Singlish
Singlish, formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English, is an English-based creole language originating in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact between speakers of different languages in Singapore, including English, Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Teochew, and Tamil. Singlish is spoken alongside Standard Singapore English in a diglossic manner, and represents the colloquial register of English used between locals. As such, Singlish is sometimes not regarded as a separate language from English in Singapore, but rather, a sub-variety of it, forming a lectal continuum with the standard language. Despite this, it is still linguistically an independent creole language. The term Singlish was first recorded in the early 1970s. Singlish has similar roots and is highly mutually intelligible with the Manglish spoken in Peninsular Malaysia.
Like all languages, Singlish and other creole languages show consistent internal logic and grammatical complexity, and are learnt natively within a community. As with many other creoles, it is sometimes perceived to be a "broken" form of the lexifier language—in this case, English. Due in part to this perception of Singlish as "broken English", the use of Singlish is greatly frowned on by the Singaporean government. In 2000, the government launched the Speak Good English Movement in an attempt to discourage the use Singlish, although more recent Speak Good English campaigns are conducted with tacit acceptance of Singlish as valid for informal usage. Several current and former Singaporean prime ministers have publicly spoken out against Singlish. However, the prevailing view among contemporary linguists is that, regardless of perceptions that a dialect or language is "better" or "worse" than its counterparts, when dialects and languages are assessed "on purely linguistic grounds, all languages—and all dialects—have equal merit".
In addition, there have been recent surges in the interest of Singlish internationally, sparking several national conversations. In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary added 19 new "Singapore English" items such as "hawker centre", "shiok", and "sabo" to both its online and printed versions. Several Singlish words were previously included in the OED's online version, including "lah" and "kiasu". Reactions were generally positive for this part of Singaporean identity to be recognised on a global level, and Singlish has been commonly associated with the country and is considered a unique aspect of Singaporean culture.
Creole continuum
Singlish and English in Singapore exist along a creole continuum, ranging from standard English with local pronunciation on one end, to the most colloquial registers of Singlish on the other.- Acrolectal: Acrolectal Singaporean English is very similar to Standard English as spoken in other English-speaking countries, with some differences in pronunciation—notably, and are often merged, so letter and latter have identical pronunciations. Singapore English is also prominently distinguished by an intonational system governed by pitch accent.
- Mesolectal: An intermediate form between Standard English and basilectal Singlish. At this level, a number of grammatical features and syntax structures not found in standard English begin to emerge. For example, the use of topic-prominent syntax and discourse particles.
- Basilectal: This is the most colloquial form of speech. All of the unique phonological, lexical, and grammatical features of Singlish are present at this level. Many of these features can be attributed to the influence of different Chinese varieties, Malay, and Indian languages such as Tamil, though some features appear to be innovations unique to Singlish. Both the basilect and mesolect are referred to as "Singlish". Basilectal speech is characteristic of older and less educated working-class Singaporeans, typically those who are less capable of speaking in standard English. Nowadays, basilectal speech is uncommon among the younger generation, and its prevalence continues to dwindle as English becomes more institutionalised in the country.
- Pidgin: This represents the first stage of development of the Singlish language, before creolisation took place and solidified Singlish as a fully-formed creole. As with all pidgins, speakers of the pidgin form of Singlish speak another language as a first language and Singlish as a second language. However, since a substantial number of people today learn Singlish natively, the number of speakers at the "pidgin" level of Singlish is dwindling. This is because by definition, a pidgin is not learnt natively.
Example
The examples below demonstrate how English is spoken in Singapore at different levels of the creole continuum.Origin and development
Singlish originated with the arrival of the British and the establishment of English language education in Singapore. Elements of English quickly filtered out of schools and onto the streets, resulting in the development of a pidgin language spoken by non-native speakers as a lingua franca used for communication between speakers of the many different languages used in Singapore. Singlish evolved mainly among the working classes who learned elements of English without formal schooling, mixing in elements of their native languages. After some time, this new pidgin language, now combined with substantial influences from Peranakan, southern varieties of Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, became the primary language of the streets. As Singlish grew in popularity, children began to acquire Singlish as their native language, a process known as creolisation. Through this process of creolisation, Singlish became a fully-formed, stabilised and independent creole language, acquiring a more robust vocabulary and more complex grammar, with fixed phonology, syntax, morphology, and syntactic embedding.Usage in society
The Infocomm Media Development Authority's free-to-air TV code states that the use of Singlish is only permitted in interviews, "where the interviewee speaks only Singlish," but the interviewer must refrain from using it. Despite this, in recent years the use of Singlish on television and radio has proliferated as localised Singlish continues to be popular among Singaporeans, especially in the 2 popular Singaporean local sitcoms Under One Roof and Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd. Singlish is sometimes used by ordinary people in street interviews broadcast on TV and radio on a daily basis, as well as occasionally in newspapers.Although Singlish is officially discouraged in Singaporean schools, in practice, there is often some level of code-switching present in the classroom. This is rather inevitable given that Singlish is the home language of many students, and many teachers themselves are comfortable with the variety. However, due to influence from speaking Standard English in schools, many 21st century children and teenagers speak a more subtle version of Singlish which may retain definite articles and keep SVO word order.
In many white-collar workplaces, Singlish is avoided in formal contexts, especially at job interviews, meetings with clients, presentations or meetings, where Standard English is preferred. Nevertheless, selected Singlish phrases are sometimes injected into discussions to build rapport or for a humorous effect, especially when the audience consists mainly of locals. In informal settings, such as during conversation with friends, or transactions in kopitiams and shopping malls, Singlish is used without restriction. For many students, using Singlish is inevitable when interacting with their peers, siblings, parents and elders.
Singapore humour writer Sylvia Toh Paik Choo was the first to put a spelling and a punctuation to Singlish in her books Eh Goondu and Lagi Goondu, which are essentially a glossary of Singlish, which she terms 'Pasar Patois'. This was later followed by the publishing of a few other Singlish books including Coxford Singlish Dictionary by Colin Goh, An Essential Guide to Singlish by Miel Prudencio Ma and The Three Little Pigs Lah by Casey Chen, and Spiaking Singlish: A companion to how Singaporeans Communicate by Gwee Li Sui. In 2024, the online dictionary known as the Chimbridge Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English was launched by Daniel Goh, the first of its kind to contain fully-researched etymologies of all its terms. It is, to date, the most complete and comprehensive dictionary of Singlish terms ever compiled.
In recent times, Singlish is considered by linguists to be an independent language with its own systematic grammar. Linguists from universities around the world have referred to local productions to demonstrate to students how Singlish has become a unique language variety. In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary announced that it has added 19 new "Singapore English" items such as ang moh, shiok and sabo in both its online and printed versions. Several Singlish words had previously made it into the OED's online version, which launched in March 2000. Words such as lah and sinseh were already included in OED's debut, while kiasu made it into the online list in March 2007. Local celebrities were generally pleased for this Singaporean identity to be recognised on a global level.