Singapore English

1
Singapore English

• Sociolinguistics Varieties of English
• class 6

2
English in Singapore

• 1819 Sir Stamford Raffles claimed Singapore for
  the East India Company
• Important trading point
• Little settlement
• 1965 independent Republic

3
Current linguistic situation

• English is medium of instruction at school
• First language of half of the population
• Nearly everyone is multilingual, speaking two or
  more languages
• Other languages Chinese (Cantonese, Hokkien),
  Malay
• Singlish Singapore English

4
Grammar

• A Mummy ah, you know this, this, this tape
  recorder right, I think they all being kena ketuk
  (Malay cheat) already. Fifty-three dollars you
  know. Or fifty-six dollars, I also, I, I, I
  heard. Actually ah, you can easily get it for
  twenty over dollars lah.
• B You let people ketuk or what?
• A (laughter) No, not me! The school! They got
  all these tape recorder one.

5
Pragmatic particles

• ah (tentative)
• The first one downstairs ah.
• lah (assertive )
• Her price is too high for me lah.
• what (contradictory)