'Singaporeans are misunderstood': Chinese influencer defends use of Singlish

Speaking Singlish doesn't mean Singaporeans are bad at English. 

TikTok influencer Nini posted a video in defence of the creole on Monday (Jan 19), stating: "In fact, everyone really misunderstands Singaporeans. 

"At various occasions, the English they use can be converted [into standard English]. They use Singlish in their daily lives because Singlish is easy to understand."

The Singapore-based Chinese content creator who uses the TikTok handle _k_yn added that Singaporeans did not have to speak a long sentence for it to be comprehensible. 

Instead of a long spiel like, "Put your wallet away, the bill is on me," a Singaporean can say: "I pay, I pay. No need, I pay." 

Likewise, instead of holding up the queue at a coffee shop by asking, "Excuse me, auntie, can I have a cup of kopi C kosong? Thank you", a simple "Auntie, kopi C kosong" would suffice.

Nini added that the notion of Singaporeans being unintelligible to non-Singaporeans is another misunderstanding, as they can code-switch. 

And if you really can't understand what Singaporeans are saying, instead of expecting Singaporeans to speak differently, perhaps you can consult a dictionary. 

The 'Chimbridge' Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore Terminology, which boasts more than 2,000 of our unique terms, to be exact.

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drimac@asiaone.com