[SG Talk] Petition to fellow Singaporeans: Save our reputation on the forum

[lattae]

Before you read any further, read this disclaimer:
I am not trying to condemn anyone. I am not trying to discriminate anyone... All I want is to voice my opinion, in hope that SG members can improve on their "ways" around our forum.

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To all fellow SG JCnet members,

As you all know by now, a good protion of the members on this forum are from Singapore. We have enough representation here to even have our own little corner so there's no question to that. Unfortunately, we are not just know by the size of the population but by our notorious ways. It has come to a stage whereby being Singaporean is becoming a disgrace. Notice how older SG members, once active in SG forum, leave the forum? Notice why no older SG members participate in SG theme weeks anymore? Guess no one cares... no one notices...

Singapore is know for getting tops in many areas... well, we are tops in jcnet for:
1) acts of stupidity
2) noobish behaviour
3) poor command of English
4) lack of respect for people from other parts of the world...

the list goes on... I'll give examples to back my arguments.

1) acts of stupidity
To protect the individuals involved, I cannot quote their post directly. HOWEVER, if you go around the forums, you can find countless examples of this. If you see a stupid post, it's 99% from a Singaporean. Yes it's that bad. Some typical examples:
huh? where i get DL ah? upload again leh?
yah lor, XXX rox. YYY sux big time.
If you think there's nothing wrong, think again. The contents of such posts shows how "blur" you are, how limited your vocabulary is... and pretty much shows that you can't make logical connections/support your stand.

2) noobish behaviour
Singapores break rules...Quite contrary to what others believe that our nation is one that follows rules.. .we break almost all of them on jcnet. No one-liners, descriptive titles, type in readable English etc. What really breaks my heart is that those who break these rules are NOT newbies. These are people with 2000 over posts and still can't follow the simple directions on this forum. Is it a poor command of English that makes us unable to follow simple instructions? Or is it just random actus of defiance? Or maybe it's just that we've never cared enough to read the rules to begin with? One of the most common rule that we break is the "readable English" rule, which brings me to the next point...

3) poor command of English
Well... if I were to post like a typical Singaporean, I'd summarise this point into "we sux". How many times on earth do the mods have to remind you guys that "sux", "juz", "hor", "betta", "liao" is not acceptable? Read forum rules 9 and 10. It's plain and simple. Not allowed!
Singlish is NOT allowed on JCnet! If you want the full arguments, refer to this thread:
http://jay-chou.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5982

Maybe it's the "xiaxue" syndrome. Youths are beginning to type like her talk like her... I don't want to condemn her ways, I think the fact that she's still unemployed and 2 of her sponsors walked out on her says a lot. She's just an immature girl, unrestrained, and vocal girl.

Quite unfortunately being able to restrain yourself (saying the right thing at the right time) is a sign of intelligence according to psychologists. My suggestion is speak your mind, but speak in good language and at an appropriate place and time.

4) lack of respect for people from other parts of the world
The reason why we have to post in good English is simply because this is NOT our turf. We're on international grounds, and we have to respect the other members around here. If we just continue to "speak" our language everywhere, we're not being very fair to the other members on the forum. We are excluding them. It's impolite, and it's rude. period.


I am petitioning that we change our ways. Can we post in good English which I am sure we are all capable of? Can we be thoughtful to other users? Let's be known for our graciousness from now on.

By the way... Is anyone interested in a "type good English" campaign? :worry:

[macdawn]

Where do I sign this petition? :bounce:

I said before, I will say it again. Sometimes I am really ashamed to read what some Singaporeans post around the forum. And everytime a dumb post/thread is posted, I'll automatically think 'This must be written by a Singaporean!' and sadly, I was seldom wrong in my assumption. :oops:

Something must be wrong with us if the reputations of Singaporeans are really that bad. We can't call ourselves 'multi-racial... blah blah...' if we can't even understand that there are members from all over the world here, and we keep insisting on writing and spelling OUR way, and expect people from other countries to get used to our way of writing.

Wake up and look around. The world DOES NOT revolve around Singapore. We have to think about the other members here. And if you insist on the Singapore way of writing (including sms shortforms), and the Singaporean way of doing stuff here (ie posting dumb one-liners, and other noobish behaviour listed in the first post), I would suggest you got the forum main page and read the Important Announcement section.

Idiots & leechers are banned immediately. There are no warnings.
For definition for idiots, please read the first post.

-MacDawn

[sean-eka]

Okay. I'll sign this. But, i was just wondering, the so-called-words like, 'lah, leh, lor, neh' or all the words that singaporeans ends with, are they allowed in the SG forum as well? Or, is it better if we just leave those words out?

I think SG-ians are just influenced, by the dialects that we, as a country have. Maybe, it was just un-intentionally, we caught up with those words.

And yes, i agree with lattae, xiaxue is making a big influence here. Well, that's all.

[regina12]

I would like to sign it. I did not know we had such a serious problem here. I don't post that much but I stop here everyday.

[JayMatrix]

* SIGNS + CHOPPED *

sean-eka I think a rule was implemented such that Singlish can't even be used in jc.net's Singapore forum.

[HaNaBi]

Hmmm...why do I have a feeling that...that a past "Ghost of Singlish Not Allowed" has come back to haunt us yet again??? Till today, I still uses Singlish in JC.net to some extent. But mostly for expressions, but never to the extent of mixing broken english with Singlish... I still don't understand why some people STILL thinks that Singlish = Broken English... Sigh...

It's quite agonising to see such things coming back again and again and again. Though we can only do so much, but even if the change is little, but one day it'll snowball and make it a better place.

Count me in. But just one thing... Where do we sign???

I think Xiaxue only influence a handful amount of people, though I visit her forums to see what kinda lame jokes would she be coming up with, or what kinda people she'll be dissing this time round. But in the end, I don't get influenced by her. Why should I be influenced by someone has the guts to say it out loud on the Internet but doesn't have the guts to say it out loud in Public???

[bestbest]

Yes! I agree with you. Once in a while i will deduct noob's reputation point and left them with 9, because they often break the rules, they don't deserve it and disgrace us. People don't look them as individual but look them as a whole.

huh? where i get DL ah? upload again leh?

A simple sentence like this will instantly tarnish our image.

Can i use thumb print? I don't know how to sign.

[siao]

i totally agree with you but where do i sign this?
am i one of those singaporeans who often break the rules and use singlish???
please forgive me if i am one of them :cry:

[jaylun_rox]

Yea. I do get irritated sometimes reading posts tt r lyk tis. And i will be more cautious with what i type from now on.

And as mentioned above..JCNET is an international forum and we, Singaporeans do need to take note of their english so that it will be much more presentable when friends from other countries read our posts.

Well.. to cut my story short..
Im definitely with signing this petition! (:

SIGNED - jaylun_rox

[Shin-i-chiro]

Ok, i shall sign this petition here:happy:
we shall not use singlish in JCN:wink2:
I totally agree with this, maybe the majority here are Singaporeans and that's why we becomes snoobish, thinking that we rules(that's so wrong :-x ).

[sleepin'tom]

Heh... another issue on the use of our local vernacular. Will the noobies read this thread when they can't be bothered to read the rules? I do use singlish to the minimal in Singapore sub-forum.

*signs

[regina12]

I personally feel there is nothing wrong with singlish as long as we know when to use and when not to use. In our singapore sub forum, I don't see a problem using singlish. Perhaps we should use to a minimal in other forums for the convenience of others understanding us. Yeah.. so I will gladly sign this just for the noobs and all.

[rainingcows]

Yeah, I agree. Let's use proper English here, it's an international forum! S'poreans should be more sensitive. Hmm, regarding those 'stupid' posts, well hope those people who post think before they post!

Hope this creates some awareness!

[-zhoujielunrocks]

it's a yes for me.
i will sign this petition.

i've seen posts like that before, and i have to agree with lattae, so yes, i have to watch what i am typing and saying from now on. i didn't notice that it will spoil our image that badly.

i will sign it, haha, but where ?

[petricia]

i am signing this...

I think the main function of a forum is for discussion and it just don't work if the people are trying to guess what you are typing... it just takes too much time to decipher sentences like i lyk tis veri much... I don't even try to read this kind of posts at time... There are also some weird sentence structure which makes no sense to me at times... i can't find an example right now but i bet many of us came across sentences like that... this kind of sentence is not going to help discussion for most of us will just be too irritated to try and figure out what are you trying to say....

you don't have to be in perfect grammer but just make it readable for others...

*signed* Petricia

[ankh]

I guess Singaporeans really do need to learn forum etiquettes. I know some of you are probably used to typing in short forms or singlish but because you have agreed to the terms of the membership in this forum, you would have to abide by the forum rules. I don't see why this can be difficult for some people; you just have to make the effort. It's a matter of doing the right thing at the right place.

Like petricia said, the main function of a forum is for discussion. What's the point in posting when half the time, people don't actually comprehend what you're saying? I'm sure you wouldn't like as much if the members from other countries start posting in a lingo we don't understand. Sometimes even I, a fellow Singaporean, can't understand what those posts mean.

BTW lattae, are the older members really leaving because of this reason? If so, that is such a tragedy.

And I take it that by replying in a positive way, you're considered as signing this petition?

[fujiwaratofushop]

im definitely signing this.

no point arguing at all, that would just bring us once again back to that previous hotly-debated thread. i think we all agree with the fact that there are circumstances to use Singlish (i do speak Singlish myself in real life), and circumstances NOT to- and jcnet is one of them. not even in the SG forums, if you ask me. for the kerzillionth time, this is an international forum. rules are rules, and it is sad that like what lattae said, Singaporeans here really break them all.

I hope that all that need to see this, see this.

[NeoTheOne]

well I believe regina12 has a point in that perhaps at our very own Singapore corner, we can have a thread just for Singlish.

repeat, just a thread, not all over the Singapore forum. cause I think there are fans from other countries who actually browse through this Singapore forum, which is why we would still need to type in english.

anyway, reading english is certainly easier than deciphering certain style of short form Singlish. imagine everyone have their own way of spelling a word. it would be pure headache reading the forum.

signed. NeoTheOne

[ho_yt]

I totally agree with all of you, even though some of the members here are poor in their english(one of them is me), at least we must write readable english, even though some of you are used to writing short fonts and singlish, but we must respect other members here who don't understand singlish so that we can understand each other better.

I will sign this petition as well.

[ene]

I still don't understand why some people STILL thinks that Singlish = Broken English... Sigh...

Any English that the English-speaking world does not understand IS broken English.

We're not asking for Queen's English here. Simple rules like spelling out the full word when posting and not using local slangs. How difficult is that to comprehend ? Suffice to say, some members on this site come from non-English speaking countries but you can see the effort they put in trying to post properly. What less Singaporeans who are taught English at school ? It is indeed a disgrace when these Singaporeans (not all, I stress) run amok on this site and as pointed out by lattae, it's sad to know that 90% of the time, it's a Singaporean.

I can't speak for others but I don't come to the Singapore thread anymore because it gets difficult to read. And I'd get irritated. So I just don't come in here anymore.

It saddens me when I read some of my younger cousin's blogs because it's almost unreadable with their own "brand" of English. Makes me wonder how they're going to deal with the international scene when they finish school and goes out into the working world.

Yes, the world does NOT revolve around Singapore/Singaporeans.

*Signed - ene *

[cute_narutokun]

hmm...i am a Singaporean here....and i am 90% using improper english...lol...which is a bad thing here right? i understand that this is an international Forum....well...i think i better change my way of typing here...fortunately...i speak in proper english...and just type improper english...haha...:P

But!
i also 1 of the Singlish speaker...lolx so...i nth to say already...

Yes! I agree with you. Once in a while i will deduct noob's reputation point and left them with 9, because they often break the rules, they don't deserve it and disgrace us. People don't look them as individual but look them as a whole.



A simple sentence like this will instantly tarnish our image.

Can i use thumb print? I don't know how to sign.

i also agree wif dis...dis is an disgrace....and i can also say is a leecher...
i can't even understand wat it means...even though i am type singlish...

*signed*

[YuCheng]

hmm...i am a Singaporean here....and i am 90% using improper english...lol...which is a bad thing here right? i understand that this is an international Forum....well...i think i better change my way of typing here...fortunately...i speak in proper english...and just type improper english...haha...:P

But!
the threat starter here is insulting us...well...if u say it in the nice way...i might change...but...are u saying it in a nice and friendly manner here?

Get this straight young man. this thread is for those who agree with the fact that Singaporeans in this forum are not doing ourselves proud. It is not one for you to come complain.

And I'm sad to say that you belong to the group of noobs that we are petitioning against.

*Signed* YuCheng

[funkaeh]

http://www.geocities.com/boo_heex/sign.JPG
i am in favour of this petition (:
we communicate to be understood. when you talk in a way which you deem cute/cool which is full of funny and weird lingo, the whole point of communication is lost because people just don't get what you are trying to say.

[Starylosophy]

I'm also irritated by members who post their replies with the above stated examples. Some of them are even difficult to read. Yes, we must understand that JC.NET is an international forum therefore we must be careful with our English. But not every Singaporean has a good command of English, perhaps as long as it's readable and not too broken, I feel that it's acceptable.

I will be mindful of my English when posting in future. Thanks latte for bringing this topic out.

*Starylosophy signs the petition*

[jiali]

My sentiments too.. It's just annoying to see so much broken english being used in here. I wish to see an improvement in our english. At times i use a little short form due to lack of time or being forgetful. But from now on, i'll make sure i type in clear english.

*signed jiali*

[isaac_1988]

i am a singaporean too. though i can understand what some people who posted singlish, other people can't.. that's unfair. i cannot understand why other people just can't be bothered to type out in full english. if that's the case, don't even bother replying in the first place..

one sentence can tarnish our reputation. how true.. our reputation is already in tatters with some noobs posting singlish everywhere around on an international forum.. just preserve what is remaining of our reputation left,okay?

signed~

[xsnow0yinx]

I agree that singlish does indeed tarnish our reputation anywhere.

Imagine yourself going to a place and a foreigneer or some people asked you some questions and when you can't get it, won't it be better if you replied, " pardon" rather than " HUH?" It sounds so stupid.

Actually this problems are also found in most of the forums all over the net. Try visiting the mediacorps forums, AsiaFanatics and stuff, you guys can see lots of examples and i totally can't stand them. I mean it makes the reading difficult.

If you guys check out friendster, Lots of singaporeans used words such as,
uu - for you,
miiie - for me,
moi - for me (Does they even known ask to pronouce the actual word?)

And I totally can't stand such words I have to read the sentence again and again to get what they are trying to tell me. Singaporeans wants to be creative but there are much better ways to show that they are creative instead of posting such stuff.

Ps: Not trying to blow up any conflicts between forum-mers? Just an opinon.

Signed~

[lattae]

Thanks for responding.

I realised a tricky part to this petition. Those who signs are usually better SG members, while the "problematic" ones just shuns the thread. I just saw one of those people I imitated walking around and still blatantly using her "funky" shortforms.

Is it too much to ask of the "petition-ers" to rally up and help convert the "wayward" Singaporeans around here? This being all voluntary... there's no obligations. Do you guys want to do it? :worry:

[liwei_jay]

hmmm..
i dunno whether i'm consider as one of those you guys r petitioning above..
but i do agree that there's some which has english which r hard to understand..
i've been warned before abt broken english.. the ways i typed..
and which i did try to improve and hopefully it's better too..
though sometimes when i'm in hurry.. things got worst.. :shy:

anyhow.. i do feel embarassed that MOST of the leechers r frm s'pore if it's true..

it'll be great if everyone will just start using proper english..
at least i knw i am tryin.. :wink2:
lattae.. you got yourself another supporter..

*signed*
liwei_jay

[xiao^pink]

ok! I signed for this petition. Hope I didnt break any laws that are mentioned above. Sometimes, i felt very frustrated when people out there used singlish. It is because it is hard for us to read(especially when i dont understand what they are talking about)
*signing this petition*

[-zhoujielunrocks]

wow. i still see people using singlish in THIS thread, and yes, i am irritated with it.

lattae, to reply to your question, " do you guys want to do it ? "
i am ALL for it. (: signing it definitely, like i said in my previous post.
-signed by -zhoujielunrocks-

[charmian]

*charmian signs*

i sure do hope that many realise how bad our reputations are.

and i would love to have that campaign! (:

[halobean]

I think what you have said was very true ; probably most of us don't pay attention to this issue..
While reading this post..at the beginning I was thinking why would you (lattae) be so ..erm..hyped up and cranky about this..
After reading though, I understand the need to it..its because jcnet is international..and so , we have users from all over the world..and we have to respect that..count me in this!

[stryker7]

yays! finally someone is doing something about all these people! i'm all behind this!

p.s. apologies if i've used singlish in the past.. though i don't use it very often.. =Pp

[ene]

at least i knw i am tryin..
Can you spot what's wrong with this line ? :rolleyes: It's sad to see that with so many shortforms being used in Singapore these days, people are starting to forget how to spell correctly. They spell like as lyk - which irritates me to the high heavens.

lattae How about we have some sort of POST IN GOOD ENGLISH CAMPAIGN on this site ? We could have some sort of theme week type and have them come to this thread.

[xiao^pink]

Can i ask something? Short forms can be included as Singlish? And also, we must use proper english in our Singapore Section, is it? Or what?

[rachelle03]

I just saw this.

*signed* rachelle03

A simple tip on how to refrain from using Singlish.
Just dont use your sms skills here and use your schooling composition english.

Shortforms like nv, gg, wru, r, dun = typical sms-ing

It might be very comfortable and 'rightful' to use Singlish in our own thread, but come on, fellows, I don't think our english standard is that bad, right?

Like what ene had said, we are not looking for Queen's English here. Just simple proper english will do. :wink2:

[jAywalkIng_xiaozhu]

HEY! I'm LMAO(Laughing my ass off) when i've read your 1st post, lattae... heehee.... okay, sign me up for the campaign! I want to be a good and graceful singaporean, as well as a good and graceful member of JC.net... ^^ hehe... sometimes i tend to accidentally use words like dl... but teach you guys a tip.. always preview your message... then edit your grammer errors... that's what I usually do.. like that, I save myself from public embarrassment... AND I've improved my grammer! haha... but mind you, my english is still far from perfect... ><

EDIT

tell you guys a joke... I was with my boyfriend at cold storage... and we were queuing up at the cashier... and there is this caucasian guy infront of us in the queue... My boyfriend(bf) came from an english speaking family, his english is perfect, but me, being from a mandarin speaking family, my english is horrible(like how my bf described...) and I happened to notice that the caucasian's backpack is unzipped... so i whispered to my bf, "aye, that guy never zip his bag leh... you tell him leh..." haha... you guys realise the singlish i'm using right? my bf unknowingly repeated my sentence to that caucasian... "excuse me sir, you never zip your bag." that caucasian's initial reaction was stunned! :? then realisation dawn upon him... he said... "Oh.. you mean, I DIDNT zip my bag..." :D my bf was really embarrassed!! hahaha... that caucasian was like constipated with laughter... LOL!

[icygaze]

im signing it!
i agree with the points listed.
Its not that difficult to type in proper english.
everyone of us go through the same education.
not all of us may be smart.
but at least the government has educated us on proper english.
and i believe that everyone of us has at least written english composition.

[stitchphil]

I'm definately signing in this one, being a Singaporean myself. I have seen posts with Singlish used in them and even though I understand, but whenever I think that this, being an international forum, means that there'll be outsiders reading it as well, and it just doesn't reflect too well on our command of the language, does it? So yes! Let's all salvage our reputation!

[spax]

It is really shocking to know that many Singaporeans are out there destroying our reputations. Not only here in JCNET.

JCNET is an international forum. Although we don't see each other face to face, what we write in our posts will determine how other people from other countries think about us. We, as ambassadors of our own country, should uphold our reputation and not disgrace our country. We are taught proper English in schools and yet most of us don't apply them in daily lives. This is indeed very disappointing. What irks me even more is that when I visit other local forums, I see lots of people using Singlish and I thought, is our English standard really that bad? I think it is the attitude of most of us, who don't even bother to use proper English, even though Singapore is well-known all over the world.

I hope that this is a wake-up call for all of us, to reflect on what we had done over the years.

signed - spax

[yenny1106]

I think I am not in a position to comment on the 'ugliness' of using Singlish, because I think I have used them quite frequently. Therefore, I sign this petition too and will from now on post comments in proper English.

signed, yenny

[esther]

I do agree that being in an international forum like this, we shouldn't be typing improper english. To me, an occassionally "lar or lor" at the end of the statement is still ok. I also have trouble reading "when ppl types lyke tis".. :? People from other countries will definitely have trouble understanding us.

About the point of singaporeans being noobish and clinching the top positions for being stupid, i havent really taken note of that. Haha! Perhaps alot of jcnetters are singaporeans, making the probability higher? :oops: Haha. OK, i will take note of this and see how true it is. :lolabove:

[hisashiluv14]

Well, on the bright side, Singaporeans are not the only ones that type in retarded non-English. There are also members from Australia, the US, and other Western countries that don't seem to understand what grammatical, proper English is. Too often have I read things that pretty much make my eyes bleed, such as, "lolx azn pride yawl!" or "yeh jay is sooo kewl omg lolx cuz his tunez rawk", among many many other blatant butcherings of the English language along those lines, simply because it's "cool". (Or maybe those people really are as stupid as their posts seem to suggest.)

I'm sure the same notion applies to Singaporeans who piss me off by insisting on using ridiculous "SMS shorthand" in Internet forums and even blogs. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the point of "SMS shorthand" to free up characters so that you don't go over the character limit of the SMS? If that is the case, and if the Internet generally does not have this restriction (well, jc-net certainly doesn't), then why do people still insist on typing text messages on the Internet?

For the record, I don't use SMS shorthand. I type everything out properly, with proper spelling and punctuation, and no, I don't substitute 'u' for 'you' and do dumb things like, "C u later!" or "Talk 2 u later!" Having said that, I must admit to be quite an anal retentive grammar Nazi with a very low tolerance level for bad English, so maybe it's just me.

For me, the instant I see a post littered with Singlish and words misspelled on purpose, my knee-jerk reaction is to write that person off as stupid. I'm not referring to posts with less-than-perfect English; I'm not so pedantic as to expect EVERYONE to know the intricacies of grammar (because the more tedious rules elude me as well). But I think it's fundamental for everyone to know how to spell simple words correctly, where to use a full stop, where to use a comma, things that you bloody learn in primary school for the love of my sanity.

Because, otherwise? You just look bloody stupid. You may argue you're not, but your argument sinks as quickly as you SMS in your fanciful and illegible crappy "shorthand".

Sorry, just letting off steam. Boring school work at 3.34 a.m. does that to you sometimes.

I'm interested in the campaign. How do we go about doing it? Like, if I see someone flaunting Singlish all over JC-net, do I get to insult that person? Pleeeease? :-)

Okay, I'm just kidding. I'll be nice. And I also considered the problem at Lattae brought up, that the possibility that the people who read this thread are the ones that are already writing in proper English is a very real one. I'm in favour of the Post in Good English theme week...but it may be a bit of a joke to other members on the forum.

Well, then again, like I said, Singaporeans aren't the only ones doing this, so we could include examples of AZNz in the USA tryin to b black yoz too.

hmm...i am a Singaporean here....and i am 90% using improper english...lol...which is a bad thing here right? i understand that this is an international Forum....well...i think i better change my way of typing here...fortunately...i speak in proper english...and just type improper english...haha...:P

But!
i also 1 of the Singlish speaker...lolx so...i nth to say already...

i also agree wif dis...dis is an disgrace....and i can also say is a leecher...
i can't even understand wat it means...even though i am type singlish...

That is a joke, right? Please tell me that is the joke. Not just the last bit; all of it, especially the part where you claim to speak in proper English, because you sure as hell don't seem to know what that entails. It's one thing to be bad at English; it's another altogether to be obnoxious about it.

And I am rather appalled that someone seemed to be appalled that Singlish is considered broken English (I'm too lazy to cut and paste). I'm not sure if this shows the failings of the education system or simply ignorance on the poster's part, and I am quite tempted to go on a rant about how we're not at all linguistically-inclined here in Singapore, but it's 3.42 a.m. and I am crankier than usual so I shall just leave it at that.

[jayx8318x]

I don't think we ever BANNED Singlish, Manglish, or slang. The point of the rule basically says don't use TOO MUCH of it to where your post is no longer coherent. Case in point:

hmm,,but e tune must b exactly e same as e song u were abt 2 sing yea??


and the quote hisashiluv used in her previous post. It's not only incoherent, but outrageously obnoxious.

Basically if I stop reading after only half the sentence, you're using too much Singlish and/or other slang.

[spork]

i have a question about singlish actually...How does one use it in Singapore? What does it sound like, I guess. Would an English speaking person find it as annoying to listen and decipher as reading the SMS-style english seen on the forums sometimes.

[sleepin'tom]

Singlish is equivalent to Singapore's vernacular although not encouraged by our government. Because some people just do not know when and where to use it. It is english predominantly peppered with mandarin, malay and hokkien.

There's a dictionary website for Singlish. Do not click (http://www.talkingcock.com/html/lexec.php?op=LexView&lexicon=lexicon&alpha=A&page=1)

[NeoTheOne]

well I noted something when I accidentally clicked on the link Jay Internation Forums today. usually I would just click Singapore but I misclicked this time round.

and the under the Singapore forum link, lies a paragraph written in Singlish and saying that Singlish is welcomed in this forum.

that might have confused some users. would someone look into that(that is if you are really going to reduce usage of Singlish)?

[hamtaro]

well I noted something when I accidentally clicked on the link Jay Internation Forums today. usually I would just click Singapore but I misclicked this time round.

and the under the Singapore forum link, lies a paragraph written in Singlish and saying that Singlish is welcomed in this forum.

that might have confused some users. would someone look into that(that is if you are really going to reduce usage of Singlish)?

U mean this one? -->''Singaporeans! Don't shy shy, come in lah!
Discuss any local topics. Singlish welcomed!
Faster come in and post lah, don't paiseh! ''

I wouldnt have noticed it if u didnt say it :oops:
Yup, it seems that those who saw that few sentences will be mistaken by it...

I dont know if im one of those noobs u all mentioned.. I tried to use full words as far as possible.. Can someone tell me if im one of them? I sometimes use
-'hor'
-'yup'
-'cos'
-'u'
-'ar'
etc..
I'd asked this question before in another thread, and the reply is that can use a bit of them, but not too many.
Is it coincidence or what? Why is it that i rarely see such posts? When i saw people posting with words like 'dis', 'lyke', 'cuz', and 'de', i noticed that 50% of them are not singaporeans.. Maybe it's just coincidence that i didnt come across such situations where many singaporeans use singlish as i only go to a few threads frequently :tongue: . I think it's ok to use 'u', 'cos', 'la', 'lor' and 'hor' etc as it's readable. I try not to use such words in other forums in case they dont understand.

What i'd observed from those who type very good english is that, they look strict. To me, english language, proper english, will look strict and non-friendly. I dont know if they are really strict or what, but they seem unfriendly to me. Whereas some other members, who dont type perfect english but a few such words(only a few but still highly readable), i feel that they are much more interactable(dont know if there's such a word :tongue: ) :happy: This makes members feel like coming here more and post more.
As long as they are moderately used, and it's undertsandable, it's okay to use one or two such words in a sentence. Just my opinions..

Erm.. how can we help? PM those members who use broken english, stupid people and noobs and tell them the correct way?

[ene]

Basically if I stop reading after only half the sentence, you're using too much Singlish and/or other slang.
This bascially hits the point home.

What i'd observed from those who type very good english is that, they look strict. To me, english language, proper english, will look strict and non-friendly. I dont know if they are really strict or what, but they seem unfriendly to me
:roll:
:roll:
:roll:
This has got to be one of the funniest observations I've read about. I like to think that I post in decent readable English. And yes, I'm from Singapore.

So is ene strict, fierce and unfriendly ? :rolleyes:

:roll: Man, this is too funny.

[NeoTheOne]

This has got to be one of the funniest observations I've read about. I like to think that I post in decent readable English. And yes, I'm from Singapore.

So is ene strict, fierce and unfriendly ? :rolleyes:

:roll: Man, this is too funny.

well I kind of agree with hamtaro on that strict feeling. ene, your usual well-structured forum replies coupled with your avatar does give a very "dao"(unfriendly) feel. that would have been my impression of you.

It was only when I saw the thread about you giving someone member a free November's Chopin did my impression of you change.

haha, its just what I feel (which can be quite twisted, I'm into art so I judge by overall feel, includes avatar, the way you reply etc), but I have noted that with the use of emoticons in your posts, it looks better... :wink2:

[ene]

I think I shall leave the judgement call to people who have chatted with me on this site to decide if I'm actually as fierce as I seem in my avatar and posts :wink2:

Btw, I change my avatar v often and this one happens to be er, fiercer than normal :rolleyes:

[lattae]

Ene fierce? I am not even sure if she's capable of it.

Well, unless you are a jerk/total SOB. Then she may :rifle:

[NeoTheOne]

haha. lets hope I aint such a person to receive her fierce treatment.

then again first impression aint really accurate but it kinds of last you know? Your current avatar had quite some influence over me. Perhaps it was some of the posts you've made where it contains certain elements of sarcasm. =]

[ene]

Enough about ene being fierce. Like lattae mentioned, I'm only sarcastic when I have to deal with n00bs or people-with-no-brains :rolleyes:

So no more Singaporeans signing this petition ? Tsk tsk.

[jAywalkIng_xiaozhu]

Unfriendly? lol... nah... i don't agree with neotheone... I think proper english facilitates better understanding... and it is all about being considerate for non singaporeans... English has such a wide variety of vocabulary... I bet there are bound to be loads of 'kind' words at hand... lol... and ene's avatar looks hot to me... nice tan and nose... you don't have the typical flat nose that chinese usually have... like mine... ><

[nashonjerrome]

now we all know why our government has been knocking us to correct our english?
it's so that we won't be revolving around this red dot all the time.
we have the best government in the world!

btw. if you have to 'diss' someone so that your opinion may be heard.
it's time to look in the mirror...and ask yourself how old are you? you may look 25
but inside you're still angry that the best kid in class stole your thunder because his "compo" was better than yours when you're in primary 3. or you weren't allowed into the "in" group because you were just not "in" enough.

that's why there are immature people around. it's becuz they haven't found their security

=)
abit of human behavior tips

btw let's support Jay by throwing more money at him! that's Singapore's style!
and be the best supporters of Jay in this world!

yaay!

[kasic_fantasy]

ok i'll sign this.

haha gotta admit that i was a pure breed noob in jcnet too. haha keep thinking why the hell we cant use singlish when there are more singaporeans here. but finally understand the damn logic that this is an international forum and its all bout respects.

but aye i guess things aint that bad now right? heh dont really see those typical singaporean post around nowadays... :hmm:

hey btw, who is xiaxue? a member of jcnet? :?

[NeoTheOne]

xiaxue can be found on xiaxue.blogspot.com ,a local blogger. I doubt if shes a member of jcnet.

[lattae]

This is off topic but well... since Kasic asked:
xiaxue is a blogger, whose blog I read from time to time, just to make myself feel better about myself. To help myself see that I am not the dumbest b*tch in the world/I not the most irrational/childish adult around... that kind of thing. Basically when I need someone to laugh at.

That said, I think she's egoistic for her own good. Her ego is nothing compare to sister furong tho :laughing:


Okay... back to petitioning.

[zhoudaoyan]

Where do I sign..
put me on the petition!!
i totally agree with the non-singlish thing. since we are an international forum.

[icetears-]

hell0s : )

hahas.
0kays.
i`ve read y0ur th0ughts.
and i`ve definitely been influenced.

i l0ve the english language.
i d0n`t kn0w why;
perhaps it`s because 0f the way i can use it t0 express myself,
but i just d0.

but i never knew that we`ve abused it s0 much until i read that.
yes i believe many have been talking behind 0ur backs,
c0mmenting 0n 0ur figure 0f speech.

i fully supp0rt y0ur petiti0n,
and am ready t0 take the next step and use pr0per english : )

cheers t0 Y0U f0r v0icing 0ut such an imp0rtant th0ught.
=]

- signs;

[gCjs84]

Count me in! *signed gCjs84*

I agree that proper English is important for communication with other people from other countries. Although Singlish is a unique identity of Singapore, sometimes I really do find the level of Singlish to be too extreme for me to understand. Anyway, hope that all Singaporean JC Netters will make an effort to use proper English when posting. :happy:

[icetears-]

oh yes.
i MUST apologize because i made a grave mistake.

i`m sorry.;
for typing in such f0nts.

yupps.
i shall renew my promise to speak and type proper English : )

- signs;
again.

[cuso4]

ankh has said it, forum eitquette.

its not just about english sometimes. i can't put it down properly. :oops: i think i'm one of those who seldom hang around the SG forums much, other den the theme week threads. 'put off' is the word.

i'm sure singaporeans have more substance than leeching and not typing good english. prove your worth, and you'll blend well in jcnet.

[Jes123]

I would like to sign off this petition too....

Somehow I think some of the Singapore threads discussion are getting out of hand... Me too, didn't post anything except just read through those postings...

Hope everything will turn out to be fine... :rolleyes:

[jo_jayfan]

HMMM. serious case we've got here. i don't frequent s'pore forums as much till now!

anw, is "kinda" allowed? i realised i've been posting that a few times. oh no. i'm sorry.

yupps, will sign too, cause i myself saw this kind of people. :/ yupps, and will be more cautious! :D

- signed, JO_JAYFAN

[lattae]

anw, is "kinda" allowed? i realised i've been posting that a few times. oh no. i'm sorry.
Not like we want to kill you for using. Just avoid it.

Anyway. I feel that the petition is futile. No one really bothers anyway. Honestly, I am disappointed.

[HaNaBi]

Hmmm... I personally think that quite a number of people would have seen "Kinda" somewhere. Even the americans used them. Just as long as we don't type in a language that no one knows what the heck you're talking about and keep it in a structured form. What's the harm???

I myself have been using "Kinda" over the Internet for a very long time. And it has actually kinda became a habit for me to type "Kinda" instead of "Kind of"

[gnipuhs]

Well, i agreed with you guys that we should speak good english. Not totally because it's an international forum, but only proper english will make people reading the posts easier. and also, people from other countries won't be able to understand our singlish too, they might just think that we are people who can't speak english well? oh yeah everyone, let's polish up our english together ya?

lattae, dun be discouraged, there's still alot of people wanting to speak real good english. maybe it need just a little more while for them to change their habits. and i bother, so dont worry. =)

[DragonPrince]

Dear Lattae,

Thanks for bringing this to light.

I had taken note of this a long time ago. I had been on forums before and I know how important to type readable English. If your English is not good enough, at least not say a Singlish, like a 'Hor', 'Lor'. I only use Singlish here. I hope this does not bother anyone.

[navlem]

I'll sign this petition here...

I hope Singaporeans learn how to use proper English during appropriate time and at appropriate place...

[Ice]

haha I'll sign this too! why singaporeans cannot use leh lar lor when the chinese also uses la and the japanese uses ne! haha... This is stereotying that all Singaporeans are dumb which i think it's isn't so!

We should not use singlish as not only others might not understand us, we are also not going to improve in the language if we continue using singlish!

So I'm signing it!

[krystin]

Count me in! Yes, even when i talk to my friends in UK, she commented that my english is 'decaying'. Haha, being Singaporeans don't mean that we can't speak/ use singlish. All that we need to do is to know when to use it :D

[milkee_glitz]

I shall sign the petition. I myself use singlish occasionally, but I've been trying to improve and stop it. I also get irritated when I see singaporeans type in singlish.. It certainly tarnishes our reputation.. Where do I go to sign the petition?

[smarks]

I can't stand people with horrible English. P.E.R.I.O.D. I won't say that I write and speak in perfect English, but I think simple and coherent English shouldn't be too taxing on anyone. Especially Singaporeans with English as the language of administration as well as being taught in English. Well, except Mother Tongue that is. The point is, everytime I see someone wriit`iing lyk dIs, i feel like kicking the person to Pluto and making them stay there to prevent a viral infection of Bad English to the rest of the population. If you insist that your English is horrible or sub-standard, surely you've remembered the basic and simple grammatically correct sentence structures taught to you in primary school? Instead of saying "u sux cos u say jay sux!", why not try saying something more coherent and in simpler structures like, "I don't agree with you. Why do you dislike Jay?"

I can understand how everyone can get carried away with your SMS shorthand lingo and all, but when you step into JC.net, maybe you should take a longer time to read the banner at the top of the page. It clearly states "International Forums", not "Our Singaporean Corner!"

-signed-

[cinnimon~]

i will sign this as well. people with bad english skills just put me off. singlish is very crude,extremly crude. there a quite a number of vulgarites in it,and unfortunately, it doesnt strike them that it may be insulting to some people.

[ziai]

I also used to type in broken english/ singlish, but changed for the better after reading all the forum rules. Now I totally cannot stand people posting in broken english. Not only the singlish part, I also agree that almost all the acts of acts of stupidity comes from singaporeans. Starting threads without searching, asking noob questions... I dont even want to talk about it.

Anyway, I think the introductory text(?) for the singapore sub-forum be changed.

This one- http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8092/untitled1mm5.jpg

It might lead singaporeans to thinking that they are actually encouraged to use singlish... Just my opinion though

ziai -signed

[fznaxez]

signing this as well.

i do agree that everyone here should use english properly. it's only fair to all.