Singapore Expats

I just returned from my first visit to universal studio, while I appreciate we are in Singapore but the girl at the Shrek show who was giving history of the story, had a really grating and difficult to understand accent, and I have lived here for 5 years. The tinny sounding PA system didn't help.

The Jurassic park voice, admittedly a recording, was clear with a hint of a local twang which is fine we are in Singapore.

With all the piss take regarding the local English I would have thought being able to speak clearly would be one of the most important criteria for employing the acting staff at the frontline.

I found that the place was not that suitable for young children.

QRM wrote:I just returned from my first visit to universal studio, while I appreciate we are in Singapore but the girl at the Shrek show was giving the brief history of the story, with a really grating accent that is so difficult to understand (and I have lived here for 5 years) the tinny sounding PA system didn't help. The Jurassic park voice, admittedly a recording, was clear with a hint of a local twang which is fine we are in Singapore.

With all the piss take regarding the local English I would have though being able to speak clearly would be one of the most important criteria on employing the acting staff at the frontline.

emphasis mine.

ditto for companies who hire people to talk to people over the phone.

and to think this country has had waves after waves of english-speaking expats come in over the decades!

i experienced calling a hotline when i was in japan. the person on the other line had an accent but at least her english was clear! and japan isn't even a mainly english speaking country.

oh hell...we're flogging a dead horse. you all got your whips ready?

but to be fair, those people who do tours in the zoos here are quite nice to listen to. some even do that extra emphasis on 'r' which reminds me of eartha kitt!

No fair !

Thats beating the dead horse with a stick

I found that the place was not that suitable for young children.

I thought that the other day - I was looking at their site and most rides seemed to say that they had to be over 122cm tall.

on no really? i've talked to a couple of people who took 6 year olds and said it was good for that age... do you not think so? i'm not super jazzed to go - but i remember universal studios so fondly from california when i was a kid (albeit around 10 yrs old) so thought it would be fun.

6 year old plus its fine, just 3-4 year olds its a bit hit and miss.

I thought it funny one time when I complained that a Chinese restaurant here in Singapore didn't have any English speaking staff and a local said but its a Chinese restaurant. I asked him: so if I go to a Mexican restaurant I must be able to speak Spanish?

$Pripps wrote:I thought it funny one time when I complained that a Chinese restaurant here in Singapore didn't have any English speaking staff and a local said but its a Chinese restaurant:

Ironically, when I ate at a non-Singaporean Chinese restaurant in Chinatown manned by Chinese from mainland China, the waitress had a hard time speaking in English. She seemed like she just got off the plane and just recently had her visa approved.

But she spoke clearly of the little English that she knew and didn't sound like she was chopping vegetables or chasing her breath.

I went to Universal Studio the other day and got ourselves the Express Pass. But damn I realize there not even a queue in the first place .. So much for paying Express..

Anyway, I didn't encounter what the TS encountered, but I have to admit that the local accent over the PA systems was very strong. I thought they have many native English-speaking expats working at Universal Studio, so why don't they do the voice-over instead? lol

.. And the croupier spoke "weird" English that my Dad had difficulty understanding. But then again my Dad doesn't really speak and understand English. Oh well..

Wah expats complaining about Singapore again. Always complain but still stay here, if you dun like then can take Taxi to Changilah. You go overseas , people also have accent wat ,so wat wrong with Singapore accent?

You been to Scotland, ah? They also must then employ people who can speak English..Also in Liverpool and Newcastle and they native speaker! Even in London ,their accent sometimes cannot understand wan.Their PA also difficult to understand.

Taxi to Changi is waiting for you.

[quote="$Pripps"]I thought it funny one time when I complained that a Chinese restaurant here in Singapore didn't have any English speaking staff and a local said but its a Chinese restaurant. I asked him: so if I go to a Mexican restaurant I must be able to speak Spanish? [/quote

If you were going to a Mexican restaurant in a country where Spanish was an official language? Yeah, I'd say you'd better be prepared to hablar a little espanol.

HurrDurr wrote:

$Pripps wrote:I thought it funny one time when I complained that a Chinese restaurant here in Singapore didn't have any English speaking staff and a local said but its a Chinese restaurant. I asked him: so if I go to a Mexican restaurant I must be able to speak Spanish? [/quote

If you were going to a Mexican restaurant in a country where Spanish was an official language? Yeah, I'd say you'd better be prepared to hablar a little espanol.

Kinda like the good ole US of A ain't it! Must speak Spanish if'n you wants to work at Walmart. That or Rap crap.

HurrDurr wrote:

$Pripps wrote:I thought it funny one time when I complained that a Chinese restaurant here in Singapore didn't have any English speaking staff and a local said but its a Chinese restaurant. I asked him: so if I go to a Mexican restaurant I must be able to speak Spanish? [/quote

If you were going to a Mexican restaurant in a country where Spanish was an official language? Yeah, I'd say you'd better be prepared to hablar a little espanol.

And if you are in a country where both Spanish and English would be the official languages?

x9200 wrote:

HurrDurr wrote:

$Pripps wrote:I thought it funny one time when I complained that a Chinese restaurant here in Singapore didn't have any English speaking staff and a local said but its a Chinese restaurant. I asked him: so if I go to a Mexican restaurant I must be able to speak Spanish?

If you were going to a Mexican restaurant in a country where Spanish was an official language? Yeah, I'd say you'd better be prepared to hablar a little espanol.

And if you are in a country where both Spanish and English would be the official languages?

Uh...uh..." donde es la biblioteca"?:P

Also, @raden888: