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Here's a remarkable trio I would like my readers to meet. Jimmy Chng from The Decibels introduced me to this vocal group. They call themselves Fascinating Aida.
The three ladies joined forces in March 1983 after the years of disco lights and John Travolta. Always around and to my delight, British comedy - stand-ups, groups or otherwise - have always tickled my funny bones.
They come by the dozens, especially in the 60's and I find them as hilarious as the time when Harry Secombe, Peter Sellars, Stephen Fry and Rowan Atkinson were still around. The last two are still dishing it out, I think.
Fascinating Aida Musical Group (from left) Adele Anderson, Issy van Randwyck and Dillie Keane.
But this group is slightly different. They belong to a genre called Satirical Cabaret and consists of only ladies. The original group included Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Liza Pulman with changes here and there.
You don't need the lyrics because their articulation is perfect, the best English teachers. Enjoy. 😁 In case you do need the lyrics just key in the title song and you'll get a million sites to choose from.
Fascinating Aida should apply to teach the English Language in Singapore and put more fun into the local syllabus. They would make fascinating tutors. (Unless one is able to switch, speaking Singlish doesn't really help, especially when you need to speak publicly in the media or abroad.)
Click comment below. Lots of flavours recommended.
Founded in March 1983 Dillie Keane, along with Marilyn Cutts and Lizzie Richardson.
Video and Google Images.
The three ladies joined forces in March 1983 after the years of disco lights and John Travolta. Always around and to my delight, British comedy - stand-ups, groups or otherwise - have always tickled my funny bones.
They come by the dozens, especially in the 60's and I find them as hilarious as the time when Harry Secombe, Peter Sellars, Stephen Fry and Rowan Atkinson were still around. The last two are still dishing it out, I think.
But this group is slightly different. They belong to a genre called Satirical Cabaret and consists of only ladies. The original group included Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Liza Pulman with changes here and there.
You don't need the lyrics because their articulation is perfect, the best English teachers. Enjoy. 😁 In case you do need the lyrics just key in the title song and you'll get a million sites to choose from.
Fascinating Aida should apply to teach the English Language in Singapore and put more fun into the local syllabus. They would make fascinating tutors. (Unless one is able to switch, speaking Singlish doesn't really help, especially when you need to speak publicly in the media or abroad.)
Click comment below. Lots of flavours recommended.
NB:
A Twitter reply from the Group on 30 January 2018.
Thank you, dearies.
Video and Google Images.
15 comments:
Hey Andy, I just watched the video you linked with this article and it is hilarious as you said! Lol I love the way they sang and narrate the song (and how the chorus resonate with the emotions they felt while purchasing a too good deal and realising they got exactly what they paid for). Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the comment Brenda and taking time off from your busy schedule to encourage others to watch the video and read my content.
Haha very enjoyable watching this. I recall seeing something similar years ago but can't remember exactly. Must share this.
Thank you, SK. You are kind.
Keep your blog going! Seniors like us will always thank you for the memories.
Credit ought to go to the talented ladies. I received this vid from a friend. Just sharing what I thought might be amusing/interesting to you.
Feckin' good.
Their enunciation is clear for sure and I agree that Singlish is largely not that usable in an international context, however, I will use it sparingly to generate humour and for rapport building.
There was a question asked about pronunciation for other languages such as French or German words, to anglicise it or to sacrifice native pronunciation for intelligibility.
It was felt that sacrificing the way it is pronounced natively would help non-native learners understand better - as they are already struggling with recognising the meaning of the word. What do you think?
'To generate humour and for rapport building', yes but to 'help non-native learners to understand better', that's too huge a sacrifice.
Definitely, a step by step natural pathway to the demise of the English Language here. And I am just talking about Standard English and not Native Speaker distinction.
In Singapore, it's a known fact that Singlish is used as a lingua franca. Soon we will get pidgin and finally a full-blown creole.
I'm not too sure I'd want that. But then again, it's not in my lifetime.
Bloody Irish... Funniest 4 minutes of my day !!! hahahahahahahahaaha
In response to B's comment I think that it is worth bearing in mind that language is flexible and does evolve. The English language grew from Anglo Saxon, French, Scandinavian, Latin, Greek and many other sources and includes Malay and Indian words but with localised pronunciation. Even today there are transformations going on. Some of them quite acceptable but others absolutely appalling. Many youngsters today will write should of when they ought to be using the abbreviated form which contains an apostrophe. The other thing is inappropriate use of words. An example would be " I feel so humbled to accept this award" when they actually mean they are pleased to accept the award. If you mean you are pleased say something like "I feel over the moon " instead of pretending to be modest. "This moment in time" really annoys me, if you mean NOW say "now". I had problems with pronouncing some words because my mother was Canadian, I was often in trouble for pronouncing schedule as skedule and aluminium as alumenum. I eventually learned the proper pronunciation. However, there are regional variations, here in the north of England the letter a is usually a short vowel but further south it gets elongated as thought there was an r after it. So in the north we go for a bath but in the south they go for a barth even though they spell it the same way. There also seems to be a trend nowadays for sloppiness in writing things like you book when it should be your book. Poor typing or lazy speech?
So, Language can be tricky but remember that language is an aid to communication so it could be argued that minor differences do not matter as long as your audience can understand you.
Rant over!
Surely John but not to the point of it being totally misunderstood. Foreigners, including speakers of English, find it difficult to understand our "English" speakers.
Of course, language is alive, always changing and evolving with new words coming in every day from everywhere and "acceptable" (haha) by Oxford Dictionary but speakers need the basics, a proper knowledge of grammar to start with and a spoken one that most can understand. And I'm not even talking written English here.
Making mistakes is one thing but not knowing the basics is another.
Thank you John for your response. Appreciate.
Hi Andy,
A great act by the Fascinating Aida. However, I'm not sure, if by the same token, teaching the English Language in our school system is necessary or suitable for them.
Perhaps teaching English along with drama under the British Council would serve the purpose. I hear traces of Scottish accent.
So the mixed pot of English as spoken by Singaporean will remain, regardless of the tutors - simply because we are not native speakers of English.
How true Pat. I must agree. Just thinking if the kids will ever be understood by native speakers or non-locals.
I just wish they would have at least acquired Standard English level to be understood by many.
Thanks for your response.
Absolutely. Just listen to the English spoken by the presidents, prime ministers n other world leaders from the different countries in the United Nations. Were the speakers understood?
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