Lesson plan
Singlish
Singlish (a portmanteau of Singapore and English), formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English (CSE) or Singapore Colloquial English (SCE), is an English-based contact language originating in Singapore, and an informal register of Singapore English used between Singaporeans in colloquial contexts. It linguistically resembles a creole, but its status as a creole is academically disputed. Singlish arose out of contact between speakers of different languages, mainly comprising different English varieties, different Malay varieties such as Baba Malay and Bazaar Malay, and different Chinese varieties such as Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, and Teochew. Singlish and Standard Singapore English were modelled by academics as part of a creole continuum from 1975 to 1989, but were treated distinctly from 1990 as diglossia, with speakers employing code-switching. As opposed to the standard variety, Singlish is mostly used in informal situations. Driven by a shared history and close geography, Manglish of Malaysia closely mirrors Singlish, though there are subtle differences in vocabulary between the two. The term Singlish first appeared in newspapers and academic discourse in 1975.…
Article summary
Singlish (a portmanteau of Singapore and English), formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English (CSE) or Singapore Colloquial English (SCE), is an English-based contact language originating in Singapore, and an informal register of Singapore English used between Singaporeans in colloquial contexts. It linguistically resembles a creole, but its status as a creole is academically disputed. Singlish arose out of contact between speakers of different languages, mainly comprising different English varieties, different Malay varieties such as Baba Malay and Bazaar Malay, and different Chinese varieties such as Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, and Teochew. Singlish and Standard Singapore English were modelled by academics as part of a creole continuum from 1975 to 1989, but were treated distinctly from 1990 as diglossia, with speakers employing code-switching. As opposed to the standard variety, Singlish is mostly used in informal situations. Driven by a shared history and close geography, Manglish of Malaysia closely mirrors Singlish, though there are subtle differences in vocabulary between the two. The term Singlish first appeared in newspapers and academic discourse in 1975.…
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.