ENGLISH, as spoken by Singaporeans, is 'weird'. At least, that's what some Taiwan celebrities think.

And they wasted no time in making their opinions known on a variety programme in Taiwan.

In the 28 Jan episode of the popular variety show Mr Con and Ms Csi, the hosts and guests were seen making fun of the way Singaporeans speak English.

He said he was taught to shorten 'thank you' to 'thanks'. Only problem was, it sounded more like 'dance' when he said it.

Arroy also demonstrated how Singaporeans pronounce 'sorry' while he was on a recent two-month visit to Singapore.

He repeated 'sorry' exaggeratedly, to much laughter from the show's hosts, Tsai Kang-Yung and Selina Ren.

He then showed how Singaporeans pronounce 'tissue paper', and this was again met with roaring laughter from the hosts and other guests.

SAME AS THAI ACCENT?

One host then laughingly likened the Singaporean accent to the way Thai people speak English.

Xu Wei, an English teacher who was also a guest on the same episode, described an encounter with an immigration officer on a trip to Singapore.

She said in Mandarin: 'I was wearing a loose-fitting dress, and the officer asked me 'pegnan? pegnan?'

'It took me a while before I realised he was asking me if I was pregnant.'

Another guest, actor-host Ma Guoxian, also made fun of how Singaporeans refer to older people as 'uncle' and 'auntie'.

'They're always 'uncle' and 'auntie' - just don't understand what they mean,' he said.

After the episode was broadcast last week, a segment of it was uploaded by a netizen on video-sharing site YouTube.

It has been widely circulated online, and has caused an uproar among Singaporean netizens.

Since the clip was uploaded, it has attracted about 4,000 views and numerous responses both on the video's comment section and on a popular local forum.

Mr Ben Wong, 25, said he was offended by the celebrities' comments.

He said: 'It's true that our English may not always be perfect, but I feel that the general standard of English here is still higher than that in Taiwan.

'Some Taiwanese pop stars have started singing in English, and they sound really odd.'

In a heated blog post, blogger Xinndified wrote in Mandarin: 'This episode makes me really angry.

'Especially that English teacher Xu Wei, who thinks her English is so good... if she dares, she should try coming here to teach English.'

She added in English: 'Stop insulting us. Every country has its own culture and accent. We don't have to learn a British or American accent.'

Added a netizen, who posted a video comment under his nickname itsreallymylife: 'Singaporeans have the ability to speak and write proper English when required - when communicating with foreigners, on overseas trips and so on.

'However, many tend to speak Singlish within Singapore or to fellow Singaporeans because it sounds more cordial. It's about culture, not the lack of ability to use proper English.'

ONLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT

Asked whether the station felt the episode was offensive, a spokesman for CTi TV, the Taiwanese cable TV network which produces Mr Con and Ms Csi, said the programme is 'only intended for entertainment purposes and not to inform'.

Non-Singaporeans The New Paper spoke to offered a different perspective.

Said Mr Angelito Mojito, 35, a Filipino who has been working in Singapore for four years: 'When I first arrived in Singapore, it was difficult to understand the locals. Singaporeans have a very different accent from ours.

'There were also phrases that I was not used to, for example, when you say 'go back' in Singapore, it means to go home, but I thought it meant to go back to my own country, or go back to work.'

Agreeing, Ms Nicole Arizzoli, 36, a Swiss who has been living in Singapore for four years, said it was initially difficult to understand the short phrases Singaporeans are fond of using.

She said: 'Singaporeans speak fast, and they use abbreviations, like 'can' and 'cannot'. Turn off the lights becomes 'off the lights'. These short phrases took a little getting used to.'

Added Mr Hansel Lobo, 49, who moved from India to Singapore 14 years ago: 'It gets difficult to understand when Singaporeans intersperse English with non-English words.

'But I've interacted with people from many different countries, and Singaporeans are generally easy to understand when they speak.'

Literacy consultant Daniel Jesudason said the way Singaporeans speak English has been subject to various cultural influences.

He said: 'Different intonations exist because there are certain patterns in the various mother tongues.

'Though the Taiwanese are also from a Chinese-speaking background, they don't have the same influences because they aren't multi-cultural like Singapore is. Their English isn't influenced by Malay or Tamil.'

Singlish, he said, is just another form of colloquial English.

He said: 'When languages mix, a pidgin - or colloquial form of English - develops.

'Colloqualism does have its strength - it helps a developing society build a sense of identity.'

This article was first published by The New Paper on Feb 5, 2008