Features of Singlish

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Varieties of English Spoken in Singapore and the Lexical Features of Singlish Varieties of English Spoken in Singapore: Singlish vs. Standard EnglishMany Singaporeans speak a unique dialect of English, which is lovingly referred to by most Singapore citizens as “Singlish.” Influenced by Chinese, Indian, and Malay languages, Singlish depicts the very diverse history of Singapore. However, as admired by most Singaporeans as the Singlish dialect may be, government officials are taking a stand against Singlish (Tan). Since the year 2000, the Singaporean government has been avidly encouraging the use of Standard English. Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is responsible for initiating the “Speak Good English Movement.” The Singaporean government has used many methods to promote the use of Standard English among its citizens. Hwee Hwee Tan, a Singaporean journalist for Time Magazine, recalls hearing “'NSync-style pop jingles on the radio telling me to ‘speak clearly’.” The 2012-2013 approach is a bit different than parodying popular songs. According to the website, www.goodenglish.org, SGEM's website, the current SGEM campaign is “Make Good English Stick,” focusing on sticky notes with examples of sentences or phrases written in Standard English on the sticky notes. The movement is enlisting Singaporean children to create sticky note murals that advocate “making good English stick” and has also sponsored a fashion show in which the clothing the models wore was primarily created from sticky notes. During its twelve years, the SGEM has attempted to achieve two goals:a. to ensure Singaporeans recognise the importance of speaking Standard Englishb. to encourage all Singaporeans to speak Standard English (Good English)The SGEM website includes everything from workshops to quizzes to help citizens improve their Standard English. But is the movement actually

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