Should Singlish be made an official language in Singapore? In my opinion, it should not be made an official language. Personally, I love Singlish a lot and am a regular user of the language. I feel that it is very easy and a good tool to communicate with friends and family, and I strongly believe many other Singaporeans share similar sentiments. In fact, Singlish is so widespread in Singapore that almost everybody has a good grasp of the language.
However, I do not see a need in it becoming an official language. We have to know what is an official language for. Official languages are used in formal contexts, like in formal papers and in court. There are currently four official languages in Singapore, namely English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. I feel that there is no need for a fifth one. My reasons for me disagreeing with it becoming an official language are stated below.
Firstly, let us define Singlish. Singlish is not exactly a language on its own, but a mix of many different languages and dialects. Also, it does not follow a certain grammar. This is unlike the existing four official languages. Therefore, unless Singlish is given a certain grammar and limit to the vocabulary, it should not qualify as an official language. But if we do so, Singlish would lose its meaning since it is supposed to be convenient for people, not make them feel stressed having to remember a new set of grammar and vocabulary.
Moreover, Singlish is not recognized worldwide. We are assuming that everybody has the ability to code switch. But this is not so. Not everybody can code switch. If people get too used with Singlish, when they communicate with others who do not know about Singlish, it would cause language barriers and communication difficulties. In addition, Singlish would prevent people from speaking proper English, thus it is detrimental to people. Furthermore, different people have different versions of Singlish, thus even people with good grasp of the language may not understand one another because of the differences in their version. Therefore, common languages like English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil would be preferred.
I am sure most people would agree with my stand. I really do not see a point in making it an official language. It would only cause negative effects, thus it is not a wise move. However, I feel that Singlish can still be used in informal contexts, but Singaporeans still need to remember that the proper language to master in English, and not Singlish.
(Adapted from my AAT Journal Entry)
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Dear Kee Xuan,
ReplyDeleteI would like to mention that Singlish is a language; it is an English-based Creole language. Language is defined as “a system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar, or the system of communication used by the people of a particular country or profession”, from the Online Cambridge Dictionary. Since Singlish is spoken in Singapore, it is a language.
Next, I do agree with you that not everyone has the ability to code switch, including myself, especially in formal contexts as well as that there are different versions of Singlish that could result in users of the same language not understanding each other. However, this might not be a problem in the context of Singapore when used by Singaporeans for Singaporeans. First of all, I would like to state my viewpoint that Singlish could be made as an optional official language as compared to the Standard English or their Mother Tongue, that is to say that the four official languages in Singapore comes before Singlish. Singaporeans can always use an alternate language like the Standard English, or their Mother Tongue to communicate in if they do not understand each other’s version of Singlish.
Regards,
Ivan