Ungenteel Speech

Such ungenteelness in a speech at an important occasion. What's the world coming to?

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I swear, it's not the worst you could say
A letter to the NTU valedictorian who used the F-word in her speech

By Rohit Brijnath (with thanks to Straits Times )

DEAR Miss Trinetta Chong,

Good morning and may I gently say that now you have really *&^% done it. A single swear word - uttered I appreciate in youthful excitement - in your valedictorian speech at Nanyang Technological University, and a crisis has arisen.

Mine, not yours.

Apparently, I qualified to write this essay because it is rumoured I swear fluently in four languages - English, Hindi, Bengali and Australian. Please, it's untrue. My mother - famous for her bars of soap - may read this.

Nevertheless, there you are, swearing on YouTube and smiling, watched by thousands; here I am, alone, swearing at my computer. Of course, yours was a public space, mine is private, but, alas, those lines tend to blur these days.

This is no old fogey lecture, just a look at a word that centuries on still provokes debate.

Anyway, should I get overly preachy, I will be slandered as uncool; should I dismiss profanity by quoting Stephen Fry, who said 'It is impossible to imagine going through life without swearing or without enjoying swearing', I will be rightly pilloried for encouraging it. So I must, like the Flying Wallendas, attempt a dangerous high-wire walk.

Not everyone swears, though what the size of this finely restrained tribe is I cannot say. Even those who do, will say - please wait for stern parental voice - 'there is a time and place for everything'.

Indeed. Nevertheless, profanity intrigues many, especially when young. When we meet a travelling Dane or Kenyan, the first words we often like to learn are 'hello' and 'thank you', followed by something rather rude. Weird, isn't it?

Anyway, your minor outburst has required a little soul-searching and much Internet browsing. So, in case you were unaware, the F-word arrived, so notes the Oxford Dictionary of English, in the early 16th century and it has never left. One may insert ear plugs, but one cannot be deaf to it, for it can even be transmitted through sign language.

Its letters have since been rearranged to become a clothing company and its significance has warranted a 93-minute documentary. One might say this word has gone the distance, even in fact into space: Having completed his moonwalk in 1972, and unaware of an open mike, commander John Young, tired of eating citrus fruits, made his complaint rather plain.

Invective, I concede Miss Chong, litters our public landscape like a sort of verbal graffiti. So much for offering you role models. Former United States vice-president Dick Cheney has uttered it and that terrific dame, Helen Mirren, has shared it. At least she had the courtesy to put her hand to her face in smiling dismay.

Comedians toss the word around like confetti, movies use it for emphasis - Martin Scorsese's Mafia-epic Casino reportedly has 398 mentions - and rock stars hurl it with defiance. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters recently instructed a fighting fan to 'Get the *&^% out of my show'. Presumably, the F-word was the better option to fisticuffs.

Sports stars, viewed as heroic even by adults, use it flagrantly. Or as the ice-hockey player Gordon Howe once explained it: 'American professional athletes are bilingual: They speak English and profanity.' Of course, them we excuse under the guise of 'heat of the moment'.

Not all words stand the passage of time, for language - a lovely, evolving beast - alters subtly every generation. New lingos arrive, and my daughter - like you, I am certain - uses SMS code which I strive to comprehend. LOL, it took me a while to figure out, had no relation to lollipops. Please try not to smirk. But the F-word, for all its casual usage, has not entirely lost its jarring anti-establishment edge nor its strong sense of taboo.

Beyond disgust, profanity offends some - like a writer friend of mine - because it further impoverishes language, manifesting a wider refusal to discover within English, for instance, more beautiful and available synonyms. So invective becomes the lazy option and too many words, once frowned upon, creep into the public discourse.

Now even in Australia - where swearing I had suspected was a fundamental right - Victoria's state government is trying to zip lips with an on-the-spot fine for indecent language. Whereupon author Keith Dunstan wrote: 'What do you do when you hit your thumb with a hammer? What do you say when you serve three double faults in a row?'

The F-word will continue to polarise.

It will remain a vulgarity and provocation to many; it will be viewed as a way to convey anger pithily, contempt pointedly and elation swiftly for others. But its quick death is unlikely, for it is inextricably linked to emotion and rebellion.

I hardly recommend it, Trinetta, but as speech goes, there is more in life that offends me. It rests way below race-baiting, it does not outrage like sexism does, it is not as disturbing as religious hatred. All this can be spoken of in fine language, but elicits a sharper disgust. Personal attacks on television, in blogs, even in letters I receive, are to me far worse than a quickly bleeped-out word.

So here is my last word on the F-word for you. It's a personal, adult choice, but a choice to be exercised smartly, a distinction to be made as to which space is appropriate for it.

And by the way - it isn't what I remember most about your speech. That would be your quoting of Dr Seuss. I swear, I love that old genius.

Good luck,
Rohit Brijnath
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Defence by teachers is what is truly worrying
- By Wang Yongbing
(with thanks to Zaobao)

At this year’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) convocation, valedictorian Trinetta Chong of the School of Communication and Information – named after the late President Wee Kim Wee, a gracious and stately man – ended her speech with “We f***ing did it”. This not only brought the convocation to a climax, but was spread all over the world.

Whether it was blurted out in excitement or scripted so she would make a name for herself, it is still a vulgarity. As a social phenomenon, vulgarities are part of culture and do have an important value in the study of human history. However, vulgarities have always been considered uncivilised, and no school would teach vulgarities. At such a solemn ceremony, more graceful language would have been more memorable. In contrast, while the F-word was shocking and exciting, people have forgotten her speech except that vulgarity. Is this not a case of one rotten apple spoiling the whole barrel?

We treasure talents, but we cannot indulge them and end up spoiling them. Trinetta did realise that she might have offended some people, and subsequently apologised. However, she said she hoped people would not take the word out of context, but that they would look at the whole speech to understand why she said it. This makes her apology insincere – that is the problem.

Is the use of a vulgarity appropriate at a convocation? NTU should take a clear stand, and not be ambiguous. It should let the girl realise the seriousness of the matter, so that she and like-minded others will see what is wrong and change for the better.

However, this is not happening. It seems that none of the teachers from NTU has said “That is really going too far”. On the contrary, three teachers have come out in support of the valedictorian. One said there is nothing wrong with the F-word. He explained that emotions were running high, which is why she used such strong language. The question is, even if that is the case, does it have to be a vulgarity?

Another was full of praise for the girl’s powers of expression, even saying that it was a sign of the openness, freedom and creativity of university students. He felt the girl’s vulgarity was the icing on the cake that brought the atmosphere to a climax. But is that true? If the girl chose to liven things up with a vulgarity, or if she was playing to the audience, is that not pathetic?

Education teaches students about the beauty of language. What part of linguistic beauty does this vulgarity come under? That word actually does not even have to be learned, as everyone uses it for everything. Most people resort to vulgarities when they are losing an argument – there is no creativity at all. It would have been better if the girl had crafted her speech in the right words with artistic appeal, to evoke the imagination, feeling and senses of the audience, so that they would feel good, that they had gained something, and that her speech was worth remembering.

Openness of thought does not lie in doing as one likes, but in having a broad perspective and doing the right thing. Freedom does not lie in letting oneself go, but in judging right from wrong. Creativity does not lie in doing something new and unconventional, but in having firm foundations. All this is closely linked to one’s character and breeding. Bad language undermines character building, and really cannot be allowed or encouraged on campus. NTU’s statement that it regrets the girl’s poor choice of words is comforting, but the three teachers’ defence and praise of the vulgarity is puzzling.

It is not my intention to be sanctimonious in criticising the girl, but someone should point out what is wrong with her speech, as a lesson to others. University is where talents gather. People are looking at their behaviour, and primary and secondary school students are looking to them as role models. Can we ignore that?

(The writer is a former associate professor with the National Institute of Education at NTU. These are the writer’s personal views.)
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What a secondary school student thinks of the “faux pas” by NTU valedictorian (ZB)
- By Li Yixin

I am a secondary four student who will soon be taking the “O” level examinations. Recently, I came to know from a class discussion about the case of a Nanyang Technological University (NTU) graduate who spouted an expletive during her valedictorian speech.

Reading the news for the first time, I was shocked - and baffled at the same time. Are we saying that in order to express one’s overwhelming emotions, no other words will suffice except vulgarity? With so many words in the dictionary, why does one have to use the F-word which everybody knows is sure to generate controversy?

I do not approve of the use of expletives at such a solemn occasion as a convocation ceremony, and neither do my friends and teachers. The F-word may have been used profusely by some students, but I do believe that students generally will consider the occasion before using such an expression. And, at a solemn occasion such as the convocation ceremony, it is all the more important for students to be mindful about what they say and how they behave. I feel it is extremely selfish of a person to pull a stunt like this to stand out at the expense of the good name of the university.

But, what I really have issue with are the articles written by the two NTU professors in support of the behaviour of the student. I find their views baffling. First, the view held by Professor Yu Wenxuan that the use of expletives shows that the student is creative and not afraid to challenge authority.

I have a question in response to this: Are we then saying that people such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have used vulgar language in their efforts to innovate? Innovation and vulgarity are not related. Must a person spout expletives in order to be bold and innovative? Must a person be vulgar to challenge authority?

Professor Yu also feels that the matter would help spread the name of NTU. If a university that is ranked among world’s best has to resort to expletives to raise its profile, what a pathetic situation it would be. Not only would this affect NTU, Singapore’s reputation would also be undermined.

There is also another view that vulgarity can bring people closer together. But, even then it would still depend on who one is speaking to, and on the occasion. There is a saying that “smelly tofu tastes good, but it can never be served on formal occasions”.

Another NTU professor Chang Xin even cited what happened in other countries and made comparisons to what happened here to justify the incident. Such a line of argument shows a blatant disregard for reason.

The Government has been doing its best to make Singapore a gracious society and the Ministry of Education has also taken upon itself to nurture talents with good qualities. Given that university dons are held in high regard by the people, they should all the more lead by example. They should not just impart knowledge, but build character in their students as well. Only then can our top students be quality talents. I too am working towards such a goal.

(The writer is a student at Bukit Panjang Government High School.)