I strongly feel that expatriates living in Singapore are not playing their part in nurturing a closer understanding with the local community. I am incredibly upset as a distinct division has formed between the locals and the expatriates. As a multiracial and culturally diverse nation, it is crucial that there is harmony and understanding between the various ethnic groups.

Without sounding too simplistic or chauvinistic, I believe that the main cause of this problem is the rampant attitude of linguistic and cultural complacency amongst expatriates. There are two prominent negative implications which stem from this, the first being the language barrier which inhibits communication between locals and expatriates whilst the second is the negative perception of expatriates through the eyes of the locals. It is important that expatriates learn to communicate with locals in order to develop an understanding for their cultures and beliefs. To truly understand this, envisage a self-righteous stranger who came to reside in your neighborhood. Despite being foreign to the area, this stranger is too haughty and makes no effort to interact with you. To add insult to injury, he or she has absolutely no regard for your traditions! How would you feel if you were put in such a situation? I would feel disgusted and humiliated!

Many expatriates may be lacking in incentives to learn a local language such as Mandarin, Malay and Tamil or they may be misled into thinking that all Singaporeans are fluent speakers of English. Although it is true that virtually all Singaporeans speak English, it remains a second or third language with a low degree of proficiency for many; especially amongst those of the older generation who were educated before the English-medium education system was established. In addition, there were some who did not receive a formal education at all.

On the whole, I feel that the expatriate community is too smug to be bothered learning local languages such as Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. Time and money should not be the issue here as there are dozens of affordable weekend language courses which can teach beginners the language in as little as two or three months! Furthermore, picking up a new language in Singapore is not as daunting a task as it may seem as the locals speak these languages daily. This creates an encouraging environment which can positively influence one's ability to learn one of the languages. In addition, if you plan on living in Singapore

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