Speak Good English Campaign

What are some of the creative choices employed by the authors to encourage Singaporeans to Speak Proper English?

In order for the authors to encourage this movement, I believe they chose to use very specifically bright colours that would stand out on posters around Singapore and online. As they are bright and attractive posters, they are more likely to be read by Singaporeans who see them. Additionally, the choice of the cities given such as Edinburgh, Melbourne, New York etc, are very frequent holiday destinations for Singaporeans to go to as they are quite far away. This makes them seem almost like a ‘dream’ or as the ‘ideal place’ to live or go, which may make Singaporeans more likely to listen as they want to be more like the people who live there. Furthermore, these posters are quite westernised, and as western culture is often idealised or preferred, this may encourage Singaporeans to want to speak ‘proper English’. Due to the phrase “Let’s connect. Let’s speak good English”, it also seems as though they’re saying Singaporeans will not be able to connect with other people, or build lasting relationships, without being able to speak good English. This almost seems as though it’s ‘threatening’ them, and that without learning and practising good English, there will be consequences. Lastly, due to the western implications, they may feel as though they will be able to receive more opportunities in places outside of Singapore if they are able to speak proper English, and may feel as though it would change their lives and make them less alienated. The posters may make them feel as though the way they speak is ‘odd’ or ‘strange’, and is a very negative message to put across as it’s portraying assumptions that western speaking styles are better, and behaviours that are unique to Singaporeans should be changed and are wrong.