Singlish Is Alive and Vibrant - a Growing Language in Its Own Right. Discuss.
Singlish is alive and vibrant – a growing language on its own right. Discuss. It has become increasingly difficult to ignore the issue about the usage of Singlish in Singapore. Singlish, short for Singapore English, is a modified version of standard English, spiced by the commonly used Hokkien, Mandarin and Malay slang in Singapore. The addition of utterances such as “lah”, “leh”, “lor” and “mah” at the end of sentences and several other seemingly funny words like “Alamak!” or “Fuyoh!” at the beginning have attracted a global audience to this peculiar language. The usage of Singlish instead of proper English by Singaporeans concerns the Singaporean government as it is believed that Singlish taints the use of standard English which is fundamental for the development of Singapore. However, Singaporeans are proud of their language. They believe that Singlish is alive and vibrant – a growing language in its own right as it is what makes Singapore unique, united and ubiquitous. Firstly, Singapore is unique for her use of Singlish as there are no other languages in this world which is as efficient as it is. It is said that Singlish simplifies English. With the use of “lah” and “leh”, conversations become much shorter and faster, yet it is well understood by fellow Singaporeans. For example, the sentence “Could you please wait for me?” in proper English could be simplified in to “Wait ar!” in Singlish. Conversations become much easier, yet understandable among the users. Singlish is also said to be unique because it is a mixture of English, Hokkien, Mandarin and Malay, which are languages of the different races in Singapore. Unlike Cockney or Pidgin English which is modified with a nasal slang, Singlish adds a sense of culture and heritage to the language, and stands for the uniquely diverse culture in Singapore. Next, Singlish keeps Singaporeans united as one despite the differences in race, language or religion in the country. Singaporeans which consists or