By SUHAILA SULAIMAN
DO YOU say Espla-NARD? Or Espla-NAID?
A poll of 60 people showed a near 50-50 split.
Thirty-one insisted Singapore's new arts centre be
called the Espla-NAID, rhyming with lemonade, while 29 said Espla-NARD, rhyming
with guard.
Espla-NAID is "more Singaporean", but Espla-NARD
"sounds more sophisticated".
Taxi-driver Ng Hock Peng, 57, sniffed: "Only ang
mohs call it Espla-NARD. Singaporeans call it Espla-NAID."
Broadcast journalists are having the hardest time.
Straits Times TV news editor Jennifer Lewis, 41, said: "We had rather heated
debates about the correct pronunciation.
"There was a short period when you could have heard
both versions within one bulletin."
Beatrice Chia, 27, actress and host of Art Nation
on MediaCorp's Arts Central, said: "When we covered the Esplanade for the first
time in September last year, we had to stall filming for half-an-hour while we
were scampered around for the right pronunciation."
They finally settled for Espla-NAID.
Dr Lisa Lim, an assistant professor from the
National University of Singapore's department of English Language & Literature,
said there was no one correct pronunciation.
Yes, the word is derived from French, where it
would then be pronounced Espla-NARD. But language is constantly changing.
She said: "Pronouncing it such could carry some
connotation of being more cultured or `artsy' - though potentially in an
artificial or affected way - because it retains the original foreign
pronunciation.
"The pronunciation Espla-NAID has undergone
adaptation to English pronunciation patterns and so would be felt to be
anglicised, and thus more provincial."
Esplanade chief executive officer Benson Puah, 45,
prefers Espla-NAID.
He said: "There is a whole generation of
Singaporeans who have very fond memories of Espla-NAID Park.
"Why change something that is already close to the
hearts of many Singaporeans?"
No reason. But it would be good to know what
cabbies call the spiky twin structures, which open on Oct 12.
Taxi driver Cheng Kian Boo, 55, said: "I don't
know. I just know that the building near the Oriental Hotel looks like a
durian."
Other comments from Singaporeans on the
architecture of The Esplanade
I've tried to be careful, but
my apologies if my abbreviation and paraphrasing has distorted anything
substantial.
1. Not a national symbol.
Koh Buck Song:
Designers should
aim to create a national symbol
2. The theatre enclosures
Koh Buck Song:
They are like
concrete blobs; Featureless modernist
Tan Hock Beng:
Monolithic and
monotonous masses lacking sensual refinement; No poetry; No cohesive unity;
Balance of permanence and delicacy missing.
Tay Kheng Soon:
Ungainly shrouds
3. Form follows function
Koh Buck Song: Form merely
follows function
Tay Kheng Soon: Functional
requirements have overwhelmed the architecture
Tan Hock Beng: Forms are merely the result of functional requirements
4. Intimacy
Tan Hock Beng: How is intimacy
tackled for the large theatres?
5. Non-Asian design
Tay Kheng Soon: Western Forms
dominate Eastern; Dealing with the unequal juxtaposition of East & West is the
essence of the challenge; Sense of design done in desperation
Koh Buck Song: Would like to
see a representation of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others cultural icons
represented
Tay Kheng Soon: Glad that ethnic
featurism is avoided
6. The design, generally
Tay Kheng Soon: Sense of design
done in desperation; Glad that post-modernist revivalism is avoided
Koh Buck Song: Not a memorable
and distinctive design
Tan Hock Beng: Finely judges
response to the site; Well crafted site layout; Waterfront an important
contribution to the urban landscape
