Singlish is often able to capitalize on the brevity of key expressions from various languages or dialects, which makes many phrases much shorter than their English equivalents. Additionally, Singlish can function as a window into the Singaporean psyche. This particular phrase is probably the result of our familiarity with the silly-looking animal because of its prevalence in Singaporean cuisine. Other words express the struggle of the daily grind. It is not uncommon for tourists wandering the streets of Singapore to find that the local strain of English takes some getting used to, both because of the many non-English words and phrases that Singlish borrows from, but also because a stereotypically thick Singaporean accent is difficult for the uninitiated to understand.
It is not surprising that the people who remark on the strangeness of Singlish are those who have actually visited our little island and have seen the locals jabbering in rapid slang. Most Singaporean Brunonians come from high schools where most students communicate exclusively in the English language; many also speak non-Singlish English with their friends and families.
Thus, Singlish goes mostly into hiding when Singaporeans go abroad — with a few exceptions. Join our newsletter to get exclusives on where our correspondents travel, what they eat, where they stay.
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Photo by: Kirsten Han. Food and Fortune in Singapore How a raucous, festive dish created by four Heavenly Kings conquered a country obsessed with eating. Far From the Rooftop of the World Dharamsala in the Himalayan foothills may be the most iconic Tibetan town in India, but for an unfiltered glimpse of the real life of the Tibetan exiles, you have to head south to the former refugee settlement of Bylakuppe.
Featured City Guides. It is also an expression of the Singaporean character and culture, a national treasure — or a detriment and danger to the country, depending on whom you ask. Singapore is a city-sized island at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, originally populated by Malays Credit: Alamy.
Singapore is a small island at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, and it was originally populated by Malays. After a British trading post was established there in , many of the traders who arrived were from different Chinese ethnicities: Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, Hainanese.
Some also came from India and Sri Lanka, especially Tamils. Education was not universal; the better-off families paid to send their children to English-speaking schools to advance their career prospects, and it was in this context that the seeds of Singlish were sown.
It came about as an adapted version of English used by students in English-language schools who spoke other languages at home. The schools were the soil in which Singlish sprouted, and it has now spread through all of everyday life. And Singlish is the neutral language between members of different ethnic groups. It is undeniably a central expression of Singaporean culture, vibrant, loaded with references from the cultural backgrounds of Singaporeans. The intonation and pronunciation make it sound even less familiar.
Have a listen to this marvellous rendition of a scene from Frozen in Singlish. This video is no longer available. All syllables have approximately equal length and stress. It sounds almost like a tone language in places. Conjugational and plural endings often disappear. Even though English is not a language of a major ethnic group in Singapore, it was adopted to unify the multicultural community speaking their own mother-tongues.
Most Singaporeans can speak two languages: English, because it is the language of instruction in schools and businesses, and their mother-tongue corresponding to their government-registered race which is mandatory for students to study in school.
Officially approved third language options are offered for promising students. Though not officially a language, Singlish is widely spoken and beloved in informal settings — seen as a mark of a person being truly Singaporean. The best way to describe Singlish is that it is a colloquial form of English with a distinct accent, often ignoring standard English grammar in favour of using only the essential words.
It consists of a vocabulary that is a jumble of local slang and expressions from the various languages and dialects spoken in Singapore. We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK". Sign Up. Travel Guides.
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