ARTICLES : An Historical View of Languages and the Media in Singapore and the Philippines: Parallelism and Cultural Dimensions

Abstract

Singapore and the Philippines have commonalities in terms of political history and education but have differences in terms of governance.

Both countries are members of ASEAN and have long histories of success and failures in terms of their political stability and economies. Both were colonized; Singapore by the British and the Japanese and the Philippines by the Spanish, the Americans, the Japanese and then back to the governance of the United States of America again before it became fully independent. The Philippines suffered the brutality of a civil war and WWII, before it established its own identity.

Singapore and the Philippines have adapted legacies left by their histories, including, the English language which they use as a tool to help develop. English has become one of the official languages and one of the mediums of instructions in education in both countries. English is now viewed as a pathway to progress and the reason why both countries are viewed as examples of how ASEAN should move forward.

Singapore is the leading business hub in Asia and has risen to a preeminent position as one of the Asian ‘Tigers’ in Southeast Asia. On the other hand, the Philippines is the leading provider of overseas workers because of the highly educated work force and their command of English.

The Philippines has suffered failure because of political turmoil, consequently, lagging behind Singapore and other ASEAN countries in terms of its economy.

However, both countries are in the process of change. In Singapore this change is in terms of governance and becoming more tolerant of media coverage while the Philippines is trying to change its image as one of the most corrupt countries in the world but with a degree of ‘freedom of speech’ in media that is unsurpassed within the ASEAN region.