Forum: Singlish a record of how Singaporeans learnt to live together

Andrew Leslie’s Oddities In Language, published in Singapore in 1981, provides an interesting historical companion to Leslie Koh’s commentary on multiculturalism and Singlish (Speaking multiculturalism in Singapore – literally, Sept 29).

More than four decades ago, Singapore English or Singlish was already attracting attention for the way the language had evolved in the country’s particular social and linguistic environment.

What might once have been regarded as an oddity of language can today be seen as something more significant: a linguistic archive of Singapore.

Consider how easily Singaporeans use words and expressions drawn from different languages. Makan and boleh come from Malay; kiasu has Hokkien roots. Shiok has travelled so comfortably across communities that few Singaporeans stop to ask which language it originally belonged to.

That, perhaps, is the remarkable thing about Singlish. Words that began within particular communities have crossed ethnic and linguistic boundaries and become part of a shared vocabulary.

There is, therefore, value in seeing Singlish as more than incorrect or colloquial English. Its vocabulary records something about how Singapore became Singapore.

This does not diminish the importance of standard English. But Singlish deserves to be understood rather than simply celebrated or discouraged.

Standard English connects Singaporeans to the world; our mother tongues connect us to particular cultural inheritances. Singlish, at its best, connects us to one another, and embedded within it is part of the story of how we learnt to live together.

Irwan Jamil