Non-Standard English

Proof that "handphone" is not Standard English. From the Boon Lay library:



But, I would map "Please turn off your mobile phone" to "Off your handphone leh" instead of "lah".

The comma before the "lah" seems quite curious too. In any case, "Off your handphone lah" in proper English would be more along the lines of "In that case, turn off your mobile phone".



Another typical Singlish pharse, which omits the subject. This can be done when the subject of the conversation is obvious, otherwise the response would very well be "What thing what time start?".

On Work

Time really goes faster when you're working long hours, eating late and waking early. I've worked for 2 weeks and 3 days and it feels quite fast. I know that within these two weeks I have done lots of things and learnt lots of things too but still it's gone fast.

I always said that I greatly preferred working to studying cos you ain't thinking about work all the time and during weekends unlike when you are studying and writing all-consuming assignments. I'm not so sure now. I brought work home for the past two weekends in addition to working at least 3 hours past official hours everyday.

Hopefully it's just because of the combination of the facts that I'm new, it's a busy period, I'm still searching for the best ways to do things, I'm still learning about the trade, and I had less than 6 hours understudying my predecessor. For all these I'm blaming William who was supposed to take over but couldn't take the stress and moved next door to the procurement office instead.

Well, I've give myself a few months and see if the situation improves. For the moment, I just want the money.

But I do really find myself changed by my Tasmanian experience. I fell less agitated, more concerned with doing the right thing instead of meeting the target at all costs.

And more socially aware. The operators are almost exclusively Chinese and Indian migrant workers. That is from the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India. With a fair sprinkling of Malaysian Chinese. Two years ago I might have ignored such observation but now I think of the social implications and cannot help but think that it's such a throwback to a hundred years ago.

Like then, many will earn a small fortune and go home, some will leave no richer then when they came and some will stay, in Singapore or in SEA. How would the Singapore society change? Integration problems. How would the second generation identify themselves and how would "native" Singaporeans view them? I'm too busy at work to think more.

Pet peeve for the moment: Why does the Straits Times insist on using the Americanism "cellphone"? What's so wrong with "handphone"? Maybe because handphone is not Standard English.