Most of the time, when we talk about cultural conflicts, we often think more about actions, like how prolonged look at on person is considered rude (as staring) or an showing one's attention to them. However, there cultural differences shows in the language as well, and sometimes cause disturbance to others.
I would like to share my experiences when I first got to Singapore, around two years ago. Back then, I was actually 'shocked' by the language here - Singlish & Chinese in particular. Back in high school, I studied British English as well as American English, but more or less, I were advised to be polite, such as saying "Thanks", "Excuse me" and "Please" whenever I can. However, after arriving in NUS campus (Prince George Park residence, to be specific), and went down the canteen and order the food there, I was deeply troubled. The food that I ordered was no longer available, and the owner show me another dish, saying "Can or not?".
I thought I have done something and made him angry, but in later time, I discovered that 's what they called "Singlish". It was not nice, at least to me... And through my first semester here, I was struggling when working with my Singaporean friends, thinking they have some hostile attitude to me because of the language...
The second bad impression about language issue was during my internship, at one of NUS's robotic lab. Back then, except for my professor and my supervisor, everyone else speak Chinese, during daily conversation and sometimes, even in very technical discussion. It frustrate me for a long time, since I don't know what they are talking about....
In the end, things are settled as I found opportunities to talk with each of my friend / and ask them about why they do so. It turns out those are just habits, and they didn't mean anything. Still, I still suffer a bit from it, being less active when talking with people who use a lot of Singlish / Chinese while speaking.
All in all, I think we need to take others into consideration while speaking, to talk in a way that makes them comfortable, which is more like British English, in my opinion. Of course, we also have to adapt, trying not to think too much in our own view also, since like my case, your friends might not meant anything to you, and you just need to voice out a bit, not hating them :)
There is also an interesting video about a similar experience also, about a guy who comes to the US from Africa
Hi Mark!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post you've got here as your experience of inter-cultural difficulties are first-hand.
With regards to what you said about needing to "to take others into consideration while speaking, to talk in a way that makes them comfortable, which is more like British English", I think it is something that is not ingrained in Singapore's culture to intuitively understand that need.
Singapore's culture is uniquely diverse and we have been repeatedly taught that we should embrace different cultures- to the extent that this 'combination- culture' has given rise to a culture of comfort in what has been laid out for us, and expect everyone else to conform to us. Some Singaporean students might lambast me for such an accusation, but I've gathered this from hearing what the 'educated' NUS students have to say about foreign students for the past 3 odd years- it is to the extent of stereotyping. I could type an essay on this, but this is a comment, so I will leave it be. :P
This is probably why most Singaporean students lapse into their own brand of English (Singlish) when talking to foreign students- there is this innate unwillingness to compromise the other person's language barrier.
That having said, it is also important that foreigners "learn the ways of the land", as what my ang moh NUS friend would say. This involves willingness on the part of the foreigner to immerse in the land's culture, food, and language. As such, I am glad you got to talk to your friend about it.
Sometimes in such cultural difference- situations, all you need is someone willing to guide you along and show you "the ways of the land".
P.S. My ang moh friend is now more Singaporean than me (she eats more chillis and durians than me :( )
-Doris Lin (dorislin88.wordpress.com)
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteI think what you said about Singlish is very much supported by the Singapore government since they have been actively encouraging us to use more proper english than singlish. Haha, although I agree with you that the use of singlish in certain context may not be entirely appropriate like when conversing with a foreigner, many Singaporeans view singlish as part of our culture. One reason why the sitcom:PCK Pte Ltd is so popular is somewhat due to the use of Singlish which allows the audience to relate to our everyday lives and not to mention inject humor as well.
I guess in this type of situation, both parties will have to make an effort? Like the Singaporean students will have to make an effort to include the newcomer while the foreigners will also like what Doris siad, 'Learn the ways of the land' as well.:)
Hi Doris, Xiu Qin,
ReplyDeleteRight! I like the quote "learn the ways of the land". Both side will have to take effort to avoid such difficulties in the future. One more thing I 'd like to add: we, as international student, also have our own language and sometimes use them at our convenience also. This makes difficult for others to get into conversation with us! Hence, we also have to care about the listener :D
Honestly, though I don't want to, I do 'acquire' some of the Singlish habit as well, like starting the sentence with 'actually', etc... haha
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteI had quite a bit of the cultural shock myself too, when I landed in Singapore for the first time. Moreover, I was in a hall, which was flooded with the Singlish and Chinese communication culture.
In spite of that, I actually didn't let that fact irritate or frustrate me in any way. I also made fun of the Singlish words, and started using them subtly in my daily language too. I guess thats the secret to being in any new place. You need to pick up the localized style or habits there so as to adjust easily.
However, someone might argue that we should not pick up the habits if we don't like them. Well, I agree with that to some extent. What I see is that if its a harmless habit, and does not affect me in any way, then there s no harm picking it up for the sake of not being treated as an alien.
As for my Chinese or Vietnamese speaking friends, when they were with me and speaking in their native language, I used to copy them and everyone used to laugh. Also, they used to realize that I don't understand and start talking in English.
So, I believe its okay to tweak yourself a bit to be a part of a foreign land.
Akash
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteDon't be too bothered by it! Honestly, Singlish is quite like Vietnamese. There are words which don't mean anything. For e.g Vậy, Thế ạ? or Nào, chúng tôi cụng ly.
"i love this la!" can be likened to "tôi thích vậy"
I remember learning about this in Vietnamese 1 and I was wondering how could words just be added with no meaning? Then my teacher explained that it's just like Singlish. From then on, I wasn't too bothered about it and it seems that the more I use it in the tests to write out conversations, the higher marks I get!
Mark, appreciate you sharing your not-very-welcoming first intercultural encounter when you first arrived in Singapore. 'Can or not' is certainly a phrase most non-locals find difficult to understand.
ReplyDeleteYou may already be aware that Singapore follows the use of British English (or at least so when I was young - today the schools teach the children to recognise the differences between the different forms so that they can learn to adjust their choice of words, including terms of address and tone, when they interact with their peers and others from different cultures and background). It's just that when the different races and dialect groups in Singapore come together, they'd also developed something culturally unique - Singlish.
Locals are 'known'/said to be able to switch between the use of Singlish and proper British English depending on the occasion, although your experience seems to suggest otherwise. This is what makes intercultural communication so important, that when communicating with people from a different culture to be more sensitive and understanding.
I'm not so sure about the second incident you described being an intercultural behaviour - what do you think?