The Singlish Controversy by Professor Lionel Wee: Addendum

The Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) arose out of the government's concern about Singlish having a negative effect on the population's ability to learn "standard" English and consequently lose competitiveness in the global economy. This naturally led to the SGEM adopting a combative stance towards Singlish, as described in The Singlish Controversy.

But Professor Lionel Wee published the book at the start of 2018. The SGEM has changed its approach since then. This is largely due to its new chairman, Mr Jason Leow.

He took the reins at the SGEM last year and has been covered by media such as Mothership and The Straits Times.

As he was my department head when I was a communications intern at the national sovereign wealth fund GIC, I had the rare opportunity to interact with him personally and learn more about his views on language in society.

At first, I was surprised by his flagrant use of Singlish. He used it in speech and in writing, and his subordinates used it freely too. I then recalled from my sociolinguistics lessons that people use colloquial varieties like Singlish, as opposed to "standard" varieties, to reduce social distance or, put simply, to appear friendly.

Another point struck me too. As people in the field of communications, all of us working under Jason, as well as Jason himself, have a strong command of the English language. This means that we have the linguistic resources to code-switch. According to the demands of the situation, we can shift upwards to using "standard" English, and downwards to Singlish quite easily. Contrast this to someone with a weak grasp of English: they will not have the same ability because they just do not possess "standard" English in their repertoire. In other words, they are stuck with using only Singlish, or some other kind of "broken" English, simply because they have no choice.

It is this angle that Jason's version of the SGEM approaches the Singlish issue from. It does not aim to destroy Singlish. Jason told me that he recognises the right of Singlish to exist alongside "standard" English, and even encourages its use in appropriate contexts. For me, this brought to mind the concept of the Singlitterati: the writers, poets, artists, and other creative folks who use Singlish in a purposeful and playful way in their works. The Singlitterati are staunch defenders of Singlish and have had many run-ins with anti-Singlish parties including the SGEM of old. Perhaps they will find the refreshed SGEM under Jason more palatable.

Instead, the new SGEM emphasises choice: it wants people to be able to choose to use Singlish or "standard" English. People need to be armed with the linguistic repertoire to do so: they need to know "standard" English so that they can switch to it when needed. To this end, Jason's SGEM aims to educate and not preach. Rather than nagging at Singaporeans not to use Singlish, the SGEM now wants to provide plenty of learning tools for them to improve their command of English and become better able to discern between "standard" English and Singlish.

This more moderate approach I can get behind. Although I do not consider myself Singlitterati, I bristle at people who make blanket accusations against Singlish and try to get rid of it. Singlish is usually able to express a thought far more elegantly than "standard" English, which is very pleasing to me as a writer and communicator. It is also useful for building closer relationships with fellow Singlish speakers. Finally, it is a matter of national pride: Singlish is the language of my beloved country, Singapore.

In short, I like to use Singlish what. Got problem is it? Go outside settle!

Check out the first installment of The Singlish Controversy summary series here: The Singlish Controversy by Professor Lionel Wee: Introduction.