Do a lot of people unfamiliar with it think Singapore is basically a Chinese enclave? (movies, live)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think this is a really good point. Most people probably would not identify it as a place with ethnicities that originated in other countries like China. Many would probably answer if pressed that people in Singapore are of Singaporese or Singaporean ethnicity, and expects that that exists like Vietnamese or Indonesian do.
Many people even think this way about New World countries too. Many people just think of Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Jamaicans and Haitians as having an ethnicity called Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Jamaican and Haitians, not really thinking about those Caribbean people being descended from slaves, colonists, natives, indentured servants or a mix of either.
Curiously enough, I know of enough people who think of black Jamaicans as if they were "native" to the island, not realizing they were slave descendents as much as African-Americans.
Many people think of Argentines as Argentines alone in ethnicity or even Latin Americans descended from Spanish alone without knowing how much of the Argentinian population descends from Italian immigrants.
I think this is a really good point. Most people probably would not identify it as a place with ethnicities that originated in other countries like China. Many would probably answer if pressed that people in Singapore are of Singaporese or Singaporean ethnicity, and expects that that exists like Vietnamese or Indonesian do.
Well that's the thing, there isn't a real 'Singaporean' ethnicity because they're like Australians, a recent mostly immigrant country unlike other SEA nations. STILL Singapore has it's own distinctive culture, food, lingo, customs.etc. Maybe over time an ethnicity will develop. One could argue one already has or is in the process of developing.
The Caribbean is a good example of a number of recent "immigrant" (using immigrant loosely to refer to settlers, colonists, slaves and indentured laborers, even though many were involuntary immigrants) societies that has developed their own ethnicity from disparate races and groups.
Racial tensions still exist in places like Guyana between Africans and Indians, but in many other Caribbean nations people get along well. Maybe Singapore could grow into a version of an Asian country that resembles a Caribbean one with a melting pot of people living on a tropical island. Or is Singapore way too workaholic for that?
^^
Well I'm very interested in New World countries or settler/immigrant countries and their identity as melting pots/multicultural places (as you can tell from my threads!) and people keep bringing up Singapore as an example of an Old World country that resembles a New World one.
The Caribbean is a good example of a number of recent "immigrant" (using immigrant loosely to refer to settlers, colonists, slaves and indentured laborers, even though many were involuntary immigrants) societies that has developed their own ethnicity from disparate races and groups.
Racial tensions still exist in places like Guyana between Africans and Indians, but in many other Caribbean nations people get along well. Maybe Singapore could grow into a version of an Asian country that resembles a Caribbean one with a melting pot of people living on a tropical island. Or is Singapore way too workaholic for that?
Well Singaporeans of all races get together - at least the young people - much more so than Malaysia (in part due to government policy), so you might even see more intermarriages etc and mixing. At one time even the different Chinese dialect groups stuck together and didn't mix much.
When i was a kid i used to think Singapore was a special administrative region of China not far from Hong Kong
Didn't know it was part of the British Empire and located outside China until middle school.
When i was a kid i used to think Singapore was a special administrative region of China not far from Hong Kong
Didn't know it was part of the British Empire and located outside China until middle school.
Lol...btw 'Singapura' is a Sanskrit word meaning 'Lion City' also appropriated into Malay. The ancient name was Temasek.
Outsiders probably don't even have much interest in Singapore .....
I do!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
