Wikopedia lists thousands of known English dialects -- the link to Singlish itself spans pages of grammar, ethnic history, and forensic linguistics that might delight some (a few) of you. For most Singaporeans, the term is a pejorative denoting a lower form of English that pigeon-holes the speaker into less desirable tiers and I must admit -- its very difficult to follow. The government quite justifiably encourages Singaporeans to improve their skills and speak Standard English.
However, to my ear, some of these elements remain in Standard English and I find them quite pleasant when listening to the BBC or a local radio/TV station. There are staccato notes of Malay -- "Berhati-hati di Ruang Platform (Mind the platform gap)." There is a sing-song tonality and rhythm to the language that is very musical, maybe Chinese. For example, XieXie (thank you in Mandarin: (pronounced). All of this surrounding a stately foundation of the King's English.
Singaporeans say that even the Angmohs (red-hairs or Caucasian expats) will eventually pick up elements of Singlish from hearing it constantly in Singapore, and I'm sure that's already happening to us. "Car-park, fly-over, mind the gap" are already becoming part of our standard vocabulary. I was advised to indicate "leave" on my calendar if I want to be understood (rather than holiday). So, if we sound a bit different bear with us angmohs!
And with that said I bid you zaijain (pronounced).
3 comments:
when is your leave to the states?
when will Glenn be in town?
OK, Mr. Glenn...
State is hosting the Seminoles tonight. I think we have a common interest in wanting to see the Wolfpack come out on top. Time to post that wolf!
; )
Hmmm...Singlish! It's interesting how much dialects play a part in perceived social status. It happens everywhere...even here. For example, using the word "yall" in some circles identifies the speaker as a "country person" who is somewhat less educated.
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