Is there a need for all the pretense?
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Yeah!Originally posted by Lingos:HAHA.. takes all sorts Rhonda.
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I've always frowned upon the government's efforts to wipe out Singlish.
Singlish is something which naturally evolved out of the efforts of the various races of our society to integrate and get to know each other. As a young nation with a relatively short history, we don't have much of an identity, Singlish is one of the few things that defines who we are. If anything, it is one of the few things that make us truly, uniquely, Singaporean.
The government's efforts to discourage Singlish has helped to reinforce the perception in some people that the only way to speak 'good' English is by speaking it with a foreign accent. I remember reading parents who send their children to special English language courses demanding that their children be taught to speak with a foreign accent.
Sheesh... have we dropped so low as to think that our own local accent is inferior? Not everything from the West is good, alright.
Still, do not glibly assume that all locals who speak with a foreign accent are all faking it. Trust me, some of them are not. I should know. I'm mixed Indian and Malay. Somehow, after my voice broke at puberty, I developed a Brit-like accent. I know I'm not faking it, cos my brother has my voice, and both my sisters have slight accents in their voices as well.
Quite a number of people shunned me back in Sec 3 just because of my voice... it took months before they finally woke up their bloody ideas. -
*Seconds Fudgester's opinion*
My accent also makes me a marked man, and just about every other person I meet asks where I was born or educated. I make an effort to learn the correct pronunciation, whether the word is English, French, Spanish, Suomi or Malay, and speak in such a way that I can be understood by everyone. -
Seriously KB, your accent sounds local to me
Anyhow, WHY ARE MY TOPICS ALWAYS EVOLVING INTO SOMETHING ELSE???!!!!
*goes boinkers and darts around Club 30 like a headless duck* -
Just a friendly observation, Bloop...Originally posted by Bloop...:
This is great. I've lived in many different countries over the years. It's amazing to see how each country has it's own elitist groups.
This is the best one yet. Grammer elitists.
You might want to brush up on your own spelling before engaging others in a discussion about proper English usage.
MG -
Hey, KB! I think it's awesome that you are keen to learn how to pronounce different languages the way natives would.Originally posted by Kuali Baba:*Seconds Fudgester's opinion*
My accent also makes me a marked man, and just about every other person I meet asks where I was born or educated. I make an effort to learn the correct pronunciation, whether the word is English, French, Spanish, Suomi or Malay, and speak in such a way that I can be understood by everyone.
That's something we should all work towards. Way to go!
I guess there's a distinction between trying to speak a language well, and faking an accent. People who try to fake an American accent usually end up tripping over their tongues and putting in 's's where there shouldn't be. It's quite easy to tell, really. I'm sure elindra bumped into one of those 'wannabe's' just now. 
All said, sometimes, it's necessary for us to 'adopt' an accent so that we can make ourselves understood. In my previous jobs, whenever I spoke in my locally-accented English, my American bosses and colleagues would keep on going, 'Pardon me?', 'Would you care to repeat that, please?' until I got fed-up one day and started to 'adopt' their accent and voila!... they understood me perfectly!
I found that pretty amusing and nowadays, in my current workplace, whenever we come across a local who's trying to appear 'posh' and do the 'one up' on us by faking an accent, my colleagues will come get me and I'll speak to him/her with an accent back! The war of the accents, fake accent meets fake accent, with my colleagues nearby, trying very very hard not to giggle. Usually, the other party gets the message and stops faking it.
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Noted. Thank you. Spelling and grammar are two different things though.Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:Just a friendly observation, Bloop...
You might want to brush up on your own spelling before engaging others in a discussion about proper English usage.
MG -
Originally posted by Meia Gisborn:Just a friendly observation, Bloop...
You might want to brush up on your own spelling before engaging others in a discussion about proper English usage.
MG
MG, Bloop has just decided not to adopt any American accents, but is ok with American spelling. -
how do you fake an accent ? can somebody show me how ?
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Yeah, KB just speaks good English.Originally posted by elindra:Seriously KB, your accent sounds local to me
Anyhow, WHY ARE MY TOPICS ALWAYS EVOLVING INTO SOMETHING ELSE???!!!!
*goes boinkers and darts around Club 30 like a headless duck* We know you're not faking any accent, KB! You're kewl!
Oi, elindra! Isn't it better to have us hijack your thread but keep the discussion lively than to *gasp!... have utterly no response at all?
Besides, it was a 'parallel diversion' only mah! -
Lots of people lived abroad... what's so elitist about that?Originally posted by Lingos:Hmm.. who's trying to be the elitist now?
I just love the way yu guys go, "That group speaks with an accent they did not pick up in Singapore! They are putting on a facade!!!"
"We speak with words and sentence phrasing that we did not pick up the the normal course of conversation in Singapore, BUT... that's alright..."
Good thing there are more than one of you... You're all so full of it, if you didn't have help, it'll spill all over the road. -
Originally posted by Rhonda:Yeah, KB just speaks good English. We know you're not faking any accent, KB! You're kewl!
Oi, elindra! Isn't it better to have us hijack your thread but keep the discussion lively than to *gasp!... have utterly no response at all?
Besides, it was a 'parallel diversion' only mah! 
*sniff sniff, sob sob, cry cry*
Boo Hoo, this just goes to show how good I am at keeping to a topic instead of going off tangent.
I'm a failure as a mod
*slinks into a dark corner to hide* -
I have an English boss, as well as a Swedish colleague a while back. I noticed that while I don't put on an accent when communicating with them, I become very conscious of the way I articulate my words.
My concern is that if I speak too quickly, or too differently from the way they are used to, they will not understand me.
Most people attribute this to the 'West is Best' mentality. But I beg to differ. Think about how people who are fascinated by Japanese culture, for example, learn popular Japanese phrases and mannerisms.
I believe that at a sub-conscious level, people want acceptance, and tend to imitate the people around us, or people we like to be associated with. -
And, good thing there's just one of you... you're so mighty full of it for just one person that if we had more of you, it would trigger Grand Mal Seizures in the general populace.Originally posted by Bloop...:Lots of people lived abroad... what's so elitist about that?
I just love the way yu guys go, "That group speaks with an accent they did not pick up in Singapore! They are putting on a facade!!!"
"We speak with words and sentence phrasing that we did not pick up the the normal course of conversation in Singapore, BUT... that's alright..."
Good thing there are more than one of you... You're all so full of it, if you didn't have help, it'll spill all over the road.
Just look, you're trying to get on top of a discussion by insulting everyone else who doesn't agree with you? -
most probaly its a girl from one of the top school.they seem to prefer speaking with the american accent..
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uh... I believe you just did that too...Originally posted by Rhonda:And, good thing there's just one of you... you're so mighty full of it for just one person that if we had more of you, it would trigger Grand Mal Seizures in the general populace.
Just look, you're trying to get on top of a discussion by insulting everyone else who doesn't agree with you?
Well... if you open your ears and listen carefully, you'll realize one thing. Just like accents, speech patterns - phrasing, sentence structure, the very use of each word, is also cultural/location centric.
Putting on an accent (btw... EVERYONE has an accent, from the lady selling fish in the market, to the teacher you had in school, to the guy who spent all his life abroad. It's just that your ears become accustomed to certain accents) is just one way of trying to crawl above the perceived common crowd.
Speaking in "foreign sentences" is another. -
Anyone who is communicating in English here is typing in 'foreign sentances'
If I'm to be true to my roots, I should be typing Teochew here -
*YAWN* before I sleep... I have one question.
What is grammatically correct English? Is that the way the Americans speak? The Australians? Which Australians? Victorians? What about Canadians? British? Even the British do not speak the "Queen's English" these days...
Good night. -
Agreed - when swapping back and forth between Singapore and Australia, I have to I switch speech patterns simply to be understood. Whenever I call somebody in Australia from Singapore, more often than not I'm asked to not talk at 120 words a minute.Originally posted by MrIllusion:I have an English boss, as well as a Swedish colleague a while back. I noticed that while I don't put on an accent when communicating with them, I become very conscious of the way I articulate my words.
My concern is that if I speak too quickly, or too differently from the way they are used to, they will not understand me.
Chill out, Bloop - internet forums act as vanity press amongst other functions. If someone wants to write in something other than a plain-English manner, he or she is entitled to do so. At the rate you're going, if you were any more of an arsehole, you'd collapse in on yourself. -
OF COURSE I JUST DID THAT!!!!Originally posted by Bloop...:uh... I believe you just did that too... Look do I have to spell it out for you? I was being sarcastic! Repeat, Being S-A-R-C-A-S-T-I-C!!!!
Man, if that flew right over your head, then I really have nothing more to say to you. -
Someone has to champion the rights of the "accented impared" crowds.Originally posted by Gedanken:Agreed - when swapping back and forth between Singapore and Australia, I have to I switch speech patterns simply to be understood. Whenever I call somebody in Australia from Singapore, more often than not I'm asked to not talk at 120 words a minute.
Chill out, Bloop - internet forums act as vanity press amongst other functions. If someone wants to write in something other than a plain-English manner, he or she is entitled to do so. At the rate you're going, if you were any more of an arsehole, you'd collapse in on yourself. -
I totally hear ya, dawg. It's like the big daddies with the lightning bolt don't dig our Singlish groove. Know what I'm saying bro?Originally posted by fudgester:I've always frowned upon the government's efforts to wipe out Singlish.
We got the Big Bro, mah man Mr Lee, sayin' that we should all start diggin' rap and hip hop. There's wisdom with a capital 'W' right there.
Learn from mah homies Eminem and X. They put the 'F' word in every other sentence. Do we dig that or what?
You got kid's bro? I look forward to singing a lullaby to mah li' tykes with this number by Eminem. My fav' part goes like this:
'Go to sleep b*tch
Die motherf***er, die!
Times up woah close ya eyes!'
OK, bad impersonations aside, I'm actually quite ticked off by the 'we should all learn from rap and hip hop' comment. It just reeks to me of 'I know you guys like rap and hip hop. See! I can connect with y'all!'
If they can't come up with something better, maybe they should not make a fool of themselves. -
Alright... I'm having too much fun to sleep.Originally posted by Rhonda:OF COURSE I JUST DID THAT!!!! Look do I have to spell it out for you? I was being sarcastic! Repeat, Being S-A-R-C-A-S-T-I-C!!!!
Man, if that flew right over your head, then I really have nothing more to say to you.
I admire the way you plucked out that bit and chose to ignore the rest of it. -
I think MrIllusion just reached the heart of the whole issue.Originally posted by MrIllusion:I have an English boss, as well as a Swedish colleague a while back. I noticed that while I don't put on an accent when communicating with them, I become very conscious of the way I articulate my words.
My concern is that if I speak too quickly, or too differently from the way they are used to, they will not understand me.
Most people attribute this to the 'West is Best' mentality. But I beg to differ. Think about how people who are fascinated by Japanese culture, for example, learn popular Japanese phrases and mannerisms.
I believe that at a sub-conscious level, people want acceptance, and tend to imitate the people around us, or people we like to be associated with. -
That's right. You could also speak and type in Singlish. It is a recognised colloquial form of English, just like Cockney.Originally posted by elindra:Anyone who is communicating in English here is typing in 'foreign sentances'
If I'm to be true to my roots, I should be typing Teochew here
I stand my my rights to drawl like a Texan, speak like I have too much starch in my shorts like a Brit... or even fake an American accent like Doc.Fu Man Chu without being looked down upon by people who, in their own way, are putting on their own show...