Singlish is the informal, colloquial variety of English spoken in Singapore, arising from sustained contact among the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian communities that make up the city-state's multilingual population. Its academic classification is disputed, with some linguists describing it as a creole and others as an informal register existing in diglossia with the more formal Standard Singapore English, between which speakers readily code-switch. Grammatically it favors topic-prominent sentences and routinely drops the copula be, and it is instantly recognizable for its syllable-timed staccato rhythm and its discourse particles, among them lah, ah and what, layered onto an English base heavily seasoned with Hokkien and Malay vocabulary.
Facts
RegionSingapore and, informally, parts of neighboring Malaysia 1 Speaker Communityspoken informally by Singaporeans across the country's Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian communities, arising from contact among these groups in Singapore's multilingual environment and used alongside the more formal Standard Singapore English 1 Distinguishing Featuresa syllable-timed, staccato rhythm quite unlike the stress-timed rhythm of most English varieties, with pitch patterns carried over from Chinese loanwords; topic-prominent sentence structure and frequent omission of the copula be; a set of discourse particles such as lah, ah and what that mark tone and attitude; extensive borrowing from Hokkien, Malay and increasingly Mandarin 1 Disputed
Variety Kind Connections
Descends From
Source Wikipedia: Singlish
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Singlish
Wikimedia FoundationGrammar section
The grammar of Singlish includes topic-prominence, omission of the word be, reduplication of words, and discourse particles such as ah, lah, and what.
Lead section
It linguistically resembles a creole, but its status as a creole is academically disputed.
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