it has been 5 months and going since i land in the lion city, and one of the first major difficulty i have, apart from being extra cautious not because it’s unsafe here but more of because i don’t want to be caught in any unacceptable demeanour, is the way people speak english. i don’t want to give an impression that i’m saying my english, or filipino english for that matter, is better, because the thing is, english is not my first language either, and i occasionally find myself finding words to explain things in english too. singlish just different, and because i’m not familiar with it, it was natural for me to ask, and it took time to adjust. even up to now, i can’t understand some of the things my boss are telling me, and i know they are very crucial in my work. i just try to make things clear by repeating to them aloud what i’ve understood, and fortunately most of the time, they nod. so to give you an idea about how it’s like, i’m listing the top words singaporeans just love. of course, i can’t in any way try to imitate their accent from this blog, so, just read.
# 10 - WRONGLY. whenever you say or did something that is not right, then according to uncle and auntie you did it wrongly. well, making the adverb form, this is gramatically correct. it’s just something i don’t hear or use very often.
# 9 - COME. the last time i checked, i’m not a dog, but singaporeans would command you to come. when they say this, this is just one word. it doesn’t go in the form, come with me, or come to my place. perhaps they are just so economical that they don’t say much words at all.
# 8 - SOUNDS VERY FUNNY. well, this is not originally my observation but a housemate and officemate told me this. then, i heard my colleague say this, so i guess it’s true. sounds very funny ah? hahaha
# 7 - FOR YOU. this is the word of the merchants. i’ve been hearing this way back when i was living in hong kong. when you ask for the price of something, they will start with..for you, and then followed by some punching on a calculator to visually show you the price. very clever indeed that you won’t have any confusion in dealing, again, the chinese efficiency. but sometimes this is not good too, because it led me to think that that price he quoted is for me, how about for others? will it be cheaper?
# 6 - GO BACK. this is a singapore-original. it usually means, go home. so when you ask your boss what time can you leave office, he will say, at 6pm, can go back already. i was initially surprised by this because i’ve always thought that going back is going to where i am at the moment, and i have no utmost desire to go back to work when i haven’t even left.
# 5 - SURE NOT. this doesn’t mean it is absolutely not. this is a shortcut for sure or not. again, the chinese efficiency. they think it’s common sense already so they dropped the word OR. since this is a question, they except a reply from you, so don’t be silly and just agree with what they said. i’m also hypothesizing that they drop the OR because it contains the letter R. as there is no letter R in chinese, it would be more confusing to hear sure all not.
# 4 - HAVE. like COME, this is just a one-word sentence for singaporeans. but the good thing is, it’s not misleading at all. it simply means that they have, or it has, something has it. so like when you say, is there mayonaise in your sandwich?, they answer, have!
# 3 - ALREADY / FINISH ALREADY. one of the most beloved words in singlish is already. you can pretty much hear this in almost all context. contrary to chinese efficiency of come and have, they even use the word, already, even if it’s not exactly needed. for example, where is your friend?,the answer is “he go back already!”. more examples: i’m hungry already!, i’m late already!, are you going to the market already?
the second form of this is, finish already. like for you, this is a merchant’s lingo. when you are looking for something and it’s not available aka out of stock, then it is finish already.
# 2 - LAH. this will not be the second most loved word if you’ll not hear it all the time. perhaps, this is the most used word for everyday, and although there is no exact equivalent in american or british english language, nor you can find it in standard dictionary, it is widely acceptable and singaporeans will understand you better if you finish all your sentences with lah. i’m not exaggerating but this is probably a spoken period for the local, the same as in mandarin, the question mark is a spoken ma (i.e., in ni hao ma).
# 1 - CAN / CAN NOT. i believe i don’t have to explain this much, but there’s really a lot of things to talk about this number 1 singlish word. first, they pronounce it like as in the name ken, barbie dolls’ partner in life. this is an implementation of chinese efficiency again, and the word usually goes by itself, just like have and come. it is also not misleading as it simply means being able to, it is able, or something is achievable. you can also start your sentence with can when asking if something is possible or allowed like, can eat here?, or can finish the program?
can not is the second form, and of course, it means the negative. they don’t say can’t, it must be can not. normally there will be a brief pause in between these 2 words when saying out loud. can - - not.
okay, i’m preempting you, dear readers, that i’m not discriminating or being racist. i can assure you i am someone who understands differences in culture and backgrounds more than anyone else. i’m not saying there’s anything wrong with singlish, in fact, they are all almost gramatically correct, and if not, it’s not rocket science to understand them. this is just something i want to write, and i am a very opinionated person, if that’s a problem, keep it to yourself.
sounds very funny ah?
