Embracing Singlish as part of our identity: Paiseh for what?, Lifestyle News

AsiaOne

a day ago

The Singaporean identity is a tricky one to define.
Our country, which is reaching its 60th birthday this month, was made up of migrants and islanders with little to no shared experiences just three generations ago.
But somewhere along the way, amid the rush of nation-building, something happened. An informal, colloquial form of English was created.
Organically formed to suit the needs of different communities looking to understand each other, Singlish somehow manages to mirror some characteristics of the country itself — efficient, effective and reliable.
Despite this, as a collective, we've been hesitant to fully embrace Singlish. But why? Speak good English, please
The Speak Good English Movement (SGEM), launched in 2000 by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, might be a good place to start.
The campaign's objective was simple enough: to "encourage Singaporeans to speak grammatically correct English".
A Ministry of Education report in 1999 said that the widespread use of Singlish "will erode standards of English" among Singaporeans and SGEM was a response to those worries.
It seems that Singlish and "standard English" were seen as incompatible and, through this campaign, the Singapore government made their preference clear.
In a highly competitive global market, there were concerns that Singaporeans' pervasive use of Singlish would lead to barriers that would hinder the nation's competitiveness.
Professor Lionel Wee, dean of the National University Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, told AsiaOne that the campaign was a method to discourage, and even eradicate, the use of Singlish at that time.
"There was a lot of anxiety expressed, on the part of the government, that Singaporeans needed to learn good English, and they were in an environment where, according to the government, there's too much Singlish," he said.
An example Prof Wee provided was Phua Chu Kang. A cultural TV icon to some, the unpretentious and relatable nature of the popular sitcom resonated with locals.
Singlish catchphrases were part and parcel of the likeable characters' identities and as a young primary-school student back then, I laughed along to these quirky and fun mannerisms.
Little did I realise that on a national level, it was at the centre of debate on the usage of Singlish.
It was a time when the country was looking to raise its overall standard of English, but this coincided with the popularity of local TV sitcoms like Phua Chu Kang, which was known for its heavy use of Singlish.
Phua Chu Kang's liberal use of it in the show was even brought up during the 1999 National Day Rally Speech.
Then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong had said: "Gurmit Singh can speak many languages. But Phua Chu Kang speaks only Singlish. If our children learn Singlish from Phua Chu Kang, they will not become as talented as Gurmit Singh."
It was also suggested during the speech that Phua Chu Kang should attend Basic Education for Skills Training classes to improve his grasp of English.
Goh noted in the speech that Singaporean students already face "quite a challenge" to master one form of English and adding Singlish to the mix may lead to them being "unable to speak any languages properly".
The government has softened its stance on the matter since, and although it is not widely encouraged today, Singlish is "tolerated", according to Prof Wee.
Then, the question now might be: Should Singlish be something we merely tolerate? Changing tides
In recent years, signs point to a shift in attitudes, especially among younger Singaporeans.
Let me take you back to late 2021 when a web-based word game Wordle was created.
Players had six tries to guess a five-letter word. Simple but challenging, the game exploded in popularity soon after.
Sha-Mayn Teh figured why not create a Singlish spin-off. She named it Word-leh! and sent it to her friends on Feb 1, 2022 before releasing it to the public a week later.
Her version worked almost exactly like the original. The big difference was players had to guess Singlish terms and words like "shiok" or "bojio" would feature in Sha-Mayn's game.
Since got so many people playing now, I'm relaunching as https://t.co/VgnIEHGWER
— Sha-Mayn Teh (@shamayn) February 9, 2022
Sha-Mayn mentioned to AsiaOne that the game began as nothing more than a mini-project for her friends.
"It unexpectedly went viral in under two weeks. Media picked up on it, and a whole community sprung up on Twitter, either bragging about their scores or complaining about missed words," she said.
Sha-Mayn noted that while 85 per cent of Word-leh players are based in Singapore, the game is also played in the US, Malaysia, Australia and the UK.
For Sha-Mayn, the charm of Singlish is simply how fluid and adaptable it is.
"Part of the beauty of Singlish is that it's an evolving language without one official dictionary," Sha-Mayn added.
To the uninitiated, Singlish may seem like just sprinkling a "lah" or "lor" at the end of each sentence.
But regular users would be able to sniff out a sentence that was put together by someone who isn't familiar with Singlish.
That's because, just like any other language, Singlish has rules that only regular users would be able to instinctively understand.
This complexity is what 25-year-old Daniel Goh is looking to honour with his creation Chimbridge.
A project that began in 2024, this online database has roughly 2,500 Singlish terms.
Apart from definitions, Chimbridge also provides users with etymologies of the terms.
Taking a more academic approach to documenting Singlish was a deliberate action by Daniel as he wanted to challenge the idea of Singlish being understood as an "illegitimate language", CNA reported. Let's not be paiseh
The fact of the matter is fears of being left behind on the world stage were very real and the government did what it believed was necessary at the time.
But attempting to ignore an aspect of your culture in pursuit of better opportunities may have been a slight overcorrection.
Formed out of shared lived experiences and everyday connections between Singaporeans, there is value to Singlish, and while it can be tempting to look back and be critical of past decisions, I'm aware that I come from a position of privilege (as I write this out in English, no less).
Regardless, beyond policy decisions, the core of the matter here is identity.
And with the existence of Word-leh! and Chimbridge, it may suggest that we're becoming more comfortable with our linguistic diversity.
So let's not be paiseh about this language of ours, can?
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