As a Malaysian, I have always had the impression that Singaporeans actually speak and write 'better English' than Malaysians but, to my surprise, I heard redundancies such as 'good advice', 'repeat again', 'recall back'.

Advice has to be 'good' before it can be called an advice, hence 'good' is redundant. If you don't say something again, you are not 'repeating' it, and therefore there is no need to 'repeat again'. Same goes for 'recall'.

Once I was talking to my colleague about a 'sword' I bought from Japan. As I pronounced the word as 'sord', she corrected me that it should be 'sword'. When I told her the 'w' is actually silent, she laughed with disbelief and insisted that her teacher never taught her so. Same goes for the word 'subtle'. I have often heard the 'b' pronounced when it should be silent.

While I do not speak Queen's English, I wish to share that this problem should not be taken lightly and should be corrected immediately.

Candice Lim Earn Nee (Ms)