Good evening everyone. As I keep lamenting to my friends recently, it's only February and the heat is already beyond my tolerance threshold. I just don't get it why people are willing to reside in tropical areas in the past.
Interestingly my sentiments regards to the tropical heat is not unique. Our arguably founding father of Little Red Dot Lee Kwan Yew, let's call him Harry here, has the same physiological reaction to the warmth as me. I knew this little fact from the book I'm recently munching on, 'Lee Kwan Yew' by Alex Josey. Though some idiosyncratic critics be like, "is this fact or fiction?" Fortunately I have arrived at the age where truculence is no longer my cup of latte.
I have yet to finish the book, in fact I only started on Tuesday. But it is rather quick to obtain a very conherent and revoking impression of Harry's personality. Harry is definitely not the wizard who has a lightning scar on his forehead, letting indecisiveness write his destiny during his junior years in Hogwarts; neither is he the smiley British singer in One Direction nor the scandalous prince in Buckingham Palace. He is the Harry with a resting bitch face, a resolute soul and mind, seemingly bumptious and voluble. He is the Harry in Singapore.
No matter how overwhelming his public impression is, I think it is a bit risky to conclude his whole personality and character in a few paragraphs. Also the focus of my writing today is not to critique his political style or personal life, but to inch very closely to one of his ideology: bilingualism.
Many will attribute Singapore's smooth diplomatic handling and its economic triumph due to bilingualism, an educational scheme to remind us 'never forget our roots.' Listen pals, I have nothing against bilingualism. In fact I like the idea of learning more than 1 language, I admire famous polyglots like Steve Kaufmann and Benny Lewis for their galvanizing perseverance and energy. The part that repels me hard is where Harry emphasized on the term 'roots'.
It seems like the intention of him introducing the scheme is to ask us not to forget our origins and ethinics: China Chinese, Malaya Malay, India Tamil/Hindi. These things, stay hurt if you are offended, are taken as our 'roots'. In chapter 3, 'How much a Chinese', Harry was quoted something like 'if we forget our roots, we will be blown away and be miserable.' Something like that, you get the gist.
I scoffed so hard at that part and my latte almost spilled. Roots? The origins and ethinics? You mean we learn our mother tongue is to grasp onto the roots? Sorry you lost me Harry, I totally don't see any points in 'grasping' any 'roots'.
Blown away? What do you mean by that? Do you mean people will view us as less a human and belittle us because we don't speak the language people of our skin colour converse? Follow this austere logic, we should see riots and protests among cantakerous americans in US every day! Among those people their ancestors can come from Germany, where Dutch is spoken; Originates in Africa continent, where Swahili is widely used; From Ireland, where Irish or Gaelic dwells. But you see! In U.S people of all colours just speak English, with adequte fluency and pronounciation, and they survive well! Perhaps too well.
Do any of those people dig out their past and ancestry and start learning whatever language their grandfathers speak? More imperatively are those fellows haunted in incessant ignomony for not knowing their mother tongue?
In the chapter the author briefly touched on the fact that Chinese take a special and painful pride to their 'roots'. I don't know why, guess it's something with a little bit historical reseach and evolutionary psychology can explain. The thing bugs me is people just swallowed whatever Harry imposed on them. I mean seriously? Do your guys give a little thought on the rational behind the 'roots' thing?
What infuriates me further is how modern people swallow the idea same as the people of 1960s. Just a few days ago someone on Facebook was lamenting how Singaporean Chinese not able to converse verbosely in Mandarin while some white kids are able to is letting their roots withering and how this phenomenon leads to misery of the mass. I scoffed so beautifully that my laptop hanged.
That is the most hilarious and revolting statement I read this year so far (gosh to think 2015 just started). This person, on her status, she mentioned about how Koreans and Japanese forget to speak Koreans and Japanese is a ridiculous thing. I laughed at this point and my iPad hanged.
Dude do you know most of the Koreans and Japanese are descendants of early immigrants since B.C era? Dude do you know both ancient Koreans and Japanese use Chinese Characters in scripts and possibly speaking a Chinese language too? Dude are you aware of these general knowledge? Thought you are a Chinese major? According to your austere logic both Koreans and Japanese are supposed to be showered in shame for not using Chinese language? Their actual quality of lives should be a lugubrious one because they forget their roots? Dude even though you are a Singaporean who probably belong to the category of 'frogs in the bottom of the well', your indolence is not excused. Sorry I was too bitter to take a moderate stance.
In addition to this type of litany complaints from NUSians, I think if we want to be despondent over a language, that language should be our lingua franca English! A nation claims her first language is English (which means native to some extent) and everywhere we see English signs, but look at the proficiency of English of the mass! Wrong use of words, overuse of jargons, wrong pronounciation, unclear articulation, choppy fluency... (Look here pals, I'm talking about English, not Singlish). These common mistakes are not only immensely commited by uncivilized thugs and uneducated pricks (go and assume who I am referring to, good luck), these are the English crimes committed by so-called educated first world citizens. LOL. More than once foreigners (native speakers) are stunned (in the most negative way possible) at the level of English people spoke here. Many of them just refused to be convinced that our first language is English lol, an accent mixed of 'Indian and Chinese'. LOL ROOTS PEOPLE ROOTS.
As my reply to her status, I believe learning language is just learning a freaking language! Peoplr should be given credits for spending so much time and efforts on learning a new language. Their purpose may range from economic interests to cultural mesmerization. People in States learn all sorts of languages like Thai and Burmese which have no ancestral connections with them, further debunks the stupid 'roots' theory. My ancestry dates back to Dongpo Su and this guy was just an amazing poet, painter and academic model. He probably didn't speak Mandarin, but another Chinese language which was gruadually diluted or lost when Mongolia Khans invaded China. And today I speak English and Mandarin which was going from bad to worse (but sufficient enough to communicate with people). I intend to learn Dutch and Korean too.
Honestly I don't know Harry really meant what he said. I like him. His various social values has incalculable resonance as mine. Maybe he just wanted to convince people to learn a second language so came up with this non sequitur. I don't know, let me shrug, hopefully laptop is fine.
It is fine. Yay.
Bye.
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