Singapore’s
Prime Minister has launched a nationwide campaign utilizing Hip-Hop to stop the
spread of “Singlish,” a mixture of English and local dialects.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong said the mixing of the languages is a major issue, because it could leave
Singaporeans unintelligible.
Loong urged teachers to
use pop songs and Hip-Hop music to teach proper English.
"Speak in a normal
Singapore tone, which is neutral and intelligible," Loong said. "But
speak in full sentences, with proper sentence structure."
According to published reports,
Loong’s administration started their campaign against the “Singlish”
dialect in 2000. The government blamed a popular TV character named Phua Chu
Kang for the rise in bad grammar among the population.
Loong has been
criticized in the past for various social engineering campaigns aimed at the
Singaporean population.
