Recently, one of my relatives brought her American boyfriend, John, to my aunt’s place for steamboat. Instead of asking John if he wanted to eat using a bowl or plate, my uncle said “Do you eat plate or bowl?” As a result, John was confused. My uncle then tried to use actions to explain what he meant. However, the misunderstanding was cleared when another relative explained what my uncle actually meant. In Singapore, the use of Singlish is very common. However, when it is used in conversing with foreigners, it can result in ineffective communication as the message is not brought out clearly. In this scenario, I think John was probably puzzled why my uncle asked him whether he wanted to eat a plate or a bowl.
Later, when my uncle offered to scoop food for John, John requested for the chunky part of the chicken. This time, my uncle was the one who was puzzled. He did not know what John meant by “chunky”. In this context, when John said he wanted the chunky part of the meat, he meant meaty part of the chicken. Slangs and usage of words differ in different countries and since the word “chunky” is not really widely used in Singapore, my uncle could not get the message John was trying to convey. Also, as everyone was using chopsticks, John also tried using them but was rather clumsy with it. This was probably because Americans normally use fork and spoon to eat and many types of food are eaten using their hands. Hence, it could be difficult for John to use chopsticks to eat as he was not accustomed to them.
This dinner showed me how people of different cultures have different ways of saying and doing things. Hence, I feel that in order for effective communication, we have to consider our audience to ensure that our message is clear.
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5 comments:
I think the reason why Singlish cannot be natonalised is because it is only understood by Singaporeans. If we use Singlish to communicate with people from other countries, chances are that they wouldn't know what we are talking about. I feel that it is OK to use Singlish in informal occasions but we should also have the ability to speak fluently in proper English so that we can interchange easily in different situations.
Americans also have their own slangs. Thus, if we do not know what they mean, we can always clarify with them. That way, we would also learn a new word, although it may not be used universally.
In addition, most Americans do not know how to use chopsticks. Maybe your uncle can first ask him whether he prefer to use a fork or chopstick. That way, he won't feel so embarrassed for not knowing how to use chopsticks.
I think that Singlish should only be used among Singaporeans in informal context. This is partly because only we Singaporeans can understand it. Singlish is not a recognised language internationally.However we should not give up speaking it among ourselves because it fosters a bond between Singaporeans as it is unique only to us.We should be able to switch readily between Singlish and proper English as the situation demands. Foreigners would not understand us if we speak Singlish to them, this would cause communication breakdown like in the case of your uncle and John. Besides during meetings or formal events, proper English should be used instead as Singlish is considered an informal form of language.
Using chopsticks during meals is part of our Chinese culture. Since John comes from America where fork and spoon are commonly used during meals, it is natural for him to have difficulties using it. Although many of the Chinese knows how to use chopsticks, they are not using it the correct way.It is hard to hold the chopsticks in the correct manner.
Different cultures also uses different types of chopsticks. In Korea, the chopsticks are flat. They are harder to use than our Chinese chopsticks. In Taiwan, chopsticks are made of metal while in China chopsticks are usually made of wood or plastic.
Singlish is a big issue when conversing with non-Singaporeans because they would not be able to understand what we are saying. Just like when foreigners talk with an accent, we find it hard to comprehand too. I feel that every country has it's unique way of speaking, it need not have to be Singlish too. I remembered when I went to Taiwan, I found their Chinese hard to understand and likewise for them, they couldn't really get the idea of what I was saying though it was in Chinese. Perhaps its the words we use or we are used to translating English to Chinese directly and vice versa.
Thus, when working with different people from different countries, I feel that it is important also for us to speak slowly and clearly for them to understand us better.
I agree that Singlish can prove to be a barrier in communications as it could be something that only Singaporeans or someone who has resided long enough in Singapore can comprehend. Therefore, it is important for us to be able to communicate in proper english when interacting with foreignors, like John for example. This could serve to improve communications and also reduce the level of misunderstanding between both parties.
Therefore, there would be a need for Singaporeans to alternate between proper english and Singlish when communicating with different groups of people. Since, the situation is such, some may ask why not just do away with Singlish?
One possible answer would be that Singlish is something of an identity to us. Something which uniquely defines Singapore and removing it would make us something more like a subsidary of another entity.
However, I feel that what is more important is that it is more of something which we cannot seek to remove. Singlish is a formulation through the influence of individuals around us and understaning the barriers which are present between different cultural groups, it is a means through which each group can find a balance between them and allow for efficient communications.
Communications between people in a region are especially important for their co-existent and Man has always been developing languages unique to that region or country to facilitate such a co-existent. The American slang and figure of speech arose through a mixture of its early dwellers which included the Spanish, Portugese, English, French and the local Indian tribes etc. The Germans and the Indians in India were Aryans who came from central Asia and the different interactions between the natives of each land gave rise to different forms of languages as well. Therefore I feel languages are largely influence by the natives of the land which would result in differing forms of a similar language due to the need to evolve the language to a middle point to achieve the most efficient mode of communications.
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