Just The Wei I Am

This year's Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) irks me particularly. It's all those posters and such with the mock English lessons. e.g.

Now what time? (big cross)
Do you know what time is it now? (big tick)

This year's approach is brazenly prescriptivist. I don't see why Singlish should be demonised like this. The official stance towards the issue has always been that Singlish is alright, but so-called 'good English' is necessary for Singaporeans to communicate effectively with the world. That's really good reasoning, and I believe it. I mean, which foreigner will understand really chim Singlish like "Gostan some more"?

We should definitely strive to ensure that our proficiency in the so-called 'good English' is maintained, but not at the cost of our heart language. Language brings identity, and I believe Singlish really plays a huge part, especially for us heartlanders.

By the way, it's interesting to note that on the SGEM website, "'good English'" comes with quotation marks whereas "Singlish" does not. To be fair, I think it is because they are answering the question "What is 'good English'?". However, it does have the effect of suggesting that Singlish is somewhat more real than 'good English'. I would like to agree!

I'm proud of Singlish. It's untrue that Singlish is "ungrammatical" or that words are "used wrongly". Incidentally, Singlish does have a grammar which is extensively studied by linguists. I shall not elaborate but instead just direct you towards this rather comprehensive bibliography.

Alright, to end off, let's talk about the Singlish word [gostan] which means "to move backwards". It's a word that I've used for years without giving a thought to it. It was only today that I found out about its etymology: it's possibly derived from the English "Go astern"! Fascinating, is it not?

Here's an example sentence:

Il avait dépassé le croisement et a dû gostan le long de la route.

That was kindly brought to us by the Singapore Tourism Board's Uniquely Singapore website. The French Singlish Dictionary is here!

There is a really impressive Singlish dictionary, compiled in the style of the venerable Oxford one. It wasn't written as entertainment, and is a bona fide dictionary. You simply have to take a look.