What is English to a Singaporean?
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To be fluent in any language one have to think and speak in that language.CHinese and English not too different right? Japanese and English total opposite.
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To me, English is but a tool to communicate my thoughts, opinions and instructions across to another person. Does it matter which level of language I regards my English to be?...Originally posted by Short Ninja:Would you consider English to be your first language,2nd Language or worst language? What about those who speak English at home from the day they were born can we call them native speakers of English??? -
weird. when i type in korean here, some forumers say it comes out weird
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just a dfiscussion lah,no need to be on the defensiveOriginally posted by d3rF:To me, English is but a tool to communicate my thoughts, opinions and instructions across to another person. Does it matter which level of language I regards my English to be?...
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Originally posted by Short Ninja:just a dfiscussion lah,no need to be on the defensive
PEACE.. 
I dun mean to sound defensive. It's my take on the topic on language.
Sometimes people take the language thing too seriously.. I mean, we have our education system discriminating the better ones from the not so good ones, purely by how "powderful" his/her English is.
Kinda sad, if you ask me..
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Bo-pian lah thats the way it is and will remain that way so we have to go with the flow.Some trades and Vocation however might not require superb language skills.Like you said earlier,you use English to communicate and express yourself so if your Engrand got power one....anything oso can!Originally posted by d3rF: PEACE..
I dun mean to sound defensive. It's my take on the topic on language.
Sometimes people take the language thing too seriously.. I mean, we have our education system discriminating the better ones from the not so good ones, purely by how "powderful" his/her English is.
Kinda sad, if you ask me.. -
Korean...Originally posted by imDANIEL:>_> ³ÊÇѱ¹»ç¶÷ ¸¶Àú??
But I don't think I understand a single Korean word. -
Simple. They never change the encoding.Originally posted by imDANIEL:weird. when i type in korean here, some forumers say it comes out weird -
Err...Originally posted by Short Ninja:For a Chinese Helicopter I would say your English is Super Puma>
Got two questions.
What's a Chinese helicopter and what's super puma? -
Chinese helicopter is Singlish for Chinese Educated people, I think this slang started in the 70s by some comedian through a TV show.Super Puma is a military aircraft bought in the 80s to replace the Hueys (old type of helicopters)Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Err...
Got two questions.
What's a Chinese helicopter and what's super puma? -
my first language is chinese now. but half bucket water for both la.
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you used thev word NOW so BEFORE wat ah?Originally posted by Ito_^:my first language is chinese now. but half bucket water for both la. -
so you have two half bucket full of water...aso desu ka?
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But I still don't understand how it applies to me.Originally posted by Short Ninja:Chinese helicopter is Singlish for Chinese Educated people, I think this slang started in the 70s by some comedian through a TV show.Super Puma is a military aircraft bought in the 80s to replace the Hueys (old type of helicopters)
Either way, I'm not Chinese-educated. I grow up in a Chinese-speaking environment. Not old enough to be Chinese-educated. -
ho lah ho lah you are not a helicopter!Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:But I still don't understand how it applies to me.
Either way, I'm not Chinese-educated. I grow up in a Chinese-speaking environment. Not old enough to be Chinese-educated. you are jet fighter..song bo? 
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I'm better off being an ant. All these jets and helicopters, very blur.Originally posted by Short Ninja:ho lah ho lah you are not a helicopter! you are jet fighter..song bo? -
To answer TS, English is my first language, Chinese is my second language, in terms of frequency of usage. I used to speak Chinese more often when I was in school, but now that I'm working, English is the default language.
My choice of language is not tied to how I identify myself as a Singaporean, though it can be uniquely Singaporean for an ethnic Chinese, Malay or Indian to identify with English over an Asian language as a first language. By the way, I don't have a clear idea what Singlish is, as it sometimes just seems like poor English rather than a proper language. -
In Singlish we use English,other languages and local slang but at least we dont change the meaning and spelling of English Vocabulary words unlike Japlish .There can only be one true English (Queen English) the rest are either dialects and Pidgin English as in Singlish.Originally posted by dracky:To answer TS, English is my first language, Chinese is my second language, in terms of frequency of usage. I used to speak Chinese more often when I was in school, but now that I'm working, English is the default language.
My choice of language is not tied to how I identify myself as a Singaporean, though it can be uniquely Singaporean for an ethnic Chinese, Malay or Indian to identify with English over an Asian language as a first language. By the way, I don't have a clear idea what Singlish is, as it sometimes just seems like poor English rather than a proper language. -
My first language.
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Educated Singaporean's English is, in my opinion, near native to native speaker level, as a result of the educational system that is English-based. It gives Singaporeans a significant advantage over their Asian neighbors in many ways. For this, you have your government to thank.
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Originally posted by dreameryb:
Out of over 1 million English words the average English speakers only uses about 20,000 words or so.It is not difficult to learn English all you need is just about 800 words to be able to express yourself adequately.To be able to reach higher level......to Native Level,learners must learn the collocation and colligation of the words and phrases which is something you dont really pick up only in a classroom...so its mostly your personal effort to achieve the standard that you want....no need to thank Govenrment lah!
[b]Educated Singaporean's English is, in my opinion, near native to native speaker level, as a result of the educational system that is English-based. It gives Singaporeans a significant advantage over their Asian neighbors in many ways. For this, you have your government to thank.
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Tricky thing is learning a language is not like learning some skills. Age really matters and another thing is quality input from the environment. Singaporean children are educated in English at a very early age, which in a way wires their brain to be English speaking. Compare an average educated Singaporean with an average educated Korean or Japanese, you will see that the difference is categorical. Bear in mind that in those countries learning English is greatly emphasized. Crucially they don't have it as the medium of instruction.Originally posted by Short Ninja:Out of over 1 million English words the average English speakers only uses about 20,000 words or so.It is not difficult to learn English all you need is just about 800 words to be able to express yourself adequately.To be able to reach higher level......to Native Level,learners must learn the collocation and colligation of the words and phrases which is something you dont really pick up only in a classroom...so its mostly your personal effort to achieve the standard that you want....no need to thank Govenrment lah!
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Some language experts believe that the more languages you already know the easier it is to pick up a new language,your brain become more versatile in learning.When I was a baby lying in a cradle staring at the ceiling different faces would appear speaking in strange tongue.My Paternal grandmother would speak Thai to me ,then the other Grandmother who is a peranakan would speak Baba Malay and some Hokkien,My stupid uncle Singlish....I also learned my first words KNNBCCB from him and then my parents who always insist that English be spoken at home.So maybe this would explain why a multi-lingual Singaporean is good at English and still be willing to learn other languages.Originally posted by dreameryb:Tricky thing is learning a language is not like learning some skills. Age really matters and another thing is quality input from the environment. Singaporean children are educated in English at a very early age, which in a way wires their brain to be English speaking. Compare an average educated Singaporean with an average educated Korean or Japanese, you will see that the difference is categorical. Bear in mind that in those countries learning English is greatly emphasized. Crucially they don't have it as the medium of instruction. -
Me thinks that the more languages one learn, the more confused one may be. Take Snglish for example, it's a rojak of various languages with different vocab and grammar all mixed into one.Originally posted by Short Ninja:Some language experts believe that the more languages you already know the easier it is to pick up a new language,your brain become more versatile in learning.When I was a baby lying in a cradle staring at the ceiling different faces would appear speaking in strange tongue.My Paternal grandmother would speak Thai to me ,then the other Grandmother who is a peranakan would speak Baba Malay and some Hokkien,My stupid uncle Singlish....I also learned my first words KNNBCCB from him and then my parents who always insist that English be spoken at home.So maybe this would explain why a multi-lingual Singaporean is good at English and still be willing to learn other languages.
I guess that's what make Singaporeans so unique.
NS is probably the best place & time to pick up a few "exotic" vocab. -
Any language is confusing if you try too hard to speak it,dont worry if its not perfect just let the words out of your mouth somehow the other person would get the idea.Singlish is convenient because there are no fix rules as to how you want to use this language.If you should forget how to use a Singlsih word you could always go back to English.Originally posted by d3rF:Me thinks that the more languages one learn, the more confused one may be. Take Snglish for example, it's a rojak of various languages with different vocab and grammar all mixed into one.
I guess that's what make Singaporeans so unique.
NS is probably the best place & time to pick up a few "exotic" vocab.