Mind Your Accent (Are We Doing Queen’s or Aussie Accent?)

Turning on either your radio or TV set to the English channels in Singapore, one might find oneself in the world or Aussie. Aussie accent is everywhere, the voice over especially, though the voice sound is great, side note to this VO person, I think he is Hossan Leong’s boyfriend, mark’s voice, but I don’t think it fit into our British colonial way of living.

We were encouraged to speak English; not American, not Aussie but true British English ever since I can remember. Singaporeans were taught to despise the American way of living, thinking, writing especially when it come to speaking. To have an American accent when we were growing up was to be frowned upon. The English educated were so almighty with their so call “English” that I think their noses were perpetually pointed upwards to reveal their empty brain in their skulls.

They were true to their preaching and stuck with their British accent on TV or radio but that phenomenon didn’t last too long. Recently, all you can listen to was only Australian accent. Now, my question is, are Singaporeans so tone deaf that they can’t distinguish between the two accents? Do they think that Aussie accent is British accent? Why are Singaporeans or, I should say, the government didn’t notice? What’s MDA doing? Can’t they tell the different between those two and do something about it?

The answer to all the above question raised is obviously a big NO. And since we are on the subject of accent, I would like Singapore to stop with their Singapore accent, by the way, having a Singaporean accent is nothing to be proud of, neither should anyone think that Singaporean accent is an identity. If sounding like an imbecile is an identity then by all means continue with your accent.

Speaking with Singapore accent is very much similar to the cockney accent of the brits, or the southern accent of the States. It was a fact that anyone carrying this kind of inflection is perceived as having “less then” mental capacity.

I remember that was invited to an opening party for product launch party, it was also stated in the invite as a black tie party. Hence everyone you can imagine was all decked out and dressed to the nines. As I parked my car and meandered my way into the reception, I saw a beautiful girl in her black satin “couture” waiting for her friends to join her before she made an entrance to pronounce her arrival. While she was loitering and waiting, her phone rang, and her “Milkshake” ringtone vaguely muffled into my ears. She picked up her phone and the first she utter out of her mouth was this Singapore hello.

Below is the transcript of the conversation.
“Hello, where you, why not here yet huh, quickly come, many people here, also waiting for him loh…”

That was just a taste of this unpleasantness; I don’t think I want to continue with the rest for it will make your stomach churn. Basically, anyone who feel proud to having this accent just eludes me. I remember when I was young growing up in San Francisco, I was teased so much with my Singapore accent that I promise myself to shake that image of stupidity away, and after that, it’s just no turning back for me.

Having said all these, I sincerely hope that Singaporeans can be mature and travel enough for Singaporeans to be secure enough to know that by having proper spoken English, meaning a choice between American or British English, less Australian English, doesn’t take away the identity but enhance your eloquence in English. People will stop making fun of you and respect you more. This is what I meant by a good representation of Singapore identity.