GCE 2002 COMPREHENSION SUGGESTED ANSWERS : SINGLISH

1. the less educated will suffer economically and socially, (lines 24 26) What two kinds of handicap is Mr Lee thinking of here? a He means that the less educated will be at a financial disadvantage / they will not do as well (as the better educated) in business b in addition, they will lose out in relations with other people / they will not be able to communicate with other people effectively / they will not be well understood by people they are talking to / miscommunication could result 1 1

2. Professor Komarans students seem to have little interest in the art of communication; they are only interested in content (lines 30 31) Explain what this means. a The students are not keen on learning how to relate to other people or to express their 1 ideas effectively / they are not concerned about phrasing their message properly, tactfully, subtly; b rather, they are concerned with just getting their message across; they are only concerned 1 about conveying information / the bare facts 3. From lines 59 68 (Its not, after all sense of rootedness.) explain, in your own words as far as possible, the three distinct arguments used to defend Singlish. Explain each argument in no more than 10 words. Lift Answer a Singaporean identity, a sense of Singlish is a distinctive trait associated with local 1 rootedness (line 59) character / a mark of our unique cultural nature / a mark of who are we and where we are from. b comaraderie, binding people Singlish serves to unite Singaporeans, keep them 1 emotionally linked all races together, create a sense of fellowfeeling. c to express Singaporean feeling, Singlish best reflects local sentiment 1 Id feel so false, some expressions are best made in Singlish or they lose their meaning and flavour 4. From the 7th paragraph, beginning at line 69, in your own words as far as possible: i) the principal argument in favour of books, films or plays in Singlish a a truly Singapore play about an accurate reflection of the way Singaporeans actually Singaporeans authenticity speak in real-life. ii) the principal argument against books, films or plays in Singlish: a do not cross international cannot be understood by a world audience, by people boundaries easily outside Singapore/Asia.

1 1

5. From the 8th paragraph, beginning at line82, explain in your own words as far as possible why the heartlanders wonder what all the fuss is about. a cuts no ice The heartlanders lives are not directly affected by / They are 1 not concerned about the debate / the world economic situation b more likely to get across They will have to use Singlish to communicate to people in 1 to their customer better the neighbourhood in any case. 6. the playing field for young Singaporeans would not be level if they did not or could not learn to code-switch (lines 90 92) Explain, in your own words as fast as possible, what the writer is saying here. a level playing field Those who only know and use Singlish will be at a 1 disadvantage; they will not be able to get ahead b code-switch as well as those who can and know when to use standard 1 English or nonstandard English depending on the occasion.

7. Explain what is ironic or contradictory about the headline NO SINGLISH PLEASE, WE ARE SINGAPOREAN. The headline is ironic as one would expect the people of a country to speak its own language; that is, that Singaporeans would speak Singapores own brand of English. Yet it is being actively discouraged. peculiarly 1 mark uniquely specially distinctively idiosyncratically forcefulness, strong force, great extent, magnitude profile perception representation the way something is viewed by the public general opinion about a thing formed in peoples mind having an equal share of pros and cons (reasons for and against) common agreement opinion of the majority mark unusually

0 mark strangely oddly

intensity image

portrayal reputation

finely balanced consensus

9. Using the arguments and facts from line 1 to 48 of the article, summarise the case for believing that the increased use of Singlish and declining standards of English are harmful to the interests of Singapore as a whole and to some of its citizens in particular. Write your summary in no more than 120 words. (8) The growing popularity of Singlish in Singapore is a harmful development because Lift Paraphrased Answer a no-one outside Singapore would understand Singaporeans risk being misunderstood by people from other countries if they speak Singlish b made the teaching of English more difficult, The use of Singlish hampers schoolall is not well with the English standards; childrens learning of English. There are special English courses signs of low (English) language standards c less-educated will suffer economically and Those who are not highly educated will be socially at a disadvantage in business and in their relations with other people. d (university) students seem to have little University students speak in a brusque interest in the art of communication; they are manner; they do not care about expressing/ only interested in content phrasing their views/speeches effectively e fail the qualifying tests for degree courses Many cant get to do their university courses as they fail in the language tests used for entry into these courses. f their standard of English is not good enough They are not able to understand more for them to comprehend more fully important complex/difficult texts articles or reports g Keeping up to date with new developments They will not be able to catch up on the in their various fields will be that much harder latest trends in their areas of study. h harder for Singapore to go global companies Singaporeans who cannot speak good will lose their competitive edge to those with English will lose out in international a better grasp of English business i Singapores drive towards a knowledgeSince information will largely be in English, based economy underscores the need to the countrys aim of having an informationhave the linguistic skills to access this large driven industry will be adversely affected if body of knowledge. its people do not speak proper English Puay Miao and Ai Chi 2003

10. The attempt to discourage Singlish raises two issues: how far such an attempt is practical and likely to be successful, and to what extent it is to be welcomed. Give your views on these two issues, illustrating your arguments by referring both to what you have read in the article and to your own experiences. (8)