Search the Community

"It feels good to be able to speak Hainanese again." A lady had told us when she paused in her tracks to make conversation. I was with my grandma – whose only means of communicating with others is via the Hainanese dialect – and parents. We were over at my cousin's new place and explaining to my grandma some of the features of the compound. When the lady heard us, she broke out in Hainanese to say hello. "It's very rare to find people who can speak Hainanese these days so when I overheard you all talking, I couldn't help myself," she said, her face I remember was one of genuine joy. At that moment, I felt a connection that I've never had. It strangely felt as though I got reunited with a distant relative. And our three-generation family continued talking to the friendly neighbour whom we had just met, for another good five minutes. Hainanese is one of five major Chinese dialect sub-groups in Singapore; the rest being Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, and Hakka. I grew up in a family where my maternal and paternal relatives are all Hainanese. I'm lucky that way because rather than having to pick up two dialects, I only had one to work with. I assimilated to the dialect fairly naturally as a result, instead of having to learn it. But this isn't about claiming bragging rights. If anything, it's more an observation of the decline in the literacy of Chinese dialects that I wished could be reversed. I lament the loss of a piece of our unique culture and that extra thread that connects us with people. What do the figures say? Our Census of Population 2020 reported a mere 8.7% of our resident population who use Chinese dialects as their most frequently spoken language at home. This is down from 14.3% in 2010. These figures, I feel, are an accurate reflection of reality. Even as I look around me, many of my peers can comprehend but aren't able to speak their family dialects. This isn't all that surprising since we barely have to use dialects to get on with our daily lives. It's a natural outcome yet a pity. The relevance of dialects will continue to dwindle as generations pass, especially in light of higher literacy levels and as English increasingly dominates as the main mode of communication in Singaporean homes. And this brings us back to the heart of the matter. Dialects, just like any language, are a means for us to get through to other people. For instance, for me, Hainanese is how I connect with my grandma. She is my reason for why I still hold on dearly to the dialect. But the lady with whom we had crossed paths was a timely reminder for me. There are still communities of people who, though may not communicate mainly via a Chinese dialect, have fond memories associated with speaking it. These could be from the carefree days in their childhood, or from a time when they connected with a fellow dialect-speaker. I know for one that I will continue to embrace my Hainanese-ness for as long as there's someone out there who speaks the dialect. This Easter holiday, as we take time to rest and celebrate, let's also not forget to find reasons, and to resuscitate the connections that tie us to people. – Denise Photos from: Singstat, Klook

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/fugitive-on-run-13-years-caught-uses-another-man-ic-doctor-11659628 The sequence of events is really Karma at work. Pls read. Safe ride Cheers

with the closure of the Hawker heroes competition, i'm sure many were not surprised that people queued for a 6pm event, 17 hours in advance. for a shot at the famous 3 starred chef or for some FOC seafood, i'm not sure. got queue = got demand = good stuff seemed like a locally accepted equation now. from Condo to HK to GR to 10mil Toto draw, we really love to queue, aren't we?

Stumbled upon these... and suddenly realized how much had change over the last 15years... loss of national identity and many more Very very emo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePsPXlyW8hM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9X7LKW7WuY

everything must change meh? what's wrong with the same neighbourhood with same shops for 10/20/30 years? i thought this is not bad mah... no? considered left behind meh?

Looks Bad Yahoo News

i think this Garfield is really brainless so what has he done in his 12 years (almost a generation) as president? is he trying to tell us to have a common culture (new Singapore culture) with the FTs after one or two generations??

Quoted from ST online THE drive to be a Global City has come at a price for Singaporeans and their quality of life, said three prominent figures, including Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim, on Monday. And while Singapore may have first-world infrastructure, it suffers from a lack of creativity and intellectual freedom of the sort found in other Global Cities, they argued during a panel at the annual Singapore Perspectives seminar. Noting that she found the terms Global City and Endearing Home a contradiction, Ms Lim said that there has been a 'palpable sense of loss of identity' among Singaporeans due to the pace of change over the last few years. She said that the change in population mix in particular - in 1990, 86 per cent of the population were local; this fell to 63 per cent in 2010 - has had an adverse impact on Singaporeans and their sense of security In fact, she noted that she has heard from some who have emigrated elsewhere that they believed they would be better taken care of as permanent residents in other countries, than as citizens in their own. This perennial tension between the frenetic pace of a Global City and the sheltering stability of a Nation-State was singled out by author Derek Da Cunha, a fellow panellist, as an issue that will prove critical in the forthcoming General Election. Link What do u guys think? I will have to agree with her.... the identity is lost somewhere :angry:

Dilemma over Singapore's national identity By Ewen Boey – December 21st, 2010 In the midst of a historical demographic change, Singapore

http://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info.ph...575&DL=2013

Michael Schumacher was unmasked as the BBC car programme Top Gear's mysterious 'The Stig' on Sunday night. The enigmatic white-overalled, gloved and helmeted figure, who for years has anonymously tested cars for the TV show, appeared on the floor of the British programme after breaking its test-track record at the wheel of the Ferrari FSX supercar. Asked by host Jeremy Clarkson to take off his helmet, The Stig reluctantly obliged, revealing F1's now 40-year-old seven time world champion Schumacher. Clarkson jokingly asked the famous German what his name was before he became famous as The Stig, but Schumacher answered: "You have to have some secrets". However, the true identity of The Stig was unmasked by the press earlier this year as 33-year-old Ben Collins, although the speculation was not confirmed by the BBC and it remains rumoured that the character is actually played by multiple drivers. A spokesman for the British broadcaster, meanwhile, confirmed that Schumacher was The Stig for the Ferrari segment, but that otherwise the truth would remain "a mystery". source: http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...33676&FS=F1 Source: