Don’t you hate it when people around you, knowing that you do not know the language they are speaking in, continue to talk in that said language, thus excluding you from the conversation and leaving you to wonder what they were talking about and whether they were talking about you?

Singapore, where we live, is a multi-racial and multi-lingual society. In fact, although English is the most used and working language of the country, there are a total of four official languages – English, Chinese (or Mandarin to be exact), Malay and Tamil. But given that the Chinese make up the largest percentage of the population (about 80%), it is inevitable that you get to hear a whole lot of Chinese spoken in the island.

But what gets my goat is this – when almost every citizen below  the age of 50 has been educated completely in English, you still have people who go around talking in one language when there are people of other races around you, who you know can’t speak or understand the language! How rude and insensitive is this? This happens all over the country and the biggest culprits are the Chinese (since they are the majority population). But I find this happening with Indians (speaking the language of their specific community), Malays and others too.

My master plan for GG & BB to avoid this is to have them take Chinese in school. Given that they will be spending their lives in this country (or not), it’s always better for them to know the language. Even if they do not learn it thoroughly, they should still learn enough to be able to carry on a conversation and in a sneaky way know what others are talking about them! What do you think?

Have you ever been in a situation where people around you are talking in a language you know zilch about and you go nuts trying to figure out what they are saying?

P.S: This is my 99th post and so the post tomorrow is special ‘coz it’s my 100th post! Now wait for something special to be written!