The place where Broadway and musicals are located.
The place where I will begin the next chapter of my nomadic life.
The place where I turn into an eccentric academic out of sync with normality.
NEW YORK.
Welcome.
The place where Broadway and musicals are located.
The place where I will begin the next chapter of my nomadic life.
The place where I turn into an eccentric academic out of sync with normality.
New York.
An aspiring hikikomori/ gomiyashiki owner who will get 3 dogs, 1 cat and a herb
garden when she is in her 40s.
Currently a second year Phd student in East Asian Studies, NYU; a self-proclaimed OTAKU; a
clumsy but avid snowboarder; and absent oneechama of Variel.
8 Sept 2010: West Side Story, WICKED
19 Sept 2010: Chicago
8 Oct 2010: Promises Promises
29 Oct 2010: Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
14 Nov 2010: American Idiot
18 Jan 2011: Billy Elliot
8 Feb 2011: La Cage Aux Folles
6 Mar 2011: Paul Taylor Dance Group
5 Apr 2011: Catch Me If You Can (Broadway preview)
2 Dec 2011: La Boheme
9 Jan 2012: Rent
22 Mar 2012: Phantom of the Opera
23 May 2012: Avenue Q
26 Sep 2012: Newsies
2 Oct 2012: Turandot
4 Oct 2012: Once
15 Oct 2012: Sleep No More
28 Nov 2012: Lion King
7 Feb 2013: Book of Mormons
14 Mar 2013: Jersey Boys
25 Mar 2013: Sleep No More
21 May 2013: Kinky Boots
26 Sep 2013: Big Fish
Thursday, December 04, 2008
12:09 PM
Of Singlish and Dialects
I have became more critical of languages after taking an E.lang class in uni and throughout the course of my studies and experiences in Japan. Consequently, I became more aware of the powers of justification and recognition by states or academics .. or even the wo/man in the streets with their standards of judgements on various langauges in the world.
Mark my words, there is stratification and relations of power simply within popular perceptions of languages. And we recreate them unwittingly in our everyday lives.
Is there a reason why Japan follows American English while Singapore follows British english? Refer to World War 2.
Is there a reason why Singaporean are focusing more on English than Chinese? Refer to our period of colonization and the hegemony of Western countries.
Is there a reason why there were 'Speak Mandarin campaigns' and no 'Speak Malay campaigns'? DUH!?
Now older and wiser (I hope!), I am regretting how I didn't concentrate more on my 'Chinese' lessons, I am proud of Singlish and recognize it as a language, I am trying to practise my lau hong Hokkien with my mum whenever possible.
Do not let popular notions of inferiority affect you. it is sad to see a language, with hundred of years of history, killed by public policy (the Ainu language is one such case). Or to see a language put on a pedestal just because it is supposedly 'superior'. Or to see the newborn language, like Singlish, thrown away like trash because it is not 'proper' English. What is 'proper English'? Who has the right to dictate the terms for 'proper English'?
