Do new Singaporeans know how to sing the National Anthem?

[denniskee]

i guess that all national anthems are sung in the national language. unless SG changes the national language to English, Majulah Singapura it is.

knowing how to sing but don't know its meaning... i don't see the point in singing at all.

which is my point. what is the point of getting everyone to sing national anthem (which is an act of patriotism) but only minority of less than 25% understand what it means?

It's for heritage and identity, rather than pragmatic reasons.

but what is our heritage? singapore is melting pot, our origin / heritage mainly from malaysia, india and china. most of my foriegn friends dont know malay is singapore's national language, my guess is, most young singaporean dont.

is it worth getting everyone singing something they dont understand for the reason of preserving heritage and identity? isnt it a joke when we cant even explain what we are singing every morning (in schools) to oversea friends?

 

[LittleWolf]

Which is why some schools are offering a 3rd language option.

But the strange thing is, despite being surrounded by Malaysia, Indonesia, the more popular choice for students picking 3rd languages seem to be more exotic languages like Spanish, Japanese, Korean, French over Malay and Bahasa Indonesia.

It is even more strange that instead of learning the national language, students are forced to learn a "mother" language, determined by "race" (isn't that racist in itself?), even if their mothers don't know that language.

 

[psychobiologist]

sing national anthem is one of the proofs of citizenship i think.. if questioned or when need to verify whether you ish runroad ones or not

 

[Lenscapes]

Halt! who goes there! enemy or friend?.. can u sing the national athem? :bsmilie:

 

[drakon09]

Actually when I was in primary school, they made it a point to explain to us the lyrics - at the same time Cikgu Ismail would actually teach us to pronounce the words properly.

Apart from the more obvious mispronunciations, the one that normally flies under the radar is Singapura.

It's Si-nga-pura instead of Sing-ga-pura.

 

[ortega]

It is even more strange that instead of learning the national language, students are forced to learn a "mother" language, determined by "race" (isn't that racist in itself?), even if their mothers don't know that language.

i had to learn the language of some other race
so you cannot complain, anyway it is good to know more

 

[lsisaxon]

sing national anthem is one of the proofs of citizenship i think.. if questioned or when need to verify whether you ish runroad ones or not

Singapore giving away lots of citizenships to people who can't even speak English properly, let alone Malay. :dunno: Anyway, we are a multiracial, multicultural, multilingual society so...

 

[Tumbleweed]

A few years ago I went to Turkey for a holiday. One night we had a bellydance show and the MC knew that he had a roomful of tourists. So he sang national songs from each country in attendance. For Korea he sang A Ri Rang and the Korean tourists sang in harmony with him. When it came to Singapore's turn, he sang Chan Mali Chan. Well, my group had only 3 members who know how to speak Malay. The rest were Chinese and were dumbfounded and couldn't sing at all. So, imagine, the Singapore side was quiet as a mouse except for the 3 members and other tourists were looking at us strangely. On the other hand, if he sang a Chinese song........

So can Singaporeans sing the National Anthem? In my opinion, most cannot even if their life depended on it.

 

[drakon09]

It is even more strange that instead of learning the national language, students are forced to learn a "mother" language, determined by "race" (isn't that racist in itself?), even if their mothers don't know that language.

If my IC said "Peranakan" instead of "Chinese", then maybe I wouldn't had so much trouble with 2nd language!

And yeah, my mother didn't know Chinese either. :bsmilie:

 

[terryansimon]

sing national anthem is one of the proofs of citizenship i think.. if questioned or when need to verify whether you ish runroad ones or not

was never asked to sing the national anthem, or to recite the pledge during my proof of citizenship test.

I was however, asked to give an oath of allegiance before, during, and after national service *when I turned 21*. and it was in English, written on a piece of laminated paper or flashed on a screen in an auditorium.

unless they've changed the requirements ever since...

 

[LittleWolf]

Singapore giving away lots of citizenships to people who can't even speak English properly, let alone Malay. :dunno:

These new citizens should integrate in no time since they match lots of native Singaporeans.

 

[Sion]

Come come those who can't sing Majulah Singapura better learn it fast fast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPSjIQLVDOE

 

[Jukon]

Which is why some schools are offering a 3rd language option.

But the strange thing is, despite being surrounded by Malaysia, Indonesia, the more popular choice for students picking 3rd languages seem to be more exotic languages like Spanish, Japanese, Korean, French over Malay and Bahasa Indonesia.

Your children will be doing the same cos of the potential advantage.
In Malaysia more Malay & Indian students are taking Chinese as a subject.

 

[lsisaxon]

Come come those who can't sing Majulah Singapura better learn it fast fast:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPSjIQLVDOE

You don't have a TV capture card? The motion is making me dizzy I almost puked at the end of the anthem.:sweat: