Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

[Caught a glimpse of a beautiful rainbow, from just outside our Singapore home]

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When I asked some friends to tell me one thing that immediately came to mind when they think of Singapore, they generally would mention ‘SINGLISH’ as one of their top five! =)

(Some other common ones mentioned are : Chicken Rice, Laksa, Chilli Crab, Char Kuay Teow, Popiah, Orchard Road and Universal Studios)

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Now, just in case you’re not familiar with what ‘Singlish’ is, let me explain.

Singlish stands for Singapore English, it’s how locals here in Singapore generally speak. Well, most of them, anyway.

You see, when Americans speak, they speak in their American accent. Australians speak in their Australian accent. And those who live in Singapore, well, we speak in … ‘Singlish accent’.

This means, you’ll hear words being put together in a more ‘jumbled up’ manner, and you’ll most likely pick up words like, ‘ah’, ‘lah’, ‘meh’, ‘hor’, and ‘one’, at the end of the sentences. Each sentence may include words taken from these languages too: english, chinese dialects and Malay =)

Something like this :

Hey, this doesn’t taste good.
– Eh, this one not good leh

She’s decided to stay at home and sleep.
– She stay home and sleep lor

*YIKES* Oh no! Why was it done that way?
– Aiyoh! Why like that?

Can it really be done that way?
– Can like that meh?

Are you sure?
– You sure or not?

Do you want to go out and eat?
– You want go makan?

This is mine (eg. A book, pencil, bag)
– This is my one

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I recently asked on Facebook three questions, and one of them is this:

“What are your most commonly used Singlish phrases”, and I received overwhelming entries!

It was so fun reading every one of them! =)

Then, I decided to make a video featuring most of the favourite Singlish phrases submitted! Just for fun! =)

Here is the video!

Check it out, share it if you wish, but most importantly, see if you can find your own favourite ones there! =)

(If you are not familiar with Singlish, see if you can understand any of it at all, hehe)

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So how?
What you think ah? Hehe.

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If you ask me, I think Singlish is not just a language.

Singlish is a culture.

(ie. If you live in Singapore, you’ll most likely ‘adopt’ Singlish. However mild. However strong =)

I feel, Singlish somehow … connects people. It makes your communication with friends and colleagues somewhat more ‘natural’ too =)

(Oh also, taxi drivers will understand you better when you speak in Singlish, hehe)

It gives Singapore and those who live there their strong identity =)

[If you’re wondering, yes our kids speak Singlish with their friends, AND we speak Singlish too, hehe. We do however make sure our kids know how to speak in proper and formal ENGLISH too though, hehe]

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Anyway.

I was actually inspired to reflect on ‘Singlish’ and how it has very much influenced us who live in Singapore after I checked out this website, itsmyturn.sg

It has a just-for-fun quiz where it’ll help you determine ‘your personality’! =)

ie. Do you complain a lot? Are you the patriotic type? Do you need to be MORE patriotic? Are you the ‘Take it Easy’ type?

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Click the links to the 4 main categories, to see the results gathered from the quiz:

Speak, Eat, Play and Do

And here are two examples which I find are relevant to me =)

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE Bubble Tea! (No relevance to whether my friends drink it too though. Because I. Just. Love. Bubble. Tea.)

To be a little more specific, I love Koi and Gong Cha, ‘Milk Bubble Tea’, the kind with ‘small black pearls and 80% sugar’ =)

Hehe… is THIS your favourite Singlish phrase?

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And just the other day, I took the quiz too.

And after answering a series of questions, here’s what they think I am :

Hehe.

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Okay, anyway … do check out the Quiz yeah! =)

Have fun, everyone!