Culture - Singlish.

As a multi racial country, one of the most remarkable aspects of Singapore is the truly cosmopolitan nature of her population, a natural result of the country’s geographical position and commercial success.

The proportion of different races in Singapore can be seen in the pie chart below.

The four official languages in Singapore are Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and English.

If you're wondering which language you have to use, in order to converse with people from the different races in Singapore, please do not worry. English is the most common language that is spoken in Singapore, English also unites the different ethnic groups. Therefore, it will not be that difficult to communicate with singaporeans after all!

However, foreigners may encounter language problems in the beginning of their stay in Singapore. The presence of other languages (especially various varieties of Malay and of Chinese) has influenced the English of Singapore. The influence is especially apparent in the kind of English that is used informally, which is popularly called Singlish. Singlish is used vastly everyday, espcially in informal communication.

Well, what is Singlish?

Singlish is a mix of English with other languages (especially malay and hokkien) mixed into the English, sometimes phrases can end with funny terms like 'lah', 'leh', 'mah'.

Singlish is a badge of identity for many Singaporeans. However, the usage of Singlish has caused some of the Singaporeans to be less aware of the importance of speaking or writing proper english.

Here are a few examples of Singlish phases/words that are used commonly in Singapore.

Examples:

• Makan - To eat.
• Chope - To reserve something.
• Cheem - Difficult, complicated.
• Ang Mo - A white person.
• Rojak - Mixed, a mix of.
• Liao - Finished, the end.
• Kiasu - Afraid to lose mentality.
• Habis - Finished.
• Obiang - Outdated/Ugly.
• Shiok - Fantastic.
• Pai Seh - Embarrassed/Shy.
• Sekali - Suddenly.

Speakers of Singlish will usually end his sentence with a distinctive exclamation. The three most common are ah, lah, leh and what.

Examples:

• Ok lah, bye bye.
• Don't like that lah.
• You are going there ah?
• No parking lots here, what.
• The price is too high for me lah.
• And then how many rooms ah?
• It is very troublesome leh.
• Don't be like that leh!
• I'm not at home lah. That's why ah.

Here is one more example (a phone call).

Proper english: Hello. I have already eaten in school, so you don't have to buy dinner for me. I will reach home slightly late as i am doing my project in school now. I will call you again when i leave the school. Thanks and goodbye.

Singlish: Eh, i ate in school liao. So don't but dinner for me ah. I will reach home a bit late. I'm doing my project in school now leh. I call you again later, when i leave the school lah. Okay, thanks ah. Byebye.

It seems complicating, doesn't it? But all it takes is time. After visiting or staying in Singapore for a couple of weeks, Singlish will not be so foreign to you anymore. You will eventually get used to it, and you may even find yourself speaking Singlish occasionally too!

Here is a video of a conversation between a DJ from 98.7FM (radio station) and a caterer who speaks in fluent Singlish. Please enjoy! (link)

The next post will be on Esplanade, a place of the Arts. Till then! (:



Reference Links:

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/aboutsingapore/people-lang-culture.html
http://www.singaporeexpats.com/about-singapore/culture-and-language.htm