Singaporeans speak English
Someone recently said that I said that English is almost the primary language of Singapore. The word "almost" set me off.
Actually, I believe I said that English is the primary language there, not almost a primary language. The one they use in the schools, government, and on road signs. The only language everybody speaks, in greater proportion than Americans speak English. I don't know why it's so hard to believe that Asians speak English as their primary language, but people think I'm joking when I tell them this. (They also think I'm being funny when I insist that Singapore's unit of currency is known as the "dollar.")
Official sources try to give equal status to the four official languages, and warning signs are in English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, but that's not really an accurate picture. Yes, Malay is Singapore's "national" (ceremonial official) language, so the national anthem ("Majulah, Singapura," roughly, "Forward, Singapore") is in Malay. The population is 85% Chinese, but for only a small minority is their family's ancestral dialect Mandarin. Nevertheless, Chinese kids have to study Mandarin in school, as a language subject like we teach foreign languages here. Some Chinese kids grow up to speak Mandarin as adults, but many forget it as soon as they pass their tests. (It's a hard language for Asians, too!) It's hard to imagine getting by on just Tamil, but you do see people reading Tamil newspapers on the MRT. But you can assume that people speak English, even when there are no American tourists around.
Update: The other side of the coin: Westerners speaking Mandarin.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home