We are all guilty of passing on lousy english language in our everyday lives. Such actions consist of mispronunciation, wrong spelling, misinterpretation and even to the worse case scenario of having to resort to vulgarities in our sentences. Gone were the days where people would put large emphasis on being profound in their english. People then would actually stop, listen, think, reflect if their words would hurt others and construct the sentences in their head before replying. Now in this modern society, we would just blurt out whatever that is on our mind. There isn't a need to stop and think if our words could have hurt the other party. I guess we could just say that the respect for others and the respect for good english has gone down the drains as our society progresses.
Upon touching on the subject of respect for english language, the famous language that is so unique to us Singaporeans comes to mind. The so infamous 'Singlish' language that we Singaporeans use comprises of 'Lah', 'Loh', 'Leh', 'Hor' and other idioms that are so unique to our culture. It sets me thinking if we are actually respecting the very language that we all hold such high importance. Some may say that it is just another way of communication and there is no need to make such a big fuss over it. To me, it's just embarrassing to see that because of our so called culture in Singapore, the society here does not hold high regard for good english. This in turn will affect our performance at work as we will deem that our standard of english is good enough but in actual fact, it is not up to scratch.
In example, I have got my friend in trouble before because of the way i use my words. My friend was suppose to submit his part of the project to my teacher during my polytechnic days. However, he has tasked me to help him send because he had some urgent family matters to attend to. Following which, my teacher interpreted it as i did his part of the work and my friend got a 'C-' grade for that particular module. My friend was shocked at his result and decided to find my teacher and clarify the situation. It was only after both of us have given our account of our story did the teacher decided to change my friend's grade.
In another example, I was fulfilling my national duties as a Naval Officer onboard my ship. At times, I had to charge of the situation onboard and i had to ask permission from my superior before releasing the ship crew once they are done with their jobs for the day. However, I was busy at that point of time and I gave my instructions to them in a rushed manner. They were suppose to clean the ship before leaving whilst I ask for permission to dismiss them. It resulted in distorted information and my ship crew left the ship for home. To my horror, the ship was in a really bad state with rubbish lying round and bed sheets were not folded properly. What made matters worse was there was an unintended spot check on my ship and I had to take responsibility for my mistake. I was confined for a week in camp without any privileges.
These two incidences made me realised the importance of having a good command of english. No matter how rushed one may be, we should always speak clearly so as to relay the message that we want to put across to our audience.
Not only have I bare witness to different scenarios whereby due to bad english, the situation got from bad to worse. Just as the saying goes: 'we practice what we preach.' The more that we fail to recognise the importance of good english, the way we want to put forth our thoughts will continue to deteriorate with time.
In example, I have got my friend in trouble before because of the way i use my words. My friend was suppose to submit his part of the project to my teacher during my polytechnic days. However, he has tasked me to help him send because he had some urgent family matters to attend to. Following which, my teacher interpreted it as i did his part of the work and my friend got a 'C-' grade for that particular module. My friend was shocked at his result and decided to find my teacher and clarify the situation. It was only after both of us have given our account of our story did the teacher decided to change my friend's grade.
In another example, I was fulfilling my national duties as a Naval Officer onboard my ship. At times, I had to charge of the situation onboard and i had to ask permission from my superior before releasing the ship crew once they are done with their jobs for the day. However, I was busy at that point of time and I gave my instructions to them in a rushed manner. They were suppose to clean the ship before leaving whilst I ask for permission to dismiss them. It resulted in distorted information and my ship crew left the ship for home. To my horror, the ship was in a really bad state with rubbish lying round and bed sheets were not folded properly. What made matters worse was there was an unintended spot check on my ship and I had to take responsibility for my mistake. I was confined for a week in camp without any privileges.
These two incidences made me realised the importance of having a good command of english. No matter how rushed one may be, we should always speak clearly so as to relay the message that we want to put across to our audience.
Not only have I bare witness to different scenarios whereby due to bad english, the situation got from bad to worse. Just as the saying goes: 'we practice what we preach.' The more that we fail to recognise the importance of good english, the way we want to put forth our thoughts will continue to deteriorate with time.
When will we begin to see the importance of having a good command of english? When will we acknowledge that by having a good command of english is the way to bring improvement to the table in the new society? I truly believe that when that day comes, it will be the time where society will improve itself.
Hi Terence,
ReplyDeleteGreat effort on the blog post. I can see that you had followed the Gibbs' model closely, mentioning about your experience and the way you felt. Impressive content, clear and accurate sentence structure through the post. Good example mentioned for the assignment.
However, i feel that it would be better if you mention more about the part on how you got your friend in trouble. Something like the words you said to your teacher which make the teacher interpret that you did your friend's work. That would surely make the post a lot more interesting.
HELLO TERENCE,
ReplyDeleteYour post was a really captivating read, especially with your two instances of past experience which you shared with the readers. Overall, I felt that you did a good job on the post, where you managed to utilize the Gibbs model of descriptive reflection, and relating your past experiences with English language in comparison with the importance of English. Content wise, it was an interesting article to read.
However, there had also been some minor errors here and there, one of which being the wrong use of the word 'idioms' in paragraph 3. Also, I was not able to understand how you related vulgarities as a substitute for proper english in paragraph 2. If these minor errors were to be rectified, I believe that your post will be perfect and will indeed be an absolutely captivating read to us readers.
Overall, I enjoyed reading your post. Good job!
Hi Sebas,
DeleteThanks for your feedback. I feel that vulgarities are curse words which are totally unnecessary in a conversation between friends and colleagues. Vulgarities are used in extreme anger and using it freely like that does not make us cool or whatsoever. It only shows how much we respect the beautiful language. Hope it clears your doubts :)
Cheers :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello Terrance,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that words can be misinterpreted and misused in many different ways. In Singapore’s culture, majority do not have a habit of using proper English to communicate. Thus, I feel that we have to begin to cultivate a good habit of speaking precise and fluent English to create positive impression. For you, how will you be improving your English?
In overall, I had enjoyed reading your experiences. Your blog post is clearly elaborated and is on sync with the subject of this assignment.
Thank you for your comment Huey Teng. I appreciate your help to further improve my command of english. For me, it would be to read more books and try my best to hold a proper english language conversation and keeping the usage of 'Singlish' to the minimum. How will you improve your english today? :)
DeleteCheers :)