Editing Singapore English (section)

==== Vowel in ''last'', ''half'', etc. ====
{{See also|Trap–bath split}}

For the vast majority of speakers, the words ''grass'', ''last'' and ''path'' are pronounced with the {{sc2|PALM}} vowel {{IPAc-en|ɑː}} {{IPAblink|ä}}—the ''a'' in ''father''—[[Trap–bath split|like most dialects]] from the south of England.<ref name="deterding1">{{cite book|first=David|last=Deterding|title=English in Southeast Asia: Literacies, Literatures and Varieties|year=2007a|pages=2–29|editor-first1=David|editor-last1=Prescott|editor-first2=Andy|editor-last2=Kirkpatrick|editor-first3=Isabel|editor-last3=Martin|editor-first4=Azirah|editor-last4=Hashim|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Press|location=Newcastle, UK|chapter=The Vowels of the Different Ethnic Groups in Singapore|isbn=978-1847182241}}</ref><ref name=starr2019>{{cite journal|first=Rebecca Lurie|last=Starr|title=Cross-dialectal Awareness and Use of the Bath-Trap Distinction in Singapore: Investigating the Effects of Overseas Travel and Media Consumption|journal=Journal of English Linguistics|volume=47|issue=1|year=2019|pages=55–88|doi=10.1177/0075424218819740}}</ref> Unlike some varieties of [[North American English]], ''aunt''{{nbsp}}{{IPA|en|ɑː}} and ''ant''{{nbsp}}{{IPA|en|æ}} do not sound the same in Singapore English. While speakers will generally use the {{sc2|PALM}} vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ä}} in the words ''laugh'', ''ask'', ''half'', ''ex<u>a</u>mple'' and even some words that normally have {{IPA|en|æ}} in Southern English dialects, like ''plastic'' and ''elastic'', many speakers will use the {{sc2|TRAP}} vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPA|en|æ}}{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ɛ}} in ''gasp''.<ref name=tanyy2016 /><ref name=starr2019 /> Usage of the {{sc2|TRAP}} vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPA|en|æ}} in ''dance'' and ''can’t'' has also been reported, but this is generally rare.<ref name=tanyy2016 /><ref name=starr2019 />