American English 'likely to prevail': Lee Kuan Yew

The American version of English will probably prevail over other forms and teachers may have to eventually accept this as inevitable, said former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on Tuesday.

The growing dominance of the American media would mean that our population will increasingly be hearing the American version of English, he said.

Speaking at the official opening of the English Language Institute of Singapore (Elis), he said that he, too, had been consciously switching between British and American English on the computer, and that he saw himself moving towards American English in a nod to the US being 'a dominant force'.

Teachers might thus do well to accept this trend, and teach their students to recognise - and even speak - American English, he said.

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