TR EMERITUS

作者:冀居·谢 这是一个很旧的台湾笑话，话说有个老人家去医院看病，拿药的时候遇到不谙台语的护士，护士勉强用台语告诉他吃药的分量，哪知道回家后吃下第一次就要送院洗胃，原来老人家把“吃饱三粒”听成了“吃百三粒”。不想这样的笑话竟然活生生出现在本地！ 语言去到较高阶段就要懂得避讳，因为语言是表达给人听、给人看的，要避免误听、误读，更何况吃错药攸关性命，是不可以把两三句话拼成一句讲的。小孩子和学外语 常常会闹笑话，就是不懂得避讳而旁生歧义。而语言到高阶时人家玩讽刺、玩双关语，你要是不会，就变成词不达意、模棱两可了。所以有人说话、写文章几十年不 进步，就是没有摸着这个窍门。 本地医院开课让外籍医护人员学方言本是好事，奈何导 师本身的闽南话根本就不行。图中明明写着“1 bai jia ba 3 liab”（一次吃饱三粒），可是咱们的华文报却可以翻译成“一次吃饱后三粒”，为什么呢？因为“一次吃饱三粒”即使是华语也是个怪句子。况且我们听语言 的习惯，听到“一次吃”后面就会注意“次数”，而不会想到用“饱”来形容前面那个“吃”，所以把后面的“饱三粒”听成“百三粒”，绝对是有可能的。 问题是出在把两三句话拼成一句讲： （错）一次吃饱三粒 （次好）吃饱，一次吃三粒（因为前面有个“一日三次”）。 （佳）一日三顿，每顿吃饱后，吃三粒。 自己都不会，怎么去教人、怎么去报道呢？希望吃错药的老人家，不会因为这种语言课程而增多，就阿弥陀佛了，BBBBBBB…… 来源：大马论坛  Read More →

In a most stunning U-turn, Education Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen now says that the weightage for mother tongue languages in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) will not be reduced after all. On 21 April 2010, the Straits Times published an article with the title "Mother tongue weighting in PSLE could be cut" which quoted Dr Ng as saying that the "high weighting given to mother tongue languages in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is now under review and could be reduced." He added that his ministry is "studying" whether "it is educationally sound for mother tongue language performance to count for so much at the Primary 6 level." "The worry is whether it could exclude someone from progressing in his educational pathway even if he did well in other subjects," said Dr Ng in an interview with The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao. The proposed change did not go down too well with certain segments of the population with the usually compliant Union of Chinese Teachers calling for a meeting with Dr Ng to express its reservations. The Straits Times Forum received a deluge of letters from Singaporeans, many of which opposed the move to reduce mother tongues weightage in the PSLE. A petition launched at Hong Lim Park last Sunday garnered more than 2,000 signatures in less than two hours while a Facebook page started to oppose the reduction of mother tongue weightage have more than 5,000 members so far. In a press conference at the Istana today, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reassured Singaporeans that the weightage of the mother tongue in the PSLE will not be lowered. "I think this would send the wrong signal, that we are downgrading Mother Tongue. Certainly, it will not be efficient in helping the student to reach the level which we would like him to reach," he added. In a rare public apology, Dr Ng ate the humble pie and said in MOE's press release: "In my interview, I said MOE was looking at options to address the over-emphasis on exams, where “MTL counts for so much in the PSLE.” Singaporeans became concerned that MOE was proposing to reduce the weighting of MTL in PSLE. This is not the case. The MTL Review Committee has not proposed any change to the PSLE scoring system. But I should have chosen my words more carefully and apologise for creating that wrong impression." Is this a "wrong" choice of words, a "honest" mistake or another embarrassing U-turn? We leave it to Singaporeans to judge for themselves.   Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us    Read More →

Remarks by Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, at the Press Conference on Teaching of Mother Tongue Language on 11 May 2010 1. There were strong reactions to my interview three weeks ago. Today, I will clarify any misunderstanding by outlining more fully what MOE’s plans are regarding Mother Tongue Languages (MTL). I will make the following points: ■MOE is not reducing the weighting of MTL in PSLE. I believe that MTL are important to all Singaporeans and to our future. ■The MTL Review Committee’s goal is to maintain our bilingual policy, not weaken it. The Committee has some initial ideas, which I will outline. ■The review must cover the exam system. It is a critical piece that complements the other initiatives to strengthen MTL teaching. 2. In my interview, I said MOE was looking at options to address the over-emphasis on exams, where “MTL counts for so much in the PSLE.” Singaporeans became concerned that MOE was proposing to reduce the weighting of MTL in PSLE. This is not the case. The MTL Review Committee has not proposed any change to the PSLE scoring system. But I should have chosen my words more carefully and apologise for creating that wrong impression. 3. Despite the misunderstanding, the outpouring of support for MTL teaching to remain a cornerstone of our education system is gratifying. MOE shares this same goal. This is the reason why I appointed an MTL Review Committee headed by DGE to set a road map for the next 10 to 15 years. We need to start now, because their recommendations will take many years to implement. We have to take into account the changing language environment and the wider spread of language backgrounds and abilities among future cohorts of students. Read rest of article here.  Read More →