Erroneous Tamil text was spotted on screen during a National Day Parade 2020 (NDP2020) evening live performance on Aug. 9.

Misaligned Tamil characters displayed on screen during performance

In response to a media query from Mothership, the chairman of the NDP2020 Executive Committee, Brigadier-General Frederick Choo, said there were Tamil text errors in one of the lines displayed on LED screens during a performance in the show.

The misaligned characters that were displayed on the LED screens during the NDP2020 evening show could clearly be seen for those who could read Tamil text:

Here's what the text, which means "My Singapore", is supposed to look like:

Choo added that Tamil translators were engaged for the Tamil lyrics and Tamil performances and said future NDPs will be more mindful of this issue.

He said: "The NDP2020 EXCO apologises for the error. The EXCO had engaged Tamil translators to ensure the accuracy of the Tamil song lyrics and the Tamil translations of the films and performances in other languages."

"All lyrics for projection were accurate prior to digital animation. We will further strengthen the production process and be mindful for future NDPs."

Choo's full response as follows:

This year’s National Day Parade 2020 (NDP2020) evening show featured animated lyrics displayed on LED screens as part of the performance. Unfortunately, the animation effects resulted in one line of the Tamil song lyrics having misaligned characters. The NDP2020 EXCO has worked with Mediacorp to correct the animated text for the online broadcast footage on YouTube and meWATCH.

The NDP2020 EXCO apologises for the error. The EXCO had engaged Tamil translators to ensure the accuracy of the Tamil song lyrics and the Tamil translations of the films and performances in other languages. All lyrics for projection were accurate prior to digital animation. We will further strengthen the production process and be mindful for future NDPs.

Social media posts express disappointment in Tamil text errors

Karthikeyan Somasundaram, who has been featured in Tamil shows on Vasantham, a TV channel by Mediacorp, took to Facebook to express disappointment over the mistake and questioned if there was not even one person to check the accuracy of the text.

You can read his full post here:

On Instagram, Tamil Murasu journalist, Vengadesh Maniam, posted an Instagram story with similar sentiments and how a "simple check with a Tamil person is all it takes".

He also added:

"This is not a poster or a simple advert, it's the national stage."

Here's a screenshot of the Instagram story:

A similar mistake happened in 2017 when Tamil text errors were spotted on NDP brochures distributed to Primary 5 students in 162 primary schools.

Top screenshot via Mothership/ YouTube