Being a typical Singaporean in my own generation, I speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and understand a little bit of Malay... My Mom can speak almost 7 languages including Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Malay and English. Maybe that's why I'm so fascinated with languages amongst people.
I remember hearing and observing conversations between my neighbours and my mom when I was little - She will speak Malay to my Malay neighbour and they will sometimes respond back in Hokkien. I guess that's their way to show that one is making effort to be part of the other. It's a nice feeling.
Since young, I lived in a surrounding of 'code-switching' without thinking too much about it. I never realised how 'fascinating' it is to most foreign friends till I started my study in an international environment. There were (and still have) people who asked how do Singaporeans 'do' it? - Code-switching almost every other line and changing languages in a conversation amongst ourselves... My usual answer to them is always - I don't know. I never thought about it. It just come 'naturally'. (Well, obviously not very 'natural' to them...) And I began to be more conscious as I dwell into understanding more of this 'behaviour'...
When I started GroundZ-0, it was very clear to me that I didn't wanna be labeled as English or Chinese Theatre. I am a Singaporean and whatever I do - will be a Singapore's work. I love languages at it's most 'natural' form - It sometimes indicate it's development and influences within a society and thus having it's very own structure, intonation and pronunciation which are specifically 'typical' to a certain region. And that's interesting for me! I imagined a world with everyone speaking a 'standard form' of a language and it will be so much more B...O...R...I...N...G... Then again, having said that, I am NOT against learning the so-called 'standard form' of a particular language. In fact, we have to learn it in order to understand the evolution and variations. But don't judge. I will not agree that certain countries 'set the standard' of a particular language, whether in verbal or written form. To me, all languages are equal and no one is more superior than another.
It's been interesting producing Always Every Time - A double-bill with a Malay/English and Mandarin/Cantonese presentations side-by-side. How often do you (or have you even) watch a show in another LOCAL language that's not your own or mother-tongue? Have you ask yourself why? We really hope to open up doors and get some conversations and discussions going... It's not something 'new' (we know), but perhaps it's something we have forgotten...
I shall share my discoveries and experience with you, after watching a few rehearsals of Tiap Kali Aku... (The Malay/English presentation in Always Every Time)
As I have mentioned earlier, I only comprehend limited vocabulary in Malay and have to read the surtitles during rehearsals. Thinking that it would be the case for the rest of the runs. However, to my surprise, I am starting to rely less on the surtitles after 2 runs and becoming more conscious/aware of the structure of the language. It has also reminded me of certain words that I have long forgotten. That's a joyful discovery! And yes, it's almost always about the 'environment'... Because we, as Singaporeans, we do possess the capability of adapting quickly to another language - put any Singaporean in a foreign country and give him/her 3-6 months... They will probably be able to start interpreting, if not be able to speak in the basic structure of that language. Than again, I am not sure if this so-called 'capability' is only applicable to my generation since most of the Singaporean youngsters now a days only speak 2 languages, or worst, 1 language. Maybe we have lost something along the way as our country progresses...
So, can we re-cultivate our appreciation for our local languages? Do we need to? Do we want to? Or is it ok to turn ourselves into a monolingual country with a language that is not even native? Some people are worried that we will not be able to 'know' each other if we insist on preserving our own language (mother-tongue) since we are in a multiracial society... But hey, my mom and her generation have proven otherwise. I think they communicate, recognise and accept each other better! They make effort to bridge any differences that we now take for granted. I think they are much happier than us.
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