American English is 'likely to prevail' and
teachers may have to accept this as inevitable, says Lee Kuan Yew
BY LEOW SI WAN ST PHOTO: JOE NAIR
The American version of English will probably prevail over
other forms and teachers may have to eventually accept this as inevitable,
former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said on Tuesday.
The growing dominance of the American media would mean that
our population will increasingly be hearing the American version of English, he
said.
Speaking at the official opening of the English Language
Institute of Singapore (Elis), he said that he, too, had been consciously
switching between British and American English on the computer, and that he saw
himself moving towards American English in a nod to the US being 'a dominant
force'.
Teachers might thus do well to accept this trend, and teach
their students to recognise - and even speak - American English, he said.
Accent aside, students will thus use the kind of English
understood by the rest of the English-speaking world, he said.
Educators and MPs at the event agreed that it was important
to teach students here to differentiate between the different forms of English.
Dr Elizabeth Pang, the programme director for literacy
development in the Education Ministry, said it was pragmatic of Mr Lee to
accept that American English had become dominant.
'If you look at English that is in use in society, you have
to embrace different standard varieties of English.'
'It's not a sea change. It's an evolution,' she said, noting
that students are now not penalised for using American English, so long as they
are consistent.
Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng said she believed many teachers and
writers, having an attachment to British English, would likely continue using
it, until 'we're quite convinced that the way to go forward is American
English'.
The chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for
Education, Mr Lim Biow Chuan, said it was still critical to develop students'
ability to communicate their ideas.
Teach
students to recognise American English
Lee Kuan Yew | SingaporeScene -
Yahoo! via @yahoosg
Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew urges Singaporeans to
improve their English. (AFP file photo) One of the challenges ahead for Singapore is to decide whether to adopt British
English or American English, said Singapore
