Nationally Speaking

Placemaking: Getting to the Middle of Middle Road

Reading Time: 12 minutes

By Chia Kei Yin (24S03C), Low Jing Kai (24S03H) and Shannen Lim En-Qi (24A01A)

In a four-part series about a tour run by Ms Eunice from Indie Singapore Tours, titled “The Hidden Communities of Middle Road”, Raffles Press members bring you on a journey that spans time and space—from the well-known shophouse facades of Bugis Street that belie an unknown history; to the myriad of religious institutions that line Waterloo Street. 

In this piece, we explore what’s changed and what’s stayed in the Middle Road area, and their significance in Singapore’s national history.

What makes a place? The people, the culture, the history, or perhaps a combination of all of the above? This is what we set out to answer on a sunny Saturday afternoon, exploring the Middle Road district.

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Why is no one listening to local music? Also, here are some good Singaporean artistes

Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Syaura Nashwa (24S03R)

Read until the end for artist recommendations!

Do we have culture?

This is a great debate between edgy teenagers and zealous seniors. The older generations would argue that Singapore has its local food and colloquial language. Though, some aren’t sure if hawker food, “shiok”, and love for bubble tea are substantial grounds to grow culture.

Amidst all these different opinions, there is one thing we can agree on. No one listens to Singaporean music.

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Nationally Speaking: Rediscovering our Chinese Dialects

Reading Time: 7 minutes

By Jermaine Lee (24A01A)

Being Hokkien is a part of my identity I recognise in name, but not form. On my birth certificate, it’s written as my dialect group. However, my sense of belonging to it feels merely superficial—I can technically say I am Hokkien, but I often don’t feel like I am. 

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National Examinations: How Standardisation Benefits Us

Reading Time: 4 minutes

By Clara Chai (22A01D)

104 twenty-cent and fifty-cent coins. 1.134 kg. Sound familiar? 

While browsing through countless memes of Helen and Ivan last year, I came across this interesting news article. It touched on the stress that the PSLE brings to young children, as well as how our approach towards the national exams may be causing more harm than good. Yet, it also encouraged readers to maintain a positive attitude towards these exams.

For most students, the grades that they attain from their examinations are very important. To them, their marks impact their academic confidence and future educational pathways. For this reason, the scores they obtain for their national examinations may carry more than double the weight in their hearts. Words like ‘bell curve’ and ‘national performance’ strike fear in many students’ hearts as their grades seemingly hang on sheer unpredictability.

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No, I Don’t Speak Tamil: Understanding Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTIL)

Reading Time: 6 minutes

By Samyak Jain (21S03A) and Snehal Sachde (21S07C)
Cover image by Neo Xin Yuan (21A01D) 

Chances are, you’ve complained about taking Mother Tongue before. We sure have. However, some of us have more to complain about than others. On top of the regular boredom which many associate with the subject, students who take Non-Tamil Indian Languages (NTILs) face a unique set of challenges that are generally not considered by the wider school population. 

Chances also are, you know that most Indians in Singapore speak and learn Tamil. However, this isn’t an accurate representation of the languages spoken in India at all. 

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