Reader's Response [Draft 2]

Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?

 In a Today Online article, titled as "Can English be a Singaporean mother tongue?", Lu (2013) addressed some of the issues regarding English and mother tongue, and carefully evaluated the possibility that English might be converted into mother tongue, from the first language with much priority given thus far for many of young generation. 

 According to Lu, some of the reasons for such an observation were due to the facts that too high emphasis on English would not be in line with the government education policy which aims Singaporeans to become effectively bilingual, as well as the low level of recognition by the world that Singapore is a 'native' English-speaking country. He stated that proponent of the view that English can be a Singaporean mother tongue also put forth the idea that we experience the linguistic divides caused by the conflicting linguistic interests between younger generation and older generation who generally believe in enduring links between one's biological heritage and cultural practice.

 Although Lu gave convincing reasons for English to be regarded as our mother tongue in future, I beg to differ that English can, and should be a Singaporean mother tongue.

 In the 3rd reason for English to be a Singaporean mother tongue, he mentioned that Singapore is yet to receive enough recognition from the world that it is an English-speaking country with its citizens speaking English fluently. However, he also should not forget the current economics movement that is taking place in the world right now. Many countries, including Western countries who require Singaporeans to take their English proficiency test to make sure that candidates have good command of English before they can be considered admitted to the school, are in fact investing a huge sum of money into various industries in Singapore. This is because Singaporeans are capable human resources with relatively high command of English, compared to their counterparts in other regions in Asia. As English is already regarded as the global language which is essential in various areas, such as business, economics and even politics, human resources with the ability to speak English were highly sought after, and this is the reason why Singapore were highly successful in attracting many foreign investors from all over the world. Therefore, emphasis on English was the key reason why Singapore managed to outdo its neighbouring countries in terms of economics and raising the standard of living within itself.

 Hence, I advocate that English should not be a Singaporean mother tongue. English became too important to be considered as a 'second class' language and under no circumstances, should people regard English merely as a Singaporean mother tongue, for doing so will bring a myriad of implications in the near future.