Varieties of English

English is the third most natively spoken language in the world, but it is also the language that has been most widely dispersed around the world. In other parts of the world than the Angelo-American core area, the language is spoken in many different ways. Each country who had adopted English as a second language has a different dialect. In this blog post I will write about the language varieties in Singapore, Hong Kong and South Africa. Even though both Singapore and South Africa is listed as an Angelo-American core area, I don’t consider them as such. That is why I have chosen to write about them, as well.  

In Singapore there are two main forms of English spoken. The forms are “standard Singapore English” and “Singapore colloquial English” or “Singlish”. The first form is mostly spoken by reasonably educated people. The grammar of this form of English is very similar to the British English. Singlish, on the other hand is not so commonly used. It is often regarded with low prestige in Singapore.

Singapore is a city that contains many different ethnic groups and cultures. They all speak different languages as their first language and because of this the English fluency level varies a lot among the residents in Singapore. It also means that even within Singapore there is a wide range of different English accents.

South Africa also has different forms of English. They divide them into three groups, the cultivated, the general and the broad. These forms of English are linked with the different classes in the society. The higher class speaks the cultivated form of English, the middle class speak the general form and the broad form is spoken by the working class.  In South Africa the pronunciation of English is similar to the one in southern England. They speak in a non-rhotic way, which means that they don’t speak with hard consonants.

In Hong Kong there are two types of English spoken. First there are the varieties of English accents spoken in the territory. They use mostly British spellings, but some vocabularies have origin in India and Malay. The second type of English is also called Cantonese English. It is not only spoken in Hong Kong, but everywhere where there are people whose first language is Cantonese. You can say that it refers to the accent and characteristics of English spoken by native Hongkongers and other Cantonese speakers.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_English

Gran Torino

Today we watched the movie Gran Torino in class. It was a very good movie that really moved me. The movie is directed by Clint Eastwood, who also played the lead. I think he did a spectacular job in playing the grumpy old Walter Kowalski. The themes in the movie were ethnic relations, immigration, economic changes in America, life in urban America, individual violence and conflict resolution. I think the movie managed to give all these themes the right attention.

The movie is about an old man living in a neighborhood where many immigrants have moved recently. His wife had just died when a Hmong family moved in next door. In the beginning he just think they are annoying swamp rats, but after the son in the family Thao tries to steel his car he eventually gets to know the family. He tries to help Thao out in dealing with the neighborhood gangs, and in return Thao and his family kind of bring him out of his depression. He was fighting in the Korean War and was still carrying a lot of pain with him. In helping Thao and his family, he finds a little peace and happiness again.

What challenges do immigrants face in starting new lives for themselves? This is discussion question we were asked to write something about. I think that the first challenge immigrants’ face in a new country is the cultural difference. Each culture has different traditions and customs, and it can be difficult to assimilate to another culture. It is also important not to lose your own culture in the process. Immigrants can also have a problem with people not accepting them. They don’t understand their culture and develop prejudices against them. This often results in racism. The language can also be difficult for an immigrant new to a country. If you don’t know the language everything else becomes much more difficult. Because of that it is very important that immigrants learn the language as fast as possible.

The movie Gran Torino gives a lot of attention to cultural differences. When Walt joins the Hmong family for a barbecue he learns about some of them. For example you can’t pat a Hmong person on the head because they think that is where the soul resides. Hmong people also find it rude when you look them directly in the eyes and they care a lot about their family’s honor. Walt thinks this is crazy in the beginning of the movie, but he learns to respect it. Also when Walt chases the gang away from the Hmong family’s house, people start showing up at his door with food, flowers and gifts. This is to show their gratitude for that he protects the neighborhood.

All in all I really liked the movie and the message it was sending. It was very enlightening and I learned a lot about the Hmong culture and the difficulties immigrants face in a new country.

The Ninja

I have read "The Ninja" by Eric van Lustbader. I read it for an English assignment where we could choose which book to read ourselves. I will now write a little bit about the book and my opinions of it. I tried not to say too much about what happens, but this blog post may contain some spoilers.

"The Ninja" is the first book in the series of Nicholas Linnear. He is the main character in all the books. In "The Ninja" the past is an important factor in what happens in the present. The book is divided into four parts, where each part contains chapters that is of the present and chapters that is of the past. It is a brilliant set up for this book because then as you learn more about the past you understand more and more about the present.

Nicholas Linnear is half English and half Chinese, but his family moved to Japan when he was little. In Japan Nicholas developed an interest for bujutsu, their form of martial arts. He started training in the art of bujutsu and became quite good at it. His cousin Saigõ also practices bujutsu and they become rivals pretty early. Through Saigõ, Nicholas met Yukio and he fell in love with her immediately. Yukio is a complicated girl with many problems, but Nicholas loves her anyway. To not spoil the book completely I will not tell you all about what happened in the past, but certain events lead up to Nicholas father dying and his mother committing seppuku, which is a ritualistic suicide. All of this is part of Nicholas past which eventually leads up to what happens in the present.

In the present Nicholas lives in America. He has a girlfriend called Justin and is living peacefully. Nicholas gets dragged back into his past when the police find a dead man who showed signs of being killed by a ninja. The ninjas were said to be extinct, but apparently they were not. In the old Japan, the society's military force where the samurai. They where people of high class who had trained in the art of bujutsu. The samurai had a strict code as to what was right and wrong and there were certain things they where honor bound not to do. When they wanted something questionable done, they hired ninjas. Ninjas where from the lower parts of the community and they had no rules. The ninjas where trained assassins, and now there was a ninja running around New York. Nicholas, who is an expert on the topic of ninjas, tries to help the police by giving them information about them. Suddenly Nicholas friends begin dying, and Justin gets an old Japanese warning sign. He then realizes that this is personal, and that he knows the ninja.

I think that "The Ninja" was a good book. It contained a lot of action, drama, romance and Japanese history. The main themes are revenge, family and loyalty to traditions and your country. I would definitely recommend "The Ninja" to those who enjoy reading about Japan and martial arts, and also to those who just like action.