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A speaker of Singapore English reading aloud part of a Wikipedia article.

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Singapore English (SgE,SE,en-SG) is the set of varieties of theEnglish language native toSingapore. In Singapore, English is spoken in two main forms: Singaporean Standard English, which is grammatically similar toBritish English, and Singaporean Colloquial English—better known asSinglish—the colloquial register of English spoken between Singaporeans.^[2][3] Many Singaporeanscode-switch between the two forms where necessary; hence, Singapore English can be described asdiglossic.^[4]

Singapore is a cosmopolitan society.^[5] In 2020, nearly half ofSingaporeans of Chinese descent reported English as their main language at home, while only a third spokeMandarin. The remaining spoke variousvarieties of Chinese such asHokkien,Cantonese orTeochew.^[1][6] MostSingaporeans of Indian descent speak either English or aSouth Asian language. ManyMalay Singaporeans useMalay as thelingua franca among the ethnic groups of theMalay world, whileEurasians and mixed-race Singaporeans are usuallymonolingual in English.

English is the medium of communication among students frompreschool touniversity in Singapore. Many families use two or three languages on a regular basis, and English is often one of them. The level of fluency in English among residents in Singapore also varies greatly from person to person, depending on their educational background, but English in general is nevertheless understood, spoken and written as the main language throughout the country.

Singapore English can be classified into Singapore Standard English (SSE) and Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish).^[7] The language consists of three sociolects:Acrolect,Mesolect, andBasilect.^[8] Both Acrolect and Mesolect are regarded as Standard Singapore English, while Basilect is considered as Singlish.^[9]

• Acrolect; there is no substantial difference from Standard British English (SBE), though there may be some features of pronunciation that indicate the speaker is Singaporean, such as use of a full vowel in unstressed syllables and a relatively monophthongal realisation of theFACE vowel.^[9]
• Mesolect; it has some features distinct from SBE^[9]
  1. Question tenses in an indirect form; e.g. "May I ask where is the toilet?"
  2. Indefinite article deletion (copula absence); e.g. "May I apply for car licence?" (Instead of saying "a" car licence)
  3. Lack of marking in verb forms (Regularisation); e.g. "He always go to the shopping centre."
• Basilect (Singlish);^[9]
  1. Generalised "is it" question tag; e.g. "You coming today, Is it?"
  2. Consistentcopula deletion; e.g. "My handwriting no good, lah."
  3. Use of particles like ah; lah, e.g. "Wait ah; Hurry lah, I need to go now!"

Singaporeans vary their language according to social situations (Pakir 1991) and attitudes that they want to convey (Poedjosoedarmo 1993).^[10] Better educated Singaporeans with a "higher" standard of English tend to speak "Standard" Singapore English (the acrolect), whereas those who are less-educated or whose first language is not English tend to speak Singlish (the basilect).^[10] Gupta (1994) said that most Singaporean speakers systematically alternate between colloquial and formal language depending on the formality of the situation.^[10]

Standard Singapore English is the standard form of English used in Singapore. It generally resembles British English and is often used in more formal settings such as the workplace or when communicating with people of higher authority such as teachers, bosses and government officials.^[11] Singapore English acts as the "bridge" among different ethnic groups in Singapore.^[12] Standard Singapore English retains British spelling and grammar.^[13]

The British established a trading post on the island of Singapore in 1819, and the population grew rapidly thereafter, attracting many immigrants from Chinese provinces and from India.^[14] The roots of Standard Singapore English derive from nearly a century and a half of British control. Its local character seems to have developed early in the English-medium schools of the 19th and early-20th centuries, where the teachers often came fromIndia andCeylon, as well as from various parts of Europe and from the United States of America. By 1900 Eurasians and other locals were employed as teachers.^[15] Apart from a period ofJapanese occupation (1942–1945), Singapore remained a British colony until 1963, when it joined theMalaysian federation, but this proved a short-lived alliance, largely due to ethnic rivalries. Sinceits expulsion from the Federation in 1965, Singapore has operated as an independentcity-state. English served as the administrative language of the British colonial government, and when Singaporegained self-government in 1959 and independence in 1965, the Singaporean government decided to keep English as the main language to maximise economic prosperity. The use of English as the nation's first language serves to bridge the gap between the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore; English operates as thelingua franca of the nation. The use of English as a global language for commerce, technology and science has also helped to expedite Singapore's development and integration into the global economy.^[16] Public schools use English as the main language of instruction, although students are also required to receive part of their instruction in their mother tongue; placement in such courses is based on ethnicity and not without controversy.^[17]The standard Singaporean accent used to be officiallyRP. However, in recent decades,^[when?] a standard Singaporean accent, quite independent of any external standard, including RP, started to emerge. A 2003 study by theNational Institute of Education in Singapore suggests that a standard Singaporean pronunciation is emerging and is on the cusp of being standardised.^[18] Singaporean accents can be said to be largelynon-rhotic.^[19]

In 2023, opposition leaderPritam Singh advocated for English proficiency testing for immigrants seeking Singaporean citizenship.^[20] Polling data of native-born Singaporeans show broad support for the proposal.^[21]

The wide use of Singlish led the government to launch theSpeak Good English Movement in Singapore in 2000 in an attempt to replace Singlish with Standard English. This movement was made to show the need for Singaporeans to speak Standard English. Nowadays, all children in schools are being taught Standard English with one of the other official languages (Chinese, Malay, Tamil) being taught as a second language. In Singapore, English is a "working language" that serves the economy and development and is associated with the broader global community. Meanwhile, the rest are "mother tongues" that are associated with the country's culture. Speaking Standard English also helps Singaporeans communicate and express themselves in their everyday life.^[22]In 2014, the Singaporean government made an announcement entitled "Speak Good English Movement brings fun back to Grammar and good English", where the strategies that would be used to promote their program in the following years were explained. Specifically, the government would release a series of videos demystifying the difficulty and dullness of the grammatical rules of the English language. These videos provide a more humorous approach to learning basic grammar rules. Singaporeans will now be able to practise the grammatical rules in both written and spoken English thanks to a more interactive approach.^{[23][needs update]}

Although Standard Singapore English (SSE) is mainly influenced by British English and, recently, American English, there are other languages that also contribute to its use on a regular basis. The majority of Singaporeans speak more than one language, with many speaking three to four.^[24] Most Singaporean children are brought up bilingual. They are introduced to Malay, Chinese, Tamil, or Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish) as their native languages, depending on their families' ethnic backgrounds and/or socioeconomic status. They also acquire those languages from interacting with friends in school and other places. Naturally, the presence of other languages in Singapore has influenced Singapore English, something particularly apparent in Singlish.^[24]

Both Singapore English and Singapore colloquial English are used with multiple accents. Because Singaporeans speak different ethnic mother tongues, they exhibit ethnic-specific features in their speech such that their ethnicity can be readily identified from their speech alone.^[25] The strength of one's ethnic mother tongue-accented English accent depends on factors like formality^[26] and their language dominance.^[27] Words from Malay, Chinese, and Tamil are also borrowed, if not code-switched, into Singapore English. For example, theMalay words "makan" (to eat), "habis" (finished), and theHokkien word "kiasu" (simplified Chinese:惊输;traditional Chinese:驚輸;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:kiaⁿ-su) are constantly used, having been adopted into the lexicon, to the point that Singaporeans are not necessarily aware of which language those words are from. The nativisation process has progressed so far that the word "kiasu" has been used in the Singapore press since 2000 without beingitalicised,^[24] and went onto claim international recognition, being admitted to theOxford English Dictionary in 2007.^[12][28][29]

Broadly speaking, Singaporean English accents are based on thesound systems of standardnon-rhoticSouthern British English accents, as is often the case with dialects of English spoken in Commonwealth nations aside from Canada.^[30] Like many of these dialects, the vowels inLOT[ɒ] andPALM[ä] are distinct in Singapore English, and the wordplant is generally pronounced with thePALM vowel[ä],rather than theTRAP vowel[ɛ].^[31][32]

As English becomes more often used as a day-to-day language in Singapore, mass adoption of local norms have led to the formation of a standard,endonormative Singaporean accent with characteristics primarily driven by conventions andlanguage change within the country.^[18][33] Nowadays, the accents of many Singaporeans reflect a compromise between local characteristics andstandard language given that English has been institutionalised in the country for decades.^[31][34][35] Accents still vary, depending on age, upbringing and the race orheritage language of the speaker.^[36][37]

Speech example

Lawrence Wong speaking onThe Daily Ketchup Podcast, recordedc. January 2025. Wong's accent is non-rhotic, which is characteristic of Singapore English.

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Speech example

Kumar, a Singaporean comedian and performer ofTamil descent, speaking onThe Daily Ketchup Podcast, recordedc. July 2024.

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Singapore English is predominantly non-rhotic, likeAustralian andNigerian accents, so most speakers will leave out ther sound in words likefar.^[19] Semi-rhotic accents are, however, quite commonly heard on radio, where some presenters have adopted moreNorth American-like accents.^[38] Studies suggest that finalr sounds are more likely to be realised by younger speakers and women among Chinese and Indian Singaporeans, and that this tendency is more common incontent words than infunction words, and in reading than in conversation.^[39][40] Rhoticity is nevertheless generally uncommon and seldom consistent,^[41][42] even in environments where alinkingr could occur, e.g.,my brother is andmy sister is.^[41][43] In a 2018 study examining the speech of 104 Singapore English speakers,r sounds were dropped at the end of syllables more than 90% of the time in conversational speech, while linkingr was used less than 20% of the time. Cases ofintrusiver (e.g., pronouncingdrawing asdraw-ring) were negligible.^[39]

TheKIT vowel is closer to the vowel inFLEECE than in most other dialects, and at its most extreme, it can be ashigh and front as the latter vowel, makingsit andseat potentialhomophones.^[44] Several studies confirm significant overlap between these two vowels,^[45][46][47] howeverDeterding (2010:203–206) andLow (2025) demonstrate that a distinction is still actively maintained by most people. Speakers may also rely on vowel length to distinguish words likerid [ɹɪd] andread [ɹiˑd]; in this case theKIT vowel is markedly shorter.^[47][48][49]

TheFOOT vowel is relatively high and back in vowel space.^[44] LikeKIT andFLEECE,formant plots show significant overlap between theFOOT andGOOSE vowels, raising the possibility of aFOOT–GOOSE merger.^[46][50][51] Other studies report a robust distinction in vowel quality and duration.^[47][49] While previous research has categorised/uː/ as a back vowel[u], more recent ones suggest thatGOOSE-fronting is now prevalent among younger speakers, and that it is more accurate to classify this variant of/uː/ as a near-back[u̟] or centralised[ü] vowel.^[46][47][50]

TheFACE vowel/eɪ/ is a short[e] or longmonophthong[eː], if not adiphthong with minimal change in quality.^[52] Measurements indicate that in general, this vowel tends to be more diphthongal for Chinese Singaporeans than for Malays.^[53] Likewise, theGOAT vowel has little change in quality over time, coming close to[o] or[oː] for many speakers.^[44][53] Findings fromDeterding (1996) lend weight to the proposition thatFACE andGOAT are somewhat diphthongal and not entirely monophthongs.^[54]

The vowels inmet /ɛ/ andmat /æ/ are seldom distinguished[ɛ] in conversational speech, meaningkettle andcattle,better andbatter, andwreck andrack have identical pronunciations.^[45][55][56] Any distinction is less likely between words ending instop consonants, likemet andmat, thoughbed [e] andbad [ɛ] are kept distinct (see§ Next–text split).^[44] Some studies report that/æ/ tends to be less centralised in vowel space, and that Malays are more likely than Indian and Chinese speakers to mergeDRESS andTRAP in everyday speech.^[47][50][55]Low (2025) reports avowel shift suggesting that theDRESS–TRAP merger is more apparent among the younger generation.

For nearly all speakers,next andtext do not rhyme, owing to a vowel split affecting theDRESSlexical set. The wordnext is realised with the raised vowel [e], which is distinguished from the low-mid vowel [ɛ] intext.^[50] The raised vowel [e] occurs unsystematically in a small subset of words includingleg,dead andhead (and their derivatives). Other words likefed andneck do not have this vowel. For many speakers, it is equivalent to the vowel inFACE, in which casedead rhymes withmade, but not withfed. Taking this into account, speakers with the completeDRESS–TRAP merger will distinguishlag [ɛ] fromleg [e], but not the wordslad[ɛ] andled[ɛ]. Besidesnext,leg,dead andhead, the raised vowel also occurs inegg,bed andred, makingred [e] andread [ɛ] (as inI'veread the book) non-homophones.^[18][52][57]

Thenext–text split appears to be motivated by theDRESS–TRAP merger in the speech of younger Singaporeans,^[45][57] who are more likely than older speakers to raise the vowel innext, though younger speakers raise it to a lower height on average.^[57] While words with the raised vowel tend to end in voiced stop consonants like/d/ and/ɡ/, this split is not phonologically conditioned, unlike/ɛɡ/raising inPacific Northwest English — given thatleg/leɡ/ andbeg/bɛɡ/ do not rhyme.^[45]

TheLOT vowel is arounded,lowback vowel[ɒ̝˖]. The vowel inTHOUGHT/COURT may be longer and closer tocardinal [ɔː] and this tendency is stronger beforevoiced consonants and in open syllables. Investigations byDeterding (2007a:14–17) show that speakers produce an allophone of theTHOUGHT vowel that is higher and further back [ɔː] in words not closed by final consonants, likemore andsaw. TheTHOUGHT vowel is otherwise the same asLOT for many speakers, resulting inidentical pronunciations forcot andcaught [ɒ̝˖],^[47][50] though new research suggests that older English speakers may still distinguish them.^[58]

For the vast majority of speakers,STRUT andPALM have identical or near-identical vowel qualities, in the vicinity ofopen central [ɐ~ä].^[49] Sometimes a length distinction is maintained, withPALM being longer in terms of duration.^[44][49] Like all free vowels, thePALM orSTART vowel is generally longer inopen syllables, e.g.ramen[ˈɹäːmɛn] ormarker[ˈmäːkə], than in closed ones, e.g.tart[tʰät̚]. TheSTRUT vowel, on the other hand, is always short.^[44][47]Low (2025) regardsSTRUT andPALM as distinct vowels with contrasting vowel lengths.

Generally speaking, words from theBATHlexical set, likeask,last andhalf, are realised with thePALM vowel [ä]—thea infather—like most dialects of English from the south of England.^[32][50] Unlike some varieties ofNorth American English,aunt ("ahnt") andant do not sound the same. Usage of thePALM vowel extends to the wordsplastic andelastic. TheTRAP vowel, on the other hand, has been reported to occur quite commonly ingasp, and rarely, indance andcan’t.^[40] Insample,command anddemand, whether thePALM orTRAP vowel is used depends on the speaker.^[32]

Assuming thatFACE,GOAT andSQUARE are analysed as monophthongs, there are five remaining distinctdiphthongs—namely, theclosing diphthongsPRICE [aɪ],MOUTH [aʊ] andCHOICE [ɔɪ], and the centering diphthongsNEAR [ɪə] andPOOR [ʊə].^[60]PRICE andMOUTH have low central startpoints, and their trajectories end near the spaces ofKIT andFOOT respectively.^[49]NEAR andPOOR are alternatively realised asrising diphthongs beginning with glides [jəːwəː].^[60]

Deterding (2007b:26) notes that, while words likePOOR,tour andsure are always realised with the diphthong[-ʊə] or[-wəː], many speakers will use the[ɔː] vowel after/j/, like inCURE,endure andsecurity[-jɔː], though[-juə] and[-jəː] are also commonly observed.^[18][61]

Words likefire[ˈfaɪ.ə] are normally broken down into two syllables.^[44][62][63]

As in most varieties of English,free vowels are shorter when there is a following final consonant (i.e., inclosed syllables), sobee[iː] has a long vowel whilebeat[i] has a relatively shorter one.^[59] The length of a vowel is determined by its environmental context,coda voiceless stop consonants are consistently associated with reduced vowel lengths, while codafricatives like/θ/ prompt longer vowel durations.^[49]

SQUARE–DRESSminimal pairs may also contrast durationally, withSQUARE being a longer open-mid vowel [ɛː] in most contexts.^[60][59] Many studies have classified theSQUARE vowel as amonophthong, in the neighbourhood ofDRESS andTRAP.^[49][64]

Th-stopping is common at the start of syllables, makingtree andthree homophones. This is generally more common in informal settings.^[65] Dental fricatives may undergoth-fronting at the end of words, soteeth sounds liketeef.^[52][63] The wordmaths [mɛts] is an exception, given that[t] is more commonly observed in this word.^[52] For some Tamil bilinguals, word-finalth sounds are alternatively realised as stops.^[66]

Stop consonants in Singapore English are usually not released at the end of words [p̚t̚k̚], and voiceless stops can beaspirated or unaspirated in initial positions—how strongly a stop is aspirated can be determined by itsplace of articulation, theheritage or home language of the speaker and the level of formality of the conversation. In general, speakers with strong Malay or Tamil accents are less likely to aspirate initial stops, while Chinese Singaporeans are more predisposed to using aspiration.^[44][59] Measurements ofvoice onset time indicate that, in initial positions,/k/ is more likely to be aspirated, or exhibit stronger aspiration [kʰ] across all major Singaporean racial groups, whereas/t,p/ are characterised by weaker and even weaker aspiration respectively.^[67] Out of all the language groups surveyed in the study, Tamil speakers of Singapore English have the lowest average voice onset time measurements for the word-initial lenis stops [bdɡ].^[67]

• Initial,unaspirated[p˭t˭t͡s˭t͡ʃ˭k˭] are found in loanwords fromHokkien andMalay, e.g.kopitiam[ˈk˭o.p˭i.t˭jäm]. Additionally, aspirated[pʰtʰt͡sʰkʰ] also appear in Hokkien loanwords, alongside voiced stops.^[67]
• Final/p,t,k/ may show some degree ofglottal reinforcement [^ʔk̚], finalt andk are also prone to being completelyreplaced by aglottal stop[ʔ] in fast speech. The use of glottalisation is more common in Malay-accented English.^[68]
• Some speakersweakent andd into alveolar taps [ɾ] in words likelittle andladder, like in North American andAustralian English. This could be regarded as an marker ofsociolinguistic prestige,^[31][40][69] even though it is generally uncommon.^[40]T-flapping has been reported at higher incidences in compound numbers (e.g., inforty-five) and across word boundaries (e.g.,get up).^[69][70]

There are three variants of final "l" in widespread use in Singapore English:dark "l"s,clear "l"s andvocalised "l"s.^[71] Vocalised "l"s are realised as high back vowels[ö] with varying degrees oflip rounding, e.g.feel [fiːö̯].^[31] For speakers who vocalise their "l"s, the "l" sound can be dropped entirely afterback vowels, diphthongs with back vowels, and sometimesmid central vowels, so thatmole sounds likemow [moː], andsmall likesmaw [smɔː]. Moreover, thePRICE diphthong/aɪ/ ismonophthongised into[äː] before a vocalised "l", soNile andnow are similar-sounding.^{[31][72][73][74]}

Chinese Singaporeans, especially older speakers, are more likely to vocalise final "l"s. Vocalised "l"s are regarded as an attribute of the speech of middle-aged, or middle-class Chinese Singaporeans. The use of clear "l"s[l] at the end of words is observed in more pronounced Malay accents, though they also regularly occur in the speech of some Indian Singaporeans. Dark "l"s are not tied to any particular ethnic accent or identity, and they are more likely to be recognised as a "pan-Singaporean" feature, being more common in formal speech.^[71]

The most common and predominant realisation of the "r" sound in Singapore English is thepostalveolar approximant[ɹ̠], roughly the same sound found in most native varieties of English worldwide. Thealveolar tap[ɾ] ortrill[r] is an alternative realisation of "r" among Malay and Indian Singaporeans and older speakers in general.^[39] Among Tamil Singaporeans, the trilled variant appears to be extremely rare in comparison to the approximant and tapped "r".^[75] A rare and emergent variant of "r", indicative ofR-labialisation and described as alabiodental approximant [ʋ], has also been reported.^[39][76]

Some degree offinal-obstruent devoicing has been reported to occur in Singapore English, at least among some speakers. Devoicing seldom takes place between vowels, sois it?[ɪzɪt] maintains the [z].^[68][77] Newer studies dispute the idea that devoicing leads to ambiguity, and argue that underlying voicing is still recoverable from factors like the length of the consonant involved and the duration of the preceding vowel.^[18][78]

Conversely, there is an opposite tendency to voicecoronal fricatives between vowels in some words likeDecember →De[z]ember /dɪˈzɛmbə/ andpressure →pre[zh]ure /ˈpɹɛʒə/, and even across word boundaries, sothis is becomesthi[z]is, though this tendency seems to be somewhat sporadic, with regard to which words are affected.^[68][79]

Some finalconsonant clusters tend to besimplified in conversational Singapore English—for example,list[lɪs] drops its finalt andflask[fläs] itsk, though speakers are seldom consistent in doing so. The sequence/-ld/, as ingold, is also commonly reduced to/-l/, and since those who vocalise their "l"s tend to drop them completely after mid central and back vowels,gold may be rendered as "go", with both thel andd dropped (see§ Pronunciation of final "l"). This does not apply to the past tense ending-ed.^[52][80]

While words generally follow the pronunciation patterns of Southern British English accents, solieutenant is pronouncedlef-TEN-ənt, andnew isnyoo, nevernoolike in some North American dialects, there are several exceptions.^[52][74]

Singapore English is characterised by a unique intonational system where pitch tends to be slightly raised at the end of a word with lexical stress. According to one analysis, the rightmost syllable of astressed word orphonological word is marked with higher pitch, while words with no stress (e.g.my house) and unstressed initial syllables (e.g.again) carry relatively lower pitch. Meanwhile, all other non-final stressed syllables (e.g.writer) coincide with a mid level tone, or a similar pitch contour between low and high levels. There is also a tendency for pitch contours to be accentuated near the start of a sentence and diminished towards the end, and for pitch to drop or level out at the end of declarative sentences. For example, in the phraseI don't remember[aɪ˨ˈdon˦ɹɪ˨ˈmɛm˧.bə˦], pitch starts off low inI, then rises to a higher level indon't. The wordremember is then realised with a less accentuated low–mid–high pitch contour.^[82][83]

Tone assignment only takes place within the scope of the phonological word.Cranberry takes on a high–mid–high pitch contour[ˈkɹɛn˦ˌbɛ˧.ɹi˦], sincecran andberry are analysed as separate words. Similarly, inbrainstorm[ˈbɹeɪn˦ˌstɔːm˦],brain andstorm are both assigned high pitch.^[73][84] Prefixes with stress constitute their own phonological words, so there inreenact[ˈɹi˦.ɛn˨ˌɛkt˦] is high-pitched. In words where the prefix is unstressed or less salient, likeunfortunate[an˨ˈfɔ˧.tʃə˧.nət˦] andnonsense[ˈnɔn˧.səns˦], the prefix is not treated as a separate unit with stress and is therefore not assigned high pitch.^[83]

Words are not restricted to discrete level tones. One alternative analysis posits that high pitch is associated with the right edge of anaccentual phrase, and low pitch with the left edge; an accentual phrase may consist of a content word with zero or any number of preceding unstressed function words. For instance, in a sentence likeI joined the call, in whichI joined is analysed as a single accentual phrase,joined can be realised with rising pitch starting from the low pitch inI, in lieu of consistently high pitch.^[83][85] In this model, phonological words (e.g.cran andberry incranberry) and prefixes with stress are analysed as belonging to separate accentual phrases.^[83] Other intonational variants have also been noted. For instance, flat pitch contours can sometimes span the entire length of words and accentual phrases where rising contours would normally be expected.^[85][86]

Wider pitch range is associated with the introduction of a topic near the start of a sentence.^[87] Elsewhere in the sentence, differences in pitch are less prominent, so low, mid and high tones may collapse into roughly the same pitch level. Moreover, at the end of declarative sentences andopen-ended questions, "high-pitched" syllables are weaker and often replaced with a drop or leveling out in pitch.^[83][87] For example, in the sentenceI left all my things on the table, pitch is much higher onleft than it is on the second syllable oftable, which has underlying high pitch but tends to be realised instead with a fall or leveling out in pitch. Yes-no questions are accompanied with rising pitch, as is the case in many other dialects of English.^[83] Rising pitch is also commonly used when there is non-final information at the end of an utterance, sometimes to indicate a non-final item in a list.^[52]

Unstressed initial syllables are often realised with shorter duration and lower intensity.^[85] There is also a tendency for the last syllable in an utterance to be lengthened or dragged out.^[52]

Singapore English tends towardssyllable timing, unlike British English, which is considered stress-timed.^[88]

20th-centuryBritish English had had significant influence over the development of what is now called Singapore English, and there is still a tendency for some older Singaporeans to use expressions that would be considered old-fashioned in London today. In everyday speech, some words are more ubiquitous in Singapore English, likescold—in the UK,scold is regarded as somewhat formal or dated andtell off would be more natural.^[89] Still, much of Singapore English vocabulary parallels that of the English spoken in Southern England and otherCommonwealth nations—barring some exceptions. Standard Singapore English followsBritish spelling conventions (e.g.,colour andrealise, as opposed tocolor andrealize).^[52]

Some words unique to Singapore English are lexical innovations, often compound words (e.g.,void deck), while some words have taken on completely different meanings—for instance,keep means to “put away” or “put (something) back”, rather than to “hold on to something”.^[90]

Some colloquial, English-derived phrases and expressions exclusive to Singaporean (andMalaysian) English includeclose one eye, meaning to “turn a blind eye to something”, andspoil the market, meaning “to raise the bar by overachieving”.

Terms derived or borrowed fromHokkien andMalay are commonplace in informal contexts, and are used regularly inSinglish. Some of these loanwords refer to local concepts (e.g.,kaya, a type of coconut jam) and are not italicised in print. Other loanwords are generally restricted to colloquial use.

A wide range of foreign English dialects can be heard in Singapore. American and British accents are often heard on local television and radio due to the frequent airing of foreign television programmes.^[91]

Unlike Singapore Standard English,Singlish includes many discourse particles and loan words fromMalay,Mandarin andHokkien. Many of such loan words include swear words, particularlyHokkien profanities such as "kanina" and "chee bai".^[92] Hence, it is commonly regarded with low prestige in the country and not used in formal communication.^[2][93]

However, Singlish has been used in several locally produced films, includingArmy Daze,^[94]Mee Pok Man^[95] andTalking Cock the Movie,^[96] among others. Some local sitcoms, in particularPhua Chu Kang Pte Ltd,^[97] also feature extensive use of Singlish.

The proliferation of Singlish has been controversial and the use of Singlish is not endorsed by the government. Singapore's first two prime ministers,Lee Kuan Yew andGoh Chok Tong, have publicly declared^[98] that Singlish is a substandard variety that handicaps Singaporeans, presents an obstacle to learning standard English, and renders the speaker incomprehensible to everyone except another Singlish speaker. The country's third,Lee Hsien Loong, has also said that Singlish should not be part of Singapore's identity.^[99] In addition, the government launched theSpeak Good English Movement in 2000 to encourage Singaporeans to speak proper English.^[100]

Despite strong criticisms of Singlish, linguist David Yoong has put forward the argument that "Singaporeans who subscribe to Singlish and have a positive attitude towards the code see Singlish as a language that transcends social barriers" and that the language can be used to "forge rapport and, perhaps more importantly, the Singaporean identity".^[101] Sociolinguist Anthea Fraser Gupta also argues that Singlish and standard English can and do co-exist, saying that "there is no evidence that the presence of Singlish causes damage to standard English". This was followed by organisers of theSpeak Good English Movement clarifying that they are "not anti-Singlish", with their primary intention instead to ensure that Singaporeans are able to speak standard English first. A spokesperson was quoted as saying: "The presence of Singlish causes damage to standard English only when people do not have a good grounding in standard English".^[4][102]

In 2010, speakers of English in Singapore were classified into five different groups:

1. Those who have no knowledge of English (extremely few people, most of whom were born before the 1940s);
2. Those who regard English as a foreign language, have limited command of, and seldom speak the language (mostly the older age groups);
3. Those who learnt English at school and can use it but have a dominant other language (many people, of all ages);
4. Those who learnt English at school and use it as their dominant language (many people, of all ages);
5. Those who learnt English as a native language (sometimes as a sole native language, but usually alongside other languages) and use it as their dominant language (many people, mostly children born after 1965 to highly educated parents).^[103]

As of 2015^[update], English is the most commonly spoken language in Singaporean homes. One effect of mass immigration into Singapore since 2000, especially from China, has been an increase in the proportion of the population to whom English is a foreign language. The most recent trend in Singapore favours an increasing use of English as well as stability in the use of Mandarin at the expense of othervarieties of Chinese (apparently as the Chinese population switches first to Mandarin, then to English) while the use of Malay slowly erodes.

In 2010, 52% of Chinese children and 26% of Malay children aged between 5 and 14 speak English at home, as compared to 36% and 9.4% respectively in 2000.^[106]

English is Singapore's main and one of the four official languages, along withMalay,Chinese andTamil.^[107] The symbolic national language is Malay for historical reasons.^[107] All official signs, legislation and documents are required to be in English, although translations in the other official languages are sometimes included, though it is not necessary. Under theeducation system, English is the language of instruction for all subjects except the official Mother Tongue languages (the other three official languages) and the literatures of those languages.

• Commonwealth English

• Rachel Siew Kuang Tan; Ee-Ling Low (January 2010)."How different are the monophthongs of Malay speakers of Malaysian and Singapore English?".English World-Wide.31 (2):162–189.doi:10.1075/eww.31.2.03tan.
• Gupta, Anthea Fraser (1 September 2010)."Singapore Standard English revisited". In Lisa Lim; Anne Pakir; Lionel Wee (eds.).English in Singapore: Modernity and Management.Hong Kong University Press. pp. 56–89.doi:10.5790/hongkong/9789888028436.003.0003.ISBN 9789882206939 – viaOxford University Press.

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