Singlish

[Strong Eagle]

[Strong Eagle]

[earthfriendly]

Do you really want to know what I think of Singlish? To keep it brief, it is another example of corner-cutting. The half-hearted and couldn't-be-bothered attempt at mastering a language. Sentences are cut short and abrupt, with little attention to grammatical structure. It takes on the structure of the Mandarin language which inherently lacks grammar. For those who argue that it further points to the melting pot culture, I would say fine then, just don't call it English. It may work for the Mandarin language but not so much for the English language. When somebody says they speak English, we would all have a certain expectation of how the language sounds like.

And not to mention the sloppy pronunciation. Words are not completely or properly enunciated. And I am most definitely not referring to the Singaporean accent. We all speak with an accent depending on where we learn the language. An American speaks with an American accent and a British would speak with a British.

I can go on about my personal struggle on how I have to make myself understood while carving out a life in USA. But I shall stop here cause I don't want to step on too many toes. In a public forum. Cause of this thing called "face". Peoples' feelings can get bruised easily, due to ethnic / nationalistic pride.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Here's part 3...

[archcherub]

there is a variety show on the chinese tv now. i can't understand it, but my colleagues were saying it explain many origins and reasons for some singlish phrases

like the local singlish for illegal moneylender "big ah long" which is because the real legal moneylenders of the past actually wore coin earrings and made their ears look bigger and longer.
that was interesting to me!