PROGRAMME DETAILS

Texting and the Englishing of World Languages
Conversations
DATE / TIME
6 Nov, Wed
8:30 PM - 9:30 PM
60mins
Festival Pass Event
LANGUAGE
This session is in English
MODERATED BY
Izyanti Asaari
DESCRIPTION
The English language dominates global popular culture. Many cultures mix lexicons, using English acronyms like “lol,” and “brb" and blending them with non-English words to make new acronyms. For example, Germans write “mbsseg” meaning “mail back so schnell es geht” (“as fast as you can”). Has texting damaged our cultural ecology or added to linguistic diversity? This panel discusses whether these trends are a cause for concern or celebration.
This session is co-presented with Kult.
FEATURING
Marylyn Tan
Singapore
Marylyn Tan is a queer, female, linguistics graduate, poet, and artist, who has been performing spoken word since 2014. She is invested in building community, emancipating the marginalised, and the alienated, endangered body. Her first volume of poetry, Gaze Back (published by Ethos Books; finalist for the 2019 Lambda Literary Award), is the lesbo Singaporean trans-genre witch grimoire you never knew you needed. Marylyn has been published in various anthologies, including A Luxury We Must Afford, Inheritance, and ASINGBOL Anthology. She writes for your bewilderment.
Photo credit: Ethos Books
Gwee Li Sui
Singapore
Gwee Li Sui wrote Singapore’s first long-form graphic novel in English, Myth of the Stone, in 1993 and has six volumes of poetry to date. His latest titles are Death Wish, Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to How Singaporeans Communicate, and The Leeter Tunku, a Singlish translation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. A familiar name in Singapore’s cultural scene, Gwee has also edited several acclaimed literary anthologies and written and lectured on a range of subjects.
Gwee Li Sui is featured in the following SWF event(s):Kelly Chan
Singapore
Kelly Chan is the city manager of Mundo Lingo Singapore.
Kelly Chan is featured in the following SWF event(s):