Singapore hums with the bustle and chatter of the 5.6 million people who call it home. Within the crowds, a tapestry of different communities thrive. Composed primarily of Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnic groups; Singapore’s multicultural heritage has culminated in diverse languages, religions, and beliefs.

But there is something tying all Singaporeans together: the colloquial tongue known as ‘Singlish’. This street language sees the four official languages of Singapore; Malay, English, Tamil, and Singaporean Mandarin, come together to create a slang found only in the Lion City. Singlish isn’t so much a dialect, as it is a no-nonsense method of communication.

In standard English you might ask, “What is the time?” But in Singlish you keep it sharp and say, “Now what time?”

If you want to express your exasperation, uncertainty, or resignation in Singlish, you use Lah, Leh, or Loh, respectively, at the end of your sentence. Singapore buzzes with the sound of these tone indicators being thrown around passionately in conversation.

Linguistics professor at the National University of Singapore, Peter K. W Tan says Singlish, which was originally a pidgin language, was formed so the different ethnic groups living in Singapore could communicate with one another. In the early 1900s, English became the lingua franca, or bridging language, between different cultures in Singapore, but original languages remained in use. At schools, students were taught to speak English, but they would bring elements of what they spoke at home with them, sharing it with their peers who spoke something different. Professor Tan said this “fusion” of languages contributed to the creation of Singlish, which many Singaporeans now consider an important part of their cultural identity.

Professor Tan suggests looking at the creation of Singlish through the concept of the ‘playground’ to better understand how it came to be.

“With English in the classroom, and students speaking anything from Hokkien, to Malay in the school yard, the only way to find a common ground was to create a mixture.”

For example, the Singlish phrase buay tahan derives from the Hokkien word for ‘cannot’, and the Malay verb ‘to endure,’ but it is slipped into an otherwise entirely English sentence.  

But more interestingly from a linguistics perspective, Professor Tan says conventions started to form, meaning phrases were said the same way each time. With these conventions in place, Singlish could now be passed down from generation to generation –which it has been since the 1970s.

Communications and new media lecturer at the National University of Singapore, Dr Soh Kai Ruo, has a special interest in Singlish because of her family’s relationship with the language.

As working-class Chinese migrants, Dr Soh’s parents went to Chinese schools because they were heavily subsidised by richer merchants. Her father was in the last batch of Chinese speaking students at the only Chinese University in Singapore, Nanyang, before Singapore was made independent. But her mother, halfway through her A- levels, was forced to drop out when English became the language taught and used across all schooling levels mid-year.

Dr Soh’s parents are very self-conscious of the family’s English and have always wanted their children to have access to the opportunities speaking proper English provides.

“My parents felt that from their generation those who spoke English well as their first language had a lot of privileges.”

This idea was common among families in the year 2000, when then Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong created the Speak Good English Movement (SGE), with the belief Singlish, or any form of ‘broken’ English, was improper and unprofessional. He intended to eradicate Singlish and instead teach English with an emphasis on good grammar, with the aim to maintain Singapore’s reputation as a well-educated country.  

For people like Dr Soh’s parents, Singlish is primarily used because they don’t know the right English word to use in a given sentence, or they can’t formulate the correct grammar when communicating. Dr Soh says Mandarin sentence structure is incredibly similar to Singlish, which is why it is so easy for Chinese people to slip into it. She says the shame the SGE movement brought to that generation has had long lasting effects.

“My parents were very against me and my sisters talking English at home because of this mindset that was being implemented by the government.”

Dr Soh, however, finds Singlish allows her to communicate more effectively with her friends. She has developed the ability to ‘code switch,’ meaning she has the conscious ability to slip in and out of Singlish depending on the situation, something her parents’ generation frown upon. She speaks her best English or Mandarin with her family, and Singlish, when with her friends. Code switching, says Dr Soh, is why Singlish should not be destroyed. She says if you know the right settings in which it’s appropriate to use, it should be admired and appreciated.

“Anyone who is bilingual will understand, the better word is in that other language. And that’s what Singlish is about.”

“What I like about it is that even though we are speaking mainly in English, no one really understands what we’re saying. It’s like a code.”

In Singapore today, there are still settings that lend themselves to the use of ‘proper English,’ perhaps a biproduct of the SGE movement, or a formality. In the workplace, and at school, Singlish is kept to a minimum. Dr Soh says sometimes, when she gets particularly passionate, or her students are feeling comfortable, they can break into loud Singlish exclamations, but it is often too informal to use at school.  

Psycholinguist Cynthia Siew has spent a lot of time researching how words are organised in our memory. She has co-written the first mental lexicon for Singlish words, which essentially explains how Singlish speakers construct sentences in their brains. She says the SGE movement messaging has implicitly stuck with the older generation, creating a divide where some will say they are proud speakers of Singlish, and others will consider it a “broken” form of English that shouldn’t be used at all.

Regardless, Professor Siew says the way Singaporeans communicate with each other is highly distinctive.

 “Singaporeans will often tell you they can identify another Singaporean miles away just from the accent and specific words used,” she says.

This sentiment is echoed by Dr Soh, Professor Tan, and thousands of Singaporeans who feel a strong sense of identity when they hear Singlish.

Dr Soh says it’s an important part of being Singaporean. It is one of the things her country can truly be proud of. She is known among her colleagues as someone who loves and promotes speaking Singlish.

She says it makes her feel connected to others and allows her to express herself in ways the English language limits her. Singlish helps her get her tone across more effectively.

Dr Soh has noticed the government moving away from the SGE movement in recent years. She says she can see more and more Singaporeans opening up to the idea that Singlish is a special part of Singapore’s culture and deserves celebration.

Over the last few years, the language has been embraced on local television programs, radio shows, and at Singapore National Parades, but Dr Soh says there is still a generation, like her parents, who have been affected by the SGE movement, and feel embarrassed about their Singlish.

Temasek Polytechnic student Darius Loong says when he hears Singlish spoken overseas, he feels homesick.

“I feel like it is quite important to our identity. When I travel and hear someone speaking Singlish, I get excited. I want to talk to them and get that taste of home.”

Just like any trend, certain Singlish phrases once spoken daily are now out of fashion. Certain words like orbigood which shows appreciation for someone’s success, aren’t spoken as regularly anymore by Singaporean youth.

National University of Singapore Professor K.W Tan says he has noticed many changes to Singlish over his years of teaching linguistics. One of the examples he uses is the word buaya, which in Malay means crocodile, but in Singlish it is used to describe someone who is a flirt or womanizer. 

Professor Tan says students from a few years ago told him how they had started gendering the term, saying buayi. He was fascinated by how Singlish words were evolving but when he told his current class about it, as an example of word evolution, they all looked blank, and didn’t understand what buaya was supposed to mean.

Professor Siew says young peoples’s increased exposure to TikTok and other forms of social media has changed the way they use Singlish.

Journalism student at Temasek Polytechnic Briana Wong says the way young people converse is very influenced by what they see online. She says a lot of the lingo of her generation is fed from social media, making a lot of the kinds of phrases she uses with her friends quite westernised.

Other students at Temasek say some of the only Singlish they speak is with their families, and when they eat at Hawker centres, to converse with the older generation.

Darius Loong has had a different experience. He says he speaks a lot of Singlish with his friends, and it comes naturally. He says sometimes he can’t think of a certain word in English or feels what he has to say would be better expressed in Singlish, and it allows the conversation to flow more smoothly.

But Darius has noticed young kids in Singapore are starting to lose some of the elements of Singlish he uses with his friends. He feels he has seen it evolve from being overlooked and frowned upon to being celebrated, and now he doesn’t want to see it get lost.

However Professor Tan is confident that Singlish isn’t dying, and is instead evolving.

“This is life, things change!” Says Professor Tan.

“What young people are interested in, what they listen to, will influence how they use the language. But it won’t disappear.”

Psycholinguist Cynthia Siew agrees.

“As long as there are Singaporeans around, I believe Singapore English is here to stay.”

Professor Siew says while Singlish is changing rapidly, the fundamental law of language evolution says languages die when there is no one there to speak them, and Singlish will not go quietly.

Dr Soh Kai Ruo says if Singlish were ever to go, it would mean Singapore has become too westernised. She says it would be really sad, because Singaporeans should be proud of their identity.

“Singlish is so rich in history, it has so much culture in it, there is so much meaning behind it, if we lose it we lose quite a lot of identity. Not just national identity, but who we are as Singaporeans.”

This story was produced as part of the Curtin Journalism 2024 Singapore Study Tour and supported by funding from the federal government’s New Colombo Plan.