Singlish

Singlish—a combination of the words Singapore and English—is a creole version of British English that is unique to the Southeast Asian nation of Singapore. While Singapore has four official languages—English, Malay, Tamil, and Mandarin—English is expressly used for governmental and educational purposes. Despite this, Singlish developed alongside English as a lingua franca, a common language used by the people in a region. Singlish combines elements from all four major languages, with elements of other tongues appearing as well. As a result, Singlish is very difficult, even for speakers of related languages, to understand.

In comparison to English, Singlish is regarded socially and by the government as a “lesser” language. For instance, official Singaporean census surveys showed that English and Mandarin were the two most common languages spoken by Singaporeans by a wide margin. However, Singlish was not presented as a listed language option. In the twenty-first century, the Singaporean government has sponsored a campaign called the Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) to limit the spread of Singlish, which it regards as slang. The government sought to emphasize that people who primarily speak Singlish are placing themselves at an economic disadvantage, as most foreign investors and tourists do not understand Singlish. In addition, the most lucrative jobs in Singapore require the use of standardized English. Despite such government movements, Singlish continues to be the dominant street language of Singapore, though most Singaporeans are typically also fluent in at least one other language.

Background

The languages of Singapore offer a reflection of the country’s cultural history as a mostly immigrant nation. Located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and bordered by Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore was a British colonial possession by 1819. Prior to the arrival of the British, Singapore was a small community of Malays native to the area who spoke the Indigenous Malay language. During the next 150 years, the city grew into one of the most important trading ports in the region. Roughly half of the new settlers to Singapore were Chinese who brought the Mandarin tongue with them. Singapore was placed under the jurisdiction of British India in Calcutta, which led to an influx of Indian workers to Singapore and the arrival of the Tamil language.

Singlish originated from interactions between the broad cross-sections of peoples who spoke different languages. As the British colonial government used English as its official language, Singlish used this tongue as its base, mixing in grammar and individual words from the stew of local languages. Initially, it began as a pidgin language, which is a form of basic communication often used by immigrants that combines their Indigenous languages with the local tongue. Typically, pidgin languages are linguistically simple and grammatically incomplete. They are often developed in order to allow two communities to communicate with one another. If allowed to develop, these pidgin tongues may eventually evolve into distinct languages with concrete forms of grammar, new words, and interpretations of existing words.

Such was the case with Singlish. While English remained the dominant tongue for government affairs, Singlish privately developed as a sister language among the various mixed cultures of Singapore and became the language of daily affairs. As Singapore was a trading oasis largely separated from neighboring communities, Singlish was able to develop quickly into a distinct language with its own grammar rules. This evolutionary process was enhanced by Singaporean independence.

By the time Singapore was established as an independent country in 1965, English had become entrenched as the primary language, with most people also speaking a second language—such as Mandarin or Tamil—derived from their cultural background. Among people of the lower classes, Singlish remained the primary language for conversing with other Singaporeans, regardless of cultural identity. Singapore began requiring all public school students to be taught in English, and over time, virtually all younger Singaporeans became fluent in it. However, Singlish stubbornly hung on as the lingua franca for a large segment of society. There remains a socioeconomic component to Singlish, with people from the lower social classes more likely to speak Singlish more often. However, most Singaporeans have at least a passing ability to understand and speak Singlish. This is in part due to Singapore’s requirement that all male Singaporean citizens, regardless of class, serve two years in the country’s military. Despite English being the official language of the government, Singlish tends to be the de facto language of the Singaporean National Service.

Singlish has subsequently developed into a proud expression of Singaporean cultural identity. Initially, the Singapore government had strong policies to limit its spread through television and other forms of media. Over time, these restrictions have been relaxed somewhat as anti-Singlish campaigns demonstrated only limited effectiveness. The government has been forced to adapt to the prevalence of Singlish and instead ask Singaporeans to differentiate between proper English and Singlish.

Overview

Generally speaking, Singlish mostly uses Chinese grammatical structures (called syntax) and largely English wording. Simply put, Singlish may be described as an attempt to speak Chinese using English words. Singlish primarily relies upon a dialect of Chinese called Hokkien for its structure. Hokkien is a form of Min Chinese spoken natively in southern China that has been adopted as a common language among Chinese expatriate communities like that found in Singapore.

As an example, a person who has sold a bicycle might say, “the bicycle sell already” instead of using the English equivalent of “I already sold the bicycle.” In addition, Singlish often includes the use of words called “tags” at the end of sentences. Among the most common Singlish tag words are “ah,” lah,” and “wut what.” “Ah” is meant to indicate the speaker expects the listener to agree, as in “Sunny today ah.” “Lah” is used for emphasis, as seen in “This is good price lah,” while “wut” or “what” are meant as mild corrections, as in “There’s no food here, wut.”

In addition, many non-English words have been repurposed to have different meanings from their native equivalents. For instance, the term “ang moh” is a Hokkien loanword literally meaning “red hair.” However, in Singlish it refers to Caucasians regardless of their hair color. Similarly, the Tamil word “goondu,” meaning “fat,” is used in Singlish to describe an unintelligent person. English words are often transliterated into Chinese-sounding words; “like that” typically becomes “liddat.” When these elements are brought together, it can be very difficult for non-speakers to understand.

Bibliography

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