IPW Leadership-is-key: 1) How different are we?

Singapore Culture

Singapore is a cosmopolitan society where different races of people live together happily. The pattern of Singapore stems from the inherent cultural diversity of the island. The people from other countries came to Singapore in the past have given Singapore a mixture of different races such as Malay, Chinese, Indian, and European.

Behind the pretense of a modern city, these ethnic races are still obvious. The places for the different races still remain despite the bulk of Singaporeans do think of themselves as Singaporeans, regardless of race or culture. Each different race still carries its own uniqueness.

The old streets of Chinatown can still be seen; the Muslim characteristics are still noticeable in Arab Street; and Little India along Serangoon Road still has its distinct ambience. Each racial group has its own distinctive religion and there are colourful festivals of special significance all year round. Although the festivals are special to certain races, it is enjoyed by everyone no matter what race they are from.

In Singapore, food is always ready to be serve to you whenever you want it. There are lots of foods that Singapore offers. We have, Chinese, Indian, Malay, Indonesian and Western, Italian, Peranakan, Spanish, French, Thai and even Fusion. It is very common to try other culture's food and some of the food can be very fascinating. Indian food are more likely to be spicier, but Chinese food is less spicier then Indian food and the Chinese likes to eat seafood such as crabs, cockles, etc. Malay cooking uses coconut milk as their main ingredient, that makes their food very tasty. Malay hawkers use coconut milk to cook “Nasi Lemak”, Curry and “Rendan”.

Religion In Singapore

Almost every Singaporean celebrate the important festivals which are related to their religion. The different number of religions is a direct reflection of the variation of races living there. The Chinese are originally the followers of Buddhism, Taoism, Shenism, Christians, Catholics and some considered as 'free-thinkers'. Malays have the Muslims and Indians are Hindus.

Religious tolerance is important in Singapore. In fact, religions often cross racial borders and some even merge in weird ways in this modern country. The teenages in Singapore tend to combine a little of the mysteries of the ancestors with the realistic world that they know of today.

Religion is still a fundamental part of the cosmopolitan Singapore. A lot of the most interesting buildings are religious. Having the knowledge of these buildings do play a part in contributing to the appreciation of their art.

-Chinese Temples

Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and ancestral worship are combined into a all-rounded mix in Chinese temples.

In Singapore, the Buddhist faith is linked with Taoism and the practical teaching of Confucianism.

-Islam

The Malays in Singapore are Muslims. Some of the Indians in Singapore are Indian Muslims and there are a minority of Chinese who believes in the Islam faith.

Islam has a fundamental influence in the lives of those who follow the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad. The religion is required to pray five times a day, they are only allowed to eat "halal" food, fasting during Ramadan. Halal food means food that has been specially prepared as according to the religion's regulated allowance of food requirements.

-Hinduism

As the Indian immigrants resettle to Singapore, they brought with them Hinduism. The early temples are still the central points of rituals and festivals which are held every moment of the year.

-Christianity

One will be able to find Christian churches of all denomination in Singapore. After the arrival of Sir Stamford Raffles and the British, they brought Christianity into the daily lives of the small local fishing village.

Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism, Christianity is considered one of the four main religions in Singapore today. Within this four religions, Christianity have the largest number of people.

Language In Singapore

The four official languages of Singapore are Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and English. Children of Singapore are taught in English as first language at school, English became the most common language in Singapore and it brings all the different ethnic groups together. Children were also taught their mother tongue and their culture so that they do not lose their traditional roots.

People from other countries may encounter language problems in the beginning of their stay in Singapore as many Singaporeans use “Singlish” to communicate. “Singlish” is a mix of English with other different languages, sometimes phrases can finished with weird terms such as 'lah', 'leh', 'mah'. Chinese often use their dialects to communicate. The Malays use the language among their fellow races and the Indians speak Tamil. No matter what the race or religion, Singaporeans are ought to unite as one nation, where most religious or racial gaps are being connected.

In the first twenty years of the twentieth century, English medium education became popular for every different race. There are more girls started schooling too. By the 1950s almost every children went to school, and large number of children were educated in English. By the 1980s, all education was in the medium of English.

Singapore English grew out of the English of the playground of these children of many linguistic backgrounds who were learning English at school. After many people learned English at school, almost everyone in Singapore starts to communicate in English. Since Singapore became an independent Republic in 1965, the use of English has increased even more. For many Singaporeans, English is the main language. Many families speak English at home and it is one of the first languages learnt by about half of the current pre-school children.

Almost everyone in Singapore speaks more than one language, there are quite a number of people speaking three or more languages. Most children grew up bilingual families when they are young and learnt more languages as they grow up. Naturally the presence of other languages has influenced the English of Singapore. The influence is especially conspicuous in the kind of English that is used informally, which is popularly called Singlish. Singlish makes Singaporeans having the common identity.

Singlish

Singapore English usually come from other languages spoken in Singapore. Speakers of Singlish are not needed to be aware of which language they are from however.

Example of Singlish:

liao - finished, the end

ang mo - a Caucasian

cheem - difficult, complicated

kiasu - afraid to lose mentality

Speakers of Singlish will often end his sentence with a typical exclamation. The three most common are ah, lah, ley and what.

Examples of Singlish phrase:

Don't like that lah.

You are going there ah?

No parking lots here, what.

It is very troublesome ley.

My Reflections:

In my own opinion, I think that it is important to have different races in Sinagpore as it grew from a small fishing village with immigrants settling down from all over the world. Without the different people from different races and different parts of the world, Singapore will never be the same we live in today.

One can also get to understand more about the cultures of other races. it is quite difficult for different races to live together harmoniously in one country due to many difference in everyone's way of living, but Singapore is able to make all the four main races, Chinese, Malay, Indians, Eurasians, to live together in one country harmoniously.

Having different kind of races, we can also taste different food from different cultures. It is very boring to just taste one kind of food. It is good to have many variety of food to choose. Honestly, when it comes to eating in Singapore, it can be quite a headache as there are too many choices in Singapore and all of them are delicious. Most Singaporeans are also bilingual, not every citizen in every country can speak two languages.

Having the knowledge of two languages can be very useful when communicating with other countries such as Malaysia, China, etc. I think that Singlish is quite an important language in Singapore as it gives Singaporeans a common identity. When we start speaking with other people, people will know that we are Singaporeans as people from other countries do not have the skill of speaking Singlish. It is quite an unique skill to acquire. I think everyone in Singapore is proud to be a Singaporean.