Singlish

Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 23. Chapters: Singlish vocabulary, List of Singapore abbreviations, Ang mo, Ah Beng, Sarong party girl, Ah Lian, Kiasu, Kiasi. Excerpt: Colloquial Singaporean English, also known as Singlish, is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore, and at times in Malaysia and Brunei. Singlish is commonly regarded with low prestige in Singapore. The Singaporean government and many Singaporeans alike heavily discourage the use of Singlish in favour of Standard English. The government has created an annual Speak Good English Movement to emphasise the point. Singlish is also heavily discouraged in the mass media and in schools. The vocabulary of Singlish consists of words originating from English, Malay, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi and to a lesser extent various other European, Indic and Sinitic languages, while Singlish syntax resembles southern varieties of Chinese. Also, elements of American and Australian slang have come through from imported television series and films. In the last two decades, an increasing amount of Mandarin words have found their way into Singlish because Mandarin Chinese is taught to most Singaporean Chinese students in school. Japanese words are becoming more common as young Singaporeans become exposed to Japanese culture, particularly through Anime. Singapore English derives its roots from 146 years (1819¿1965) of British colonial rule over Singapore. Prior to 1965, the standard form of English in Singapore had always been British English and Received Pronunciation. After Singapore declared independence in 1965, English in Singapore began to take a life of its own, leading to the development of modern day Standard Singapore English. Standard Singapore English began to take root and Singlish began to evolve among the working classes who learned English without formal schooling. Singlish originated with the arrival of the British and the establishment of English language schools in Singapore. Soon, English filtered out of schools and onto the streets, to be picked up by non-English-speakers in a pidgin-like form for communication purposes. After some t