Singlish – to love it or not?

Tags

language, Linguistics, Singlish

My interest in Linguistics started from my love for Korean. But as I read and learn more, I begin to reflect and ponder about our very own version of English: Singlish. The term Singlish is derived from Singapore English, formed in the same way as Konglish (Korean English) and Manglish (Malaysian English).

 

It’s really a love-hate relationship. Logic,reason and books tells me that there is no such thing as an ‘inferior’ language or ‘substandard language’. I do agree, but somehow I still cring whenever I hear people speak Singlish, especially in more formal situations.

I know that you can’t just sit on the fence. We are always taught to pick a clear stand in our thesis right? (: But the 2 sides of me are vying to claim victory over the other.  On the MRT trip back home from Orchard, I spent the entire time engaging in internal self debate. (wow what a way to past the time )

 

So first thing first, do I use Singlish?

Well, I am no language purist and I do say the occasional ‘lah’ and ‘lohs’ and other vocabulary and grammar unique to Singlish. But I make it a point to blog and write in proper sentences and in ‘standard’ English. In formal situations, I definitely speak in standard English. For the casual chit-chat, I would say that 90% of our speech is in proper English, with some insertions of Singlish here and there.

 

Pro – Singlish

I am proud that Singapore has its own version of English. When my foreigner friends display their command of Singlish, I would be like ‘wow! you know Singlish! that’s so cool.’ Language is a strong identify of a person. Through a person’s speech, you can know his country of origin and maybe even the region he’s from. I’m sure you have heard of comments like ‘Oh! He’s got a British accent.’ ‘He sounds like he’s from the South’ etc. Likewise, we can identify a fellow Singapore with Singlish. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be really relieved and happy to hear a fellow Singaporean when I’m abroad.

 

I’ve been reading up on Linguistics recently, and it was said that language is always and constantly undergoing changes. It is impossible to have 2 groups of people, each with their own language, to live side by side without their languages undergoing changes and influencing each other over time.

Using this line of argument, perhaps Singlish is the best evidence of Singapore’s multi-racial society. Singlish absorbs vocabulary and grammar structure from Malay, Chinese, the various dialects, Indian etc.

 

From another point of view…

But sometimes, it really irks me to listen to speech punctuated with ‘lahs’ and ‘lohs’ at EVERY sentence. Personally I don’t mind bits of Singlish here and there, but too much anything is never good. In the MRT today, the man besides me was talking on his handphone.

‘eh tell boss i not coming tomolo k.’

‘you eat lunch already anot’

haha typical Singlish. (: Throughout his entire conversation, I aim to find a Singlish-free sentence. But I didn’t succeed.

 

Back in my secondary school days, I use much more Singlish. Perhaps it’s due to my the influence of my friends then. For a period of time, i used to BloG liKe ThiS aNd ThiNK it’S verY CoOl… I like to use …. alot too… after every sentence.. i will always type…. but now.. don’t you think it’s a LitTle iRiTatIng If I KeeP doIng This hoR???

A friend once commented that this is the first time in his life that he has seen a girl blog in proper sentences all the way.

‘wahh. like writing essay lidat!’

HAHA I was rendered speechless at that moment.

 

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I started this post with the aim of sorting out my thoughts and coming to a conclusion of some sorts. But I lost steam halfway through. I should have brought my laptop out with me. Thoughts are best penned down when fresh in the mind. HMM.

Let me stress again, all the above is entirely my own opinion and I have totally no intent of criticism or anything. I’m just trying to put all my jumbled-up thoughts into words. So.. sorry for being a little incoherent at times.

and I DO use Singlish okay!

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Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

Tags

language, learning foreign language, Linguistics, second language acquisition, SLA

언어를 공부에 input이나 output은 더 중요하다고 생가하세요?

It has always been thought that input is more important for SLA. In classes, teachers tend to spend more time ‘teaching’ and introducing new knowledge rather than focusing on student’s output (writing/speaking). Most likely, focus on output is limited to correcting of wrong sentences in the homework.

However, research has lead to interesting findings on the importance of output. Increase in output (practice speaking/writing) not only helps to improve fluency, but it also helps in learning the language. This can occur with or without external feedback.

With external feedback

We all know that when teachers or other proficient speakers correct your sentences, you realise where you made a mistake and hence learn from it.

output –> external feedback –> trigger improvement –> increase in L2 proficiency

Without external feedback

Even without external feedback, an increase in output also helps to improve their L2 performance. When you try to form sentences in L2, sometimes you struggle with finding an appropriate word. Or sometimes, you pause and think ‘that sounds a little strange, is that the correct grammar structure?’. By pausing, you notice a gap in your L2 knowledge and hence would try to ‘fill that gap’ by asking your teachers or friends.

Output –> realise that you don’t know something –> trigger the need to learn –> find out the answer –> increase in L2 proficiency

A good balance of focus in both output and input can help to maximise efficiency in L2 learning. In my opinion, focus on input and teaching is more important in the initial stage of L2 aquisition. When students gain adequate knowledge and are able to start expressing their thoughts and opinions in the L2, focus on output can lead to a rapid increase in L2 skills.

How to learn Languages Effectively

Tags

language learning, learning foreign language, learning korean, Linguistics

I am currently starting on a new book  ‘An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching’ by Keith Johnson.

• Is there actually a formula or a tried and tested method that contributes to effective language learning?
• Should more responsibility be placed on the teacher, the student or the environment in which language learning takes place?
• Does the effectiveness of foreign language acquisition depend on which languages the student is learning or is it affected by the student’s mother tongue?

I believe that anybody, as long as they have the interest, can learn any language. Although I do admit that it’s easier if your mother tongue (L1)  is similar in structure/grammer to the foreign language (L2).

Take, for example, Japanese. I’m sure many Chinese-speaking individuals find it so much easier to acquire it due to a prior knowledge of Kanji (chinese characters) present in the Japanese orthography. Similarly, speakers of a Romance Language find it easier to acquire another one.

But we still hear of many westerners who are fluent speakers of Japanese and likewise, I know of Koreans who could speak Spanish and German just as well. Initally, the similarity between L1 and L2 languages do help in making your language learning journey a little easier. But past the elementary level, everyone’s on similar grounds again.

I’m also an advocate of self-study. Personal effort is the most important determinant of how successful you are in your L2 acqusition. I have seen people who only depend on their teachers, textbook materials and those who only come into contact with the language during class hours. Even if you understand the entire textbook, real world conversations are different.

Slangs, sentence structure simplifying, personal styles/intonation/speed all come into play and suddenly.. you wonder to yourself whether what you are hearing is the language that you are studying! Not to mention dialetical differences. Add everything together and suddenly you realise that your taped sample dialogues is of limited use in the real world.

Who will actually talk in the perfect sentence structure in real life? Not me.

——

Oops I’ve ranted on too much.. I sort of diverted from the blog post title. So how do we learn languages effectively?

To me, there’s no perfect answer. I  would say.. it depends.  (Don’t groan and say ‘You made me read all your rantings and now you tell me it DEPENDS ‘)

I’ll just share how I self study Korean over the past 1 year.

1. Take a good beginner course

Some things can be self-studied. But you need a firm foundation before you can do so. Pronounciation is not something easily mastered over the tapes. Having a real-life teacher to interact and ask questions to helps alot in grasping the basic concepts. They always say ‘Basics are the hardest’

2. Start with the textbooks

Perhaps for some, this will be the ‘boring’ stage in language learning. However, a good drill in grammar structure is necessary and you can pick up alot of vocabulary on the way. Prounciation and listening skills are honed through reviewing of sample dialogues. I particulary enjoy the satisfaction of being able to understand and use more and more grammar strucutures.

3. Throughout step 2, grab any chance to immerse yourself in the language

Be it drama, music, movies or podcasts – Listen to anything and everything. As mention in a previous article, immersing yourself in the sounds of the L2 language does contribute to effectiveness of foreign language acquisition. Isn’t nice to be able to pick up more words and phrases and yet at the same time, enjoy your favourite drama? You can drool at the guys at the same time

I know it’s impolite, but I snatch any opportunity to listen to conversations abroad the subway or bus too. Oops.

4. Interact with the native speakers

Once you are comfortable with the basics and are starting on the intermediate materials, find a penpal who can do language exchange with you. I started out using msn with my Korean friends. For me, typing is much easier as I could think through my sentences and anything you don’t know – check the dictionary!

5. Read widely

Now you can start to reap the fruits of your efforts. You now have access to a much wider range of entertainment materials. I am currently reading entertainment news and magazines. They are easier to start with and you can progress on to international news, books etc.

6. Talk with the native speakers

Yes. For me, this has got to be the hardest part and I’m trying to overcome it right now. This is a true test of your language abilities. You can’t say that you mastered a language without being able to hold a decent conversation with a native speaker without all the urmms, errs and frequent pauses. Practice makes perfect, at the same time, you can get to know more about your friends (:

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Wow, I didn’t realise I have written so much. haha anyway I’m really happy today For the first time, I had a pretty decent converation in Korean. I used to have the problem of pausing for really LONG moments and end up suggesting that we just type in msn. Today, I persevered and kept typing at a minimal.

I really have to thank my friend for his patience 고마워요 오빠!

I shall aim to increase my confidence.

Knife – Knives – Knifes??

Tags

english, languages, learning languages, Linguistics

Languages are so amazing.

Prior to learning Korean, I didn’t have any interest in language itself. Language was simply thought of as a ‘tool’ to get my point across. ‘Yeah I know English and Chinese – the end.’ It didn’t occur to me how powerful and profound languages are.

Currently, I am reading ‘Understanding Language’ by Elizabeth Grace Winkler. It’s a great introduction to linguistics and I learnt more about English than I did for the past 19 years.

Has it ever crossed your mind why the plural of Knife is spelled Knives instead of Knifes?

In old English, f was pronounced as ‘f’ when it occured in front of at the back of the word, it is pronounced as ‘v’. However, the French spoken by the Normans who invaded England also had exactly the same sound but it was scribed as v instead. Hence, to better reflect its pronounciation in spelling, knifes was scribed as knives from then on.

Interesting right?

In Singapore, classes are taught in English (British English) and we learn our respective mother tongue in a separate class. However, we don’t have a language that is distinctly ours. I don’t feel intensely proud that I can speak English or Chinese and perhaps that’s the reason why I have never bothered to learn more about its history. Most of the teenagers from English educated families can’t even conduct a fluent conversation in Chinese!

I feel so ignorant! Up till now, the only difference I know of between British and American English is: colour/color; organisation/organization. Being exposed to both American and British English through books and media content, I hadn’t realised that sofa and couch are simply different varieties of English meaning the same object! I have always thought of them as synonyms that everyone who speaks English knows ><

Perhaps in our Singapore Variety of English, they are both interchangeble and understood by all.

I feel inspired to keep on digging and learning more about languages.

English is a funny language; that explains why we park our car on the driveway and drive our car on the parkway. 

Author Unknown

Source:  Quote Garden

Learning Languages – a revolutionary approach

Tags

language learning, learning foreign language, learning korean, Linguistics

I came across an article on language learning while blog surfing and I am much intrigued by it. It proposes that language learning can be made much more effective through frequent exposure to its sound patterns, even though we may not understand its meaning.

Sadly, listening has not been one of the main focus in the traditional language class. When I was taking beginner Korean classes, the only listening practice that we ever gotten was those short sample converstions that come with the textbook CD. We didn’t even use the radio every lesson. Sometimes we will just repeat line by line after the teacher.

During my Japanese beginner class, the teacher made use of the sample dialogue more often and during breaks, he would play Japanese pop songs (although its the same CD throughout the entire 1 month course!).

I do agree that listening made a huge difference to the efficiency of language learning. I feel ‘more in tune’ with Korean if i keep listening to podcasts, watch dramas and even listen to pop songs. I made it a point to listen frequently to radio broadcasts too.

“Neural tissue required to learn and understand a new language will develop automatically from simple exposure to the language—which is how babies learn their first language,” Dr Sulzberger says.

Besides helping me pick up new vocabulary more readily, I can be more sensitive to how natives actually pronounce the words. It hones my intonation and helps to make my sentences more fluent too.

Everytime I watch Korean dramas, I’m so used to the sound patterns that I feel ‘deluded’ into thinking that I really could understand everything. I can’t really express how I feel, but listening to Korean feels as natural to me as watching Chinese or English dramas. IN TUNE. haha

Frequent listening also helps to compensate for not being able to go directly to the country and immerse yourself in everyday conversation and culture.

On the other hand, I’m not so into the Japanese culture and I don’t watch any dramas too. Perhaps that’s why Japanese still feel very very foreign to me and I’m not so motivated to study it. (I haven’t touch my books for er.. a month? oops)

Oh, here’s the link for the article. click here

How do you guys learn foreign languages? (:  Feel free to share!