Singlish, it sounds like English but as if the language had been shaken violently and all those nouns, verbs and adjectives that fell out were replaced by gibberish. In all seriousness Singlish is an English-based creole language spoken in Singapore, much in the same family as Jamaican-creole and distantly related to the French-based Louisiana-creole (New Orleans Accent).
The vocabulary of Singlish originating from British-English but incorporates words Malay, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Tamil readily and to a lesser extent various other European, Indic and Sinitic languages. Also, bits of American and Australian slang have begun to creep into vernacular.
In this blog we will build a glossary of terms that are referred to in posts, both as a reference source and to show our own expanding knowledge of Singlish.
Ang Mo Kui : Noun; Hokkien derivative, derived from the Singlish word Ang Moh, refers to a person of Caucasian appearance; literal translation is 'Red-Haired Devil'. Intended as insult.
Ang Mo Sai: Noun; Hokkien derivative, derived from the Singlish word Ang Moh, refers to a person of Caucasian appearance; literal translation is 'Red-Haired Shit'. Intended as insult.
Ang Moh: Noun; Hokkien derivative, refers to a person of Caucasian appearance; literal translation is 'Red-Haired'. Context it is used in can be meant as a form of racial identification or racial slur.
Ang Moh Kow: Noun; Hokkien derivative, derived from the Singlish word Ang Moh, refers to a person of Caucasian appearance; literal translation is 'Red-Haired Monkey'. Intended as insult.
Char Kway Teow: Noun; Literally translates to "stir-fried ricecake strips", a popular noodle dish Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,and Singapore. Best enjoyed at Hawker Centers and food courts. It is one of the favorite national dishes in Singapore.
Kan Cheong: Verb; Hokkien derivative, meaning anxious.
Kan Cheong Spider: Verb; Derived from the Singlish word Kan Cheong, used to describe someone who is very anxious; Spider imagery represents someone with eight hands trying to do many things at one time.
Kiasu: Noun; Hokkien derivative, literally translated as "scared to lose"; typically used to reference someone who behaves in a very competitive manner.
Alighting: Verb; To depart a train, to disembark from a train. Not a Singlish word per say, but more a general warning for passengers getting off the trains. Specific only to train passengers, is not used for transit boats or planes. Usual announcement by MRT upon train doors opening, "Please stand aside for passengers alighting to City Hall station, thank you."
Goondu: Adjective; Derived either from Malay or Tamil to express something that is hard and heavy, which indirectly suggests a stupid person. Goondu or guru is occasionally used in Singapore to differentiate between an idiot and an expert.
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