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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Having known quite a few Singaporeans, mostly those who mainly speak English (as well as those for whom English is a second language) I would say they are significantly more Western in their thinking/outlook etc than people from countries like Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand.etc. I was going to ask a general question of who the most westernised Asians are, but I would say it would be Singaporeans.
I had a friend whose mother mostly cooked Western food at home (well I guess my mother did as well, but we've lived here a long time) and of course only spoke English. Singapore was also a lot more influenced by Britain through colonialism than India.etc - actually that's not that true, Singapore has become a lot more globalised/westernised in the past 20-30 years or so, with American, British and other culture.
Of course, even the most westernised Singaporeans can usually speak some Mandarin, Malay or Tamil, and celebrate Chinese New Year or Ramadan (and may be familiar with aspects of Chinese culture) but they don't seem to have the same deep Confucian ethics, are pretty liberal.etc and young people seem to pretty much have the same lifestyle as people in the West. They party, drink, have pre-marital sex, have western style weddings.etc.
I'd say some of them are practically Westerners - some of them even seem to see Western culture as superior or to be emulated. I had a friend who used to try to put on an American accent even though she'd never been there! They are definitely a different breed from even people in modern countries like Japan, Taiwan, HK IMO.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by ejay1
Singaporeans really are more western thinking...even more so then Philippines....
Definitely. I think it's a consequence of economics. S'pore is much wealthier than the Phils, and poorer people tend to be more traditional. It's also very urban, practically 100% urban. Even the Chinese-speaking Singaporeans are more westernised than those in Taiwan, HK, for sure. I find Malays and some Indians the least western, although some Indians are definitely just as westernised.
Having known quite a few Singaporeans, mostly those who mainly speak English (as well as those for whom English is a second language) I would say they are significantly more Western in their thinking/outlook etc than people from countries like Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand.etc. I was going to ask a general question of who the most westernised Asians are, but I would say it would be Singaporeans.
I had a friend whose mother mostly cooked Western food at home (well I guess my mother did as well, but we've lived here a long time) and of course only spoke English. Singapore was also a lot more influenced by Britain through colonialism than India.etc - actually that's not that true, Singapore has become a lot more globalised/westernised in the past 20-30 years or so, with American, British and other culture.
Of course, even the most westernised Singaporeans can usually speak some Mandarin, Malay or Tamil, and celebrate Chinese New Year or Ramadan (and may be familiar with aspects of Chinese culture) but they don't seem to have the same deep Confucian ethics, are pretty liberal.etc and young people seem to pretty much have the same lifestyle as people in the West. They party, drink, have pre-marital sex, have western style weddings.etc.
I'd say some of them are practically Westerners - some of them even seem to see Western culture as superior or to be emulated. I had a friend who used to try to put on an American accent even though she'd never been there! They are definitely a different breed from even people in modern countries like Japan, Taiwan, HK IMO.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by minibrings
How would you define your relatives in Singapore?
It would depend...my mother comes from a large family. Most of my aunts and uncles were English-educated, although a couple were Chinese-educated. My grandmother was pretty much Chinese culturally, she still can't speak English, but since my mother was the 7th out of 10, it was really her oldest sister who raised her and the younger siblings. She was a school-teacher and from an early age they spoke mostly English. For some reason it's mostly my aunties who are more English/Western (2 of them also no longer live in Singapore) as well as their families obviously. In terms of lifestyle, however, I would say it's a fusion between the two, but language definitely defines a lot...I guess Asia is becoming a lot more westernised these days that the differences are narrowing too though so I don't know.
I'd probably go with Singaporeans. But, when I've been in Singapore, it doesn't seem 'western' at all. But, they do speak English, use English, and are very international/cosmpolitan in outlook.
When I open up my browser, it opens to Yahoo Sg (Yahoo's Singapore page). Since it's all in English, I've never bothered to change it. It's interesting to see the world through the SG perspective, it also covers a lot from China and India, Indonesia, and Malaysia which is interesting. Especially since it's all in English.
But, there is a lot more to 'westernism' than just speaking English. I also associate the pro-gay, pro-feminism, pro-marijuana and everything else to be very western. I don't see those things in Singapore or anywhere in Asia. That being said, I personally like that drugs aren't an issue in Singapore, whereas they are entranched deep into the U.S.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
I'd probably go with Singaporeans. But, when I've been in Singapore, it doesn't seem 'western' at all. But, they do speak English, use English, and are very international/cosmpolitan in outlook.
When I open up my browser, it opens to Yahoo Sg (Yahoo's Singapore page). Since it's all in English, I've never bothered to change it. It's interesting to see the world through the SG perspective, it also covers a lot from China and India, Indonesia, and Malaysia which is interesting. Especially since it's all in English.
But, there is a lot more to 'westernism' than just speaking English. I also associate the pro-gay, pro-feminism, pro-marijuana and everything else to be very western. I don't see those things in Singapore or anywhere in Asia. That being said, I personally like that drugs aren't an issue in Singapore, whereas they are entranched deep into the U.S.
Maybe you don't have relatives/friends in Singapore so you don't know as much how people think. You might just see how things are on the surface, or here about how the government or the people are so conservative or whatever. Real Singaporean young people aren't as different as you think.
Maybe you don't have relatives/friends in Singapore so you don't know as much how people think. You might just see how things are on the surface, or here about how the government or the people are so conservative or whatever. Real Singaporean young people aren't as different as you think.
That's true.
But many westeners can be over the top with going on and on about weed or 420 or whatever else. It's a bit excessive, and after spending years in Asia myself, I get tired of the 'smoke pot to be cool' 'culture. Which I attribute to a very western value.
That being said, I agree that young Singaporeans are probably quite cosmopolitan interntionally, and more aware, in a way that many westerners might not even be of the West themselves.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,060,466 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
That's true.
But many westeners can be over the top with going on and on about weed or 420 or whatever else. It's a bit excessive, and after spending years in Asia myself, I get tired of the 'smoke pot to be cool' 'culture. Which I attribute to a very western value.
That being said, I agree that young Singaporeans are probably quite cosmopolitan interntionally, and more aware, in a way that many westerners might not even be of the West themselves.
Yes marijuana use is low in most of Asia because of the strict drug laws. But in terms of drinking many Singaporeans get drunk to be cool.etc, although it's not as prevalent as in the West. But they listen to pretty much the same music (although now K-pop etc has grown in popularity), have fairly similar fashions, similar life goals, Singaporeans trend to travel a lot and many live/work overseas.
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