Language « My Itchy Fingers

The Singapore Pledge

August 3, 2009 at 11:24 pm | In itchy mouth | Leave a Comment
Tags: History, Language, Uniquely Singapore

The theme of this year’s National Day’s Parade is the Singapore Pledge, an oath of allegiance to Singapore. The National Pledge was written by Mr Sinnathamby Rajaratnam in 1966 shortly after Singapore’s independence, based on the dream to build “a Singapore we are proud of”. The draft text was handed to the then Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who polished the text before submitting it to the Cabinet.

The National Pledge is recited in schools during assemblies, in the Singapore Armed Forces and during the National Day Parade. When reciting the Pledge, the clenched right fist is to be placed on the left side of the chest as a gesture to symbolise loyalty to the nation.

So you see, for most people, we were brought up to recite the Pledge in schools when we were young (up till college level). Other than those special occasions, like the National Day Parade, where you have the chance to attend, most adults do not recite the Pledge on a regular basis anymore. It is no wonder that some Singaporeans among us seemed to have forgotten what the Pledge had taught us. No lah, not that they have forgotten about the content and meaning of the Pledge, but they have forgotten about the correct English word used…

Er….dun understand what Itchyfingers mean? Now, try reciting the National Pledge aloud:

We, the citizens of Singapore
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society,
based on justice and equality,
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation.

Ok…I can’t remember when was the first time I heard this ‘word’ being used. Wiki said that it might have originated from the States. Somehow, bad habit seemed to spread like wild fire…I am pretty sure many of you have heard of someone saying this ‘word’, or maybe you are guilty of using this ‘word’? So what word is that?

‘Irregardless’.

‘Irregardless’ is generally listed in dictionaries as incorrect or non-standard.

Well, since the Pledge is normally recited in schools when we were so young, chances of the younger people making this mistake should be significantly lower than those who have left schools long long time ago… :p Which means to say, those who made the mistakes are obviously not so young anymore… :p

So…when was the last time you recite the National Pledge in schools? :p?

Slow But Steady – World Turtle Day

May 24, 2009 at 12:12 am | In itchy mouth | 2 Comments
Tags: Animals, Education, Language, Nature

I din know that there’s a day dedicated for our four-legged shelled friends since year 2000, though I knew 2006 was the Year of the Turtle. But I think the purpose of both event aims at raising awareness of the plight of turtles and tortoises and to conserve the decreasing population, saving them from extinction. Many species of turtles and tortoises are threatened by habitat loss, pollution of water, egg poaching, collection for the pet trade, as well as for food and traditional medicine. Hence, though they are slow movers, their numbers are certainly going down fast.

Turtles and tortoises hibernate in the temperate countries. This month is the period when many have recently emerged from their long winter hibernation, and begin their search for mates and nesting areas. Hence May 23 has been designated World Turtle Day.

Since it is the World Turtle Day, let’s have a little turtle talk. :p

You will be surprised again, that many people have mistaken or confused between the name ‘turtle’ and ‘tortoise’. There were many times when Itchyfingers heard people pointing at the turtles in ponds and called them ‘tortoises’. Have lost count how many times I corrected children on that.

So, what’s the difference between turtles and tortoises then? Not same meh?

First, the difference is the habitat. Turtles live in water. As such, turtles have webbed feet (like ducks) to facilitate efficient swimming. Sea turtles have flippers. They spend most of their time in water, either the sea or pond, and leaving the water only to lay eggs or to bask under the sun. Most are omnviores.

softshell
The Soft-shelled Turtle

One of the most bizarre-looking turtles, the Matamata (Chelus fimbriatus)
is also one of the largest freshwater turtles. It is from the Northern South
America

matamata2
The mouth of the Matamata is wide and the snout is long. The eyes are very
small and they are located by the snout. Can’t help but think that it looks
like it’s snorkelling under water…hahah… Itchyfingers dunnu about
you, but I think Matamata looks damn cute and cool!

Tortoises, on the other hand, are land dwellers so do not need webbed feet. Instead they have rounded legs for crawling. Their shells are also more dome-shaped. Most are herbviores.

astove
The Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) from Seychelles,
is the second largest tortoise after the Galapagos Giant Tortoise. This is
Astove from our Zoo, a male estimated to be more than 75 year old

Hmmm…sounds simple huh…But to make things complicated, there’s another group named “terrapins”. Frankly, I have not heard of this until few years back when I sent my baby to the vet. The nurse put the word ‘terrapin’ under the ‘pet’s name’ column. Hey! My baby does have a name ok! :O

Anyway, a terrapin “splits its time between land and water, with food sources both on land and water”. It is confusing to me as some people called the most common species of turtles sold as pet, the Red Ear Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans), as terrapins.

toto-meimei
My beautiful babies…Toto, piggy-backing on Mei Mei during happier times
together…wondering if they are actually terrapins or turtles...This site
says Red ear sliders are turtles

I remembered reading on some books that the difference lies whether it is American or British English used, so it is kinda interchangeable…can’t remember which is which so did some research and found this explanation on Wiki, which confirmed that I remembered correctly what I read:

“Precisely how these alternative names are used, depends on the type of English being used. British English normally describes these reptiles as turtles if they live in the sea; terrapin if they live in fresh or brackish water (with the exception of Fly River Turtle, also known as Pig-nosed Turtle). American English tends to use the word turtle for all freshwater species, as well as for certain land-dwelling species (eg box turtles). Oceanic species are usually referred to as sea turtles. The name terrapin is typically reserved only for the brackish water Diamondback terrapin. Australian English uses turtle for both the marine and freshwater species…”

Another site also mentioned the same thing, that “the difference between turtles and terrapins is highly debated, and in America any chelonian (shelled reptile) that’s not a tortoise is called a turtle “. According to Wiki, “a terrapin is a specific species of turtle, the Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) that lives in brackish water.”

sign
A sign at the zoo explaining the differences but also mentioned that “some
people use the term ‘turtles’ for ‘terrapins’ as well”

So now you have a clearer idea of the differences between ‘turtles’, ‘tortoises’ and ‘terrapins’?

PS: Itchyfingers congratulate the Singapore first women team to successfully scale Mount Everest! Their pace might be slow in taking five long years to prepare, train and raise fund, but like turtles and tortoises, they are slow and steady and displayed great courage and determination in completing the personal challenge against all odd!

Funny Signs. Interesting Finds – Taiwan Trip #18

April 8, 2009 at 6:39 pm | In itchy backside | 4 Comments
Tags: Animals, Arts, Language, Signage, Taiwan, Travel

We saw many cute and funny signs in Taiwan during our visit. Here are some of them:

cut1
Crazy cut? Or anyhow cut?

wwf
Er….WWF….World Wild Fund? Wow…plagiarism!!!

Meet Fresh….but the mascots weren’t that fresh-faced….:p

No preservatives…so no youthful looking logo…hahah…:p

The sign said a “Prankster toys” so we thought it must be very interesting.
Went up the stairs only to be welcomed by a heavy cigarette smell! And we
thought Taiwan had just started banning smoking in air-conditioned areas!
Too bad for the owner cos they had just chased away a customer, though
we peeked into the shop and realised it was filled with Halloween masks and
nothing really special that could make us endure the foul-smelling smoke!

A poster at the airport. Smoking is now banned in air-conditioned public areas

Well, this flight of stairs was so much more attractive and friendly!
I immediately recognised the drawings as one of those I had seen in magazines…

“Some things that might be useful to you…”

Beautiful shops with equally beautiful works done by a beautiful mind,
Creative 26

Cubbish - another cute shop that Itchyfingers recognised from magazines…
Itchyfingers dream of opening a shop like this selling our own creations…

Cute characters…

You would think this was a shop selling toys or fashion, with the two cute
characters here. But in fact they were selling condoms! So different from
those we have here, where the shop name always sound so sleazy…hahah

While the condom shop didn’t sound sleazy, this whole building selling
ladies’ intimate wears with a name like “Easy Shop” and a huge poster of a lady
in suggestive pose, just sounded a bit promiscuous and loose…hahah

A smaller branch of the same shop…with focus just on the logo, it gave the
impression of a friendly shop catering to teenagers shopping for their first
brassiere…:p

“Wang Wang Lai” – auspicious sign for this seafood shop…

“Duo Mao Mao” – a term meaning playing hide-n-seek in Taiwan….Hmmm…
a smaller notice at the left said the shop was moving out but din mention
to where…playing hide-n-seek with customers….hahahah

Strawberry lovers have to give this shop a visit! All the pastries were
made with or decorated with strawberries…very pretty!

Lion made of donuts…

Similar to countries like Japan, the train station had designated waiting
zone for female passengers at night..

Be considerate…I wish we have these on our trains….how many times did
you have to tolerate the loud music blasting from the phones of some ‘Ah Bengs’
standing at the other side or sitting beside you?

So if you dun wanna be called an Ah Beng or Ah Lian, please refrain from playing loud and irritating music from your phones….(Note to the unitiated: An Ah Beng is a term used loosely to stereotype someone who lacks cultural refinement or has unusual styles and tastes. An Ah Lian is the female equivalent)

But do we always have to be told how to behave appropriately…?

eat
The sign said, “No Smoking, Drinking and no (counterfeit) Apple laptops
allowed”. Haha

Like our MRT, they also had these posters telling passengers what to do
if their belongings were to drop onto the track…er…what if it was small
item like ear-rings or glasses…how to fish them out har? :p

I thought the chinese translation for ‘priority seats’ sounds more like
‘compassion seats’…

“Bandits’ Live Seafood”?

But this was even better…

“Beast Specialty Shop”….

Wow….this was found at Shilin Night Market, where a whole section was selling pets. There were the usual cute puppies and kittens displaying at the shops in front. But the shops inside had more exotic animals, or beasts, as they named it, on sale. Itchyfingers only know Chatuchak Market in Bangkok sells exotic pets. We didn’t know or heard that there is such market in Taiwan. Though only a handful of shops were selling these exotic pets, it was enough to make our jaws drop like we did in Chatuchak…. One shop specially displayed their license to show that these were not endangered species they were selling. But many of these animals were not suitable to be pets, as many tend to grow too big or need big living space.

Just what were some of the exotic animals on sale?

babes
Babes! Piglets! These tend to grow into big fat pigs…certainly not suitable
for pets…unless you own a big house…(One Taiwanese reader later told
us that these won’t grow big though…as her friend has one..) :p

Hedgehogs! Can’t tell the face from the backside? Cos photography strictly
prohibited….but nothing could stop our Itchyfingers!

Snapping turtles! These too will grow into big turtles and one nasty bite
from them guarantees you will say bye-bye to your itchy fingers…There
were many other kinds of exotic turtles and lizards on sales too…