Singaporean English

Recently, The Straights Times reported a lot about the government of Singapore discouraging the use of "Singlish" in Singapore because the government thinks Singlish is not real English, but a mix of Chinese and Malay vocabulary, and the Chinese sentence structure which is not the same as the English structure. It said it was developing into a new language altogether, one that non-Singaporeans would find difficult to understand.

"Singlish is a handicap we must not wish on Singaporeans," said Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew in his speech on Singapore's National Day. He encouraged the use of standard English so that less educated Singaporeans would not have to suffer socially or economically because they had only learned to speak Singlish.

Should Singlish be discouraged and is it true that it is difficult to understand? It's difficult to tell.

I find Singlish interesting. Maybe it's because I understand Chinese and Malay. But I am sure that those who speak English but don't understand either Chinese or Malay would not have much difficulty in understanding Singlish.

It should not be discouraged, but instead should be put in its position wisely. I believe there is no genuine English. Even in the USA, there is southern English and northern English. In fact, I think, by knowing Singlish, Singaporeans can learn English easier. Of course, then, they would have to be able to differentiate when to use Singlish and when to use standard English.

Why do you think Singaporeans speak English better than us? Partly it's because they speak Singlish in their daily life, watch TV programs that use Singlish. Our language is Indonesian which is totally different from English. That's why we know less vocabulary that Singaporeans who use Singlish.

Malaysia has Malaysian English, or "Manglish" as it is popularly known. Like Singlish, it's a mix of Malay, Chinese and English. By having this new language, on average, Malaysian's English is better than ours.

I think Singlish helps one in learning so-called real English. It should be kept and treated as part of the culture. In fact, I think we should have our own English, Indonesian English. It would be a pity if the government of Singapore kept discouraging the use of Singlish.

ADRIANUS HIYUNG TJUNG

Jakarta