[Manthink]

I have overheard S'porean parents who are not proficient in English attempt to speak to and teach their children the language. Just last weekend, I heard a local mother tell her young son to finish his breakfast while she withdraws her money from the nearby ATM. She said: "You eat yourself. I go press money, ok?"

各说各话...自己家人沟通...关你什么事 ?

[Manthink]

Our chatty little chatbot cheekopekman has been outdated liao - When will it be up graded to generate a single sense in Chinese ?

不用谢。不用客气。

Errr...this is what you get when CECA-minded folks like Oyk  with Google-Translation and yet coming back with irreverent comment in Chinese...

[Blasterlord2]

What's the problem with using sub-standard English? I dun it as one at all. As long as you can communicate properly it is ok. Not everyone is able to have a family background that provides ample opportunities to speak good English.

[Oyk]

Errr...this is what you get when CECA-minded folks like Oyk  with Google-Translation and yet coming back with irreverent comment in Chinese...

阿猫町啊！阿🐱町！

你

错了又不听
听了不懂
懂了又不改
改了又不谢

[Oyk]

What's the problem with using sub-standard English? I dun it as one at all. As long as you can communicate properly it is ok. Not everyone is able to have a family background that provides ample opportunities to speak good English.

If we only want to be understood, we can even speak our mother tongue with each other. So you speak Hokkien with Hokkien friends if that's your mother tongue.

If we learn a language that's not our mother tongue, whether it's French, Japanese, or English, we should learn it well.

But you are right to say that background is essential to learning the language well.. this is why we should encourage children to read because our background would only screw up the children's learning of the language.

It's the same with Chinese. Read.

[Manthink]

阿猫町啊！阿🐱町！
你
错了又不听
听了不懂
懂了又不改
改了又不谢

I only know ChatGPT can do far better in Chinese language than a CECA-minded Oyk..

[Manthink]

If we only want to be understood, we can even speak our mother tongue with each other. So you speak Hokkien with Hokkien friends if that's your mother tongue.If we learn a language that's not our mother tongue, whether it's French, Japanese, or English, we should learn it well.But you are right to say that background is essential to learning the language well.. this is why we should encourage children to read because our background would only screw up the children's learning of the language. It's the same with Chinese. Read

Everyone wants to be understood...Problem is poster's like CECA-minded Oyk don't understand himself.

[EvertonDiehard]

各说各话...自己家人沟通...关你什么事 ?

如果一个母亲教孩子不标准的英语，就是在害他。

[WhatDoYouThink!]

如果一个母亲教孩子不标准的英语，就是在害他。

How would you be different from what you are now if you'd learned only substandard english? Much poorer?

[Blasterlord2]

It's easy to say, parents should do this and they should do that. But not every parent could be like that. Either they may not be very well educated or that they lack the means to do the "right" thing for the child. And once the child does not develop good language skills from young, it will be much harder although not impossible for them to do it later.

I'll not judge a person too much by his use of sub-standard English, but his flow of thoughts is more important. If he's able to convey his message clearly I think that will do fine.

In fact, I'd say that a big problem with this country is that people tend to think very highly of those who can present themselves well in very good English, when the truth is that these people are quite empty in their brains. Thus, we have all sorts of stupid people, including many foreigners who can speak good English, leading the rest.

[Manthink]

如果一个母亲教孩子不标准的英语，就是在害他。

如果社会以一个语言的掌握来排斥不同阶层的人， 那对大家都有害 !
很显然....你根本无法接受新加坡的多元文化现实。

[Clyde]

如果社会以一个语言的掌握来排斥不同阶层的人， 那对大家都有害 !
很显然....你根本无法接受新加坡的多元文化现实。

He Malaysia born lah .

[Oyk]

Everyone wants to be understood...Problem is poster's like CECA-minded Oyk don't understand himself.

I sure can understand you this time. Sense and sentence mean different things you know...

[Manthink]

It's easy to say, parents should do this and they should do that. But not every parent could be like that. Either they may not be very well educated or that they lack the means to do the "right" thing for the child. And once the child does not develop good language skills from young, it will be much harder although not impossible for them to do it later. I'll not judge a person too much by his use of sub-standard English, but his flow of thoughts is more important. If he's able to convey his message clearly I think that will do fine.
In fact, I'd say that a big problem with this country is that people tend to think very highly of those who can present themselves well in very good English, when the truth is that these people are quite empty in their brains. Thus, we have all sorts of stupid people, including many foreigners who can speak good English, leading the rest.

李光耀早就注意到华校和英校生的不同。

[Oyk]

I use ChatGPT all the time  

Noted.

[RiseofAsia]

20 years ago that remains true to its form and reality how SG remains relatively stable in an increasingly diverse world.
Your Identity, like it or not, goes beyound just your citizenship or your religion...

Will we ever become completely homogeneous, a melange of languages and cultures? No. Why did we take this route? Because we have no other choice. If we have only English and we allowed the other languages to atrophy and vanish, we face a very serious problem of identity and culture. How do I know this? Because I learnt Chinese late in life, and I rediscovered snatches of what I heard when my parents, my grandparents spoke: "Ah! yes, that was what they meant." It resonates, pulled at my heartstrings. Would I want to see it lost? Absolutely not!... - LKY in 2004



https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/i...e-identity

The Chinese are catching up. 
Our jobs will be soon taken away by them in the near future. If you happen to buy thing in Alibaba, you will know what I mean.

[Manthink]

I sure can understand you this time. Sense and sentence mean different things you know...

天下无难事 只怕有黑心人..你明白吗 ? 

[Blasterlord2]

李光耀早就注意到华校和英校生的不同。

Many people are still living in the colonial past with the mentality that people who speak English are superior to others. One big load of crap.

[Manthink]

The Chinese are catching up. 
Our jobs will be soon taken away by them in the near future. If you happen to buy thing in Alibaba, you will know what I mean.

Many Mainland Chinese welcome every opportunity to learn new foreign languages on top 普通话

What is more impressive is their willingness to learn even having progress and prospered immensely with their "sub-standard English"

[Clyde]

The Chinese are catching up. 
Our jobs will be soon taken away by them in the near future. If you happen to buy thing in Alibaba, you will know what I mean.

Many lecturers in Singapore universities are from China and more than 95% of researchers there are also from China. Some Singaporean here are too complacent. Instead of upgrading themselves,  they spent their time complaining.

[Manthink]

Many people are still living in the colonial past with the mentality that people who speak English are superior to others. One big load of crap.

True. This brings back to the original topic ... 

Why did a English-speaking Hakka who had zero Chinese literacy nor grown up in a Chinese-speaking family, having earned a x2 1st Class honor from a famous UK univesity, decided to learn Chinese in his 30s even though he can make a great career by simply with his High-standard English language proficiency ?

Awakening from his ignoracce or having seen how lost those who had forgettne their Cultural roots ?

[Manthink]

Noted.

You are most welcomed. And LKY himself welcomes those who understand what drove him to learn Chinese language.  

[Manthink]

He Malaysia born lah .

EvertonDiehard from M'sia ?

Oh...isn't that the country that once ban use of Chinese language publicly ?

[Clyde]

EvertonDiehard from M'sia ?

Oh...isn't that the country that once ban use of Chinese language publicly ?

He once said he was born in a very harsh and dirty environment in penang

[Lukongsimi]

My mother tongue is Teochew

[KILLjoy]

half past six queen england

even the northern mocking sinkies powerfool england

still wanna talk about mother tongue?







later winnie gonna tell
the scholars off

猜一猜
哪个国家的窗口一开就有烟可抽
那个国家水龙头一开就有肉骨茶

Or referring to these mother tongue?

hindi
bengali
marathi

[RiseofAsia]

Many people are still living in the colonial past with the mentality that people who speak English are superior to others. One big load of crap.

Even more and more Ang Mohs are learning Chinese.

We shd feel disgrace, if we can’t speak mandarin properly. This AngMoh Ger speaks so well in mandarin.

https://youtu.be/GeRHUHvH2Ng?si=hnsMeE4xp0lqL-w7

[EvertonDiehard]

How would you be different from what you are now if you'd learned only substandard english? Much poorer?

I would be hampered by my inability to be understood globally whenever I travel for both work and family vacations.

[EvertonDiehard]

He once said he was born in a very harsh and dirty environment in penang

I was born in S'pore, but my parents are from Malaysia.

[Manthink]

I would be hampered by my inability to be understood globally whenever I travel for both work and family vacations

语言不是障碍， 而是心态问题

Those are the same pple who continue to suffer from a tunnel vision what being "Understood globally" really meant, given the FACT much of Humanity speak a form of Chinese language by a large margin.