Should Singlish be recognized as an official language in Singapore?

Today, Singlish is spoken by almost every Singaporean, and is severely abhorred by the government it causes Singaporeans to appear to have a bad command of the English language. I think that Singlish should not be recognised as an official language in Singapore.

Singlish as an official language will make Singaporean’s standard of English drop. As a result, we might weaken our global connections as English is an international language of communication. The Speak Good English Movement by the government already shows that Singlish has affected our Standard English, so much that the government has to step in.

Recognising Singlish as an official language of Singapore will make students think that it is alright not to learn Standard English because Singlish is an official language of Singapore. This will result in our standard of English dropping even further. Even without Singlish as an official language, there is a widespread use of Singlish by the student to the teacher, and for some even when they are presenting in a formal occasion. Thus, we must not further worsen this negative trend by making Singlish an official language in Singapore.

Currently, television shows in Singlish are subjected to severe criticism from the better educated part of society, due to its detrimental effects on the education of their children. This supports the point the Singlish affects our standard of English.

One may argue that Singlish is an important part of our culture. However, it being an important part of our culture does not mean we must recognise it as an official language. The Singapore government has not banned Singlish as they have recognised that Singlish is an important part of our culture as well, to show our multi-racial ties. We can still use Singlish in conversations with other Singaporeans.

All in all, I think that we do not have to abolish Singlish completely, but Singlish should not be recognised as an official language in Singapore.

I also have provided the other side of the argument.

I think that Singlish should be recognised as an official language of Singapore.

The Singapore government has therefore proposed movements to encourage students to “speak good English”, but in my opinion, these initiatives lack substantial driving force, for it is virtually impossible to encourage someone to stop speaking what they have been speaking all their lives. The difficulty is analogous to a situation where Americans are required to speak English like the British. These difficulties arise simply because the different figures of speech and expressions used in the same language are already deeply rooted in each culture.

Many people are for the idea of banning shows in Singlish, and at present, local actors are required to speak in good English, which in many cases sound unnatural and does not reflect the true context of the Singaporean setting.

Making Singlish official also has the effect of boosting national identity. With everyone speaking a common language, Singlish (which we are already doing), we can connect ourselves with each other. Just like how Malays speak to each other in the Malay language, us as Singaporeans can do so as well. This increases our closeness as a community.

In the future, Singlish would play an ever increasing role to characterize Singapore, as Singapore evolves from a nation with humble beginnings to a country with a distinct culture. Singapore should proud of our true national language, Singlish.