being rude, lazy and quarrelsome. The root was planted centuries ago. The differences of how people live are still apparent between the north and the south. That’s why those Chinese from the north are still seeing Singapore as closer to the southern part of China in terms of customs. Sometimes I’m just thinking China is so big with billions of population. It is not at all possible to have one way for one thing. Singapore is largely southern China-rooted. It is absolutely understandable that some Singaporeans do not fully understand why Chinese in Singapore are different from what a Chinese should be like in their conception.
Guess the most important thing is to understand each other and get along well with each other. For those who are studying here in Singapore, please, please study hard and practice hard of your English language. It will do you good more than what you could imagine. For the locals, please donÂ’t ridicule their accents, or you will be ridiculed one day for similar causes.
OR ARE YOU ANIYASEO'S CLONE WHO HAS DECIDED TO TYPE IN PROPER ENGLISH?