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Alamak... Don’t get it? Good communication is more than grammar
From Singlish to emojis, the rules of language are shifting. Drama may just be the training ground for students in real-world communication.
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Being adaptable in communication is like knowing the appropriate footwear to use depending on the situation.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Ee Ling Low, Nora Samosir, and Lionel Wee
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Recently, the oft-mentioned “alamak” and “tapau” were among a list of words deemed untranslatable that were added to the Oxford English Dictionary
These are very interesting developments because they remind us of an important fact: Effective communication requires being adaptable. This means knowing how to adapt the way we use language according to the topic, the people we are interacting with, and whether we are communicating through speech, in writing or online via social media. Being competent in just one variety of English, even if that variety happens to be standard international English, is simply not good enough.
