[SG Talk] The Singlish Language [Archive]

louislpk

10-13-2003, 11:38 AM

Sorry singaporeans no offence :)

Use Singlish. It's so much cheaper, shorter, and faster. Why do we insist on using the Queen's English, when Singlish is so much more economical and effective? Compare and see!

When going shopping...
Britons : I'm sorry, Sir, but we don't seem to have the sweater you want in your size, but if you give me a moment, I can call the other outlets for you.
S'poreans: No Stock!

When returning a call...
Britons : Hello, this is Mr Bean. Did anyone page for me a few moments ago?
S'poreans: Hello, who page?

When someone is in the way...
Britons : Excuse me, I'd like to get by. Would you please make way?
S'poreans: Lai, siam! or Siam, hor! or Skius!

When someone offers to pay...
Britons : Hey, put your wallet away, this drink is on me.
S'poreans: no need lah

When asking for permission...
Britons : Excuse me, but do you think it would be possible for me to enter through this door?
S'poreans: (while pointing at door) Can pass or Not?

When asking to be excused...
Britons : If you would excuse me for a moment, I have to go to the gents/ladies. Please carry on without me, it would only take a moment.
S'poreans: Go toilet. Buay tahan ahh.....

When entertaining...
Britons : Please make yourself right at home.
S'poreans: Don't shy shy lah..

When doubting someone...
Britons : I don't recall you giving me the money.
S'poreans: Got meh?

When declining an offer...
Britons : I'd prefer not to do that, if you don't mind.
S'poreans: Doe-waaaan.

When deciding on a plan of action...
Britons : What do you propose we do now that the movie's sold out & all the restaurants are closed?
S'poreans: So how?

When disagreeing on a topic of discussion...
Britons : Err. Tom, I have to stop you there. I understand where you're coming from, but I really have to disagree with what you said about the policy.
S'poreans: Talk cock lah you!

When asking someone to lower their voice...
Britons : Excuse me, but could you please lower your voice, I'm trying to concentrate over here.
S'poreans: Eh, Tiam leh!

When asking someone if he/she knows you...
Britons : Excuse me, but I noticed you staring at me for some time. Do I know you?
S'poreans: See what see?!

:bleh:

retrobaby

10-13-2003, 11:59 AM

:laughing: this can be a laugh...but well. some of them are quite true, i have to say. hehe so much for being a singaporean myself :oops: but i've lost my singaporean accent already

sagara0510

10-13-2003, 02:27 PM

hmmm...funny but i can see some truth to it...altho...comparing to Britons...they always take the long way around when it comes to speaking...if u get what i mean..

wackycashew

10-13-2003, 05:35 PM

haha... thanks for sharing this. :) had a good laugh. i guess the brits and even us canadians like to be really courteous and tactful, especially with strangers, thus resulting in sucn long sentences at times. :happy: my fave line up there would be "Don't shy shy lah.." haha... :laughing:

jessca

10-13-2003, 08:34 PM

Hehe...thanks for sharing with us!

I dont know whether we Britons are long-winded or polite but credit to the Singaporeans for the way they save time... :happy:

hisashi

10-14-2003, 05:00 AM

:D :oops: My often spoken line... "Got Meh?" - this proves that I was born in the year of goat! :crazy: and "So How?" :bleh:

~sugarcookie~

10-14-2003, 07:54 AM

lol...but i noticed that not only singaporeans talk like that...i usually talk like that too with my friends when i'm feeling lazy or when the atmosphere is very casual

choo min

10-14-2003, 11:05 AM

i realise that this is really true. i like to use these phrases too, when the atmosphere is appropriate, as i don't like to say too much and have people looking at me for more than a few seconds. just shy, u see...

---

i think girls like shy and quiet boys more. They don’t talk back and don’t play the field as much.

cloUdsuRFer

10-14-2003, 11:11 AM

kekeke...tha'ts so cute...i always find singlish so cute and funny... (my cousin is singaporean...and all her friends are too).....man...its funny...i just sit there by myself ..giggling away... ^_^
very paiseh :blush:

thanks for sharing.. :)

Emjay

10-14-2003, 03:35 PM

hey, that's really true!! i mean, since we're so used to all that, why not use it, esp when we're all singaporeans and know each other well..

e.g.:

a: oi, you still owe me money leh
b: got meh? dont bluff lah

etc etc..

but it can get rather embarrasing if we still talk in this manner around foreigners.imagine...

lattae

10-14-2003, 03:58 PM

Yeah man... I'm Singlish Queen... I can't even tell when my Singlish ends and when English starts... Gee, perhaps that's why my 'oh-so-bright' teachers always colour my papers in red in name of poor grammar...

But I enjoy Singlish... Just curious... to non-singaporeans... have you even encountered a Singaporean and have difficulty understanding him/her?

xian186

10-14-2003, 05:30 PM

If that singaporean dunno good english!

getsu_04

10-15-2003, 01:46 AM

There's a bunch of stories on Winglin in Singlish.Haha,I had never even heard of Singlish before,so I had a lot of trouble understanding at first.The more I read,the more it makes sense though.

roche

10-15-2003, 03:22 AM

For the complete lowdown on Singlish, and translations, go check out:

The Coxford Singlish Dictionary (http://www.talkingcock.com/html/lexec.php?op=LexView&lexicon=lexicon)

:)

babyxv

10-15-2003, 06:58 AM

awesome! i've never heard anyone speak singlish.. except in that movie "i not stupid" lol my favorite line is "Talk cock lah you!"

i went to the coxford singlish dictionary and it's like learning a totally new language. it's more complex than i thought :wacko:

dazzlette

10-15-2003, 08:20 AM

wow i'm amazed that you all understand all those phrases.. i'm not trying to say you guys are dumb or anything but over here they keep telling us it's important to speak standard english or else we cannot be understood at all if we speak singlish... looks like it's not true!! :yeah:

HeY_JaYz

10-15-2003, 08:36 AM

i have an idea....de "teachers-to-be" ppl can set up a Singlish Class for ppl from other countries to join..
_______________
The Pig With Attitude----->Jay Chou Jie Lun(oink)

OLive_aNN

11-06-2003, 01:59 PM

hahaha that's so funny

one of my teachers used to say this:

1. this chapter is confused (lol...!!!)
2. if you don't pay attention..you will get lost (lol..)
3. remember please...this is very important
4. in english pleaseeee!!!
5. one by one please... i will come to you

besides, his accent is so funny ohohoo

lattae

11-06-2003, 02:13 PM

i have an idea....de "teachers-to-be" ppl can set up a Singlish Class for ppl from other countries to join..

that's a great idea... but now that the 'singapore' related threads are all here... hmm... where shall we post that Singlish class thing? Do you think others will come in here and learn singlish?

yiwen

11-06-2003, 02:17 PM

hahahah...learning singlish...hmmm..I've never thot of that before, I always thought that it came naturally. But not all singaporeans talk like that though

Mushimushi

11-07-2003, 01:52 AM

hahahah...learning singlish...hmmm..I've never thot of that before, I always thought that it came naturally. But not all singaporeans talk like that though

yeah...i think not al Singaporeans will agree to this...

i think its quite funny...haha..

Squall

11-07-2003, 10:26 AM

But if we speak Singlish , not all of the people here will understand us.
Cause not all of the people here come from Singapore

*SkyLark*

11-07-2003, 06:08 PM

:laughing: I haven't stepped into the forums for a long time, and now look what the world is coming to... Singlish in the forums??!! :glug: :laughing:

I'm not saying it's a bad idea lah, but then hor, except for true blue Singaporeans, who else will understand us? But still, three cheers and three cheers and three cheers for Singlish!

Haha, dun 'pray pray'! :wink2:

Miss_gun

11-07-2003, 06:15 PM

getsu_04: YEAH....it's true...even though I had a terrible reading it!!
They will probably say " I dunno Liao....Paiseh(shy)...and like that."
but my fave word used by the Singaporean is instead of saying Sabortage, they say " Sabor"

It's quite funny listening to how they talk. :D

liana

11-08-2003, 12:54 AM

haha i love it that we have "singlish"..something so unique that no one else can copy haha there's just this singapore way of saying 'lah, leh and meh'! dont you agree? its always funny to hear my british english teacher start copying singlish...makes me laugh all the time..

di`jay

11-10-2003, 06:03 AM

hmm...singlish might be very very convenient for us..but dont u think it will be very saddening to see an entire nation's future generations talking in singlish? Singapore will turn into some country which doesnt know to speak proper english. i mean the lahs and the lors and the lehs can be used la but if we open our mouths and everything that comes out is singlish, other countries might think that we dont know english and might look down on us.

lattae

11-10-2003, 06:20 AM

ever considered those phrases that we use in Singlish a part of the "slang" and I think the other english speakers will come to respect the fact that we have a local "slang" and there is nothing wrong with that... America/Aust even britain has their own slang... it's part and parcel of local culture...

I guess what's important is that we keep to proper grammar... I believe it is possible to speak english with all thel local 'flavour' without compromising the grammar... and that should be what we strive for...

charis

11-10-2003, 12:37 PM

i agree with lattae. but somehow, don't you think Singlish just manages to sound really crass compared to slangs people from other countries use?

singaporeans, being in a first world country, should speak like they're in a first world country, not third world... right?

and singlish just doesn't allow for proper grammer what. you say leh?

petheads

11-10-2003, 02:17 PM

I think the use of Singlish should stay coz' there's a more personal touch when we use it. It's so Singaporean. I actually like it when my clients start using Singlish. Makes things so much less formal and restricted. And somehow it's easier to discuss matters.

However, I definitely believe that we should all have a good command the Queen's English coz' formality is needed for many occasions. And we don't want to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. I actually prefer my Radio DJs and TV hosts to speak in crisp English or Mandarin when on air. I cringe when I hear some of the DJs these days. Isn't the basic requirement for such careers fluency? I actually look to them for the correct pronunciation of words.

candi_s

11-11-2003, 01:07 PM

my english language class in school here(melbourne, aussie) had to study singlish.. and, coming from singapore, i just don't understand why they has to analyse our "la's... lor's... wahlau" all that..

it was just so funny seeing them analyse the words we use in an everyday conversation in singapore!

it was also a riot helping them with this script in singlish... they just DIDN'T understand!!

so... keep e singlish spirit alive la~ damn cool sia! haha =)

yiwen

11-11-2003, 01:13 PM

hahahah...actually singlish is nothing bad as long as you have good english, with proper grammar and perhaps a decent vocabulary. But i really wonder how people who are non-singaporean understand the joke...coz it's quite fantastic that you guys can figure out what the joke's about in the first place. hahah :D

lattae

11-11-2003, 01:26 PM

are you serious candi_s ??? they study singlish in Aus? wat da hell... they too bo liao or wad?

but den again... singlish quite interesting mah... it's just amazing how all the elements from different language rojak into wan and still make sense to da all of us...

wah seh... this mus be my most singlish post here on jay-chou.net liao...

yiwen

11-11-2003, 01:29 PM

hahahahh...can see that sia.

Using singlish is quite fun, you say right or not? not that I want to say la, but it's realli quite interesting that people want to learn our rojak language...rojak but nice!

cherily

11-12-2003, 02:10 AM

hmm think singlish is pretty okay to me..as long as other people understand what we are talking about larh..it adds a personal touch to convos with friends though i use it only around my family and close friends.. :happy: yep as u guys have said..its part of our local culture and it should definitely stay..but during formal occasions Queen's English should be used instead of singlish for the sake of letting other foreigners figure out what we are trying to say :)

And i dont think its anything to be ashamed of..though my parents often complain bout me not speaking proper english..guess it just becomes a habit larh..hehe :wink2:

Shari Fantasy

11-13-2003, 02:33 PM

*Guffaws* This is FUN! I nv knew that Singlish would be so popular around foreigners too. Lolz~ Nv thought they (or u har? Dunno leh...) would know the language, since the teachers keep rambling on bout how we absolutely HAVE to speak proper eng in other countries... Pls, I can write proper eng, but speak it? Hell, I can't go more than 1 sentence without adding a 'lah', 'leh', 'mah', 'lor' in it. My tuition teacher says my Singlish is more slangy (is there such a word? *Shrugs* This forum doesn't care anyway) than usual. Even when toking bout Jay, I'm like, "Eh, Zhou Jie Lun leh!"

When I was young, I nv knew the difference between Singlish and English. I thought they were both the same... I was proven wrong. But you know, it's hard to imagine a world without Singlish. Agreed?

Right... Anyone noticed that quite a lot of us use 'proper English' in place of 'the Queen's English'? *Grins ruefully* Another Sinaporean quirk, I guess. Since the teachers always say proper eng mah... Wah seh, this is bout the most singlish post I've ever posted... *Straightens up and coughs loudly* U can 4get I ever wrote that, since I said I can write in Eng... AH!! Lolz~ At least u ppl understand how hard it is to refrain from using Singlish... Wah lau eh... want to kill me arh?

lladee

11-14-2003, 02:08 PM

haha..but the Singlish language (yeah i acknowledge it as i language) adds to the Singapore flavour. i know its just mix and matches and even mismatches of English and Chinese and dialects etc but seriously..it's unique isn't it. well..so long as we don't substitue it as proper english. makes sense?

ava

11-22-2003, 08:59 AM

lol, that really cracked me up. But honestly, a little singlish is fine, but too much is just... *dies* I'm a stickler for perfect queen's english, albeit the fact that I still use the occasional "lah" here and there. Some people have this impression that using proper queen's english is "prissy" or "showoffish", but well, to me, it's very important not to mutate the english language.

Did I tell you that I want to major in English /English Lit? :P Maybe that's why I'm so fussed about proper english :)

Bell*

11-22-2003, 04:36 PM

That time when the government made a big hullabalu about singlish and there were all those examples of bad english in the forum of the Straits Times, they pointed out many slangs like "How come?" and blamed it on us Singaporeans. :-x But those slangs were used in British books!!! Anyway, I think that Singlish should be treasured! :glug: It's our culture! It closes the gap between people too. :? Well, at least they are not trying to convert us now.

*SkyLark*

11-22-2003, 06:52 PM

Bell*, the government, convert us? Fat chance. Singlish sticks wif us thru and thru! :)

Anyway, I'm sure even the British, who're duly exposed to the Queeen's English, speak slangs oso. Since EL is so prolific in many countries, we do tend to contort it. :oops: But hey, our version consists of Hokkien, Malay, sometimes even Tamil... shows how multi-racial we are, rite?? :laughing:

Singlish RAWKS!

smilepiggy

11-23-2003, 03:28 AM

it think singish is okay.as long as we do nt mix it up with the proper englishit shldnt be a problem but mayb a way to identify with fellow sgporeans.. if we use it with our firned..i think it probably not make ot sound so formal and stuff.but obviously we shld know the limit as to when we shld use proper english

Donny

11-23-2003, 06:38 AM

Gosh! singlish, em... "cool"? nah~! my singlish so "vegetable" ar......

life is like tat, so? wat can u do? ppl spiak like tat ma... but its kinda fun 2. da sg accent rocks, at least.

walao... lots of lang here kong singlish ler... looks like bo sa la. oklor... lets roll it.*ahem*

lu lang ho bo?

*SkyLark*

11-24-2003, 05:34 PM

lu lang ho bo?
It's hokkien, rite? What does it mean? :tongue:
Hehe, my Hokkien not too proficient.. :laughing:

Came across this hilarious 'composition'. Very very Singlish!! But pretty lame actually..

http://www.geocities.com/halfkindred/compo1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/halfkindred/compo2.jpg

You'll have to expand the original image to view it more clearly.
Enjoy! Haahha..

lattae

11-24-2003, 06:57 PM

'lu lang ho bo' means 'ni meng hao ma' in hokkein... erm like asking how are you lorz

and that link you provided *lol* did that really come from a kid? why are there so many s in it??

Donny

11-26-2003, 09:58 AM

*SkyLark* u don seem 2 understand hokkien? huh? oklor.. hihi... thanx, lattae 4 the translation.

lolz... i really don know why i can't open the link, b`cause it says what page currently unviewable hate that. anyway, i think its very funny since lattae said so... or didn u?

*SkyLark*

11-26-2003, 05:11 PM

ankh

11-26-2003, 05:35 PM

smilepiggy

11-27-2003, 04:23 AM

hahas i'm a hokkien and i too can hardly apeak tt lang..but i do know wat pple say in hokkien.. as in i understand but dont know how to speak it.

nuofu

11-27-2003, 09:20 AM

hahas i'm a hokkien and i too can hardly apeak tt lang..but i do know wat pple say in hokkien.. as in i understand but dont know how to speak it.

hey! hi 5 smilepiggy! i fully understand hokkien (and i mean FULLY), yet i cant speak much of it, only a few phrases and such, like have u eaten and such. BTW i m half hokkien, half hakka.

Donny

11-28-2003, 05:05 PM

Donny, I'm so sad to say that although I'm Hokkien, I can't really speak it. :cry: Should hav learnt when young.... But the main phrases I still can understand lah..

About the web page, sorry, I dunno wat is wrong wif it... maybe if try again later can?? Pai seh pai seh. :bleh:

haha... nvm, u stil can learn. n bout the link, me also. i can't open it, so... don care bout it. ,mayb they'l fix it sooner or later.

*SkyLark*

11-28-2003, 05:43 PM

I tried fooling around with the URL skylark provided.
You can view it here:
http://www.geocities.com/halfkindred/compo1
http://www.geocities.com/halfkindred/compo2

HAHA that's so funny. Is it real? As in someone really wrote that?
:laughing: The part about the "Real Eye" reminds me of Sadako.
And the author even drew out the picture of the 'Fu'! :D

ank, thanks for 'fooling around' with my URL. :wink2: Though there still seems to be a problem wif it. *curses and swears* :laughing:
I'm not really sure if it's real, but I reckon it's not, 'cos no pupil in the rite mind would risk such an essay... :bleh: Don't really noe, 'cos I recieved it in my email. :happy:

Donny, nuofu and smilepiggy, you pple are so lucky. :cry:
Haha... :tongue:

Donny

11-29-2003, 12:46 PM

Donny, nuofu and smilepiggy, you pple are so lucky.

how come? huh? i'm not that lucky...

*SkyLark*

11-29-2003, 05:05 PM

how come? huh? i'm not that lucky...

Becos you pple can understand Hokkien?

.silence.

11-29-2003, 07:42 PM

I'm a hokkien too, but yet I onli know how to listen but yet cannot speak good hokkien!
That's why I can't communicate well with my grand ma!

Donny

12-01-2003, 01:22 PM

SkyLark : able to understand n speak in Hokkien is not a thing to be proud of, u know? try learn it, n you'l be able to understand it. its not a lucky issue.

.silence. : i see your problem. hmm... interestin. don u learn it from your parents? strangely, but true. like in Cantonese, i'm not gd in speakin it, but i do understand it.

lattae

12-01-2003, 03:54 PM

if hokkien is hard to learn, try hakka :opps:

Hokkien should be easy to pick up, go to the coffe shops/markets etc... they are all using hokkiens... speak to anyone above 30, most of them know a bit of hokkien... and not to mention that it's the most common spoken dialect around here... can't miss it if you really wanna learn...

I had no probs with hokkien, only hakka... I am hakka but I can't speak it except for a few simple phases... how I wish hakka is as common as hokkien then I can learn faster

Miss_gun

12-01-2003, 04:04 PM

I understand Hokkien too! And I do speak Hokkien daily. I realised a lot of Singaporean speak Hokkien but in Malaysia, most of us speak Canto

Donny

12-05-2003, 02:04 PM

Miss_gun : well, hokkien is a common used dialect. most of the ppl in west m`sia can speak canto, but here in east, not much. i learn from movies. hihi...

Lattae: wo~O! c'mon, at least you can speak a little, better than me. i can't even understand other dialects expect for hokkien and canto. lots of my friends here know how to speak hakka, hokchiew,...etc. there's so many dialects that they understand but i don.

moonsilk

12-05-2003, 04:32 PM

Hahaha...thats true...most of the singaporeans speak like that...its sth that we cannt avoid...
I think i speak like that almost everyday...
even when speaking chinese,there will b a lot of lor and lah....
Anyway,thats us...we r special mah...hahaha...

Donny

12-05-2003, 04:35 PM

singlish keeps us as us! Asians, em...south east ASians. that's the speciality of it. tropical chinese who speak bloody shit rubbish broken English. that's us!

`wishes_

02-21-2004, 03:48 AM

lolx.yeah i find singlish diao.singlish is nice.thats what makes us singaporeans unique.haha.singaporeans who speak singlish are cute.i mean singlish is like so impt. to me.in a day i say at least like 10 lorhs.=)

chelsa

03-02-2004, 01:33 AM

hey all,

just want to get some things clarified.

does singlish in general, meaning english language with the "lahs" and the "lors" really originate from s'pore?

i mean, im not s'porean, and certainly didnt grow up here, but back home, everyone speaks like that as well, and i mean EVERYONE. its like a natural thing, especially for hokkien speakers and even the malay language has "lah".

specizhen

03-02-2004, 11:20 AM

Singapore's ancestors came from all parts of the world. As time goes by, ppl eventually mix eveyone's languge together and formed thier own language- Singlish. I think that's why you can see lots of different language in Singlish. It's kind of like a 'rojak' (meaning mixed) language.

The above is what I think and I hope that answers your question Chelsa. :)

Ps: I dont think there is a defination for Singlish. Is there?

Lai Cheng Hung

03-15-2004, 04:23 AM

even if i m not a Singaporean,
after living here for more than 1 yr,
i had been influenced,too.

I think most of them is true and it save a lot of time
in saying Singlish instead of accurate english...

No one will care whether it is correct,
they will juz understand it...

ho_yt

03-15-2004, 06:45 AM

I agree with some of you that you will start to say singlish after a few years as you started to get used to it and start to have mixed language, for me, I sometime say singlish to my family, friends and they can understand wat I am trying to say.

shevchenkotang

03-15-2004, 07:23 AM

well...as for tt...singlish is more clear to understand to english...i alway speak singlish to all ppl around me...but i sumtime will speak sum english...i mean SUMtime

yajjay

03-15-2004, 07:27 AM

Don care ah, i'm always speaking singlish. Most of my friends speaks singlish. We sorta mixed english, chinese, hokkien, singlish together. But we should know the limits lah. Most of the time we dunnoe if we are speaking singlish not.Once you get used to it, its comes naturally :rolleyes:

My fave phrases are 'Where got', 'Got meh', 'Den how' And i love the part about the 'Skius' which is actually 'Excuse' but in the singlish way. You can hear most of us saying that :whistle:

This is also my singlish-est post ever made here :bleh:

bluejay

03-15-2004, 08:55 AM

heheh.. Singlish.. makes Singaporean unique and SpeciaL iN a waY!! :wink2: really, singlish can heLp ppL to speaK in a easier waY... :happy: without Singlish, wad makes sinGaporE thiS waY?? When buYing things, foreigners whO speaK singlish MaY geT discounT some more ar!! Singlish makes singaporean communicate easier.. YeA!!

*SkyLark*

03-27-2004, 06:11 PM

My fave phrases are 'Where got', 'Got meh', 'Den how' And i love the part about the 'Skius' which is actually 'Excuse' but in the singlish way. You can hear most of us saying that :whistle:

:laughing: They happen to be mine too. There's this 'blur' yet rebellious trait in them which makes them so endearing. Once a S'porean, always a S'porean. We confirm speak like that one lor. :bleh: :angel:

knock

03-27-2004, 08:02 PM

'blur' yet rebellious trait? Yea man. It depends how your tone is. Singlish makes us unique but too much of it give me a headache. I can't really stand Singlish sometimes. I don't know why. -shrugs- :? But those 'Lor. Leh. Lah' is just a natural in my speeches. Haha! :laughing:

Do i sound contradicting now? :oops:

lattae

04-01-2004, 01:05 PM

Sorry to interrupt the flow a little, I just want to bring in a discussion from the "VERY UNSATISFIED" thread back here since it's on english. The post I am addressing is well, started cos I made a comment...
http://www.jay-chou.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=238818#238818
Just because someone is Singaporean, doesn't mean they'd have to speak Singlish...
I think we have a choice of language when it comes to communication. (which is to say we can choose between English and Singlish)

ZanZan, it'd be very nice if you keep the "u r ", "2" and "ur self" to minimum, cos some people are not used to that "language". Thought that was mentioned somewhere in the rules/sticky...
well,i believed most s-porean speak singlish...if not,y isnt tt the english standard so bad??
of cos we haf a choice,butt sureli a choice is different from wad we do dont we??

True, most singaporeans speak Singlish, but at the same time, a good part of those people can speak proper English... they just speak singlish to be "close to the ground", bridge the "gaps" across the different races/backgrounds etc. (eg, try going to a wet market going "Can I have 1 kilogram of carrots please?", and do that for all your purchases. I think eyes will pop out and everyone will look at you...) It just means that in a formal context, where proper, standard English is required, these individuals can "comply" (perhaps they can't shake off Singlish completely, but at least it's close to the international "standard").

I think perception/judging of our standard of english being bad is well, relative... It depends who you are comparing to (UK? TW?)etc. Plus your "expectation" of the norm is dependent on who you get exposed to, ie social circles etc... I've some friends who CAN speak singlish but chooses not to, so they communicate in pretty good English day to day...

What is a choice then? It means you are able to go both ways, and you make a decision between the two (in our case being able to use both english and singlish, and choosing say, singlish). If you can't speak one of them, (eg you can't speak proper english), then there is no choice for you at all... (eg, my parents can't speak proper english even if they tried)

If there are more than one option, what you do is a choice. They are not independent of one another.

If you can use both english and singlish, and you use Singlish, it's clearly a choice between the 2. I reckon that no one is forcing you.

In that post that I started, I just want to highlight (no dissing of any sort intended) to a fellow sg member that non-proper english (spelling, grammar, vocab etc) is discouraged in this forum. (Yah, they cut us slack in the SG forums, but not in other areas) Cos if you checked, this forum is owned by Karen (an american), and frequented by many people outside of singapore... Please read this announcement (http://www.jay-chou.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5689), point 2...

I guess it's just that if we want to be understood and listened to outside of singapore context, then we've got to be considerate and minimize the local "factor"... sure, they may understand us if they tried really hard, but one fine day, they'd be to tired to go an extra mile...

That's what I feel... my 0.02SGD worth (I'd give 2/5 of the 5 cent coin... since the 1cent is no longer in circulation :bleh:)

diazz

04-02-2004, 06:18 PM

well, i always thought what would foreigners think of singlish. apparently they would find it funny. and get infected with the sing-ger-rish phenomenon.of cuz somethings i do say myself, some others i thought is abit crude lah. meaning the vulgarities.. sometimes like "ee! no ears to listen ah.."
but i feel that one should never never lose one's home cultivated accent. it is REALLY a turn off to find homegrown sinagporeans speaking in funny accents that is neither American, British or Austrialian. =p and i realise that it is often the girls that has a festish for speaking in accents. they just dont realise how fake it is.. even after moving to another country, isnt it better to preserve some of the culture u can call ur own? itz not like the angmohs will look up to u more if u try speak their way.. n worse if u "monkey see, monkey cant do"..

hisashiluv14

04-03-2004, 12:26 PM

good point Diazz. Especially the part about putting on a fake accent. I HATE that. I mean, nothing wrong in trying to speak proper English but don't fake it lah! So disgusting!

But then, my Lit teacher, an Indian Singaporean, speaks English with a British accent. And my god, it sounds bloody authentic. He was educated in Leeds (made it to the honours roll) which is in the UK so that explains his accent. But I don't see anything wrong with it 'cause it sounds natural, unlike some females who fake an accent and get it all wrong. :dry:

Melvin

04-03-2004, 03:42 PM

I'm not really sure where the Singlish language come from... but sometimes people say it originated from malaysia.. But it's overall a mixed language which serves the purpose of convenience.

Instead of "Please excuse me", we just say "skius", which most people would understand and is obviously much easier to say. Although singlish can be kind of rude though..

xian186

04-04-2004, 05:47 AM

Instead of "Please excuse me", we just say "skius", which most people would understand and is obviously much easier to say. Although singlish can be kind of rude though..

Ya, I agree. Sometimes when I was walking in the street, and when ppl wants to walk pass mi, they jus say "skius" and try to force their way through. I mean, its singlish + bad attitude really make singlish ugly. I would prefer they say proper excuse mi instead of "skius".

lattae

04-04-2004, 05:50 AM

I know how irritating a fake accent can get... but I'd like to contend with the "acquiring of accent" when are in a foreign land.... it's like, "in rome, do as the romans do"... you may have to acquire the local accent to be better understood... especially if you are settling down, you'd not want to stick out like a sore thumb all your life right??

okay, just a point of view...

hisashiluv14

04-04-2004, 04:16 PM

Yea I get your point Lattae, but I think diazz was referring to those Singaporeans who come home and still speak with a foreign accent, and sounding absolutely preposterous at the same time. It's like some silly Chinese Ah Lian trying to sound British.

Then again, I highly doubt an ah lian would ever make it to a respectable overseas university so I guess that's not a very good example but you get my point, no? :)

I think Singlish is fine as long as it doesn't somehow find its way into your exam scripts. Seriously. And I don't get the point of 'written Singlish'. A bit is okay, but if it's all over the place, I can only conclude that the writer has little intelligence. :dry:

lattae

04-04-2004, 05:13 PM

ditto that hisashiluv14! I totally agree with you regarding the written Singlish... I just think it's a sign of poor intelligence, immaturity etc etc...

just a point of view, offence unintended

LuVeRjAy

04-21-2004, 02:14 PM

i actually did not have any frenz until pri1 when all my peers were talkin singlish n my english, being perfect at tat time was converted into singlish...
well, near vermillion, one gets stained red, near ink one gets stained black...
bt my eng has still remained e top of e level :)

weiz

05-27-2004, 08:08 PM

hahaz.... this is cool... thats the way er singaporeans tok arh... hahaz... abit attitude... hahaz... strightforward... and also its quite funny too... but doest singish mix abit of hokkien malay.... hahaz.... like rojak like tat..

j@y_roCks

06-10-2004, 07:30 AM

Thanks to Singlish.. whom gave a red ink for my English.. So.. now I'm trying all my best to buck up my English..

But Singlish is not dat bad either.. Brought us Singaporeans the kinship btwn each other..

Like what ppl say.. singlish is straightforward.. tok wat u want..

But just dun "tok cok".. .. heexz..

RyousukeFC

06-11-2004, 07:52 AM

*cough*... is this suppose to be a joke??? if it is i cant laugh it out ... maybe its too cold in spore??? or maybe TRY HARDER thanks...

tortilla_chips

06-11-2004, 09:48 AM

huh? got joke? :crazy: singlish is ok, but the problem is it robbed me of the ability to speak proper english. so im always failing my oral examination.

DragonPrince

02-24-2006, 02:46 AM

It would be slower when people ask you what you mean when you said soemthing in Singlish. Every lauguage is beautiful in the way as in how you develop it, how you use it and how you master it. But not everyone can accept our lauguage.

liwei_jay

03-28-2006, 12:28 PM

Never really notice that there's a singlish thread here..
:hmm:
well.. i guess i'm just blind..
so what's all / everyone talking about??

i knw that for someone who stays in SG it is really not easy not to adept singlish..
take myself for instance.. i'm here for 3yrs and for the 1st yr.. i'm already speaking like a s'porean.. with all the "la" and "lo" and "liao"
like you could see in some of my post...
anyhow.. i still try to refrain myself of using it too much as most of the time i need to communicate with foreigners and they usually doesn't understand what you're trying to say when you're using singlish..

sometimes i feel :shy: when i heard my fellow m'sian speaks english too.. cuz their words just filled with too much slangs, which causes difficulties in understanding..

i think ppl would really appreciate if u could just minimise all the singlish while speaking..
no one is asking u to stop speakin at once..
i knw i couldn't control my self too...
But everyone should try.. and make ppl understand that s'poreans can speak and write proper english too.. :happy:

oh geez...
i think i'm talking nonsense here...
hope i didn't intrude on anything.. :P
happy discussing..

charmian

03-29-2006, 02:43 PM

singlish is fine on commnuication basis i guess.

singaporeans do speak that way no matter what those government been trying to get those perfect english thing into us.

And, english is not just about the spelling and usage of words. Its about the writing and the sentencing in a paragraph and most importantly, the punctuations which are very misused.

but hey, i like speaking singlish. language is just to get my message across, if i do it just fine on my own, i dont care if the world understand or not, i just need my targeted audience to be anyhow.

although, i detest seeing it in forums. :P

ziai

12-11-2007, 06:48 AM

Using singlish among locals is okay I guess, but if speaking singlish becomes a habit you can't get rid of, it would definitely be hard to communicate with people from other countries. It will be just.. plain embarrassing, with the "la"s "leh"s and "meh"s at the end of every sentence.

So yeah, whatever the case, don't use singlish excessively. And don't type singlish too! Reading singlish is just crazy.

*meow

12-11-2007, 09:22 AM

^ YEAHHH i totally agree. i'm quite used to singlish actually. but i refrain from typing that in forums or in any form of my writing. i use it quite abit in my own blog. but then, blogs are for expressing yourself. forums... are for discussions. how can you expect someone from say... US or wherever to understand?

so... i'd say... singlish is fine. but only so when you're communicating with fellow singaporeans. in here... nope.

ankh

12-11-2007, 11:38 AM

Hmmm I actually think somehow Singlish may become some kind of identity for Singaporeans. I mean only Singaporeans speak like that right?

But I still don't like how it sounds. It gets especially irksome when even my friends abuse it on chats. Sometimes I don't even get what they're saying.

And I agree, speaking english within the local context is fine. Just don't bring it across continents and expect others to understand what you're saying.

Jie_Lun_Rox

12-11-2007, 01:03 PM

Hmm yup, using Singlish to communicate to people who understand it is okay. I actually use Singlish a lot verbally, but not in forums.

I think the most frequent one I use is "la". Haha~

jocsim

12-11-2007, 01:24 PM

When going shopping...
Britons : I'm sorry, Sir, but we don't seem to have the sweater you want in your size, but if you give me a moment, I can call the other outlets for you.
S'poreans: No Stock!
When returning a call...
Britons : Hello, this is Mr Bean. Did anyone page for me a few moments ago?
S'poreans: Hello, who page?
When someone is in the way...
Britons : Excuse me, I'd like to get by. Would you please make way?
S'poreans: Lai, siam! or Siam, hor! or Skius!
When someone offers to pay...
Britons : Hey, put your wallet away, this drink is on me.
S'poreans: no need lah
When asking for permission...
Britons : Excuse me, but do you think it would be possible for me to enter through this door?
S'poreans: (while pointing at door) Can pass or Not?
When asking to be excused...
Britons : If you would excuse me for a moment, I have to go to the gents/ladies. Please carry on without me, it would only take a moment.
S'poreans: Go toilet. Buay tahan ahh.....
When entertaining...
Britons : Please make yourself right at home.
S'poreans: Don't shy shy lah..
When doubting someone...
Britons : I don't recall you giving me the money.
S'poreans: Got meh?
When declining an offer...
Britons : I'd prefer not to do that, if you don't mind.
S'poreans: Doe-waaaan.
When deciding on a plan of action...
Britons : What do you propose we do now that the movie's sold out & all the restaurants are closed?
S'poreans: So how?
When disagreeing on a topic of discussion...
Britons : Err. Tom, I have to stop you there. I understand where you're coming from, but I really have to disagree with what you said about the policy.
S'poreans: Talk cock lah you!
When asking someone to lower their voice...
Britons : Excuse me, but could you please lower your voice, I'm trying to concentrate over here.
S'poreans: Eh, Tiam leh!
When asking someone if he/she knows you...
Britons : Excuse me, but I noticed you staring at me for some time. Do I know you?
S'poreans: See what see?!
:bleh:

Ooh... i heard of this before. I admit it's pretty easy using Singlish where you can speak directly but sometimes, it makes those people cant get what your trying to say.

And i think most of us chinese people start to talk like this like NOW, i think i've heard even malays start to talk like this too, using 'meh', 'liao'.. and so on. Lol xD