https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww en-us 2022-08-31 01:50:04 UTC 2022-09-01 19:03:07 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f996.png sabrinahkt https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277093564 I was born in a small island called Singapore ]]> 2022-08-31 02:15:59 UTC https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277093564 sabrinahkt https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277123479 I grew up speaking Cantonese with my family. I however, cannot read or write cantonese.

In Singapore, everyone is brought up to be multilingual. Everyone (well, at least for those born after 1966) is expected to learn both English and their ethnic mother tongue in school, and since I'm Chinese, I learned Mandarin. 

]]> 2022-08-31 02:41:50 UTC https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277123479 sabrinahkt https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277136900 Back when I was getting my diploma, I took a semester's worth of Japanese and French.

In university, I learned German and Tamil. 

Unfortunately, not much was retained. ]]> 2022-08-31 02:53:48 UTC https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277136900 sabrinahkt https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277146505 I used to work as a chef before I started my bachelors, and that's where I picked up very little bit of Spanish, French and Korean.]]> 2022-08-31 03:02:10 UTC https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277146505 sabrinahkt https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277723799 Like I've mentioned, everyone in Singapore can speak more than one language. My parents are even more impressive. They can speak many of the Chinese varieties including Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien and Hakka.

My mother can also speak a fair amount of Malay, as she grew up in Kampong (meaning a village in Malay). 

]]> 2022-08-31 13:32:15 UTC https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2277723799 sabrinahkt https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2278027922 I grew up with this cantonese song. Though the Chinese version is way more popular, this song reminds me of home. 

Fun fact is I know the Chinese lyrics way better than I do the Cantonese lyrics ]]> 2022-08-31 16:50:17 UTC https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2278027922 sabrinahkt https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2278048378 In Singapore, we have something called Singlish and pretty much everyone back home uses it. Singlish is creole language that is made up of the many languages of Singapore. The base of it is English, but the way you speak (i.e. sentence structure) or the words you use may come different languages. Singlish is essentially just a very lazy of speaking. 

It is actually very interesting once you get to know it. I love hearing people try out Singlish.

]]> 2022-08-31 17:03:57 UTC https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2278048378 sabrinahkt https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2278064191 With that being said, the English is use is dependent on context. I mostly use Singlish in comfortable, informal context and standard British English in a more formal situation. 

As a native English speaker coming to America, I never thought I could face problems with English communication. But it is very interesting to experience first-hand on the differences in American and British English. 

A fun story would be my friend calling me and asking about my whereabouts and I told that I was in the carpark. She did not understand me, and I did not know how to explain it to her. So I said, the place where cars are parked. And she goes, "oh, the parking lot." which is so weird because I know what a parking lot is, but in Singapore, we will only refer to one specific parking space. ]]> 2022-08-31 17:15:25 UTC https://padlet.com/sabrinahkt/mvhanyfc2nvyejww/wish/2278064191