An Official Pidgin: Singlish

When you had 10 days in a city that you've been for more than 10 times, the repeated visit should in some degree, let you explore more than what an average tourist can.

I was really grateful I was able to do just that in my recent visit to Singapore.  Apart from the newly created touristy attractions, I have paid special attention to one of their national delights this time - Singlish.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this creole, it is indeed a glorious linguistic stew that is spoken in varying degrees over the island.  


A fascinated mash-up of English, Malay, various Chinese dialects such as Hokkien and Cantonese.  And they have particular grammar and sentence structures, forming their very own official language with its unique accent, vocabulary and idioms.



While the majority of the local population merely peppers their English with Singlish words and phrases (a practice I can find slightly confusing at times), I came across some Singaporeans speak the full-blown version that is completely incomprehensible to foreigners like me.  Then when you switch on the national TV news or tune into any radio stations though, you hardly hear any Singlish spoken - as if its a forbidden tongue!   Spending a few minutes in any kopitiam (kopi = coffee, tiam = shop) however, immediately brings one back to the city and her compatriots!

Love this city more each time I visit.  This time has got to be the love of its multi-lingual dexterity that I am exposed to.  Special thanks to a local friend who took me around, allowing me to experience a certain humour and nuance reflecting the Singaporean psyche - that no Standard English can quite describe.