Uncle, you speak Good English meh?

Recently someone suggested that Singaporeans, in our quest to speak good English (oxymoron...), should stop using "Uncle" and "Auntie" when addressing someone older.

I wonder if this is some foreign talent's idea. Obviously this Gongkia has cultural intelligence so low that even his or her own country exported him or her to Lion City. Of course, not all FTs are like this. Neil Humphreys found this "Uncle/Auntie" term so unique that he described Singapore as a place where everyone is a relative! 

I begin with, let's understand why we use endearing terms like Uncle and Auntie. Being Asians - Chinese, Malay, Indian and what have you, we value relationships. We have a very descriptive taxonomy to address our relatives, and the systems across our cultures vary in degrees of complexity. I recently bought a copy of the Chinese Almanac and I was pleasantly surprised that there is a section that serves as a reference for you to address relatives, like your Father's older brother (Pak Fu), your Mother's younger Brother(Jiu Jiu or Ah Gu), your cousin from your mum's side (biao sister/brother) or father's side (tang sister/brother) and so on. The Malays address their senior males as Bapak of Pak for short, which is similar to how the Chinese address their older male members in the community.

We respect each other as people, regardless of our social status. This morning I saw my estate's garderner, and old man with pretty nifty green thumbs. "Good morning Uncle Heng!" I would call out, and he always waves back with a smile. I would greet the cleaning lady with a bright "Good morning Auntie! Have you eaten (Jiak Bah Buay)?" and she acknowledges with a warm smile. I also always address the taxi driver as "Uncle", partly out of habit, and also partly out of respect. Maybe from the back seat, we can't really see the driver. But at times when I realise the driver is about my age, I would say, "Hey brother, Orchard Road please."  It makes that 20 minutes of the ride, where there's no one else except you and taxi Uncle, so much more pleasant, trusting and enjoyable - and at least I feel safe. Believe me, I took a cab in Turkey, and the 15 mins was the longest cab ride of my life. 

Last week, on Hari Raya, I brought the kids to Jurong SAFRA. There were lots of people there, and even FTs who came with their kids to enjoy the sprawling indoor playground Kids Amaze. I was thinking, "Wah, SAFRA for our NSMen now also attracts Ang Mohs! Quite THERE liao!" Anyway I visited the Gents, and there was this Ang Moh guy who, obviously, was on toilet duty - he had to bring the boys to the loo. He's a pretty cool guy, and obviously the kids like him. He had all the boys lined up at the urinals, and telling them to hit the "target". At first I was puzzled, then I realised that there is a small "bullseye" target painted in the urinal for zeroing purposes. Hahaha, that was fun.....but what followed after that struck me. Amongst the boys was a local Chinese boy, maybe about 7 to 8 years old. My guess is the Ang Moh came with a local friend and it is a family outing of sorts. The small boy was trying ask the Ang Moh something and kept calling him "Uncle! Uncle!Uncle, where are we going now?" And the Ang Moh looked a little uncomfortable. I was amused by the relentless youngster's quest to get the adult's attention, and the social awkwardness displayed by the poor Ang Moh (I think he's Aussie. Cheers, mate.). Maybe someone can try to explain why John Smith feels that way?

The point I'm trying to make is this: we are Asians, we are Singaporeans. Our values are what define us, unique to us, and unite us. We can use English as a medium for communication, but let's not give up our identities for the sake of assimilation with the corporate Western world. After all, world hegemony shifts over time...and the winds they are a-changing.

So for the FTs who don't understand this, you may want to start getting used to calling your parents "Mum" and "Dad" instead of Mary and John. As Andy Bell of Erasure said,"Oh Baby please...give a little RESPECT...to me."