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Here are some of the latest gems I've heard in the world of Singaporean language:
Singlish: Luncheon Meat
American English: SPAM
Singlish: Can you borrow me a pen, lah?
American English: Can you lend me a pen?
Singlish: Can repeat again lah? I catch no ball leh.
American English: Repeat what you just said. I can't understand you.
Singlish: (I saw this on a sign) Saturday store will be close.
American English: The store will be closed on Saturday.
(The Singaporeans commonly drop off past tenses and plurals on words. It really drives me crazy and makes me wish I carried around a Sharpie marker to make corrections for them. Yes, I'm the annoying grammar girl.)
She died
2 years ago
5 comments:
Why do they say "lah" after everything?
Hey grammar girl, I left that recipe on the cooking blog. I laughed out loud when I saw it needs a cake mix from a box. Your friends will be shocked at how delicious it is. :)
Travis, they say "lah" because as the country learned English, they incorporated some things from their native tongue. In either Hokkien or Mandarin, they often end their sentences with "lah". So when they speak English, it feels unnatural to them to not add the "lah" at the end.
Oh and Sis, thank you thank you thank you. I cracked up when I saw the cake mix in there. They are gonna go into shock when they try it. :)
Hey Megan, you forgot one more in Singlish "Potatoes only boils once" Translation : I will only say this once.....
www.talkingcock.com
they have a singlish dictionary that should be able to help you. it's even available in some bookstores... it's a riot to read, since I'm not one of those Singaporeans who despise Singlish...
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