Kidspeak

Singlish – yay or nay?

I know parents who balk at the idea of their kids speaking Singlish but in our house, we embrace it. Not as a replacement for English, but as a language in itself. The way we see it, it’s like a second or third language and we teach it as such.

I have nothing against the Speak Good English campaign. In fact, I fully support it because we should speak English the way it’s supposed to be spoken, with a stiff upper lip, a cup of tea in one hand and a scone in the other. So it’s non-negotiable that the kids learn how to speak good English. We make sure they watch the right films like Monty Python and ‘Allo ‘Allo to complete their English education.

On top of that, we (try to) teach Mandarin and several Dialect phrases. The husband is responsible for teaching Hokkien (so Tru can survive NS) and I’m in charge of Cantonese (so they can order Dim Sum).

So back to Singlish. We both agree that it’s an important language to learn. Growing up, I only spoke *proper* English at home with my parents so I had a tough time adjusting in Primary School. For most of my life, I was the chiak kantang (which means ‘eat potato’, or someone that speaks with an American/British accent) kid in school. To avoid getting stoned, I had to learn Singlish and learn it fast. I learnt to codeswitch when necessary in order to blend in.

Instead of asking “would you guys want to go for lunch together?”, I learnt the appropriate “eh, go lunch leh…

Or instead of asking “where should we go tomorrow?”, it was “tomorrow how ah, go where happening?

Besides, when used right, Singlish is so much more colorful and fun.

When you want to say that someone got you into trouble, you can say “I kenna sabo by that joker lah

Or to describe nice food, you can go “you got try the char kuay teow? Lagi shiok man.

It’s extremely versatile. Plus it earns you street cred and people are more likely to help you because you’re not seen as hao lian (stuck up).

Ever since the kids started school, we knew that they would inevitably be exposed to Singlish. To avoid confusion, we embarked on their Singlish education. We taught them the differences between the two and how to speak both effectively.

I have to say that it’s incredibly cute to hear them speaking Singlish. A couple of days ago, Kirsten came into our room with her arms full of stuffed toys and exclaimed “I got so many things hor?

And Truett is now the master of Singlish.

Me: Tru, can you go pack up the room? You were the one who messed it up, so you go pack it.

Tru: WHO SAY? I NEVER WHAT…

Me: And in English?

Tru: I didn’t do it. Mei mei messed it up.

Me: Nice. Go ask mei mei to come here.

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23 Comments

  • Reply kirsten November 22, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    I love speaking Singlish, I’m so proud of it, haha!

    • Reply Daphne November 23, 2011 at 9:36 am

      Haha we speak it loud and proud.

  • Reply Shiqin November 22, 2011 at 4:44 pm

    It’s so cool that Tru is able to differentiate between the two!

    • Reply Daphne November 23, 2011 at 9:38 am

      He doesn’t do it successfully all the time but I think he understands the basics of Singlish, with the lah and leh and hor..

  • Reply leslie November 22, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    Your kids’ singlish is nothing compared to what my babes learnt in childcare. They can say things like: “我明天要bring那个blue的球去school”. Walao…i can’t even type this properly!!

    • Reply Daphne November 23, 2011 at 9:41 am

      Wow they are actually very fluent in mandarin, like about half of each which is very good. I’m still trying to get them to say simple words like 要 and 不要.

  • Reply kirsten November 22, 2011 at 5:11 pm

    But if you show your kids too much ‘Allo ‘Allo they will start to speak English with really bad French accents.

    • Reply Daphne November 23, 2011 at 9:43 am

      LOL good point. But I secretly have a weakness for people who speak English with bad French accents, which is why I watch Arsene Wenger’s interviews even though I’m not an Arsenal fan. It’s hilarious.

  • Reply estee November 22, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    won’t too much language/dialects confuse the child? my baby’s just 6 months and my husband’s already worried about confusing the baby with too much language/dialects.

    • Reply Daphne November 23, 2011 at 9:58 am

      6 months may be a bit young to start but toddlers’ brains are primed for learning so they pick up languages very quickly. Even if they can’t always articulate the words, they’re listening to what we say and learning it.

      They do get confused sometimes but we just try to expose them to different words and languages as much as possible. When we speak Singlish, we do it with a strong Singlish accent so they know it’s different from speaking English.

  • Reply Ellen November 23, 2011 at 6:52 am

    OMG, hilarious! I had no idea Singlish existed. I can barely decipher it!

    • Reply Daphne November 23, 2011 at 10:07 am

      Oh yes it exists. It’s pretty much English with messed up syntax combined with Mandarin, Malay, Hokkien and several other dialects. When put together, it’s like an art form.

  • Reply qiu xian November 23, 2011 at 9:17 am

    This is so cool hor? haha… If the Americans have their twang and the English their Geordie, we definitely can have our Singlish. Boleh lar, Singapura!
    qiu xian´s last post ..When one talks, it puts people to sleep but I think it’s just me

  • Reply Emily November 23, 2011 at 9:26 am

    Hi Daphne,
    Tru is so smart to be able to distinguish between Singlish and English. My husband and I will try to avoid speaking Singlish at home, so that our boy speaks only proper English. Now, we’re starting to speak to him in Mandarin. It’s already a challenge to speak both English and Mandarin. I can’t imagine a combination of Singlish, Hokkien and Cantonese for now. :(
    Emily´s last post ..Strike a Balance

    • Reply Daphne November 23, 2011 at 10:13 am

      They do get confused from time to time but that’s ok. Sometimes Tru says “I want to speak Singlish, I don’t like English” and intentionally lay on the lahs and hors so we let him. I speak to the husband in English most of the time so they will pick it up from listening to us.

  • Reply Andrea November 23, 2011 at 10:43 am

    What a brillant idea! I have been telling the kids, lah and hor is not necessary and they should drop them, then half the time I am struggling to keep my ang mo cleansed of la le lor hor at home. From today onwards will teach Singlish as a 4th language. What a relief! ‘Exposing’ them to proper singlish is so much better than me practising double standards :)

  • Reply Elaine November 23, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    Wow, did that conversation with Tru really happen? He’s so smart!

  • Reply Homeschool@sg November 23, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    You’re funny, I can see why you won the blog award! I say ‘yay’ to singlish! It’s now or later so…why not! It’s really cute hearing the tods speak singlish tho!

  • Reply SengkangBabies November 24, 2011 at 12:46 am

    wa lao, I think this post will garner you a tea+scone session with MOE people. They will be horrified that someone is “promoting” Singlish wahaha :p
    SengkangBabies´s last post ..Primary school exams are no fun :p

  • Reply lilsnooze November 24, 2011 at 5:17 pm

    Haha one got to admit that Singlish is “efficient” – can convey the message in a shorter phrase. ;)

  • Reply sugarmouse November 24, 2011 at 11:45 pm

    O WOW!! best idea, ever! i was always that kid who “spoke funny” but yes, learnt manglish to be accepted by general society and now can switch between accents/colloquialisms fluently. i’m making a note to take cues from you on this(!)

  • Reply Bun Bun Makeup Tips November 26, 2011 at 11:49 pm

    Ya man! I totally am for the idea of retaining Singlish in our lives. It’s so precious! Which other country in the world can speak English like we do? It’s an art form hor, I tell you.
    Bun Bun Makeup Tips´s last post ..TAG: Get Your Freak On! 15 Weird Facts About Me

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