Unnecessary to promote Singlish

It is good to introduce a new double-decker bus with improved features, but it is unnecessary to promote the use of Singlish along with it (Singlish signs on new bus, can or not?; March 14).

Singlish is used by people in Singapore who have missed the opportunity to master proper English.

It is essentially English with Chinese syntax, based on word-by-word translation of Chinese to English.

It is not about accent and pronunciation. We can tolerate it but we should not feel proud about it. In fact, it should be avoided, where possible.

To use it in the signs displayed on buses is not "creative advertising".

"Creative" implies improvement and not debasement. The use of Singlish should not be intentionally promoted.

Ong Siew Chey

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.