TRE misrepresents what Chee Hong Tat said!

[makapaaa]

http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/14/tre-misrepresents-what-chee-hong-tat-wrote/

[h=2]TRE misrepresents what Chee Hong Tat said![/h]

August 14th, 2015 |

Author: Contributions

The title to this editorial
is misleading and misrepresents what was actually written in his letter to the
Forum in 2009. If someone had misrepresented me like this, I’d sue.

1) Chee didn’t condemn dialects. He stated plainly that bilingualism is the
foundation of our language education system and only a select few would be able
to speak multiple language fluently.

Assuming that learning a dialect, is not at the expense of less learning of
English and Mandarin, it is indeed foolish to expect the average student to
achieve any level of acceptable fluency in his dialect. If it’s formal education
in dialect, then there’d be tests, learning to write the written Chinese script
in dialect form since Cantonese and Hokkien uses different Chinese characters
than Mandarin and more tests. Consider the average under 25 can barely read a
simple ad in the Chinese paper, we can see how they’d respond to dialect on
top.

2) Leading to this is my second point. Since Chee didn’t condemn dialects but
said it was foolish to educate as part of formal education students in dialect,
the headline implied that Chee had shown disdain or contempt for dialect and
then was a hypocrite for using it during an interview.

TRE is free to stump for the Opposition and condemn the PAP, but outright
misrepresentation of what Chee actually wrote and then to publish the letter
itself where the content clearly differs from the headline is both foolish and
unethical.

If Chee feels like it, also grounds for a lawsuit. For the TRE team’s own
sake, they’d best replace the headline with something more accurate, unless of
course the TRE team decides Richard Wan should eat a defamation
lawsuit.

JayFlee

* Comment
appeared in TRE article: PAP’s Chee condemns dialect learning but gives Hokkien
interview

Editor’s note: Thanks
for the reminder. The writer JayFlee is correct in asserting that Mr Chee did
not condemn dialects. Rather, he is condemning dialect learning. This can be
seen from his statement:

It would be stupid for any Singapore agency or NTU to advocate the
learning of dialects…
​

Hence, we have changed the title “PAP’s Chee condemns dialects but gives
Hokkien interview” to “PAP’s Chee condemns dialect learning but gives Hokkien
interview”. Sorry for the misrepresentation.

 

[Froggy]

He used the word STUPID!

 

[Leongsam]

He used the word STUPID!

This is exactly what he said...

---

Foolish to advocate the learning of dialects

I REFER to yesterday's article by Ms Jalelah Abu Baker ('One generation - that's all it takes 'for a language to die'). It mentioned a quote from Dr Ng Bee Chin, acting head of Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies: 'Although Singaporeans are still multilingual, 40 years ago, we were even more multilingual. Young children are not speaking some of these languages at all any more.'


To keep a language alive, it has to be used regularly. Using one language more frequently means less time for other languages. Hence, the more languages a person learns, the greater the difficulties of retaining them at a high level of fluency.

There are linguistically gifted individuals who can handle multiple languages, but Singapore's experience over 50 years of implementing the bilingual education policy has shown that most people find it extremely difficult to cope with two languages when they are as diverse as English and Mandarin.

This is why we have discouraged the use of dialects. It interferes with the learning of Mandarin and English. Singaporeans have to master English. It is our common working language and the language which connects us with the world.

We also emphasised the learning of Mandarin, to make it the mother tongue for all Chinese Singaporeans, regardless of their dialect groups. This is the common language of the 1.3 billion people in China. To engage China, overseas Chinese and foreigners are learning Mandarin and not the dialects of the different Chinese provinces.

We have achieved progress with our bilingual education in the past few decades. Many Singaporeans are now fluent in both English and Mandarin. It would be stupid for any Singapore agency or NTU to advocate the learning of dialects, which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin.

That was the reason the Government stopped all dialect programmes on radio and television after 1979. Not to give conflicting signals, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew also stopped making speeches in Hokkien, which he had become fluent in after frequent use since 1961.

CheeHong Tat
Principal Private Secretary
to the Minister Mentor

---

He condemned both the learning and the USE of dialects. Sounds like a complete condemnation to me.

The other thing he said was that Singaporeans need to master English. Well he should start with his fellow aristocrats. That Zorro character needs extra tuition for a start. The rest are a pain to listen to as well.

 

[greenies]

He used the word STUPID!

It turns out to be stupid himself.

 

[Narong Wongwan]

Chee Hong Kia should sue TRE until their pants down.....
What's a GE without vile pappies suing here and there?

 

[Boliao]

Assuming that learning a dialect, is not at the expense of less learning of
English and Mandarin, it is indeed foolish to expect the average student to
achieve any level of acceptable fluency in his dialect. If it’s formal education
in dialect, then there’d be tests, learning to write the written Chinese script
in dialect form since Cantonese and Hokkien uses different Chinese characters
than Mandarin and more tests. Consider the average under 25 can barely read a
simple ad in the Chinese paper, we can see how they’d respond to dialect on
top.

2) Leading to this is my second point. Since Chee didn’t condemn dialects but
said it was foolish to educate as part of formal education students in dialect,
the headline implied that Chee had shown disdain or contempt for dialect and
then was a hypocrite for using it during an interview.

This guy is trying very hard to sell a zebra as a horse. Where the fuck in his press statement was it mentioned about dialect being a formal education with tests and all? When I learned Hokkien from my parents and spoke Hokkien with my NS batch boys, nobody ask me test questions and fail/ pass me. Bloody Chee Hong can only think like a student - everything is a test and must score A1 for it, is it?

He said the government discourage the use of dialect and it would stupid to advocate the learning of dialect. Plain and simple. This is a Chee Hong saying eating Ice Cream is bad for your health while eating it; and a stupid supported saying all he said was "you shouldn't eat ice cream because you won't be able to eat your dinner after that".

 

[jw5]

He said that the use of dialects should be discouraged but yet, he used a dialect to introduce himself as an election candidate. Why huh? Cannot make up his mind?