Speak Good English Movement - Singapore

10/11: GET IT RIGHT!

Primary ResourceA poster in one of Singapore’s shopping malls

Brief introduction to SingaporeFrom a British colony to a world-class city state

What do we know about Singapore? In general - The Lion City- Major trading port in the region- Multicultural society- Wealthy…?

All start from the ancient times-Temasek (13th century)-Singapura (14th century)

-Colonial period-Malay Union after war-Independence-Modern Singapore

Colonial Period

• British East India Company (EIC) formally colonized Singapore in 1819

• English as a Creole but official language

• In 1867, Chinese made up 65% Singapore's population

• Less than 2% were British

English Education in Singapore

• Standard English VS Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish)

• English Medium School • Loan words and particles

from other languages. e.g. Hakka and Hokkien dialects, Malay

• English education was encouraged even after independence, why?

The Speak Good English Movement was launched by the former Singapore Prime Minister- Goh Chok

Tong

Singlish Here is the introduction ‘lah’

- Colloquial Singaporean English, known as ‘Singlish’, it is an English-based Creole language spoken in Singapore which mixed with many loan words from its multicultural immigrants.

- Difference: Grammars & Pronunciations

This year topic here lah

Here is this year’s topic

Get It Right!

Why does Singapore need such a movement?

Tiny Island-state

Why English?

Failed to join the Malaysia union

1990’s Asian Financial Crisis

Singapore Today

Bibliography 1. Anthea Fraser Gupta, 2006, The Situation of English in Singapore, in World Englishes: critical

concepts in linguistics, K Bolton & B. B Kachru (Eds), 2006. New York: Rotuledge.2. Braj B. Kachru 2005, Asian Englishes: Beyond the Canon. Hong Kong: Hong Kong

University Press.3.  Crewer, W (Ed). 1977. The English Language in Singapore. Singapore: Eastern Universities

Press Sdn. Bhd.4. Dr. Lee, Siew Peng 2010, ‘Don’t mix Singlish with identity’, The straits times, Singapore,http://

www.goodenglish.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/200910-ST-Don%E2%80%99t-mix-Singlish-with-identity.pdf

5.  J.A.Foley, T.Kandiah, Bao Zhiming, A.F.Gupta, L.Alsagoff, Ho Chee Lick, L.Wee, I.S.Talib, W.Bokhorst-Heng. 1998. English in New Cultural Contexts: Reflections from Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press Singapore.

6. K.C. Guan, D. Heng & T.T. Yong, 2009, Singapore, A 700-Year History: From Early Emporium to World City. Singapore: National Archives of Singapore.

7. Lisa Lim, Anna Pakir and lionel Wee (Eds). 2010. Asian Englishes Today: English in Singapore, Modernity and Management. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

8. PETER K. W. TAN. 2001. “Englishised Name?” English Today 17(4): 45-539. Rani Rubdy, 2001, Creative destruction: Singapore’s Speak Good English movement, World

Englishes (2001 NOV), 20:3, pp 341-355.10. Sandra L. Suárez 2005, ‘Does English Rule? Language Instruction and Economic Strategies in

Singapore, Ireland, and Puero Rico’, Comparative Politics, vol. 37, No.4, pp 460-462, 465-46811. Wong, Jock, 2005. "Why you so Singlish one?" A semantic and cultural interpretation of the

Singapore English particle one. Language in Society, 34:2. (Apr 2005). p. 239.