We’re talking about Singapore Colloquial English, or Singlish.
The Singaporean government would love to wipe it out, but Singlish is gaining prestige in the English-speaking world. Oxford is even adding Singlish words to its dictionary. But what is this language like, and what does it mean to its speakers?
Singlish speaker Sean Yeo joins Daniel, Ben, and Kylie on this episode of Talk the Talk.
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Cutting Room Floor
Bonus audio from our Singlish episode! Sean Yeo tells us more about an unlikely place where Singlish is tolerated. Daniel relates an on-air near-disaster.
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Show notes
Brain pattern predicts how fast an adult learns a new language
http://sciencebulletin.org/archives/925.html
Brain waves predict speed of second language learning
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/310181.php
Languages come naturally, to some. Oui?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/languages-come-naturally-so-some-oui/news-story/b5d717d7f3235fa25c1c14650590290e
What is the function of the various brainwaves?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-function-of-t-1997-12-22/
Foreign Language Skills Wired In The Brain
http://primemind.com/articles/struggling-to-learn-a-new-language-maybe-it-s-all-in-your-head
Crosstalk between left and right brain is key to language development
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-05-crosstalk-left-brain-key-language.html
The rise of Singlish
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33809914
10 Bizarre Things Singaporeans Do That The Rest Of The World Won’t Understand
(Good example of words from several languages in one sentence.)
http://thesmartlocal.com/read/singaporean-culture-quirks
Singapore Infopedia: Singlish
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1745_2010-12-29.html
Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish)
http://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/definitions/singlish.html
The ‘Speak Good English Movement’
Google Books Link
Me Singlish Damn Powerful One, Ah?
http://www.escapeartistes.com/2011/08/20/me-singlish-damn-powerful-one-ah/
Oxford: New Singapore English words
http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/march-2016-update/new-singapore-english-words/
Shiok! 19 Singlish items added to the Oxford English Dictionary
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/shiok-19-singlish-items-added-to-the-oxford-english-dictionary
What’s a ‘Chinese helicopter’? Latest Singlish entry in Oxford Dictionary has us scratching our heads
http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/whats-chinese-helicopter-latest-singlish-entry-oxford-dictionary-has-us-scratching
‘Chinese helicopter’: Singlish OED entry baffles Singaporeans
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36283670
Some find new Singlish terms in Oxford dictionary ‘ridiculous’
(Note the language attitudes.)
http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/some-find-new-singlish-terms-oxford-dictionary-ridiculous
Wah, now can act blur and lepak: Oxford English Dictionary
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/wah-now-can-act-blur-and/2776828.html
Inky’s Daring Escape Shows How Smart Octopuses Are
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160414-inky-octopus-escapes-intelligence/
Anthea Fraser Gupta: Singapore Colloquial English? Or deviant Standard English? (PDF)
http://anthea.id.au/papers/sicol.pdf
mr brown tries to explain the Meaning of Lah
http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2005/04/mr_browns_meani.html
Singlish Dictionary
http://www.singlishdictionary.com
Singapore scene is entering golden age of indie music
http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/singapore-scene-is-entering-golden-age-of-indie-music
Image credit: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/wah-now-can-act-blur-and/2776828.html
Transcript
We’re working our way back through the archives. If you think we should prioritise a transcript of this episode, let us know!
30 May 2016 at 9:24 pm
A Hungarian word ‘már’ has the same paradoxical nature that ‘lah’ has. It originally means ‘already’ or ‘at once’, so putting it in an imperative sentence would imply something harsh like ‘do it already’ or ‘do it at once’. That is sometimes the case, but most of the time it actually functions as a softener, being even synonymous with ‘please’. I’ve noticed that, when saying ‘please’ sounds too formal, e.g. asking a family member to pass the salt at the dinner table, we’ll put it in the sentence to soften up ‘pass the salt!’, even though ‘pass the salt already!’ doesn’t sound much nicer.