Globalisation Essay, Draft #1B

Loss of culture remains a persistent predicament that has plagued many countries when concerned with the ill effects of globalization, specifically Singapore. In such a context, the erosion of dialects in Singapore is one aspect of deteriorating language culture that needs to be overcome (Vaish, n.d). The government has constantly emphasized the need for bilingualism. However, with the new generation of youth being more interconnected with other western cultures and mannerisms, there is increased difficulty in attempting to draw back these youth to their origins. The stray of the younger generations away from their roots could affect Singapore’s culture as a whole, where in the future, their cultural habits will not be passed down to upcoming generations. Such losses have an imminent effect on Singapore’s society. Thus, solutions have to be executed so as to ensure that Singapore’s cultural integrity will remain intact.

Languages in Singapore can be viewed from two different perspectives. One can be that of competing fields, while on the flipside, they can be seen as compliments, which is the stand the government takes (Ong, n.d) However, globalisation pushes the stand for a more homogeneous use of language instead of one that consists of a variety. Youth of Singapore generally feel more comfortable with speaking English and their mother tongue rather than their own dialects. According to the “Census of Population” in 2010, 1,064,157 of Chinese Singaporeans prefer to speak Mandarin at home rather than their own Chinese dialects, which only 482,550 speak at home. It has also been a concern that Singapore’s policies such as the Speak Mandarin Campaign have actually eradicated the use of Chinese dialects (Gupta & Siew, 1995; Li, 1997; Ong, n.d; Pakir, 1993). So if such government policies are not effective, there may be other ways to bring back the essence of dialects so that it is not forgotten. A solution would be to include it into the local universities curriculum. Instead of giving the option for Singaporeans to study other languages, it could be made compulsory for them to take up a module that involves learning a local dialect from their own race, be it if you’re Chinese, Malay or Indian.  It brings awareness to these students of other dialects that they might not be mindful of. This would be beneficial to Singapore, as the original diverse range of dialects would not just be condensed into a simplified version of Mandarin for example. Such knowledge will then be able to be passed on to future peers.

A minor point encompassing language cultural loss in Singapore is that with globalization, not only are dialects being diluted, but English, as a whole has been changed. ‘Singlish’ is a common informal way of speaking between Singaporeans, and differs from Singapore Standard English (SSE) in terms of grammar and vocabulary (Harada, 2009). Globalization has led to the spread of such an informal language such that majority of Singaporeans use it in casual conversations. To resolve the problem, the Singapore government discouraged the use of Singlish in education and initiated the controversial “Speak Good English Movement” in 2000. However, Singlish is still a common way of conversation up till today, showing its ineffectiveness. Therefore, since Singlish is already adamant in speaking practices of many, the solution for this problem should not be to eradicate it, but to embrace it as part of a new Singaporean culture. There are many who view Singlish as a symbol of the Singapore identity, but there are also those handfuls that disapprove exceedingly (Ong, n.d). Thus, a balance needs to be struck in order to please both sides. So, while embracing it as part of Singapore’s culture, it is still important to emphasize the significance of speaking good English when a situation calls for it. Primary schools could teach younger pupils about when the appropriate occasions for Singaporeans to use Singlish are, and when they are not. This would allow them to be clear about it at a younger age so it helps foster a consciousness when using the two languages. Inculcating such habits from a younger age deters them from straying from it in the future.

Overall, it is important to educate the present generations on the history of Singapore culture as well as to cultivate habits that can be passed down for generations to come. It is difficult to exclude globalization from society in general, due to the rapidly modernizing world. Thus it is important to find ways to integrate it while still learning to appreciate the defining values of cultures, Singapore in this case, so that diluting or erosion will not take place.

Reference:

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Gupta, A. F. (1994) The step-tongue: children's english in singapore, Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, p. 35.

Harada, S. (n.d.). The roles of singapore standard english and singlish, retrieved October 13, 2013, from, http://www.bunkyo.ac.jp/faculty/lib/slib/kiyo/Inf/if40/if4006.pdf

Ong, C. (n.d.). Some thoughts on the bilingual situation in singapore today, retrieved October 13, 2013, from, http://ldt.stanford.edu/~cong2811/doc/ap/20030230L.pdf

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Vaish, V. (n.d.). Globalization and multilingualism in singapore: implications for a hybrid, retrieved October 13, 2013, from,

http://repository.nie.edu.sg/jspui/bitstream/10497/3337/1/CRP22and23_04AL_Conf06(AERA)_Vaish.pdf

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