Singapore English

Lately, I have been following some local forums online about current affairs in Singapore due to having too much time on hand as my business is moving at a slow pace again. What amazes me is the language most of the members are using. Being known as an English-speaking country, I would expect proper command of English to be used for online debate or discussion, but to my surprise, the infamous “Singlish” is still pretty much used, even by the younger generation.

For many who have travelled to or lived in Singapore, I believe the term “Singlish” is commonly heard here. Or some must have experienced the use of Singlish by the locals in various situations. Be it riding in a taxi, commuting in public transport, ordering food at the hawker centres, purchasing at the supermarkets etc.

In brief, it is the English language spoken among the locals which is infused with other languages like Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) or Mandarin (Chinese language) or Hokkien (a dialect of Chinese language) on some occasions.

The term Singlish is likely derived from “Singapore-English”. There are so many different variations which is why it proves confusing for many foreigners. One of my German business partner felt lost 10 minutes into a meeting with a Singlish speaking manager at my customer’s factory. There are occasions where my Japanese business partner could not understand what the locals are talking about as well.

It is not an easy language to master unless one is brought up here in Singapore or have resided here long enough to understand. There are many terms in the Singlish dictionary to learn and one probably needs to unlearn the proper English language to master, because most sentences used in Singlish exclude grammar.

Personally, I am not in favour of Singlish although I use it to communicate with the locals, friends, and relatives for easy understanding. Most of the time I use proper English to converse with my customers and suppliers from overseas, because confusing them is not a good idea (LOL).

From a casual perspective, Singlish can be amusing and fun at times. Questions and responses are usually short which is convenient and timesaving. But overusing can be a little too much and cause confusion at the other end of the conversation. Perhaps I shall share more about this unique language little by little in time to come.