A beautiful Sunday indeed! Skies are not clear of clouds and the sun is not exactly pouring its generous helpings of rays on us. Still beautiful. My idea of what's perfect.

Especially when I think of Bondol, wrapped in her red winter coat. You know, despite all my fascination with snow, having been there and done that, I still prefer the heat and humidity of our Southeast Asian climate. Yeah, the usual not-so-romantic me, I guess.

Also a fruitful Sunday thus far, I'm proud to say. Not only did I look up Indonesia on the net and read tens of pages of related articles -- boy, didn't know we had thirty-three provinces now -- I also learned a few interesting bits on Krakatau, Doctor Who, and Scientology.

All in all, not bad for a guy who doesn't usually leave his bed and do something useful -- making some instant noodles -- before noon on any given Sunday.

In addition, I found this rather refreshing blog and fixed my so-called blogroll. (Me? Busy person? Yeah, right!)

What a difference a few years can make. A while ago, reading stuff like "I thanx God I'm alive" and "I felt so boring in class today" and "This is suck", I would've been quick to criticize and declare my oh-so-superior knowledge. Empty vessels do make the loudest noise.

Now I feel "good" English should be viewed amongst us non-native speakers as a welcome bonus. You write in good English? Great. You don't yet try to express your thoughts in English? I appreciate your effort. So long as it's not done with the intention of showing off.

It's arguments like "it's crap what he writes; his grammar is not even correct" that I frown on. All right, so grammar is not his strongest area. Big deal. That should never render anyone's opinion valueless. Not automatically, anyway.

It's even worse when "that guy's really smart; his accent is flawless, no trace of Singlish whatsoever" is used. First, when it comes to English, what is a "good" let alone "flawless" accent anyway? British accent? American? I personally prefer American, but simply because that's what I've been most exposed to -- thanks to all those Hollywood flicks. Dutch accent is not too bad, either. Still preferable to British. My opinion.

Second, so what if a Singaporean or a long-resident here speak Singlish? Despite all signs and formal text being in English, it's not the mother tongue of most people here. People from the US speak American English. Those from UK speak the Queen's English. Why can't Singaporeans speak Singaporean English and Javanese Javanese English?

I myself am not above laughing when I hear someone speak with a "funny" accent. I'd like to think I laugh at the accent, not the speaker. Not easy, I'm still trying.

That someone speaks with a "bad" -- to our ears -- accent or writes in grammatically weak English should not make us readily disregard the rest of what he has to say. The idea of to communicate is to get one's point accross, to have the other party understand what one's trying to say. If the communication is done in "good" English, that's an extra point. Yet, if the objective is accomplished, who's to say it's a bad form of communication and not to be taken seriously?

Perhaps someone should start a "Bad English Speaker Might Have A Point, Too" campaign.

Disclaimer: all the above arguments by no means suggest that one should not continuously try to improve one's command of whatever foreign languages one strives to learn.

Or one's mother tongue, for that matter.

Current music: Kings of Convenience - Misread
Current mood: happy