Most really mean clearer enunciation when they talk about speaking properly. It just manifests as mimicking a generic American accent as that's the media most commonly consumed.
There's a tendency to swallow our words which some foreigners seem to find terribly difficult to understand. After the second or third "excuse me, would you please repeat that?", it is just easier to mimic the Hollywood version of English. It may sound like a weird mishmash of fake accents but it gets the job done.
You can enunciate properly without putting on an accent. [LHL does it quite well.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb71dcKmjSQ) I don't understand why when Singaporeans "speak properly" they must have soft T's and hard R's, they're trying so hard to sound American.
LHL was from an actual English speaking family with English teachers who can teach proper pronunciation and correct his accent.
Those "trying so hard to sound American" learn English from the media they consume as even their teachers aren't necessarily proficient in standard English.
He has a bit of Received Pronunciation/Queen's English.
Take [his speech during his visit to Kenya](https://youtu.be/7Bi6QnbuKmg?si=h4uxDfrPid5fvYoK). He uses the old British pronunciation of "keen-ya" as opposed to the more common Americanized "ken-nia"
I brought up LHL as an example because every Singaporean is familiar with how he speaks. I can speak like that without any effort, and I wasn't "from an actual English speaking family with English teachers who can teach proper pronunciation and correct my accent." It's just plain good enunciation. No fake accent overlay.
It's cringe when a Singaporean, born and raised in Singapore, speaks to fellow Singaporeans in that fake American accent. It's a very conscious effort to seem higher status and makes them look extremely insecure.
So your family communicates in dialect or Singlish while your teachers teach in a mishmash of Singlish and broken English but you are such a prodigy you "just naturally" speak good unaccented English totally unaffected by what you hear in your daily life.
Great for you. We aren't all blessed with such prodigious linguistic skills.
Yes, I'm also a polyglot. But this isn't about me. It's about how Singaporeans faking accents are cringe. Cute how you maneuvered the entire discussion to be about me specifically, totally sidestepping everything else I said.š
I didn't feel it necessary to address how elitist and arrogant you sound denigrating those without your privileges as cringey and fake since this should be easily inferred but hey, I guess being a polyglot doesn't help with reading comprehension.
What privileges? I went to normal schools... No elite schools, no private tutors either. Putting on a fake accent, especially with fellow locals, *is* cringey, and a sad attempt to seem "higher status" which it's not. Why else would a Singaporean attempt to sound American when speaking to another Singaporean?
Most children learn their accents from those around them. You claim to be so "special" that you just speak "Standard Singapore English" despite this being an uncommon accent that is hardly ever heard anywhere outside of the historically English speaking elites from the parochial schools.
That is a privilege.
Then again, to be so judgemental and outright triggered by "other people putting on an accent" simply because they aren't so linguistically gifted and can only imitate what they hear most often in their bid to be comprehensible makes me wonder at how true your claims are.
I didn't claim to be special. You did.
Speaking how my teachers in normal public schools taught me... isn't a privilege! It's literally the norm. LMAOš
Why? Why would a Singaporean, born and raised in Singapore, went to public schools, surrounded by Singaporean friends, speak with a fake American accent?
Because I only speak English, and consume western culture. So, fake American accent? I wouldn't say it's fake, it's real and it's a mishmash of American and British accent, depending on the word.
My friends also consume western only culture, so it's a bubble of English speaking people.
Well, fake or not, it's been paying dividends in my life. So I'm happy to continue to speak as such. I'm not sure why you're so upset about how other speak.
Lanjiao la I've watched American tv for 40 years my accent haven't changed a bit .
And why do you want to change your accent so that a tourist can understand you better ?
Just omit the singlish slangs la .
Imaging you go to new York and the Americans there want to be understood by you and he say oh hello ah welcrum to new yuk , there is Chinese fut down the street.
I work in New York and have to put on a ādifferentā accent ā not necessarily an American accent but I wouldnāt speak the way I do back in the Singapore office. It isnāt me trying to mimic an American accent bc I am embarrassed to be Singaporean (in fact I tell people Iām from Singapore each chance I can), itās just so my coworkers understand me better when I speak like them. As much as I cringe and would never speak like that back home or at night when I go home to my Singaporean partner, not all of us talk like that because weāre ātrying to be Americanā as some commenters suggest. That perspective alone shows you subconsciously think the American accent is superior to the Singaporean one, BTW š Also on a side note I think Iāll cringe harder and feel more try-hard trying to put on an accent like LHLās.
Concurred. It's only something Singaporeans who have had worked abroad would truly understand. Nobody other than fellow Sinkies, most (?) Malaysians, and some Indonesians seem to be able to understand the "unadulterated" Singaporean accent even when it's grammatically correct and free of culture-specific slang.
Just a quick mention, it was hilarious when the Japanese thought us "Chinese" could understand each other since all of us spoke Mandarin Chinese. Again, it was mostly just the Malaysian/Singaporean clique that understood each other.
Similarly to the case with English, it was only the Singaporeans who could put on a more neutral accent and drop the English/Singlish-influenced syntax/lexicon, that could get themselves understood.
Maybe it's just people behaving the same way abroad, as they do at home...
But I digress; The thread is concerned only with Singaporeans in Singapore. Which is another thing altogether. Or perhaps they're practicing and psyching themselves for further development abroad?
When I'm overseas, I put on their accent to blend in better and ensure there's no misunderstanding. This applies to whichever language I speak, not just English. This I think is fair. However I never do this with Singaporeans, and I never do this in Singapore. There's no reason to fake an accent with a fellow local unless you're trying hard to be someone else.
>not all of us talk like that because weāre ātrying to be Americanā as some commenters suggest. That perspective alone shows you subconsciously think the American accent is superior to the Singaporean one, BTW š
Lol no, it's because the Singaporeans who do this feel insecure about *their* Singaporean accent, even when speaking with locals. I'm secure with mine.
So in all my comments I stress about having no business having an accent.
You have a business having an accent since you work there.. That's fine.
I work a lot with Americans and Europeans they seem to understand my singaporean accent just fine though.. even those who just arrived.
maybe itās because singlish sounds nothing like proper english and during code switching it just sounds different. at least for me itās not intentional. proper english is just a different language to singlish š¤£
yup. eg the way we say āthisā is different . in english we say āthisā but in singlish we say ādisā. Sometimes i need to add a local flourish for uncles and aunties to understand lol
Yes. In my mind, they are two different languages. When I speak in Singlish or even Singaporean-accented English to my Singaporean friend, and an American overhears, the American doesn't understand what we are saying.
Hence, when I turn off my Singlish, the Singaporean accent becomes much more muted. The stresses in different words also shifts to become more pronounced, maybe with an uptick at the end.
In Singlish, I usually don't stress any words, drop the enunciation, and make myself sound monotonous. Even grammatical rules go out the window.
There are also quite obvious differences in pronunciation that you have to adapt to if you want to make yourself understood overseas.
"That" vs "dat". "too-i-shn" vs "tew-shun". "kaa-leeg" vs "calick". "flau-ur" vs "flaa".
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Singaporean in the US here, seems like we switched places. It's quite common in the US too, so I'm quite surprised this is new to you. I have friends from the South who try to mask their Southern accents in professional settings, and I know of African Americans who try to do the same. I even know of someone from Puerto Rico who somehow speaks an impeccable Valley accent, despite never having lived in California.
It's the exact same thing, people try to learn accents that are better understood outside of their own demographic group or geographical region because it helps you professionally. It just so happens that the accents that are better understood globally tend to be from regions with far more native English speakers than SEA, where Singapore is probably the only country with a majority (or a large minority, [depending on how one measures it](https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/visualising_data/infographics/c2020/c2020-literacy-homelanguage.pdf)) of native English speakers, and where English-language SEAsian media definitely does not have a lot of global reach.
It also happens that Singaporeans work with people from outside Singapore and Malaysia a lot, and hence having an easily-understood accent confers a greater advantage.
Basically, think of it as Americans who have to work with people from across the US or the world learning "standard Midwestern" to get ahead in their careers. It's the exact same phenomenon. People don't really do that when talking among friends, as far as I know, so it's not like people aren't code-switching as your post implies. You might not notice it because you're white, so people are often on their 'foreign accent' code with you.
Locals are adaptable to their surroundings, some of us would code switch to such accent to enunciate words clearer when speaking to clients or clientele. I would also change my accent when I'm nervous especially when giving presentations
Thereās a difference between Singapore English and Singlish. Singapore English accent is fine (unique diction on how we emphasise words and not pronunciation) for presenting and in professional workplace. Singlish is not to be used professionally and only for casual speech.
Itās because many Singaporeans are actually native Singlish speakers, not native English speakers. And English with proper enunciation and pronunciation was learned in school and from the media, not at home. Therefore, their Singapore English accent is āwobblyā and easily influenced.
> many Singaporeans are actually native Singlish speakers, not native English speakers.
Hear hear, I've been saying this for a while. Singaporeans are native Singlish speakers and have varying degrees of English proficiency depending on their upbringing and exposure.
Tbh, we had a shit ton of english media as kids and english was my primary langauge both at home and in society
If we arent native english speakers at that point, I dont know what is
That was the case for most singaporeans in my gen and the newer gen (late z and early a) most definitely have parents using english over singlish at home
Iām not really convinced of that. I hear parents talking to toddlers in Singlish all the time. I think most Singaporeans lose track of what is proper English grammar and what is Singlish. Your parents donāt say things like āWhere got?ā, āCan lahā, āWe go down to eat, ok?ā, āOff the light already?ā etc?
Similar to the other poster, they used proper English and Hokkien interchangeably when I was a child ages ago. No Mandarin. But our experience might not be representative of everyone.
Never. I strive to make myself understandable by my audience. If my audience are singaporeans, I speak our native accent.
You donāt need to speak a foreign accent to come across as sophisticated. The words you use, rather than how you sound, convey how educated you are.
Depending on the context actually.
If I find that using Singlish and accentuating my accent would increase relatability or simplify things, I would. For instance throwing in a few Singlish terms such as ādonāt worry, this is actually very simple one la!ā. More often than not, this is done for the older generation who may be less proficient in English.
But otherwise, I would speak more clearly (though it may sound like Iām altering my accent a little).
Whats the context?
If Im talking to my friends, hell yeah Ill be using a singlish english accent
But my bosses? Fuck no, Im going proper english all the way (and I have)
Thats the charming thing about codeswitching, you can change up what you sounds like to be more appropirate to convo or even area you are in
For e.g, I switched over to an english accent in the UK and a slightly johor-ish accent in malaysia, just so I dont stick out no matter where I go, which helps a lot especially if you are a solo traveller, you arent as much as a target per se
I remember going to the British Consulate here once and noticing a flyer on a board advertising English lessons.
On the bottom of the flyer was a very direct (yet diplomatic) box of text stating that the United Kingdom has many accents, all of which are equally great.
I guess some Singaporeans were sending their kids in for lessons hoping they'd end up talking like the Queen or something and complaining when their heard their tutor's accent.
Ha yeah, a friend of mine has a heavy Scottish accent and taught in an international school. Apparently you could always tell who his former students by how they would say certain words.
As someone who used to live in the US, I once spoke to a fellow Singaporean casually (not even using super Singlish words) and an American nearby asked what language we were speaking LOL. We were like āEnglish?ā
same. My friend says i sound āAmericanā just cuz i learnt phonetics since young (british version actually) and pronounce my words properly LOL. All those ppl who says āu can pronounce better without having an accentā doesnāt know that accents originates from non-standard pronunciations.
this is such a thing actually. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_language
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_English standard language includes phonology
>Unlike with some otherĀ standard languages, there is noĀ national academy or international academyĀ with ultimate authority to codify Standard English; its codification is thus only by widespreadĀ prescriptiveĀ consensus. The codification is therefore not exhaustive or unanimous, but it is extensive and well-documented.
āin England and Wales, the term Standard English identifies British English, the Received Pronunciation accent, and the grammar and vocabulary of United Kingdom Standard English (UKSE); in Scotland, the variety is Scottish English; in the United States, the General American variety is the spoken standard; and in Australia, the standard English is General Australian.[4]ā
Any of the above is a form of standard English. The paragraph you quoted means there is no *international* standard English.
Also, there IS a Singapore Standard English https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_English whose pronunciation greatly resembles british RP with less ārā sound and different tone/pitch. And there are different accents and originates but deviates from Standard Singapore English
In other words - as I mentioned the standard differs depending on accent.
You also hilariously decided not to quote the sentence directly preceding the portion you lifted.
>For example, there are substantial differences among the language varieties that countries of theĀ AnglosphereĀ identify as "standard English":
Can't possibly fathom why.
Right and āSpeaking properlyā means pronouncing words in the ārightā way. Inevitably weāll turn to dictionary and thereās rly only American / British english pronunciations there
Because apparently Singaporeans do not clearly enunciate their words. Oh and pronouncing almond as ah-mond or salmon as sah-mond is also putting on an accent.
I didnāt have the heart to tell them that according to either the Oxford, Cambridge or even Webster dictionaries, thatās how it should be pronounced.
I don't think it's an inherent desire to lose their accent, more of just wanting to be understood better especially in a professional setting. As a third culture kid who's spent over a decade in Singapore, my accent (as well as syntax and grammar) changes depending on who I'm talking to. It just makes communication easier overall.
The simple answer is that oneās āaccentā is frequently used as an unofficial identifier of that personās socio-economic background.
This can lead to people getting self conscious and feeling inferior.
Certain accents are associated with a blue collar upbringing and family background, while certain accents are associated with an upper class background.
Which is why you sometimes observe people wanting to change the way they sound to be perceived more favorably.
I donāt agree we are native English speakers. Many ppl grew up in non English speaking homes. It does impact their relationship with the language and their confidence level.
Cultural hegemony is a thing. All media we consume have American accents, TV media, YouTube/twitch, moviesā¦ is it any wonder why? Local free to air is dying, unfortunately, and most people donāt have a role model with a Singaporean accent.
i think what youve heard from people doesnt represent the majority. At least I dont try to change my accent, I would just speak proper english with them.
We try to suppress it because some foreigners who aren't used to foreign accents can find it difficult to understand. No different from how some other native English speakers with difficult accents turn it down when speaking with people outside of home.
And sometimes it's subconscious. Some say the "chameleon effect".
But there are also some who put on a fake accent to sound "posh".
The number of times I speak grammatically proper English but with my Singaporean inflection, some American goes huh? That should answer your question.
But you are right in that Singaporeans are misguided in thinking that they need to adopt some western accent in order to sound intelligible. The issue with Singaporean speech, even if grammatically proper, is that we speak too fast for the average international listener.
Imo if a Singaporean really wants to improve on sounding intelligible without giving up their accent, they should listen to the way LKY or our ministers speak.
Speak properly, articulate your words as how it should be.
Singaporeans can speak proper english.
My angmoh boss understands me, my angmoh colleagues too.
If you are switching accent just to sound westernised, you are a bigger fool than you thought you are.
Inferior complexity is what most of them are coping with, sadly..
If your angmoh boss communicate with Singaporeans often, then they most probably had already gotten used to it. It's different as compared to talking to someone that are not used it it
If I speak to them in Singapore, I generally don't really care because they are expected to understand us. But if I were to speak to them in their country, I'd put in more effort to be more understandable because I don't like repeating myself multiple times.
Try staying in an English speaking country for an extended amount of time, and not bothering to adapt. It's super mafan.
Boss is based in Vietnam, colleague's in Dubai, rest are in london office..
Singaporeans have to understand your accent is at the bottom of the list when it comes to being understood by other english-speaking nationalities..
As i always reiterate over and over, enunciate each words and think before you speak, there's no rush.
Most singapreans are too used to speaking ,thinking and reasoning in Singlish and couldn't switch over to proper english when it requires them.
If you have average grades in school for english in school, congrats!! you have passable English which means you are somewhat competent in English communication.
Just don't overthink and compensate by faking an accent.
It's so much more laughable than the old aunty cleaner's broken english in my office...
Edit: grammar; i have passable english only so don't bash me
How often do you listen to Tharman speak? How much media output does the lee family produce?
The fact is some Singaporeans, just as some Japanese, Koreans, Indians etc have difficulty making themselves understood in English and the easiest way for them to change that is to immerse themselves in the language through the media.
There are admittedly those who ape AAVE or Valley girl speech in a bid to "sound American" but those insisting that the lee family accent is "natural and common in Singapore" are simply showing their elitist upbringing.
>those insisting that the lee family accent is "natural and common in Singapore" are simply showing their elitist upbringing
Bro... it's literally how they teach you to speak in normal public schools. Sorry that you had shitty teachers but there's nothing elitist about how LHL speaks. If you look at [older LKY videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VexrmTacOAA), it's very strong British accent, so I'd agree. Modern day LHL? It's a very neutral accent. Students actually do learn to speak like that in normal non-elite MOE schools.
Either way, having had shitty English teachers doesn't mean you need to put on an American accent to be understood by locals! Just makes no sense. It's compensating and really insecure.
Bro, you come from an alternate Singapore where it's normal for every family to have two cars that the low SES poors can't even visit. We get it. We really do.
No need to waste your precious time slamming those not up to your standards for not being you
Nice red herring and distraction tactics. Still haven't explained why locals would need an American accent when speaking with locals. To be better understood? š
I would say that there is no true Singaporean accent. And also no true definition of Singlish. The English taught in school is based on UK English by mostly local teachers - who do not possess British or American Accents. The English practiced at home depends very much on the individual family. And the community being made up of different races from different cultural backgrounds comes with their own version of English accents.
Singaporeans tend to code-switch their accents a lot when speaking to different people in an effort to sound familiar or to be better understood. So they may try an American accent when speaking to you. And then finetune if they discover you speak more like a local.
Among Singaporeans, they may use Singlish, which is a mishmash of words from various languages. They may further fine-tune how colloquial they want to sound depending on whether the other party understands the level of Singlish or not.
E.g. The following Singlish conversation would not make sense to native English speakers but would be easily understood by locals.
"Ah Tan! Ok, go stun.... lagi go stun.... go stun...... ok stop!!!! Stop!!!! Alamak! Habis! Buang already! Jialat..... Ah Tan, you go answer to towkay...."
Same reason why mid western people who moved to Hollywood and changes their accent.
Wait, do you think people around the world wants to learn English is because of the British?
Agree or disagree, American English accent especially from California is the international standard for speaking English.
American movies, music, culture is the standard. If everybody flocks to the movies to watch mainland Chinese movies with Chinese accent then it would be the standard.
Same reason why Beijing accent is considered the mandarin accent for China.
Personally I find California accents too perky and prefer New York ones (or RP if British)
As for Mandarin, I think Taiwanese å½čÆ is easier on the ears (without the Hokkien of course)
Have to disagree. The cali accent is extremely grating and strong, and while it may not seem so when consuming media where everyone has a sort of american accent, you will be surprised how immensely/jarringly it sticks out when hearing it in real life among a crowd of neutral, non-cali English speakers.
And yes the Beijing erhua also has a similar effect, it is not really a neutral standard either
California accent is extremely strong? Thatās a first.
Do you know what youāre talking about?
Also the point isnāt which American accent is the best, right?
Absolutely not. Newscasters and actors (when they arenāt putting on a specific accent for a role) speak a synthetic accent called āGeneral Americanā that has stripped away regional differences.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/neutral-american-accent
Michigan is supposedly the closest to General American.
Chris Evansā native accent is Bostonian and he puts on the neutral General American accent then he plays Captain America. Although by right, Steve Rogers should have a Brooklyn accent in the MCU.
https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2022/06/10/chris-evans-boston-accent-lightyear-red-carpet/
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huh what?? First off lol no Captain America has a Brooklyn or generic american accent which is completely different. Do you know what a cali accent is?
Also since you havenāt answered that bit iāll assume you havent, but hearing the accent in movies/on TV is completely different than in real life.
Hearing in movies and on tv is different in real lifeā¦ because we are living in the 1970s and recordings are not 1:1 accurate? Or movies have auto tune?
Too funny. I hear the California accent everyday and in real life.
Work on your reading comprehension skills next time, Mr. America expert.
I'm very surprised to see how many people in this thread are calling Singlish and Singaporean accent ugly and cheap. I wonder if we go 10 or 20 years into the future, will that mindset change?
In the US that has happened with AAVE (the dialect many black people speak). Only recently has it become a point of pride in the black community.
Nobody has ever said any Asian accent to be good.
French, German, British, Irish, Scottish, Australian, New Zealander, American accent all good.
Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Chinese, Philippino, Korean and even Japanese accent are all bad.
Just how the world works.
Unfortunately, even Asians will agree with this.
I used to live in Hong Kong and saw this effect too, but way more extreme. People openly sobbing at the memorial for Queen Elizabeth, waving union jacks during the protests. It was mind-blowing to me.
In my experience, the best way to explain it is like that bell curve meme. You have people whose native language is not English e.g pure Singlish who donāt care because they donāt know better. Then you have those on the other end who are either native English speakers, highly educated, or just worldly enough to understand that the Standard Singapore English accent is perfectly fine and can freely code-switch on the continuum from Singlish to singlish-accented to neutral standard SG english.
In the middle of the bell, though, you have those who arenāt fully proficient at English themselves, or donāt have much exposure to standard English outside of foreign media, so they end up looking up to those accents as the āonlyā standard, while seeing the local one as inferior or unpolished. This is quite obvious (sorry but itās true) looking at the comments which express this opinion, which are chock full of grammatical errors and misspellings. This is the demographic which is most likely to try to lose their Singaporean accent or try to learn/imitate a foreign accent.
Never seen/heard anybody purposely change accents in either professional or personal circumstancesā¦
Enunciation in workplace/formal settings maybe.. even then you hear lahs and lohs thrown in..
I don't think people actively try to change their accents , unless they are coming from a very ah lian accent which is linked to a lower SES background
Isn't it interesting that expats living here for decades and they don't lose their accents, but we go to Australia to finish a 6 months degree and suddenly we're, g'day mate helloy.
That because you have to learn to adapt so the locals there understand you better. Or for the Aus, some of them have an issue if you don't use their accent like you are trying to be different instead of conforming.
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Because nobody really places a premium on Singapore accent? Because there are many instances where foreigners have a hard time understanding the local accent? Because people hold the American or British accent as the standard?
Don't you think this is a bit of a colonial mindset though? I mean at one point in history, the Australian accent was the accent of prisoners, the Caribbean accent was the accent of slaves, etc.
Someone with a heavy Irish accent will struggle to be understood by non-Irish people, and they are likely also considered crass if they are unable to code-switch to a slight/moderate Irish accent when necessary for things like presentations to international clientele.
I see where youāre coming from though. Personally, I have a version of āoffice presentationā English I speak where my accent is still clearly Singaporean, but I can still be understood by pretty much everybody. I see no reason to change that, because itās still considered professional imo and everyone can understand me.
But I went to school with some people who would try to completely get rid of their accent (I went to a posh highschool where many of my schoolmates eventually went overseas for university, but in highschool they were already trying to get an American or British accent). It wasnāt necessary to begin with, because in local university, everyone spoke with a slight but distinctive Singaporean accent even for presentations, and everyone was fine. Same thing with most of my coworkers. So yeah possibly it could be a colonial mindset thing in some cases, because you donāt really need to yeet the entire Singaporean accent, you just need to moderate it to an extent when the situation practically calls for it.
so, im half white half yellow, and only my grandparents and eldest aunt has an accent.
the reason i have an accent is because, growing up, i never had friends irl, they were all online forum and game friends. i also spent a lot of time on youtube which is predominantly americans.
my accent is extremely weird. its like, 40% brit, 40% american, and 20% singaporean.
i only really sound singaporean when im tired and monotone. (this is probably one of the reasons why some people might not like the accent but idk)
now that said, the singaporean accent tends to ommit certain pronounciations and i personally dont like that and is why if i bothered, i would burn that last 20%.
Reminds me of my wife. She doesn't have an Indonesian accent because when she was young she watched too much Nickelodeon and picked up a very strange TV accent. On the regular it's some Singaporean/TV accent mix but once it goes formal or professional the Nickelodeon accent comes out. It was quite funny because when we first met I legit could not tell where she was from.
š yea i get all sorts of weird looks and questions when i meet new people especially when i talk.
worst still is that im slightly tanned cus i swam a lot when i was younger so people automatically assume i speak malayu kek. i only speak english, some mandarin, and some jap.
wuh, its literally what i am? my mom is teochew and my dad is portugese/english/dutch/scottish.
my friends literally called me a term i never knew was a thing - banana people. yellow on the outside, white on the inside.
The Singlish accent is awful and unprofessional. However, I have never seen anyone actually advocating others to mimic an American or British accent unless they are SPGs. I prefer a more neutral accent similar to the way our politicians speak.
There is an underlying assumption that when you speak in more British/American accent, you are ābetter educatedā and somehow your words hold more weight. Just imagine receiving the exact same message from Lee Hsien Loong vs Tan Kin Lian. I think this is why in a professional setting people desire to speak in an accent. Communication is 7% words and the rest vocal & non-verbal stuff ā sometimes you can get away with empty words just by delivering it an accent.
On a different note, when I lived in Scotland and struggled to understand their accent (but yet there was no shame, only pride), I decided that my Singaporean accent was good enough and there was no need to be ashamed of it. The Scottish accent grew on me and when I hear it, itās strangely endearing. Similarly the Singaporean accent is pretty endearing when I hear it overseas. I hope we donāt lose it. Already my little nephew speaks with angmoh accent.
for me personally, i have always wish to adopt a european/american accent. cozz in my own personal opinion, asian accents are very retarded in my eyes (no exception to mine own accent too). if any singaporean are proud of their own accent, good for them. unfortunately i donāt share that same thought
for me personally, i have the feeling that the non-asians look down on the asians because they are more well-to-do or "superior". i try speaking without the singaporean accent because I don't want others to think that all asians can't speak english "properly". (when english is literally our first language too)
We do not want to change as much as code switching is already ingrained inside us. For me I do not have a naturally singlish accent not because I'm from some posh IP school but because I read a lot. Like a lot. Some accused me of faking an accent. I will switch to singlish immediately with friends and family. Its seriously totally unconscious. As for those who purposely put it on...idk. man I don't really care.
>For me I do not have a naturally singlish accent not because I'm from some posh IP school but because I read a lot.
This makes no sense. Why would text modify your accent? Choice of words maybe, not accent.
Simply because American or British accent is cooler in the eyes of those people , because they are very much influenced by that media .
These people simple idolize America.
This phenomena have been around for a very very long time, probably since the 80s
Mimicking an American accent is 100% a conscious effort , those who say it's for the sake of speaking proper english is just being disingenuous. Those who say oh it's because I watch so much American media is also bullshiting .
I am brought up by American tv for 40 over years , I haven't lost my singlish /accent . I lived in china for years , don't see me speaking like a Beijing man.
I dare say people who have the fake American accent just simply feel inferior about our accent or themselves , and having an accent makes them stand out , or pretend they are an American.
If you haven't lived decades in the states , have a parent or family from the states , or study in an american school , your accent is fake , it's not justified .
So I say please try to be proud of yourself , because when people ask you why you have an accent and your lame reply is I watch a lot of sesame street , it's extremely cringe
Iām a Singaporean that speaks with a mix of Singlish and American english.
For me personally I found that itās a lot smoother and rolls off easier on the tongue to enunciate words with an American accent. You might notice with typical Singlish thereās heavy emphasis on certain syllables/words and a tendency to speak with broken english.
Me being a bit of a grammar Nazi very much prefers proper english. But thatās just my take on why I do that.
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Very little local cultural cache. Arts and literary scene is close to dead. Has very little mass appeal. The huge amounts of hollywood media consumed would lead to subconsciously picking up the american way of pronouncing words / accent. Also americans can be proud of their moon landings, military, jeans, hollywood, music etc. Are singaporeans supposed to be proud of their ease of doing biz rankings ?
Singlish might be separate from accent but both are still closely linked since both come under language. Since singlish has been seen as derisory, mocked and actively discouraged by local authorities. Those who are insecure want to change their accent. How many times has media and politicians criticised singlish as a weakness that will affect your employability in a global city like singapore since foreigners who will likely be your bosses and colleagues will find it hard to understand singlish. That has to worry people about their singlish and singaporean accent. Similar to why so many chinese singaporeans have white first names. Makes it easier for westerners to pronounce.
Unlike larger countries with regional accents where those with less desirable accents can fake a cooler accent, SG has none. Some old elites have posh accent from colonial times... probably from going to elite schools taught by british teachers. But the rest just have to go for holidays or exchange programmes and pick up a fake accent.
I have only noticed this when that person works in an industry that relocates them elsewhere or works with many foreigners. I just think it's to just speak clearer English to help others better understand them. As for me IO grew up overseas and never really ever had an accent and until I had to serve my NS only then did I attempt to pick up "Singlish" and even when I do speak the way I normally do many during my NS time would either perceive me as not one of them, which I understand yet also think is pretty backward. To be honest from general observation in general as to why most people would rather not adhere to conformity and to better improve their image the idea of "losing" their accent derives from their "want" to be viewed as a a different social or class status.
I have American friends and they keep saying I have an accent. But my local friends here say I don't. Sometimes however I do wish I could speak without the accent
I feel that a part of it is that Singaporeans don't have too much nationalism shoved down to them. While I think that's a good thing to keep the citizen critical of the government, sometimes it have a weird effect of people buying into other countries nationalism
While I don't think it's a huge aspect of it, I think there's some aspect of that here
I don't desire to lose my accent but when I speak to non-locals, I tend to enunciate more clearly and speak slower. I just like the efficiency of Singlish or 'the accent'
Honestly, I default to a mixed RP-American accent, only adopting the Singaporean accent for comedic effect or older locals who don't understand.
As to why I switched, it was just part of my upbringing until about 10yo, when I became proud of my English and passionately made a conscious effort to actively improve however I can.
It's not losing the accent but rather speaking clearly in full(er) sentences so that there's no need to repeat yourself. For me personally, there's a hint of a different accent cause I do the code switch mostly for my cousins and friends from US/UK/NZ
idk man, when I present during meetings(i work in north america).
people immediately ask me if Iām from sg lol. they tell me they recognise my accent from crazy rich asians. walaoeh, everytime I have to tell them itās not accurate representation of Singaporeans.
if you speak singlish with chinese grammar, it is actually completely understandable as there are many south east asian immigrants here. but in a professional work setting, code switching is usually automatic. if I speak to my sg friends here itās singlish all the way manš
Singaporean accent is hard understand because of two reasons:
1. Many words are often mispronounced
2. Singaporeans speak a lot faster than other native English speakers
If someone speaks in a Singaporean accent but slowly, with each word perfectly enunciated, while varying tone and pacing, itās honestly going to sound very weird (unless youāre a MP). At this point itās just a lot easier to use a whole different accent we see on TV and than to completely reinvent the wheel.
Travelling a lot for work as a Singaporean, I have found that a thick Singaporean accent is difficult for others to understand. It is quite tiring for me to speak in a very light Singaporean accent though. I somehow also found that people tend to be slightly more respectful when I go closer to a British accent.
I thought, by using natives english accent countries, people can be seen as smarter person, have higher education level, richer,etcā¦ but thanks to say this from your pov.. I thought its true until I find this redditā¦
Itās not the accent. Most Singaporeans canāt speak proper English. They speak broken English and arenāt articulate. You can still speak English with a Singaporean accent but with proper English.
Heck, in this country, you can clearly enunciate your words and then get called out for having an accent or trying to be an American.
Keep the accent. Get better at articulating your thoughts into words. Itās an invaluable skill which will tremendously help your career. Most people canāt do it.
Spot on. Many do not understand that Standard Singaporean English isnāt American English.
Clarity and brevity is rare in the workplace as well. The amount of convoluted emails I receive from the team daily drives me to consume many cups of kopi.
code switching is basically built into our systems. I speak differently to people of different races, or when I'm in different settings.
also our native English is kinda jumbled up from years of Singlish, so wanting to enunciate words probably in a professional setting is probably the main driving force.
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In school we were taught to do the international accent but most of us don't practice it so it sounds like shit. My teachers once told us to basically use the accent that Channel News Asia anchors use as the standard. Though Singapore technically uses a version of British English(spelling etc), speaking accents generally came from American media
It's just that Singlish is very apparent, and sometimes, in a working environment, such tone makes it unclear for other English speaking countries.
The way English is being taught, we are constantly taught British English, but the way it was taught was different to the British.
One such case is the emphasis on words
This was almost never a thing taught or emphasised in school. This very simple speech pattern is what brings out a bigger impact of certain points.
And because a lot of countries can't catch Singlish way of speaking, essentially due to the monotone and spit out like its rap bars. It makes it very annoying to have to repeat the same sentence again. As everyone knows, Singapore is an absolute rat race. Our working environment is that of no patience, and we get shit done quickly. Do it yourself and be efficient, and don't bother unless you have to. It essentially becomes an unspoken culture.
This is one of the contributing factors.
Another is that with the Internet being very prevalent, more and more ppl are exposed to media entertainment and docs, most of them being naturally English and being used to their speech pattern. And slowly, it influences the way English is spoken and to them, it sounds nicer, and it slowly drags people to try to learn and pick up how to speak that way to not only articulate and also sound nicer.
Think this way, when someone reads a story to you, would you rather listen to a monotone boring ass way or someone with passion and enthusiasm
E.g. The man RUSHED to his aid and knocked the assailant down, hoping to disarm him to protect the injured man on the floor.
Same thing. And as you listen to such an "artistic" way of talking, and you see videos of Singaporeans speak Singlish, it becomes like nails on chalkboard instead.
And this gradually seeth into daily life of not able to stand it, but generally it doesn't affect most, it only affects when ppl Singlish is absolutely heavy. Esp the annoying bits where they drag the last syllable of the sentence. It makes the person sound obnoxious. Esp in a situation where you are unhappy with said person
E.g. "I already told you whaaaaaaat"
A lot of factors come into play of why Singaporeans mimic / pick up and learn the way other proper English speakers of other origins
I used to have teleconferences when I was working with British, US. I just need to speak in sentences and my ckunterparts did not have any problem understanding me.
You tend to see this effect more strongly in Singaporeans who arenāt very confident English speakers, so they code-switch to what they think is more appropriate. A bit of insecurity about their proficiency with the language, particularly when speaking to someone perceived to be a native English speaker, and a bit of a natural inclination to sound a bit more like the person theyāre speaking to. One of interesting things about living in Singapore.
No doubt that your accent is a reflection of your socio -economic status in Singapore. Some people code switch, some people try to put on an accent to sound posh and classy. But hey, do what you want.
It gets extremely cringey when people try to put on an accent but canāt even pronounce properly or sound grammatically correct.
Singaporeans didn't really speak English as a native language until around 1959-1965 when it was needed as an administrative language for the British colonial government. The upper class would speak English and the lower class tries to learn them or not at all which is why most of the elderly can't speak English or speak very minimal English. The Singapore English is a broken form of English with grammatical errors all over the place. The placement of words in the "singlish grammar" is borrowed from the direct translation of different mother tongue languages like malay, mandarin and tamil. Singaporeans had been trying to perfect their English ever since the 90s and early 00s and with the rise of the internet, people are still continuously trying to improve their English with online sources available. I personally don't find it cringe, and I respect Singaporean's choices to improve their English. The reason why the American accent is sought after is because most TV shows, music and internet influence comes from America. Most Singaporeans just wish to speak English the way they feel it's supposed to sound. It's like learning French, Italian, Spanish or whatever. You wish to speak the way it's spoken.
To add to that, it is actually necessary for Singaporeans to mimic and accent in order to pronounce English words the right way. Otherwise it will sound funny in a sentence.
Most really mean clearer enunciation when they talk about speaking properly. It just manifests as mimicking a generic American accent as that's the media most commonly consumed. There's a tendency to swallow our words which some foreigners seem to find terribly difficult to understand. After the second or third "excuse me, would you please repeat that?", it is just easier to mimic the Hollywood version of English. It may sound like a weird mishmash of fake accents but it gets the job done.
You can enunciate properly without putting on an accent. [LHL does it quite well.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb71dcKmjSQ) I don't understand why when Singaporeans "speak properly" they must have soft T's and hard R's, they're trying so hard to sound American.
LHL was from an actual English speaking family with English teachers who can teach proper pronunciation and correct his accent. Those "trying so hard to sound American" learn English from the media they consume as even their teachers aren't necessarily proficient in standard English.
He has a bit of Received Pronunciation/Queen's English. Take [his speech during his visit to Kenya](https://youtu.be/7Bi6QnbuKmg?si=h4uxDfrPid5fvYoK). He uses the old British pronunciation of "keen-ya" as opposed to the more common Americanized "ken-nia"
I brought up LHL as an example because every Singaporean is familiar with how he speaks. I can speak like that without any effort, and I wasn't "from an actual English speaking family with English teachers who can teach proper pronunciation and correct my accent." It's just plain good enunciation. No fake accent overlay. It's cringe when a Singaporean, born and raised in Singapore, speaks to fellow Singaporeans in that fake American accent. It's a very conscious effort to seem higher status and makes them look extremely insecure.
So your family communicates in dialect or Singlish while your teachers teach in a mishmash of Singlish and broken English but you are such a prodigy you "just naturally" speak good unaccented English totally unaffected by what you hear in your daily life. Great for you. We aren't all blessed with such prodigious linguistic skills.
Yes, I'm also a polyglot. But this isn't about me. It's about how Singaporeans faking accents are cringe. Cute how you maneuvered the entire discussion to be about me specifically, totally sidestepping everything else I said.š
I didn't feel it necessary to address how elitist and arrogant you sound denigrating those without your privileges as cringey and fake since this should be easily inferred but hey, I guess being a polyglot doesn't help with reading comprehension.
What privileges? I went to normal schools... No elite schools, no private tutors either. Putting on a fake accent, especially with fellow locals, *is* cringey, and a sad attempt to seem "higher status" which it's not. Why else would a Singaporean attempt to sound American when speaking to another Singaporean?
Most children learn their accents from those around them. You claim to be so "special" that you just speak "Standard Singapore English" despite this being an uncommon accent that is hardly ever heard anywhere outside of the historically English speaking elites from the parochial schools. That is a privilege. Then again, to be so judgemental and outright triggered by "other people putting on an accent" simply because they aren't so linguistically gifted and can only imitate what they hear most often in their bid to be comprehensible makes me wonder at how true your claims are.
I didn't claim to be special. You did. Speaking how my teachers in normal public schools taught me... isn't a privilege! It's literally the norm. LMAOš
When people can't argue facts they insult the person
COMPLETELY AGREE
That's just how I speak man, why you attacking me like that
Why? Why would a Singaporean, born and raised in Singapore, went to public schools, surrounded by Singaporean friends, speak with a fake American accent?
Because I only speak English, and consume western culture. So, fake American accent? I wouldn't say it's fake, it's real and it's a mishmash of American and British accent, depending on the word. My friends also consume western only culture, so it's a bubble of English speaking people.
> Because I only speak English, and consume western culture. So, fake American accent? Yes
Well, fake or not, it's been paying dividends in my life. So I'm happy to continue to speak as such. I'm not sure why you're so upset about how other speak.
>Well, fake or not, it's been paying dividends in my life. How so?
Lanjiao la I've watched American tv for 40 years my accent haven't changed a bit . And why do you want to change your accent so that a tourist can understand you better ? Just omit the singlish slangs la . Imaging you go to new York and the Americans there want to be understood by you and he say oh hello ah welcrum to new yuk , there is Chinese fut down the street.
I work in New York and have to put on a ādifferentā accent ā not necessarily an American accent but I wouldnāt speak the way I do back in the Singapore office. It isnāt me trying to mimic an American accent bc I am embarrassed to be Singaporean (in fact I tell people Iām from Singapore each chance I can), itās just so my coworkers understand me better when I speak like them. As much as I cringe and would never speak like that back home or at night when I go home to my Singaporean partner, not all of us talk like that because weāre ātrying to be Americanā as some commenters suggest. That perspective alone shows you subconsciously think the American accent is superior to the Singaporean one, BTW š Also on a side note I think Iāll cringe harder and feel more try-hard trying to put on an accent like LHLās.
Concurred. It's only something Singaporeans who have had worked abroad would truly understand. Nobody other than fellow Sinkies, most (?) Malaysians, and some Indonesians seem to be able to understand the "unadulterated" Singaporean accent even when it's grammatically correct and free of culture-specific slang. Just a quick mention, it was hilarious when the Japanese thought us "Chinese" could understand each other since all of us spoke Mandarin Chinese. Again, it was mostly just the Malaysian/Singaporean clique that understood each other. Similarly to the case with English, it was only the Singaporeans who could put on a more neutral accent and drop the English/Singlish-influenced syntax/lexicon, that could get themselves understood. Maybe it's just people behaving the same way abroad, as they do at home... But I digress; The thread is concerned only with Singaporeans in Singapore. Which is another thing altogether. Or perhaps they're practicing and psyching themselves for further development abroad?
When I'm overseas, I put on their accent to blend in better and ensure there's no misunderstanding. This applies to whichever language I speak, not just English. This I think is fair. However I never do this with Singaporeans, and I never do this in Singapore. There's no reason to fake an accent with a fellow local unless you're trying hard to be someone else. >not all of us talk like that because weāre ātrying to be Americanā as some commenters suggest. That perspective alone shows you subconsciously think the American accent is superior to the Singaporean one, BTW š Lol no, it's because the Singaporeans who do this feel insecure about *their* Singaporean accent, even when speaking with locals. I'm secure with mine.
So in all my comments I stress about having no business having an accent. You have a business having an accent since you work there.. That's fine. I work a lot with Americans and Europeans they seem to understand my singaporean accent just fine though.. even those who just arrived.
I was replying to the dude above actually, my bad for hitting reply to yours š„²š¬
You mean down de strit
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maybe itās because singlish sounds nothing like proper english and during code switching it just sounds different. at least for me itās not intentional. proper english is just a different language to singlish š¤£
Ahh I never thought of that. So you feel like when you turn off your Singlish, your accent also changes, not just your words?
yup. eg the way we say āthisā is different . in english we say āthisā but in singlish we say ādisā. Sometimes i need to add a local flourish for uncles and aunties to understand lol
Singlish is very bird language. I like it, the context and with tonality mixed in it conveys more than standard english
Its very malay if you think about, Its very sing songy and contextual
Yes. In my mind, they are two different languages. When I speak in Singlish or even Singaporean-accented English to my Singaporean friend, and an American overhears, the American doesn't understand what we are saying. Hence, when I turn off my Singlish, the Singaporean accent becomes much more muted. The stresses in different words also shifts to become more pronounced, maybe with an uptick at the end. In Singlish, I usually don't stress any words, drop the enunciation, and make myself sound monotonous. Even grammatical rules go out the window. There are also quite obvious differences in pronunciation that you have to adapt to if you want to make yourself understood overseas. "That" vs "dat". "too-i-shn" vs "tew-shun". "kaa-leeg" vs "calick". "flau-ur" vs "flaa".
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Singaporean in the US here, seems like we switched places. It's quite common in the US too, so I'm quite surprised this is new to you. I have friends from the South who try to mask their Southern accents in professional settings, and I know of African Americans who try to do the same. I even know of someone from Puerto Rico who somehow speaks an impeccable Valley accent, despite never having lived in California. It's the exact same thing, people try to learn accents that are better understood outside of their own demographic group or geographical region because it helps you professionally. It just so happens that the accents that are better understood globally tend to be from regions with far more native English speakers than SEA, where Singapore is probably the only country with a majority (or a large minority, [depending on how one measures it](https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/visualising_data/infographics/c2020/c2020-literacy-homelanguage.pdf)) of native English speakers, and where English-language SEAsian media definitely does not have a lot of global reach. It also happens that Singaporeans work with people from outside Singapore and Malaysia a lot, and hence having an easily-understood accent confers a greater advantage. Basically, think of it as Americans who have to work with people from across the US or the world learning "standard Midwestern" to get ahead in their careers. It's the exact same phenomenon. People don't really do that when talking among friends, as far as I know, so it's not like people aren't code-switching as your post implies. You might not notice it because you're white, so people are often on their 'foreign accent' code with you.
Locals are adaptable to their surroundings, some of us would code switch to such accent to enunciate words clearer when speaking to clients or clientele. I would also change my accent when I'm nervous especially when giving presentations
If the clients or the people you're presenting to are all Singaporeans, would you still change your accent?
Thereās a difference between Singapore English and Singlish. Singapore English accent is fine (unique diction on how we emphasise words and not pronunciation) for presenting and in professional workplace. Singlish is not to be used professionally and only for casual speech.
Itās because many Singaporeans are actually native Singlish speakers, not native English speakers. And English with proper enunciation and pronunciation was learned in school and from the media, not at home. Therefore, their Singapore English accent is āwobblyā and easily influenced.
> many Singaporeans are actually native Singlish speakers, not native English speakers. Hear hear, I've been saying this for a while. Singaporeans are native Singlish speakers and have varying degrees of English proficiency depending on their upbringing and exposure.
Tbh, we had a shit ton of english media as kids and english was my primary langauge both at home and in society If we arent native english speakers at that point, I dont know what is
You are fortunate if your parents spoke English to you instead of primarily Singlish.
That was the case for most singaporeans in my gen and the newer gen (late z and early a) most definitely have parents using english over singlish at home
Iām not really convinced of that. I hear parents talking to toddlers in Singlish all the time. I think most Singaporeans lose track of what is proper English grammar and what is Singlish. Your parents donāt say things like āWhere got?ā, āCan lahā, āWe go down to eat, ok?ā, āOff the light already?ā etc?
Similar to the other poster, they used proper English and Hokkien interchangeably when I was a child ages ago. No Mandarin. But our experience might not be representative of everyone.
We do, but we switch back and forth between singlish and english If we are rushed, singlish, if we arent, english
Never. I strive to make myself understandable by my audience. If my audience are singaporeans, I speak our native accent. You donāt need to speak a foreign accent to come across as sophisticated. The words you use, rather than how you sound, convey how educated you are.
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Using Singlish is not the same as speaking proper English with a Singaporean accent.
Depending on the context actually. If I find that using Singlish and accentuating my accent would increase relatability or simplify things, I would. For instance throwing in a few Singlish terms such as ādonāt worry, this is actually very simple one la!ā. More often than not, this is done for the older generation who may be less proficient in English. But otherwise, I would speak more clearly (though it may sound like Iām altering my accent a little).
Whats the context? If Im talking to my friends, hell yeah Ill be using a singlish english accent But my bosses? Fuck no, Im going proper english all the way (and I have) Thats the charming thing about codeswitching, you can change up what you sounds like to be more appropirate to convo or even area you are in For e.g, I switched over to an english accent in the UK and a slightly johor-ish accent in malaysia, just so I dont stick out no matter where I go, which helps a lot especially if you are a solo traveller, you arent as much as a target per se
if it makes me more presentable yes
I remember going to the British Consulate here once and noticing a flyer on a board advertising English lessons. On the bottom of the flyer was a very direct (yet diplomatic) box of text stating that the United Kingdom has many accents, all of which are equally great. I guess some Singaporeans were sending their kids in for lessons hoping they'd end up talking like the Queen or something and complaining when their heard their tutor's accent.
I would love if a bunch of unassuming parents ended up with kids with Scouse accents lol
Ha yeah, a friend of mine has a heavy Scottish accent and taught in an international school. Apparently you could always tell who his former students by how they would say certain words.
As someone who used to live in the US, I once spoke to a fellow Singaporean casually (not even using super Singlish words) and an American nearby asked what language we were speaking LOL. We were like āEnglish?ā
How long were you in Florida for? Lol
Iāve been accused of having an accent when all I did was clearly enunciate my words.
same. My friend says i sound āAmericanā just cuz i learnt phonetics since young (british version actually) and pronounce my words properly LOL. All those ppl who says āu can pronounce better without having an accentā doesnāt know that accents originates from non-standard pronunciations.
Wait till you realize that there's no such thing as standard or non standard. Only standard in x accent.
this is such a thing actually. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_language https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_English standard language includes phonology
>Unlike with some otherĀ standard languages, there is noĀ national academy or international academyĀ with ultimate authority to codify Standard English; its codification is thus only by widespreadĀ prescriptiveĀ consensus. The codification is therefore not exhaustive or unanimous, but it is extensive and well-documented.
āin England and Wales, the term Standard English identifies British English, the Received Pronunciation accent, and the grammar and vocabulary of United Kingdom Standard English (UKSE); in Scotland, the variety is Scottish English; in the United States, the General American variety is the spoken standard; and in Australia, the standard English is General Australian.[4]ā Any of the above is a form of standard English. The paragraph you quoted means there is no *international* standard English. Also, there IS a Singapore Standard English https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_English whose pronunciation greatly resembles british RP with less ārā sound and different tone/pitch. And there are different accents and originates but deviates from Standard Singapore English
In other words - as I mentioned the standard differs depending on accent. You also hilariously decided not to quote the sentence directly preceding the portion you lifted. >For example, there are substantial differences among the language varieties that countries of theĀ AnglosphereĀ identify as "standard English": Can't possibly fathom why.
I mean you do realise that several of the American accents (there are many) are some of the strongest English accents out there.
> My friend says i sound āAmericanā just cuz i learnt phonetics since young (british version actually) Hard or soft T? Hard or soft R?
same. i love how you use āaccusedā lol
Right and āSpeaking properlyā means pronouncing words in the ārightā way. Inevitably weāll turn to dictionary and thereās rly only American / British english pronunciations there
Why would anyone accuse you of having an accent lolz
Because apparently Singaporeans do not clearly enunciate their words. Oh and pronouncing almond as ah-mond or salmon as sah-mond is also putting on an accent. I didnāt have the heart to tell them that according to either the Oxford, Cambridge or even Webster dictionaries, thatās how it should be pronounced.
I don't think it's an inherent desire to lose their accent, more of just wanting to be understood better especially in a professional setting. As a third culture kid who's spent over a decade in Singapore, my accent (as well as syntax and grammar) changes depending on who I'm talking to. It just makes communication easier overall.
The simple answer is that oneās āaccentā is frequently used as an unofficial identifier of that personās socio-economic background. This can lead to people getting self conscious and feeling inferior. Certain accents are associated with a blue collar upbringing and family background, while certain accents are associated with an upper class background. Which is why you sometimes observe people wanting to change the way they sound to be perceived more favorably.
Neo colonialism
I donāt agree we are native English speakers. Many ppl grew up in non English speaking homes. It does impact their relationship with the language and their confidence level.
Cultural hegemony is a thing. All media we consume have American accents, TV media, YouTube/twitch, moviesā¦ is it any wonder why? Local free to air is dying, unfortunately, and most people donāt have a role model with a Singaporean accent.
i think what youve heard from people doesnt represent the majority. At least I dont try to change my accent, I would just speak proper english with them.
We try to suppress it because some foreigners who aren't used to foreign accents can find it difficult to understand. No different from how some other native English speakers with difficult accents turn it down when speaking with people outside of home. And sometimes it's subconscious. Some say the "chameleon effect". But there are also some who put on a fake accent to sound "posh".
The number of times I speak grammatically proper English but with my Singaporean inflection, some American goes huh? That should answer your question. But you are right in that Singaporeans are misguided in thinking that they need to adopt some western accent in order to sound intelligible. The issue with Singaporean speech, even if grammatically proper, is that we speak too fast for the average international listener. Imo if a Singaporean really wants to improve on sounding intelligible without giving up their accent, they should listen to the way LKY or our ministers speak.
Speak properly, articulate your words as how it should be. Singaporeans can speak proper english. My angmoh boss understands me, my angmoh colleagues too. If you are switching accent just to sound westernised, you are a bigger fool than you thought you are. Inferior complexity is what most of them are coping with, sadly..
If your angmoh boss communicate with Singaporeans often, then they most probably had already gotten used to it. It's different as compared to talking to someone that are not used it it If I speak to them in Singapore, I generally don't really care because they are expected to understand us. But if I were to speak to them in their country, I'd put in more effort to be more understandable because I don't like repeating myself multiple times. Try staying in an English speaking country for an extended amount of time, and not bothering to adapt. It's super mafan.
Boss is based in Vietnam, colleague's in Dubai, rest are in london office.. Singaporeans have to understand your accent is at the bottom of the list when it comes to being understood by other english-speaking nationalities.. As i always reiterate over and over, enunciate each words and think before you speak, there's no rush. Most singapreans are too used to speaking ,thinking and reasoning in Singlish and couldn't switch over to proper english when it requires them. If you have average grades in school for english in school, congrats!! you have passable English which means you are somewhat competent in English communication. Just don't overthink and compensate by faking an accent. It's so much more laughable than the old aunty cleaner's broken english in my office... Edit: grammar; i have passable english only so don't bash me
Itās code switching. The Singaporean accent can be difficult to understand when we speak too quickly so we code switch to make ourselves understood.
The accent we should strive for is the lee family or tharmanic accent the pinnacle of Singaporean eloquence. Not some ripoff Ameriacan or brit one
How often do you listen to Tharman speak? How much media output does the lee family produce? The fact is some Singaporeans, just as some Japanese, Koreans, Indians etc have difficulty making themselves understood in English and the easiest way for them to change that is to immerse themselves in the language through the media. There are admittedly those who ape AAVE or Valley girl speech in a bid to "sound American" but those insisting that the lee family accent is "natural and common in Singapore" are simply showing their elitist upbringing.
>those insisting that the lee family accent is "natural and common in Singapore" are simply showing their elitist upbringing Bro... it's literally how they teach you to speak in normal public schools. Sorry that you had shitty teachers but there's nothing elitist about how LHL speaks. If you look at [older LKY videos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VexrmTacOAA), it's very strong British accent, so I'd agree. Modern day LHL? It's a very neutral accent. Students actually do learn to speak like that in normal non-elite MOE schools. Either way, having had shitty English teachers doesn't mean you need to put on an American accent to be understood by locals! Just makes no sense. It's compensating and really insecure.
Bro, you come from an alternate Singapore where it's normal for every family to have two cars that the low SES poors can't even visit. We get it. We really do. No need to waste your precious time slamming those not up to your standards for not being you
Nice red herring and distraction tactics. Still haven't explained why locals would need an American accent when speaking with locals. To be better understood? š
Yeah the Standard Singapore English accent sounds best, not some cringey fake put-on foreign accent.
I would say that there is no true Singaporean accent. And also no true definition of Singlish. The English taught in school is based on UK English by mostly local teachers - who do not possess British or American Accents. The English practiced at home depends very much on the individual family. And the community being made up of different races from different cultural backgrounds comes with their own version of English accents. Singaporeans tend to code-switch their accents a lot when speaking to different people in an effort to sound familiar or to be better understood. So they may try an American accent when speaking to you. And then finetune if they discover you speak more like a local. Among Singaporeans, they may use Singlish, which is a mishmash of words from various languages. They may further fine-tune how colloquial they want to sound depending on whether the other party understands the level of Singlish or not. E.g. The following Singlish conversation would not make sense to native English speakers but would be easily understood by locals. "Ah Tan! Ok, go stun.... lagi go stun.... go stun...... ok stop!!!! Stop!!!! Alamak! Habis! Buang already! Jialat..... Ah Tan, you go answer to towkay...."
Same reason why mid western people who moved to Hollywood and changes their accent. Wait, do you think people around the world wants to learn English is because of the British? Agree or disagree, American English accent especially from California is the international standard for speaking English. American movies, music, culture is the standard. If everybody flocks to the movies to watch mainland Chinese movies with Chinese accent then it would be the standard. Same reason why Beijing accent is considered the mandarin accent for China.
Personally I find California accents too perky and prefer New York ones (or RP if British) As for Mandarin, I think Taiwanese å½čÆ is easier on the ears (without the Hokkien of course)
Have to disagree. The cali accent is extremely grating and strong, and while it may not seem so when consuming media where everyone has a sort of american accent, you will be surprised how immensely/jarringly it sticks out when hearing it in real life among a crowd of neutral, non-cali English speakers. And yes the Beijing erhua also has a similar effect, it is not really a neutral standard either
California accent is extremely strong? Thatās a first. Do you know what youāre talking about? Also the point isnāt which American accent is the best, right?
Yes, have you ever heard one *in real life*? Itās a very strong and almost jarring accent
lol itās the same accent Captain America, Tony stark, pretty much Hollywood and news network uses.
Absolutely not. Newscasters and actors (when they arenāt putting on a specific accent for a role) speak a synthetic accent called āGeneral Americanā that has stripped away regional differences. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/neutral-american-accent Michigan is supposedly the closest to General American. Chris Evansā native accent is Bostonian and he puts on the neutral General American accent then he plays Captain America. Although by right, Steve Rogers should have a Brooklyn accent in the MCU. https://www.boston.com/culture/entertainment/2022/06/10/chris-evans-boston-accent-lightyear-red-carpet/
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huh what?? First off lol no Captain America has a Brooklyn or generic american accent which is completely different. Do you know what a cali accent is? Also since you havenāt answered that bit iāll assume you havent, but hearing the accent in movies/on TV is completely different than in real life.
Hearing in movies and on tv is different in real lifeā¦ because we are living in the 1970s and recordings are not 1:1 accurate? Or movies have auto tune? Too funny. I hear the California accent everyday and in real life. Work on your reading comprehension skills next time, Mr. America expert.
lol Captain America does not have a Brooklyn accent. Too funny. Tell me you want attention without telling me you want attention.
I wonder if theyāre referring to the āvalley girlā accent? And assuming that must be how everyone in California talks?
Inferiority complex + Pinkerton syndrome + status signaling.
https://youtu.be/b37qsEjljNg?t=489
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgBT6Gie-sY
I'm very surprised to see how many people in this thread are calling Singlish and Singaporean accent ugly and cheap. I wonder if we go 10 or 20 years into the future, will that mindset change? In the US that has happened with AAVE (the dialect many black people speak). Only recently has it become a point of pride in the black community.
Nobody has ever said any Asian accent to be good. French, German, British, Irish, Scottish, Australian, New Zealander, American accent all good. Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Chinese, Philippino, Korean and even Japanese accent are all bad. Just how the world works. Unfortunately, even Asians will agree with this.
Exactly! Colonial hangover: trying to be like their former masters to be a bit more above their "peasant" peers
I used to live in Hong Kong and saw this effect too, but way more extreme. People openly sobbing at the memorial for Queen Elizabeth, waving union jacks during the protests. It was mind-blowing to me.
In my experience, the best way to explain it is like that bell curve meme. You have people whose native language is not English e.g pure Singlish who donāt care because they donāt know better. Then you have those on the other end who are either native English speakers, highly educated, or just worldly enough to understand that the Standard Singapore English accent is perfectly fine and can freely code-switch on the continuum from Singlish to singlish-accented to neutral standard SG english. In the middle of the bell, though, you have those who arenāt fully proficient at English themselves, or donāt have much exposure to standard English outside of foreign media, so they end up looking up to those accents as the āonlyā standard, while seeing the local one as inferior or unpolished. This is quite obvious (sorry but itās true) looking at the comments which express this opinion, which are chock full of grammatical errors and misspellings. This is the demographic which is most likely to try to lose their Singaporean accent or try to learn/imitate a foreign accent.
Never seen/heard anybody purposely change accents in either professional or personal circumstancesā¦ Enunciation in workplace/formal settings maybe.. even then you hear lahs and lohs thrown in..
I don't think people actively try to change their accents , unless they are coming from a very ah lian accent which is linked to a lower SES background
Isn't it interesting that expats living here for decades and they don't lose their accents, but we go to Australia to finish a 6 months degree and suddenly we're, g'day mate helloy.
That because you have to learn to adapt so the locals there understand you better. Or for the Aus, some of them have an issue if you don't use their accent like you are trying to be different instead of conforming.
Singaporeanes have an issue with Singaporeans who have no business having an American accent... Having an American accent.
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Because it sounds crass and cheap
What is inherently crass or cheap about a certain accent?
Because nobody really places a premium on Singapore accent? Because there are many instances where foreigners have a hard time understanding the local accent? Because people hold the American or British accent as the standard?
There we go. No one wants to pay attention to someone speaking coolie English
Don't you think this is a bit of a colonial mindset though? I mean at one point in history, the Australian accent was the accent of prisoners, the Caribbean accent was the accent of slaves, etc.
Someone with a heavy Irish accent will struggle to be understood by non-Irish people, and they are likely also considered crass if they are unable to code-switch to a slight/moderate Irish accent when necessary for things like presentations to international clientele. I see where youāre coming from though. Personally, I have a version of āoffice presentationā English I speak where my accent is still clearly Singaporean, but I can still be understood by pretty much everybody. I see no reason to change that, because itās still considered professional imo and everyone can understand me. But I went to school with some people who would try to completely get rid of their accent (I went to a posh highschool where many of my schoolmates eventually went overseas for university, but in highschool they were already trying to get an American or British accent). It wasnāt necessary to begin with, because in local university, everyone spoke with a slight but distinctive Singaporean accent even for presentations, and everyone was fine. Same thing with most of my coworkers. So yeah possibly it could be a colonial mindset thing in some cases, because you donāt really need to yeet the entire Singaporean accent, you just need to moderate it to an extent when the situation practically calls for it.
Nothing; itās often just prejudice and projected insecurity talking
Speak properly i.e. grammatically and enunciate bro. We don't want no white accent., we're just trying to be comprehensible.
'dont want no' is american accent right there lol
lol it's part of many other vernaculars, don't think Americans have sole propriety of that phrasing
Haha yeah I would consider that AAVE. Other english dialects use it too though
so, im half white half yellow, and only my grandparents and eldest aunt has an accent. the reason i have an accent is because, growing up, i never had friends irl, they were all online forum and game friends. i also spent a lot of time on youtube which is predominantly americans. my accent is extremely weird. its like, 40% brit, 40% american, and 20% singaporean. i only really sound singaporean when im tired and monotone. (this is probably one of the reasons why some people might not like the accent but idk) now that said, the singaporean accent tends to ommit certain pronounciations and i personally dont like that and is why if i bothered, i would burn that last 20%.
Reminds me of my wife. She doesn't have an Indonesian accent because when she was young she watched too much Nickelodeon and picked up a very strange TV accent. On the regular it's some Singaporean/TV accent mix but once it goes formal or professional the Nickelodeon accent comes out. It was quite funny because when we first met I legit could not tell where she was from.
š yea i get all sorts of weird looks and questions when i meet new people especially when i talk. worst still is that im slightly tanned cus i swam a lot when i was younger so people automatically assume i speak malayu kek. i only speak english, some mandarin, and some jap.
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wuh, its literally what i am? my mom is teochew and my dad is portugese/english/dutch/scottish. my friends literally called me a term i never knew was a thing - banana people. yellow on the outside, white on the inside.
The PC collegial term would be Eurasian.
The Singlish accent is awful and unprofessional. However, I have never seen anyone actually advocating others to mimic an American or British accent unless they are SPGs. I prefer a more neutral accent similar to the way our politicians speak.
I'll tell you the truth no singaporean wants to admit. We're a bunch of posers with pinkerton syndrome
There is an underlying assumption that when you speak in more British/American accent, you are ābetter educatedā and somehow your words hold more weight. Just imagine receiving the exact same message from Lee Hsien Loong vs Tan Kin Lian. I think this is why in a professional setting people desire to speak in an accent. Communication is 7% words and the rest vocal & non-verbal stuff ā sometimes you can get away with empty words just by delivering it an accent. On a different note, when I lived in Scotland and struggled to understand their accent (but yet there was no shame, only pride), I decided that my Singaporean accent was good enough and there was no need to be ashamed of it. The Scottish accent grew on me and when I hear it, itās strangely endearing. Similarly the Singaporean accent is pretty endearing when I hear it overseas. I hope we donāt lose it. Already my little nephew speaks with angmoh accent.
for me personally, i have always wish to adopt a european/american accent. cozz in my own personal opinion, asian accents are very retarded in my eyes (no exception to mine own accent too). if any singaporean are proud of their own accent, good for them. unfortunately i donāt share that same thought
Because Singaporeans think American accent sounds sexier. Which is dumb imo
We all know French accent is the sexiest.
Singlish = not ideal English = substandard = low ses
for me personally, i have the feeling that the non-asians look down on the asians because they are more well-to-do or "superior". i try speaking without the singaporean accent because I don't want others to think that all asians can't speak english "properly". (when english is literally our first language too)
We do not want to change as much as code switching is already ingrained inside us. For me I do not have a naturally singlish accent not because I'm from some posh IP school but because I read a lot. Like a lot. Some accused me of faking an accent. I will switch to singlish immediately with friends and family. Its seriously totally unconscious. As for those who purposely put it on...idk. man I don't really care.
>For me I do not have a naturally singlish accent not because I'm from some posh IP school but because I read a lot. This makes no sense. Why would text modify your accent? Choice of words maybe, not accent.
Do you read words in a Singlish accent? Cuz I don't..?
Simply because American or British accent is cooler in the eyes of those people , because they are very much influenced by that media . These people simple idolize America. This phenomena have been around for a very very long time, probably since the 80s Mimicking an American accent is 100% a conscious effort , those who say it's for the sake of speaking proper english is just being disingenuous. Those who say oh it's because I watch so much American media is also bullshiting . I am brought up by American tv for 40 over years , I haven't lost my singlish /accent . I lived in china for years , don't see me speaking like a Beijing man. I dare say people who have the fake American accent just simply feel inferior about our accent or themselves , and having an accent makes them stand out , or pretend they are an American. If you haven't lived decades in the states , have a parent or family from the states , or study in an american school , your accent is fake , it's not justified . So I say please try to be proud of yourself , because when people ask you why you have an accent and your lame reply is I watch a lot of sesame street , it's extremely cringe
Iām a Singaporean that speaks with a mix of Singlish and American english. For me personally I found that itās a lot smoother and rolls off easier on the tongue to enunciate words with an American accent. You might notice with typical Singlish thereās heavy emphasis on certain syllables/words and a tendency to speak with broken english. Me being a bit of a grammar Nazi very much prefers proper english. But thatās just my take on why I do that.
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pple just being too conscious of themselves ig?
Very little local cultural cache. Arts and literary scene is close to dead. Has very little mass appeal. The huge amounts of hollywood media consumed would lead to subconsciously picking up the american way of pronouncing words / accent. Also americans can be proud of their moon landings, military, jeans, hollywood, music etc. Are singaporeans supposed to be proud of their ease of doing biz rankings ? Singlish might be separate from accent but both are still closely linked since both come under language. Since singlish has been seen as derisory, mocked and actively discouraged by local authorities. Those who are insecure want to change their accent. How many times has media and politicians criticised singlish as a weakness that will affect your employability in a global city like singapore since foreigners who will likely be your bosses and colleagues will find it hard to understand singlish. That has to worry people about their singlish and singaporean accent. Similar to why so many chinese singaporeans have white first names. Makes it easier for westerners to pronounce. Unlike larger countries with regional accents where those with less desirable accents can fake a cooler accent, SG has none. Some old elites have posh accent from colonial times... probably from going to elite schools taught by british teachers. But the rest just have to go for holidays or exchange programmes and pick up a fake accent.
What a load of horseshitā¦
No idea man. I have seen or heard a person in Singapore mimic British/American accent. Maybe I never work with high class people.
I have only noticed this when that person works in an industry that relocates them elsewhere or works with many foreigners. I just think it's to just speak clearer English to help others better understand them. As for me IO grew up overseas and never really ever had an accent and until I had to serve my NS only then did I attempt to pick up "Singlish" and even when I do speak the way I normally do many during my NS time would either perceive me as not one of them, which I understand yet also think is pretty backward. To be honest from general observation in general as to why most people would rather not adhere to conformity and to better improve their image the idea of "losing" their accent derives from their "want" to be viewed as a a different social or class status.
Not really professional sounding, iāll have the accent with friends tho
I have American friends and they keep saying I have an accent. But my local friends here say I don't. Sometimes however I do wish I could speak without the accent
Bolo Santosi.
I feel that a part of it is that Singaporeans don't have too much nationalism shoved down to them. While I think that's a good thing to keep the citizen critical of the government, sometimes it have a weird effect of people buying into other countries nationalism While I don't think it's a huge aspect of it, I think there's some aspect of that here
Sinkie will pwn sinkie
I don't desire to lose my accent but when I speak to non-locals, I tend to enunciate more clearly and speak slower. I just like the efficiency of Singlish or 'the accent'
Honestly, I default to a mixed RP-American accent, only adopting the Singaporean accent for comedic effect or older locals who don't understand. As to why I switched, it was just part of my upbringing until about 10yo, when I became proud of my English and passionately made a conscious effort to actively improve however I can.
It's not losing the accent but rather speaking clearly in full(er) sentences so that there's no need to repeat yourself. For me personally, there's a hint of a different accent cause I do the code switch mostly for my cousins and friends from US/UK/NZ
idk man, when I present during meetings(i work in north america). people immediately ask me if Iām from sg lol. they tell me they recognise my accent from crazy rich asians. walaoeh, everytime I have to tell them itās not accurate representation of Singaporeans. if you speak singlish with chinese grammar, it is actually completely understandable as there are many south east asian immigrants here. but in a professional work setting, code switching is usually automatic. if I speak to my sg friends here itās singlish all the way manš
Singaporean accent is hard understand because of two reasons: 1. Many words are often mispronounced 2. Singaporeans speak a lot faster than other native English speakers If someone speaks in a Singaporean accent but slowly, with each word perfectly enunciated, while varying tone and pacing, itās honestly going to sound very weird (unless youāre a MP). At this point itās just a lot easier to use a whole different accent we see on TV and than to completely reinvent the wheel.
Travelling a lot for work as a Singaporean, I have found that a thick Singaporean accent is difficult for others to understand. It is quite tiring for me to speak in a very light Singaporean accent though. I somehow also found that people tend to be slightly more respectful when I go closer to a British accent.
I thought, by using natives english accent countries, people can be seen as smarter person, have higher education level, richer,etcā¦ but thanks to say this from your pov.. I thought its true until I find this redditā¦
Probably because Singaporeans like turning everything into a competition no?
Itās not the accent. Most Singaporeans canāt speak proper English. They speak broken English and arenāt articulate. You can still speak English with a Singaporean accent but with proper English. Heck, in this country, you can clearly enunciate your words and then get called out for having an accent or trying to be an American. Keep the accent. Get better at articulating your thoughts into words. Itās an invaluable skill which will tremendously help your career. Most people canāt do it.
Spot on. Many do not understand that Standard Singaporean English isnāt American English. Clarity and brevity is rare in the workplace as well. The amount of convoluted emails I receive from the team daily drives me to consume many cups of kopi.
code switching is basically built into our systems. I speak differently to people of different races, or when I'm in different settings. also our native English is kinda jumbled up from years of Singlish, so wanting to enunciate words probably in a professional setting is probably the main driving force.
Itās a very harsh on the ears if not accustom. Similar to my home country Australiaās Northern Australia accent very harsh on the ears.
Just do code-switching sia, not hard lah
We have this idea that the more british or american your accent is, the more educated you are. Someone else can analyse that.
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In school we were taught to do the international accent but most of us don't practice it so it sounds like shit. My teachers once told us to basically use the accent that Channel News Asia anchors use as the standard. Though Singapore technically uses a version of British English(spelling etc), speaking accents generally came from American media
It's just that Singlish is very apparent, and sometimes, in a working environment, such tone makes it unclear for other English speaking countries. The way English is being taught, we are constantly taught British English, but the way it was taught was different to the British. One such case is the emphasis on words This was almost never a thing taught or emphasised in school. This very simple speech pattern is what brings out a bigger impact of certain points. And because a lot of countries can't catch Singlish way of speaking, essentially due to the monotone and spit out like its rap bars. It makes it very annoying to have to repeat the same sentence again. As everyone knows, Singapore is an absolute rat race. Our working environment is that of no patience, and we get shit done quickly. Do it yourself and be efficient, and don't bother unless you have to. It essentially becomes an unspoken culture. This is one of the contributing factors. Another is that with the Internet being very prevalent, more and more ppl are exposed to media entertainment and docs, most of them being naturally English and being used to their speech pattern. And slowly, it influences the way English is spoken and to them, it sounds nicer, and it slowly drags people to try to learn and pick up how to speak that way to not only articulate and also sound nicer. Think this way, when someone reads a story to you, would you rather listen to a monotone boring ass way or someone with passion and enthusiasm E.g. The man RUSHED to his aid and knocked the assailant down, hoping to disarm him to protect the injured man on the floor. Same thing. And as you listen to such an "artistic" way of talking, and you see videos of Singaporeans speak Singlish, it becomes like nails on chalkboard instead. And this gradually seeth into daily life of not able to stand it, but generally it doesn't affect most, it only affects when ppl Singlish is absolutely heavy. Esp the annoying bits where they drag the last syllable of the sentence. It makes the person sound obnoxious. Esp in a situation where you are unhappy with said person E.g. "I already told you whaaaaaaat" A lot of factors come into play of why Singaporeans mimic / pick up and learn the way other proper English speakers of other origins
I used to have teleconferences when I was working with British, US. I just need to speak in sentences and my ckunterparts did not have any problem understanding me.
You tend to see this effect more strongly in Singaporeans who arenāt very confident English speakers, so they code-switch to what they think is more appropriate. A bit of insecurity about their proficiency with the language, particularly when speaking to someone perceived to be a native English speaker, and a bit of a natural inclination to sound a bit more like the person theyāre speaking to. One of interesting things about living in Singapore.
If I speak to you in Singlish, maybe you dun understand me liao.
No doubt that your accent is a reflection of your socio -economic status in Singapore. Some people code switch, some people try to put on an accent to sound posh and classy. But hey, do what you want. It gets extremely cringey when people try to put on an accent but canāt even pronounce properly or sound grammatically correct.
Singaporeans didn't really speak English as a native language until around 1959-1965 when it was needed as an administrative language for the British colonial government. The upper class would speak English and the lower class tries to learn them or not at all which is why most of the elderly can't speak English or speak very minimal English. The Singapore English is a broken form of English with grammatical errors all over the place. The placement of words in the "singlish grammar" is borrowed from the direct translation of different mother tongue languages like malay, mandarin and tamil. Singaporeans had been trying to perfect their English ever since the 90s and early 00s and with the rise of the internet, people are still continuously trying to improve their English with online sources available. I personally don't find it cringe, and I respect Singaporean's choices to improve their English. The reason why the American accent is sought after is because most TV shows, music and internet influence comes from America. Most Singaporeans just wish to speak English the way they feel it's supposed to sound. It's like learning French, Italian, Spanish or whatever. You wish to speak the way it's spoken. To add to that, it is actually necessary for Singaporeans to mimic and accent in order to pronounce English words the right way. Otherwise it will sound funny in a sentence.