Singapore

Singlish

Vivian Balakrishnan is a smart man but a little misguided. He knows we talk this way only because we think it sounds cute and rustic and it also entertains our proletarian pretensions.

Minister Balakrishnan cautions against promoting use of Singlish

By Shaffiq Alkhatib, 938LIVE | Posted: 27 May 2008 2053 hrs
SINGAPORE: Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has cautioned against promoting the use of Singlish.

Speaking at the Pre-University Seminar 2008 on Tuesday, Dr Balakrishnan said the move to promote the lingo is a "pet project" by "linguistic elites" that can cause more harm than good.

He said those championing the local lingo are mostly highly educated individuals who are able to effortlessly switch from Singlish to proper English.

"But very few of us, to be honest with you, really have the ability. For most of us, we can only speak one way. So I've often felt there's a bit of intellectual snobbery on the part of people who push Singlish," Dr Balakrishnan said.

Some 600 students from more than 20 institutions attended the dialogue session at Nanyang Technological University.