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S1E8: Standard English vs Singlish: Is the lingual tug-of-war over?
Manage episode 426997813 series 2347149
The kind of English we speak in Singapore has long been a discussion point.
Synopsis: The Usual Place host Natasha Ann Zachariah explores contemporary societal choices and youth perspectives.
Throwback to 1999 when then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong urged Singaporeans to start using standard English instead of Singlish. These days though, we fiercely defend our use of Singlish and embrace the Singaporean accent, even as we continue to advocate for a strong standard English foundation.
How did we get here and what changed in our quest to speak good English?
I pose this question to recent university graduate Audrey Wan, 22, whose group’s final-year project inspired this episode. Along with Bernadette Toh and Erin Liam, university students from the Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, their final-year project was titled Eye on English.
I wanted to find out what they had found through the interviews they did with various groups and individuals such as a linguistic researcher, teachers, students, a former chief of government communications and a representative for the Speak Good English Movement.
Joining Audrey and myself on the show are actress, host and voiceover artist Caitanya Tan, 37, who makes videos on social media teaching her audience how to correctly pronounce some words, and content creator Nicole Chen, 26, who is fiercely proud of her Singaporean accent and Singlish.
Highlights (click/tap above):
1:53 Why three university students decided to survey Singapore’s standard of English
8:11 Singlish, embraced
13:30 Once upon a time, using Singlish was frowned upon
15:30 The power of code-switching
26:40 Why is it difficult to teach Singlish
30:10 What happens to those who cannot code-switch?
37:55 Is Singapore's brand of English here to stay?
Follow Natasha on her IG account and DM her your thoughts on this topic: https://str.sg/8Wav
Host: Natasha Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg)
Edited by producers: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh and Zachary Lim
Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong
Filmed by: Joel Chng and Marc Justin De Souza, ST Video
Follow The Usual Place Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX
Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P
YouTube: https://str.sg/wEr7u
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read Natasha Zachariah's articles: https://str.sg/iSXm
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
#tup #tuptr
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapters
1. Standard English vs Singlish: Is the lingual tug-of-war over? (00:00:00)
2. Survey on Singapore’s standard of English (00:01:53)
3. Singlish, embraced (00:08:11)
4. When Singlish was frowned upon before (00:13:30)
5. Power of code-switching (00:15:30)
6. Singlish: Why it's difficult to teach (00:26:40)
7. Those who can't code-switch: How? (00:30:10)
8. SG's brand of English: Here to stay? (00:37:55)
1899 episodes
Manage episode 426997813 series 2347149
The kind of English we speak in Singapore has long been a discussion point.
Synopsis: The Usual Place host Natasha Ann Zachariah explores contemporary societal choices and youth perspectives.
Throwback to 1999 when then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong urged Singaporeans to start using standard English instead of Singlish. These days though, we fiercely defend our use of Singlish and embrace the Singaporean accent, even as we continue to advocate for a strong standard English foundation.
How did we get here and what changed in our quest to speak good English?
I pose this question to recent university graduate Audrey Wan, 22, whose group’s final-year project inspired this episode. Along with Bernadette Toh and Erin Liam, university students from the Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, their final-year project was titled Eye on English.
I wanted to find out what they had found through the interviews they did with various groups and individuals such as a linguistic researcher, teachers, students, a former chief of government communications and a representative for the Speak Good English Movement.
Joining Audrey and myself on the show are actress, host and voiceover artist Caitanya Tan, 37, who makes videos on social media teaching her audience how to correctly pronounce some words, and content creator Nicole Chen, 26, who is fiercely proud of her Singaporean accent and Singlish.
Highlights (click/tap above):
1:53 Why three university students decided to survey Singapore’s standard of English
8:11 Singlish, embraced
13:30 Once upon a time, using Singlish was frowned upon
15:30 The power of code-switching
26:40 Why is it difficult to teach Singlish
30:10 What happens to those who cannot code-switch?
37:55 Is Singapore's brand of English here to stay?
Follow Natasha on her IG account and DM her your thoughts on this topic: https://str.sg/8Wav
Host: Natasha Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg)
Edited by producers: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh and Zachary Lim
Executive producers: Ernest Luis and Lynda Hong
Filmed by: Joel Chng and Marc Justin De Souza, ST Video
Follow The Usual Place Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:
Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm
Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX
Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P
YouTube: https://str.sg/wEr7u
Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg
Read Natasha Zachariah's articles: https://str.sg/iSXm
Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN
---
Discover more ST podcast channels:
All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7
The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u
In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt
COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE
Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7
Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN
Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf
Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m
Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE
#PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad
Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX
---
ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts
ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa
---
Special edition series:
True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T
The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2
Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn
Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB
Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa
---
Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:
The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB
Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX
#tup #tuptr
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapters
1. Standard English vs Singlish: Is the lingual tug-of-war over? (00:00:00)
2. Survey on Singapore’s standard of English (00:01:53)
3. Singlish, embraced (00:08:11)
4. When Singlish was frowned upon before (00:13:30)
5. Power of code-switching (00:15:30)
6. Singlish: Why it's difficult to teach (00:26:40)
7. Those who can't code-switch: How? (00:30:10)
8. SG's brand of English: Here to stay? (00:37:55)
1899 episodes
All episodes
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