Monday, June 23, 2008

Singlish according to Wikipedia

Wikipedia's article on Singlish is perhaps the most detailed and amusing that you can find on the internet. From Wikipedia:
Singlish is strongly discouraged in Singaporean schools at a governmental level as it is believed to hinder the proper learning of standard English, and so faces a situation of diglossia.[11] The use of Singlish when speaking in classes or to teachers, however officially frowned upon, is rather inevitable given that many teachers themselves are comfortable with the variety.[12] For many students, using Singlish is also inevitable when interacting with their peers, siblings, parents and elders. In polytechnics, students feel the greater need to socialise with their peers in a learning environment less rigid than primary or secondary school, and as a result Singlish is popular[citation needed]. The government continues to wage an uphill battle in discouraging students from developing a Singlish-speaking habit.

Singaporean men find speaking Singlish necessary during their time in the military, or national service (NS), as Singlish has replaced Hokkien as the standard vernacular in the Singapore Armed Forces. The informality of Singlish fits well in stressful training situations, and are used among soldiers regardless of ethnic groups and level of education[citation needed]. Many phrases originating in the military have filtered into the lexicon over the years and they have become a method of distinguishing those who have undergone NS (National Service). One such phrase is kena arrow.

(Thanks acidflask)

4 comments:

AcidFlask said...

de nada. :)

The funniest thing is how the article vacillates from scholarly to base throughout, sometimes even from sentence to sentence!

Anonymous said...

Singlish so complicated to explain one meh.

Anonymous said...

Haha! Don't you just love Wikipedia?

Anonymous said...

Kena Arrow. LOL

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