The most commonly repeated statement i have heard since i came to HK in march always amaze me. They always say "You are from singapore?! You dun have the accent!!" When i protest, they would say "its true! Singapore's english is so hard to understand!" Then it amazes them further when they realise i could speak decent Mandarin without the "other sort of ang-mo accent".
It kinda made me wonder. Is it such a BAD image that singaporeans are projecting overseas? Is that why the govt are trying sooo hard to rid the singlish or speak proper english campaign? We seem to have such an appalling image on our singlish accent to everyone from everywhere!
I got kinda concerned and asked Allen (A taiwan new zealander), he was the 30th person to exclaim on my "heritage". (yes, i'm keeping count).
"Why do everyone thinks ALL singaporean speak badly?" He said "Maybe becoz of that Chinese movie about the kids and school system in singapore" I was like "Oh my god! That is just movies! Its not like a default rule that everyone from Singapore must speak like that!" He laughed.
A movie. Can u believe it???
PS: i miss speaking mandarin....
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