IT IS unsurprising that netizens derided the Singapore and Asian Schools Math Olympiads question for its poor English ("Maths question catches world's attention"; April 15).
The standard of Singapore's English has sunk so low that poor English has become acceptable, whether in spoken or written form.
Despite years of campaigns to "speak better English", parents and teachers unintentionally propagate ungrammatical English. If this continues, the language that current and future generations speak here will bear little resemblance to English.
One mistake is the utter disregard for the way a verb should be used in the past tense in reported speech, in the passive form and as an adjective.
New hoardings at a condominium construction site proudly promote its proximity to a "shelter walkway", restaurant menus list "steam fish" or "grill pork chops", and shops announce hours when they are "close".
We write as we speak, and conversations are replete with past events told in the present tense.
A Singaporean interviewee on CNN once described his grandmother making herbal soup for him as he "studies" for exams, even though he had mentioned earlier that she died years ago.
Why does our society accept this?
It is accepted because we speak more and more Mandarin or Malay. Our Asian verbs do not have different forms for tenses, causing us to fail to recognise incorrect English.
As long as our spoken English stays uncorrected, we will continue to speak and write poor English.
A friend of mine was even mocked for her clear enunciation of words in the past tense. It has become "uncool" to speak English correctly.
Unless we reverse the trend, we may well need to produce a dictionary or provide translation services to make our Singapore version of English intelligible to foreigners.
Amy Loh Chee Seen (Ms)
