Friday, May 30, 2014

Wah! Wary of competition, Singapore renews push for good English...

Singapore has enlisted a drag queen comedian to give its people grammar lessons, as part of a long-running drive to encourage the correct use of English, for fear that weak language skills could dent its reputation as a business hub.

Foreigners visiting the tiny affluent Southeast Asian island occasionally find themselves bemused in conversation with Singaporeans, many of whom speak in a mishmash of broken English, Chinese dialect and Malay, popularly known as Singlish.

Despite a 15-year-long campaign to improve the use of English in the city-state, most of its population of around 5.4 million has stayed resistant to what they see as curbs on an integral element of their culture.

This week the 'Speak Good English Movement' launched a campaign to encourage better usage, enlisting comedian Kumar to act as 'The Queen of Grammar' in a series of videos berating his subjects' use of the language.

"We speak English much better than our neighbours, and that's one reason why people like to come here. But we have become overconfident about our position," said Adrian Tan, a lawyer and committee member of the Speak Good English Movement. Full story...

Read also: Learn English the fun way - with Kumar...

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