What is Singlish?

• Main Author: Teo, Christle
• Other Authors: Tan Ying Ying
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2022
• Subjects: Humanities::Linguistics::Sociolinguistics
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/156022
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

There are many definitions of Singlish present in existing literature. However, these definitions may not be all the same, and the difficulty in pinning down what Singlish is also exists in the public domain. Despite the different sentiments and feelings towards Singlish, we do not have an answer as to how Singaporeans define Singlish, and what linguistic features are salient in Singlish. This study aims to find out what linguistic triggers Singaporeans use to identify Singlish, as well as the perceptions that Singaporeans have towards Singlish. In this study, salient linguistic triggers are measured through a rating on a 7-point Likert scale, where participants listened to audio recordings containing features of Singlish. Perceptions of Singlish are measured through questions which targeted how participants viewed Singlish, such as their descriptions of Singlish and where they felt was acceptable for Singlish to be used. Data was obtained from 92 young Singaporeans (17-40 years old) through the dissemination of an online questionnaire. Results show that Singlish is viewed favourably by the participants and is an essential aspect of the Singaporean identity. The linguistic features found to be saliently Singlish are that of tag questions, the use of pragmatic particles, reduplication, and loanwords from the substrate languages of Singlish.