Q2. Ruby
Pan observes that news presenters in Singapore speak in “fake BBC English”,
radio DJs speak in “fake American English” and teachers speak with “a stiff
upper lip”. What does this suggest about the different roles of
‘Englishes’ in different domains of experience?
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Different variations of English are associated with differing social strata, contexts and audiences. In the Singaporean context, where Singlish is regarded as a basilect whereas Received Pronunciation and American English are seen as acrolects, it follows then that because of the perceived social status of such an accent, newscasters, DJs and teachers would make conscious decisions not to use Singaporean English.
ReplyDeleteFor teachers, the use of a British accent is in a manner the assertion of authority over students. The use of an acrolect is a marker of a person of higher authority, hence a teacher may have a "stiff upper lip" in the classroom whereas in day-to-day conversation he or she may not.
In a similar vein, newscasters may use (somewhat forced) Received Pronunciation to deliver the news as they perceive it as an acrolect and thus more authoritative. With the historical background of colonization and British leadership, the idea that a British accent has power is not difficult to understand. Newscasters, beyond being stuffy and uptight, are perhaps trying to give their news more authority to the listener.
Another point to note is that the news is meant to be understood by a large audience. In light of Singapore's global community, as well as the fact that Channel News Asia is broadcasted in many other countries beyond Singapore, comprehension by non-speakers of Singlish is imperative. Taking these two factors into account, the use of a British English accent in the news can thus be understood.
The use of (fake) American accents by DJs is something that I find quite interesting. Since the tenor of DJs is not particularly formal nor is the relationship between a DJ and a listener very distant (in fact, DJs often relate with their listeners as friends), using a Singaporean accent would seem socially appropriate and indeed may even aid in their endeavors. This is true in the case of the Muttons, who often use colloquial Singlish.
However, it also stands to reason that, due to the pervasiveness of the American cultural consciousness, cultural media worldwide is held in the style of American media. Perhaps, then, what Singapore's DJs are doing is merely following the trend of American media in adopting not only the media produced by Americans, but also the accent and dialect of American English.
- Cara (13A01B)
I agree with the points Cara raised about how the different variations of English are perceived.
ReplyDeleteI think it is mainly because of the fact that Singlish is regarded as a basilect, that people in these above-mentioned professions choose not to speak it, and instead switch to "fake BBC English" or "fake American English". People would mostly expect English teachers or newscasters to have "good English", and perhaps a common perception of having good English would be speaking with proper pronunciation, in turn associated with the manner of speech of the vaguely defined 'native speakers of English'.
As Cara mentioned, the use of an acrolect is a marker of a person of higher authority, so it is possible that in order to inject more authority into what they are saying and also to give themselves more credibility as someone who supposedly has excellent command of the English language, English teachers and newscasters choose to speak with a British accent or BBC English.
With regards to DJs' use of American English during broadcasts, I think the prevalence and rapid spread of American pop culture and media has led to the association of forms of media related to pop culture, such as radio stations and TV programmes, with the use of American English.
I think it is also interesting to note how there are now more foreign media personalities with a perhaps more genuine American accent than that of some of our local personalities, such as DJ Bobby Tonelli and actor-host George Young. Perhaps this is to satisfy the increasingly more common association of media with the American culture, as well as American English.
- Trishala (13S07C)
I agree with both comments in that singlish is a basilect and the three groups of people that ruby Pan brought up feel the need to use different 'kinds of english' to assert some form of authority or maybe even because they believe it makes them sound more educated.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of the news presenters speaking in fake BBC English, I believe that it may have to do with the fact that one has to obey some forms of formality and since the popular belief is that British English is the 'correct' or the most 'formal' way of speaking English, they fake these accents. It may also have to do with education. Most of the syllabuses offered in schools are in british English and require students to answer in prefect British English and spell in british English spellings. Perhaps this lead people on to believe that the british form of English is the most professional and formal. Therefore, news presenters feel that using fake British accents will make them come across more professional and that they will be understood better.
As for the case of teachers have a "stiff upper lip", I do not fully agree with ruby pan on this. I think that it has to do with the tenor. If the relationship between student and teacher is a close one, the teacher would not really be speaking with a "stiff upper lip". Many of my secondary school teachers spoke to us in singlish and it did not make them come across as less powerful or authoritative. However, if the relationship between student and teacher is more distant, or if it was between a principal and a student, the "stiff upper lip" would probably be present and in this way, I do agree with Trishala that it would be a an assertion of authority by using an acrolect to prove superiority in his or her command of English.
As for DJs, I too am not certain about why some choose to fake accents. I think that radio DJs are aware that they are only heard and feel the need to be unique or exotic with their accents to sound westernized and special. However I do think that if it's a local channel and since DJing isn't that formal a setting, singlish or local-sounding English should be used to promote culture. But that's just what I think :p
The tree different scenarios suggest that the role of English in different domains changes in different contexts(the field, tenor and mode). If one wants to sound smart and formal, British accents usually come about. If one wants to be understood in a hawker centre, singlish is probably the best option. I think that we should just be thankful we live in a place with such great varieties of English (:
As mentioned by the other students, singlish is considered the basilect in Singapore, thus people who want to elevate their social standing or change the way others view them will make a conscious effort to speak proper english and maybe even develop an accent.
ReplyDeleteI think this is because in the Singaporean society, having a british or even american accent makes one seem more educated, in a 'higher class'.
Teachers probably feel the need to use proper english when speaking to their students because they are expected to teach their students to use proper english in their daily lives, and think that constantly speaking that way to the students will influence them and they will thus pick up the habit of speaking proper english. Coupled with this, the teachers probably also develop an accent in order to sound more authoritative in front of their students, as mentioned by the other students, as it is important for teachers to be credible. Thess could be a few of the reasons why teachers are described as having a 'stiff upper lip'.
Some adjectives that come to mind when the British accent is mentioned are 'posh' and 'high class', and people generally hold a person with an accent in higher esteem, as it makes them appear educated and sophisticated. Newscasters therefore sometimes adopt a British accent to sound more professional and appear educated. Sometimes it is simply what is expected of them in their line of work, something that has become the norm among their colleagues.
I agree with Jean and Cara about how DJs might actually be able to connect more deeply with their listeners if they use colloquial singlish, but perhaps they also feel that a fake american accent lends them a touch of professionalism and makes them sound more sophisticated.
Many Singaporeans in professions that require them to speak to an audience develop accents to make themselves sound more professional, sophisticated and authoritative, as Singaporeans generally have no accent (from our point of view) and people with an accent are viewed as highly educated or of a 'higher class'.