Safari to Santa Rosa September 30th, 2021
Interesting piece on living in a multicultural society, in this case Singapore, where English is the default language for business and government. Applicable here as well.
A majority of Singaporeans view English proficiency as a top criterion for new Singapore citizens, but CNA’s Erin Low has sometimes felt like an outlier for speaking English by default.
SINGAPORE: Whenever my family makes plans to eat at a Chinese restaurant, I brace myself for the dreaded task of making a reservation in Mandarin.
Rightly or wrongly, I assume that speaking English will result in difficulties. So, firstly I have to look up the word for “reservation” in Chinese, because I can never remember. Then I rehearse my lines aloud.
I take a few deep breaths before dialling. When a staff member picks up - sometimes sounding very irritated - I panic and my Mandarin comes out in a garble.
The long pause that follows makes me die a little inside. Then the killer blow: “Huh? Shuo shen me? (What did you say?)”
I weigh my options: Do I make another attempt to speak Chinese, or abort and ask for an English-speaking server?
If your Mandarin is as bad as mine - or if you can’t speak it at all - you can probably relate. Recent incidents that went viral in Singapore have highlighted the intricacies of language in our multicultural society, sparking spirited discussions on English proficiency as a marker of social integration and whether English should be the main language used in public.
Assumptions about language and identity
Greg