Editing Singapore English (section)

== Overview of Singaporean accents ==
{{See also|Singlish#Phonology}}

Broadly speaking, Singaporean English accents are based on the [[Phonology|sound systems]] of standard [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic]] [[English language in Southern England|Southern British English accents]], as is often the case with dialects of English spoken in Commonwealth nations aside from Canada.<ref>{{cite book|last=Foley|first=Joseph|title=New Englishes: The Case of Singapore|year=1988|publisher=Singapore University Press|isbn=978-9971-69-114-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2D9-DjSLnWIC&q=singapore+received+pronunciation&pg=PA129}}</ref> Like many Southern British English dialects, the vowels in {{sc2|LOT}} {{IPAblink|ɒ}} and {{sc2|PALM}} {{IPAblink|ä}} are distinct in Singapore English, and almost all speakers use the {{sc2|PALM}} vowel {{IPAblink|ä}} in the word ''plant'', [[Trap–bath split|rather than the {{sc2|TRAP}} vowel]] {{IPAblink|ɛ}}.<ref name=lim2004 /><ref name=starr2019 />

As English becomes more often used as a day-to-day language in Singapore, mass adoption of local norms have led to the formation of a standard, [[wikt:endonormative|endonormative]] Singaporean accent with characteristics primarily driven by conventions and [[language change]] within the country.<ref name="emergent-patterns" /><ref>{{cite book|editor1=Charles F. Meyer|editor2=Eugene Green|year=2014|isbn=9783110394917|publisher=[[De Gruyter]]|chapter=New Englishes and the emergence of the unmarked|author=Caroline Wiltshire|title=The Variability of Current World Englishes}}</ref> Accents still vary, depending on age, ethnicity and upbringing.<ref>{{cite thesis|first=Jakob R. E.|last=Leimgruber|title=Modelling variation in Singapore English|year=2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis|first=C. H. L.|last=Low|year=2023|title=Variation and change in the vowels of Singapore English: a sociophonetic study based on the National Speech Corpus|publisher=[[Nanyang Technological University]]|doi=10.32657/10356/166509|degree=Doctoral|location=Singapore}}</ref>

=== Rhoticity ===
{{See also|Rhoticity in English}}

Singapore English is predominantly non-rhotic, like [[Australian English|Australian]] and [[Nigerian English|Nigerian]] accents, so most speakers will leave out the ''r'' sound in words like ''far''.<ref name="non-rhotic" /> Semi-rhotic accents are, however, quite commonly heard on radio, where some presenters have adopted more [[North American English|North American]]-like accents.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Peter Iori|last=Kobayashi|title=American English Phonological Features on Singapore Radio|journal=NUIS Journal of International Studies|year=2020|volume=5|pages=15–26}}</ref> Studies suggest that final ''r'' sounds are more likely to be realised by younger speakers and women among Chinese and Indian Singaporeans, and that this tendency is more common in [[content word]]s than in [[function word]]s, and in reading than in conversation.<ref name="rvariation">{{cite thesis |last=Kwek |first=G. S. C. |date=2018 |title=An analysis of /r/ variation in Singapore English |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Cambridge |doi=10.17863/CAM.27060}}</ref><ref name=tanyy2016>{{cite book|last=Tan|first=Y.-Y.|chapter=The Americanization of the phonology of Asian Englishes: evidence from Singapore|title=Communicating with Asia: The future of English as a global language|date=2016|pages=120–134|editor1=Gerhard Leitner|editor2=Azirah Hashim|editor3=Hang-Georg Wolf|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107477186 }}</ref> Rhoticity is nevertheless generally uncommon and seldom consistent,<ref name="rhotic2">{{cite journal|first=Y.-Y.|last=Tan|title=To r or not to r: Social correlates of /ɹ/ in Singapore English|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language|issue=218|date=December 2012|pages=1–24|doi=10.1515/ijsl-2012-0057|doi-broken-date=3 December 2024 }}</ref><ref name="rhotic3">{{cite journal|first=Alexandra|last=Hofbauer|title="How many c(R)s do you have?" A look into postvoincalic /r/ in Singapore English|journal=Lifespans and Styles|year=2018|volume=4|issue=1|pages=2–16|doi=10.2218/ls.v4i1.2018.2608|issn=2057-1720}}</ref> even in environments where a [[linking and intrusive R|linking ''r'']] could occur, e.g., ''my brothe<u>r</u> is'' and ''my siste<u>r</u> is''.<ref name="rhotic">{{cite journal|first1=Chor Hiang|last1=Tan|first2=Anthea Fraser|last2=Gupta|title=Post-vocalic /r/ in Singapore English|journal=York Papers in Linguistics|volume=16|year=1992|pages=139–152}}</ref><ref name="rhotic2" /> In a 2018 study examining the speech of 104 Singapore English speakers, ''r'' sounds were dropped at the end of syllables more than 90% of the time in conversational speech, while linking ''r'' was used less than 20% of the time. Cases of [[linking and intrusive R#Intrusive R|intrusive ''r'']] (e.g., pronouncing ''drawing'' as ''draw-ring'') were negligible.<ref name="rvariation" />

=== Front vowels ===
[[Image:Formant plot for monophthongs in Singapore English.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Monophthong]]s of Singapore English on a normalised formant chart, from {{Harvcoltxt|Deterding|2007a|p=19}}. Here, {{IPA|/ɛ̝/}} represents the {{sc2|NEXT}} vowel, and {{IPA|[ɔː]}} and {{IPA|[uː]}}, in red, are [[allophone]]s of {{IPAc-en|ɔː}} and {{IPAc-en|uː}} in open syllables. The vowels in {{sc2|FACE}} and {{sc2|GOAT}} are not included in this plot.]]
[[File:Singapore English checked monophthongs chart.svg|thumb|250px|[[Checked and free vowels#English|Checked]] monophthongs of Singapore English, based on descriptions by {{harvcoltxt|Deterding|2007a|pp=2–29}}, {{harvcoltxt|Deterding|2010|pp=203–206}} and {{harvcoltxt|Lim|2004}}, and data from {{harvcoltxt|Lan|Maxwell|Diskin-Holdaway|2024}}. In this diagram, {{IPA|/ɛ̝/}} represents the {{sc2|NEXT}} vowel, though it is still unclear whether it is distinguishable from {{IPA|/eɪ/}}, the {{sc2|FACE}} vowel. The vowels in ''mat'' and ''met'' {{IPA|/ɛ/}} are merged in this diagram.]]
[[File:Singapore English free monophthongs chart.svg|thumb|250px|[[Checked and free vowels#English|Free]] monophthongs of Singapore English. In this diagram, {{IPA|[ɔː]}} represents the {{sc2|THOUGHT}} vowel {{IPA|/ɔː/}} in open environments (e.g., in the word ''more''). Free vowels tend to be longer in open syllables, e.g., ''bee'' {{IPAblink|iː}}, ''law'' {{IPAblink|ɔː}}, ''fur'' {{IPAblink|əː}}, than in closed syllables, e.g., ''beat'' {{IPAblink|i}}, ''suits'' {{IPAblink|u}}, ''load'' {{IPAblink|o}}.<ref name="Bao Zhiming 1998 pp. 152-174">Bao Zhiming (1998) 'The sounds of Singapore English'. In J. A. Foley et al. (eds.) ''English in New Cultural Contexts: Reflections from Singapore'', Singapore: Singapore Institute of Management/Oxford University Press, pp. 152-174.</ref>]]

* {{sc2|KIT}} and {{sc2|FLEECE}}: The {{sc2|KIT}} vowel is closer to the vowel in {{sc2|FLEECE}} in Singapore English than in most other dialects, and at its most extreme, it can be as [[Vowel|high and front]] as the latter vowel, making ''sit'' and ''seat'' [[homophone]]s.<ref name=educatedsge /> Several studies confirm significant overlap between these two vowels,<ref name=eaemerger /><ref name="lin2021" /><ref name="tan2010" /> however {{harvcoltxt|Deterding|2010|pp=203–206}} demonstrates that a distinction is still maintained by the majority of speakers in the study. Speakers may also rely on vowel length to distinguish words like ''rid''{{nbsp}}{{IPA|[ɹɪd]}} and ''read''{{nbsp}}{{IPA|[ɹiˑd]}}; in this case the {{sc2|KIT}} vowel is markedly shorter.<ref name="tan2010" /><ref>{{cite conference|author3=Chloé Diskin-Holdaway|author2=Olga Maxwell|author1=Canaan Zengyu Lan|title=An Exploratory Investigation of the /e/–/æ/ and /iː/–/ɪ/ Mergers and Durational Contrasts in Singapore English|journal=Proceedings of the Eighteenth Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology (SST2022)|year=2022|pages=191–195}}</ref>
* {{sc2|FACE}}: According to {{Harvcoltxt|Deterding|2007b|p=25}}, the vowel in {{sc2|FACE}} {{IPA|en|eɪ}} has minimal diphthongal movement, meaning there is little change in its quality over time. It may be described as a short {{IPAblink|e}} or long [[monophthong]] {{IPAblink|eː}}. Acoustic measurements suggest that, on average, this vowel is slightly more diphthongal for Chinese Singaporeans than for Malays.<ref name="deterding-measurements">{{cite book|first=David|last=Deterding|chapter=Measurements of the /eɪ/ and /əʊ/ vowels of young English speakers in Singapore|title=The English language in Singapore: Research on pronunciation|year=2000|pages=93–99|editor-first1=Adam|editor-last1=Brown|editor-first2=David|editor-last2=Deterding|editor-first3=Ee Ling|editor-last3=Low|isbn=981-04-2598-8|publisher=Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics}}</ref>
* [[Phonological history of English close front vowels#Additional mergers in Asian and African English|''Met''–''mat'' merger]]: The vowels in ''met''{{nbsp}}{{IPAc-en|ɛ}} and ''mat''{{nbsp}}{{IPAc-en|æ}} are almost never distinguished {{IPAblink|ɛ}} in conversational speech.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Suzanna Bte Hashim|author2=Adam Brown|chapter=The [e] and [æ] vowels in Singapore English|title=The English language in Singapore: Research on pronunciation|year=2000|pages=84–92|editor-first1=Adam|editor-last1=Brown|editor-first2=David|editor-last2=Deterding|editor-first3=Ee Ling|editor-last3=Low|isbn=981-04-2598-8|publisher=Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics}}</ref><ref name=eaemerger>{{cite conference|author1= Chloé Diskin-Holdaway|author2=Olga Maxwell|author3=Canaan Zengyu Lan|title=Acoustic merger between /e/ and /æ/ in Singapore English: insights into stylistic variation and sub-varietal difference|journal=Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences|editor1=Radek Skarnitzl|editor2=Jan Volin|publisher=Guarant International|year=2023|pages=3661–3665|location=Prague|url=https://guarant.cz/icphs2023/612.pdf}}</ref><ref name="deterding2010">{{cite book|first=David|last=Deterding|title=Multilingual Norms|year=2010|pages=203–206|editor=Madalena Cruz-Ferreira|publisher=Peter Lang|chapter=Norms for pronunciation of English in Singapore|isbn=9783631596371}}</ref> Any distinction is less likely between words ending in [[stop consonant]]s, like ''met'' and ''mat'', though ''bed''{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|e}} and ''bad''{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ɛ}} are kept distinct (see {{Section link||Next–text split}}).<ref name=educatedsge /> Some studies report that {{IPAc-en|æ}} tends to be less centralised in vowel space.<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="tan2010">{{cite journal|first1=R. S. K.|last1=Tan|first2=E.-L.|last2=Low|title=How different are the monophthongs of Malay speakers of Malaysian and Singapore English?|journal=English World-Wide|volume=31|issue=2|date=2010|pages=162–189|doi=10.1075/eww.31.2.03tan }}</ref> 
* {{sc2|SQUARE}}: The vowel in {{sc2|SQUARE}} is open-mid{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ɛ|ɛː}}, and long in most environments — ''care'' has a long vowel {{IPA|[kʰɛː]}} while ''cat'' {{IPA|[kʰɛt]}} has a short one.<ref name="Bao Zhiming 1998 pp. 152-174" /><ref name="low2014">{{cite book |first=E.-L. |last=Low |title=Pronunciation for English as an International Language: From Research to Practice |year=2014 |page=55 |isbn=9780415725125 |publisher=Routledge }}</ref>

==== ''Next''–''text'' split ====

For nearly all speakers, the words ''next'' and ''text'' do not rhyme due to a vowel split affecting the {{sc2|DRESS}} [[lexical set]]. The word ''next'' is realised with the raised vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|e}}, which is distinguished from the low-mid vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ɛ}} in ''text''.<ref name="deterding1" /> The raised vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|e}} occurs unsystematically in a small number of words including ''leg'', ''dead'' and ''head'' (and their derivatives). Other words like ''fed'' and ''neck'' do not have this vowel. For many speakers, it is equivalent to the vowel in {{sc2|FACE}}, in which case ''dead'' rhymes with ''made'', but not with ''fed''. Taking this into account, speakers with the complete [[Met–mat merger|''met''–''mat'' merger]] will distinguish ''lag''{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ɛ}} from ''leg''{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|e}}, but not the words ''lad'' {{IPAblink|ɛ}} and ''led'' {{IPAblink|ɛ}}. The raised vowel can also occur in ''red'', making ''red''{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|e}} and ''read''{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ɛ}} (as in ''I have read the book'') non-[[homophones]].<ref name="deterdingbook" /><ref name=nwavconference /><ref name="emergent-patterns" />

Speakers use the raised vowel {{IPAblink|e}} in ''bed'', ''dead'', ''edge'', ''egg'', ''head'', ''heavy'', ''instead'', ''leg'', ''next'', ''red'', ''said'' and ''says'',<ref name=nwavconference>{{cite conference |first1=R. L. |last1=Starr |first2=A. |last2=Choo |title=The NEXT-TEXT split in Singapore English: Comparing self-report and speech production |conference=[[New Ways of Analyzing Variation|NWAV 48]] |date=October 2019 }}</ref> though for some of these words, like ''edge'', raising is less consistent, and varies from speaker to speaker.<ref name=nwavconference /> The vast majority of other words like ''mess'', ''beg'' and ''dread'' continue to use the more common low-mid vowel{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ɛ}}.<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="emergent-patterns" /><ref name=nwavconference /> The ''next''–''text'' split appears to be motivated by the ''met''–''mat'' merger in the speech of younger Singaporeans,<ref name=eaemerger /><ref name=nwavconference /> who are more likely than older speakers to raise the vowel in ''next'', though younger speakers raise it to a lower height on average.<ref name=nwavconference /> While words with the raised vowel tend to end in voiced stop consonants like {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, this split is not phonologically conditioned, unlike {{IPA|/ɛɡ/}} [[Pacific Northwest English#Commonalities with Canada| raising]] in [[Pacific Northwest English]].<ref name=eaemerger />

=== Central and back vowels ===

* {{sc2|NURSE}}: The {{sc2|NURSE}} vowel {{IPA|en|ɜː}} is a [[mid central vowel]], {{IPAblink|ə}} or {{IPAblink|əː}}.<ref name="sea1" />
* {{sc2|STRUT}} and {{sc2|PALM}}: Usually, the vowels in ''luck'' and ''lark'' overlap are both open central{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ä}}. Speakers may maintain a length distinction, in which case the latter vowel is longer, though this is less likely in syllables closed by [[Voice (phonetics)|voiceless]] [[Plosive|stop]] consonants like ''p'', ''t'' and ''k''.<ref name="educatedsge">{{cite journal|first=Mary W. J.|last=Tay|title=The Phonology of Educated Singapore English|journal=English World-Wide|volume=3|issue=2|date=January 1982|pages=135–145|doi=10.1075/eww.3.2.02tay}}</ref><ref name="tan2010" /> Like all [[Checked and free vowels|free vowels]], the {{sc2|PALM}}/{{sc2|START}} vowel is generally longer{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|äː}} in open syllables.<ref name="Bao Zhiming 1998 pp. 152-174" />
* {{sc2|FOOT}} and {{sc2|GOOSE}}: The {{sc2|FOOT}} vowel is generally quite high and back in Singapore English.<ref name="educatedsge" /> Like {{sc2|KIT}} and {{sc2|FLEECE}}, acoustic measurements show that there is significant overlap between the {{sc2|FOOT}} and {{sc2|GOOSE}} vowels, raising the possibility of a [[Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels#FOOT–GOOSE_merger|{{sc2|FOOT}}–{{sc2|GOOSE}} merger]].<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="lin2021" /><ref>{{cite conference|first1=Canaan Zengyu|last1=Lan|first2=Olga|last2=Maxwell|first3=Chloé|last3=Diskin-Holdaway|year=2024|editor1=Olga Maxwell|editor2=Rikke Bundgaard-Nielsen|title=Static and Dynamic Analyses of the Back Vowels /uː/ and /ʊ/ in Singapore English|journal=Proceedings of the Nineteenth Australasian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology (SST2024)|pp=57–61}}</ref> {{harvcoltxt|Tan & Low|2010|p=172}} demonstrate that the {{sc2|FOOT}} vowel is generally short and that the {{sc2|GOOSE}} vowel is associated with a longer average duration. While previous studies have categorised {{IPAc-en|uː}} as a back vowel {{IPAblink|u}} in Singapore English, more recent ones suggest that [[Fronting (sound change)#Vowel shifts|{{sc2|GOOSE}}-fronting]] is now prevalent among younger speakers, and that it is more accurate to classify this variant of {{IPAc-en|uː}} as a near-back {{IPAblink|u̟}} or centralised {{IPAblink|ü}} vowel.<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="tan2010" /><ref name="lin2021">{{cite thesis |last=Lin |first=J. |year=2021 |title=The articulatory correlates of Singapore English vowels |degree=Master's |publisher=Nanyang Technological University |doi=10.32657/10356/155448|doi-access=free |hdl=10356/155448 }}</ref>
* {{sc2|GOAT}}: Like the {{sc2|FACE}} vowel, the vowel in {{sc2|GOAT}} has limited diphthongal movement over time for most speakers, so it is sometimes described as a monophthong {{IPAblink|o̞|o}} or {{IPAblink|o̞|oː}}.<ref name="deterding-measurements" /><ref name="educatedsge" /> {{harvcoltxt|Deterding|1996}} concludes that, though they may be classified as such, the {{sc2|FACE}} and {{sc2|GOAT}} vowels are not completely monophthongal, with all of the speakers in the study exhibiting some diphthongal movement in the articulation of these vowels.<ref>{{cite journal|first=David|last=Deterding|title=Diphthong Measurements in Singapore English|year=1996|journal=Proceedings of the Sixth Australian International Conference on Speech Science and Technology|pp=61–66|location=Adelaide}}</ref>
* {{sc2|LOT}} and {{sc2|THOUGHT}}: The {{sc2|LOT}} vowel is a [[Roundedness|rounded]], [[Open vowel|low]] [[back vowel]] {{IPAblink|ɔ|ɒ̝˖}}. The vowel in {{sc2|THOUGHT}}/{{sc2|COURT}} may be longer and closer to [[Cardinal vowels|cardinal]] {{IPAblink|ɔː}} and this tendency is stronger before [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced consonants]] and in open syllables — acoustic studies by {{Harvcoltxt|Deterding|2007a|pp=14–17}} show that speakers produce an allophone of the {{sc2|THOUGHT}} vowel that is higher and further back in words not closed by final consonants, like ''more'' and ''saw''. The {{sc2|THOUGHT}} vowel is otherwise the same as the {{sc2|LOT}} vowel for many speakers, resulting in [[Cot–caught merger|identical pronunciations for ''cot'' and ''caught'']] {{IPAblink|ɔ|ɒ̝˖}},<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="tan2010" /> though newer studies suggest that there are older speakers who still maintain this distinction.<ref>{{cite book|first=Rebecca Lurie|last=Starr|chapter=Changing Language, Changing Character Types|title=Social Meaning and Linguistic Variation|year=2021|isbn=9781108578684|doi=10.1017/9781108578684.014|pp=315–337}}</ref>

==== 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 />

=== Diphthongs ===

There are five [[diphthong]]s in Singapore English: {{IPA|[aɪ aʊ ɔɪ ɪə ʊə]}}, not counting {{sc2|FACE}}, {{sc2|GOAT}} and {{sc2|SQUARE}}. The diphthongs in {{sc2|PRICE}}, {{sc2|CHOICE}} and {{sc2|MOUTH}} do not differ significantly from their counterparts in [[Received Pronunciation]].<ref name="low2014" /> Words with [[triphthong]]s in other dialects, like ''fire'' and ''towel'', are normally broken down into two syllables.<ref name=triphthongs>{{cite book|first1=Siew Siew |last1=Lim |first2=Ee Ling |last2=Low |chapter=Triphthongs in Singapore English |title=English in Singapore: Phonetic Research on a Corpus |editor1=David Deterding |editor2=Adam Brown |editor3=Low Ee Ling |location=Singapore |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education (Asia) |year=2005 |pages=64–73 |isbn=007-124727-0 }}</ref>

The vowel in {{sc2|NEAR}} is always a centering diphthong: {{IPA|[ɪə]}}, {{IPA|[iə]}} or {{IPA|[jəː]}}.<ref name="educatedsge" /><ref name="sea1">{{cite book|first=Ee-Ling|last=Low|title=English in Southeast Asia: Features, Policy and Language in Use|year=2012|pages=35–54|editor-first1=Ee-Ling|editor-last1=Low|editor-first2=Azirah|editor-last2=Hashim|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|chapter=Singapore English|isbn=9789027249029}}</ref> {{Harvcoltxt|Deterding|2007b|p=26}} notes that, while words like ''tour'' and ''sure'' are always pronounced with the diphthong {{IPA|[-uə]}} or {{IPA|[-wəː]}}, many speakers will use the {{sc2|NORTH}} vowel after {{IPAc-en|j}}, like in ''cure'' and ''endure'' {{IPA|[-jɔː]}},<ref name="emergent-patterns">{{cite journal|first=David|last=Deterding|title=Emergent patterns in the vowels of Singapore English|journal=English World-Wide|volume=26|issue=2|year=2005|pages=179–97|doi=10.1075/eww.26.2.04det}}</ref> if not {{IPA|[-juə]}} or {{IPA|[-jəː]}}.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jette G. Hansen|last=Edwards|title=The Sounds of English Around the World: An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology|year=2023|page=88|isbn=9781108841665|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>

=== Consonants ===

==== Fricatives and stop consonants ====

* Pronunciation of ⟨''th''⟩: [[Th-stopping|''Th''-stopping]] is common at the start of syllables, making ''tree'' and ''three'' homophones. This is generally more common in informal settings.<ref>{{cite book|first1=S.|last1=Moorthy|first2=D.|last2=Deterding|chapter=Three or tree? Dental fricatives in the speech of educated Singaporeans|title=The English language in Singapore: Research on pronunciation|year=2000|pages=76–83|editor-first1=A.|editor-last1=Brown|editor-first2=D.|editor-last2=Deterding|editor-first3=E.-L.|editor-last3=Low|publisher=Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics|location=Singapore}}</ref> Dental fricatives may undergo [[Th-fronting|''th''-fronting]] at the end of words, so ''teeth'' sounds like ''teef'',<ref name="deterdingbook" /><ref name="sea1" /> though many speakers will use a {{IPA|[t]}} sound in the word ''maths'' {{IPA|[mɛts]}}.<ref name="deterdingbook" /> For some Tamil bilinguals, word-final ''th'' sounds are alternatively realised as stops.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=K.|last1=Kalaivanan|first2=F.|last2=Sumartono|first3=Y.-Y.|last3=Tan|title=The Homogenization of Ethnic Differences in Singapore English? A Consonantal Production Study|journal=Language and Speech|year=2020|volume=64 |issue=1 |doi=10.1177/0023830920925510|pages=1–18|pmid=32484011 }}</ref>

* Intervocalic ''t'' and ''d'': Speakers with more innovative accents may realise intervocalic ''t'' and ''d''  (e.g., in ''little'' and ''medal'') as [[Flapping| alveolar taps or flaps]],<ref name=tanyy2016 /><ref name=lim2004 /> though this is generally uncommon. For the vast majority of speakers in Singapore, ''t'' and ''d'' are realised as {{IPA|[t]}} and {{IPA|[d]}} in these environments.<ref name=tanyy2016 />

* Stop consonants: [[Plosive|Stop consonants]] in Singapore English are usually not released at the end of words, and voiceless stops can be [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] or unaspirated in initial positions.<ref name=educatedsge /><ref name="Bao Zhiming 1998 pp. 152-174" /> Moreover, word-final ''k'' may be realised as a [[glottal stop]] {{IPA|[ʔ]}}, as in [[Malay language|Malay]].<ref>{{cite journal|first=T. T. N.|last=Hung|title=Towards a phonology of Singapore English|journal=Pan-Asiatic Linguistics: Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Languages and Linguistics|year=1996|pages=1429–1440}}</ref>

==== Liquid consonants ====

* Pronunciation of final "l": There are three prevalent variants of final "l" in Singapore English: [[Voiced dental, alveolar and postalveolar lateral approximants#Velarized alveolar lateral approximant|dark "l"s]],  [[Voiced dental, alveolar and postalveolar lateral approximants|clear "l"s]] and [[L-vocalisation|vocalised "l"s]].<ref name=hong2023>{{cite journal|first=Jasper|last=Hong|title=Negotiating social meanings in a plural society: Social perceptions of variants of /l/ in Singapore English|journal=Language in Society|date=2023 |volume=52|issue=4 |pages=617–644|doi=10.1017/S0047404522000173|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/ECB56B0A6B63FAC27CF22598C276B285/S0047404522000173a.pdf/negotiating_social_meanings_in_a_plural_society_social_perceptions_of_variants_of_l_in_singapore_english.pdf}}</ref> For speakers who vocalise their "l"s, the "l" sound can be dropped entirely after [[back vowel]]s, diphthongs with back vowels, and sometimes [[schwa|mid central vowels]], so that ''mole'' sounds like ''mow''{{nbsp}}{{IPA|[moː]}}, and ''small'' like ''smaw''{{nbsp}}{{IPA|[smɔː]}}. The diphthong {{IPAc-en|aɪ}} is also [[Monophthongization|monophthongised]] into {{IPAblink|ä}} before a vocalised "l", so ''Nile'' and ''now'' are similar-sounding.<ref name="vocalisation">{{Cite book |last=Tan |first=Kah Keong |date=2005 |chapter=Vocalisation of {{IPA|/l/}} in Singapore English |title=English in Singapore: Phonetic Research on a Corpus |editor1=David Deterding |editor2=Adam Brown |editor3=Low Ee Ling |location=Singapore |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education (Asia) |pages=43–53 }}</ref><ref name=wee08>{{Cite journal |last=Wee |first=Lian-Hee |date=2008 |title=Phonological patterns in the Englishes of Singapore and Hong Kong |journal=World Englishes |volume=27 |issue=3–4 |pages=480–501|doi=10.1111/j.1467-971X.2008.00580.x }}</ref><ref name="heggarty2013">{{cite web|title=Accents of English from Around the World|editor=Heggarty, Paul |display-editors=etal |publisher=University of Edinburgh|year=2013|url=http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/research/gsound/}}</ref><ref name=lim2004>{{Cite book |last=Lim |first=Lisa |date=2004 |chapter=Sounding Singaporean |title=Singapore English: A grammatical description |editor=Lisa Lim |isbn=9789027248930 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company}}</ref> Vocalised "l"s are realised as high back vowels {{IPAblink|ʊ|ö}} with varying degrees of [[Roundedness|lip rounding]].<ref name=lim2004 /> Older Chinese Singaporeans are more likely to vocalise final "l"s, and Malay speakers are more likely to use clear "l"s in these environments.<ref name=hong2023 />

* Pronunciation of "r": The most common and predominant realisation of the ''r'' sound in Singapore English is the [[postalveolar approximant]] {{IPAblink|ɹ̠}}. The [[Voiced dental and alveolar taps and flaps#Voiced alveolar tap and flap|alveolar tap]] {{IPAblink|ɾ}} or [[Voiced dental, alveolar and postalveolar trills#Voiced alveolar trill|trill]] {{IPAblink|r}} is an alternative realisation of ''r'' among Malay and Indian Singaporeans and older speakers in general.<ref name="rvariation" /> Among Tamil Singaporeans, the trilled variant appears to be extremely rare in comparison to the approximant and tapped ''r''.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Rebecca Lurie|last1=Starr|first2=Brinda|last2=Balasubramaniam|title=Variation and change in English /r/ among Tamil Indian Singaporeans|journal=World Englishes|volume=38|issue=4|year=2019|pages=630–643|doi=10.1111/weng.12357}}</ref> A rare and emergent variant of ''r'', described as a [[Voiced labiodental approximant|labiodental approximant]]{{nbsp}}{{IPAblink|ʋ}}, has also been reported. Across English dialects, this phenomenon is known as [[Pronunciation of English /r/#R-labialization|''R''-labialisation]].<ref name="rvariation" /><ref>{{cite journal|first1=G. S. C.|last1=Kwek|first2=E.-L.|last2=Low|title=Emergent features of young Singaporean speech: an investigatory study of the labiodental /r/ in Singapore English|journal=Asian Englishes|year=2020|volume=23|issue=2|pages=116–136|doi=10.1080/13488678.2020.1759249}}</ref>

==== Final consonant cluster reduction ====

Final [[consonant clusters]], like {{IPA|/-st, -sk/}}, are often [[Consonant cluster reduction|simplified]] in conversational Singapore English, in which case ''list'' {{IPA|[lɪs]}} drops its final ''t'', ''flask'' {{IPA|[flɑs]}} its final ''k'', and ''world'' {{IPA|[wəɫ]}} its final ''d'', though speakers are seldom consistent in doing so.<ref name="deterdingbook" /> Other examples include:

: {{IPA|/-nt, -nd/}} → {{IPA|[-n]}}: ''environme<u>nt</u>'' {{IPA|[ɛnˈvaɪɹənmən]}}, ''end'' {{IPA|[ɛn]}}
: {{IPA|/-kt/}} → {{IPA|[-k]}}: ''act'' {{IPA|[ɛʔ]}}, {{IPA|/-kst/}} → {{IPA|[-ks]}}: ''next'' {{IPA|[neʔs]}}
: {{IPA|/-ft/}} → {{IPA|[-f]}}: ''lift'' {{IPA|[lɪf]}}, {{IPA|/-fts/}} → {{IPA|[-fs]}}: ''lifts'' {{IPA|[lɪfs]}}

Combinations of two consonants with an ''s'' as the second component, like the {{IPA|/-ts/}} in ''rats'' and {{IPA|/-ɡz/}} in ''tags'', and many other final consonant clusters do not usually undergo simplification.<ref>{{cite journal|date=2008|first1=Arto|last1=Anttila|first2=Vivienne|last2=Fong|first3=Štefan|last3=Beňuš|first4=Jennifer|last4=Nycz|title=Variation and Opacity in Singapore English Consonant Clusters.|journal=Phonology|volume=25|issue=2|pp=181–216|doi=10.1017/S0952675708001462}}</ref>

=== Lexical incidence ===

While words generally follow the lexical incidence patterns of Southern British English accents, so ''new'' for example, is pronounced ''nyoo'', never ''noo'' [[Phonological history of English consonant clusters#Yod-dropping|like in some North American dialects]], there are several exceptions.<ref name="deterdingbook" /><ref name="heggarty2013" />

{{col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
* The words ''want'' and ''what'' are pronounced with the open central {{sc2|STRUT}} vowel instead of the rounded {{sc2|LOT}} vowel, like most varieties of North American English. In the English spoken in Southern England and Australia, these words are usually pronounced with the {{sc2|LOT}} vowel.<ref name="emergent-patterns" />
* Many speakers use the {{sc2|LOT}} vowel for ''won'' (''win'' in the past tense), so that it rhymes with ''con'' and no longer sounds like ''one''.<ref name="emergent-patterns" />
* ''Their'' is often realised as {{IPA|en|djɑː}} in informal or conversational speech, making it distinct from ''there'' {{IPA|en|dɛː}}, which rhymes with ''mare''.
{{Col-break}}
* ''Flour'' is pronounced {{respell|FLAR}}, and is clearly distinct from ''flower''.<ref name=triphthongs />
* ''Seems'' and ''seen'' are sometimes realised with the lax ''i'' vowel found in words like {{sc2|KIT}}.<ref name="deterdingbook">{{cite book|last=Deterding|first=David|title=Singapore English|year=2007b|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=9780748630967}}</ref>
* The vowel in ''love'' is the mid central {{sc2|NURSE}} vowel, rather than the open {{sc2|STRUT}} vowel.<ref name="deterdingbook" />
* ''December'' is sometimes ''De''{{IPA|[z]}}''ember'', with a {{IPAc-en|z}}, at least for some speakers.<ref>{{Cite book|isbn=0-521-28541-0 |first=J. C. |last=Wells |title=Accents of English: Beyond the British Isles |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1982 |page=646 |volume=3}}</ref>
* ''Twelve'' is sometimes realised with an initial ''ch'' {{IPAc-en|tʃ}} sound.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Chia Boh Peng|author2=Adam Brown|title=Singaporeans' reactions to Estuary English|journal=English Today|volume=18|issue=2|year=2002|pp=33–38|doi=10.1017/S0266078402002055}}</ref>
{{col-end}}

=== Stress and intonation ===
	
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; float:right; margin-left:15px; width:45%"
|+ Stress-tone relationship in SgE according to Ng (2011)<ref name=ngintonation>{{Cite book |last=Ng |first=E-Ching |date=2011 |chapter=Reconciling stress and tone in Singapore English |title=Asian Englishes: Changing Perspectives in a Globalised World |editor1=Lawrence J. Zhang |editor2=Rani Rubdy |editor3=Lubna Alsagoff |publisher=Pearson Longman |location=Singapore |pages=48–59 }}</ref>
! colspan="2" |Single phonological word
! colspan="2" |Multiple phonological words
|-
! example
! pitch contour
! example
! pitch contour
|-
| ''rat''
| '''H'''{{NoteTag|L and H stand for lower and higher pitch respectively. M corresponds to mid level pitch, or a similar contour between low and high levels. Bolded letters correspond to where lexical stress falls in each word. Usually, words take on these pitch contours near or at the start of sentences and utterances. Elsewhere, pitch contours are flattened out.}}
|''greenhouse''
|'''H'''–'''H'''
|-
| ''today''
| L–'''H'''
|''underneath''
|'''M'''–H–'''H'''
|-
|''peanut''
|'''M'''–H
|''unimpressed''
|'''H'''–L–'''H'''
|-
|''creative''
|L–'''M'''–H
|''watermelon''<ref name=chongintonation>{{cite journal|first=Adam J.|last=Chong|title=A preliminary model of Singaporean English intonational phonology|journal=UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics|volume=111|year=2012|pages=41–62|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt9d46z3sb/qt9d46z3sb_noSplash_74d4d09e72669d1eaff864f60a4d9640.pdf?t=mht9zg}}</ref>
|'''M'''–H–'''M'''–H
|-
| ''minimum''
| '''M'''–M–H
|''anticlockwise''
|'''M'''–H–'''H'''–'''H'''
|}

[[File:SgE-Intonation.svg|350px|right|thumb|Pitch contour of a declarative sentence in Singapore English, from Chong (2012). Here, aL and Ha mark the left and right edges of an [[Phonological hierarchy|accentual phrase]], and [[ToBI#Tonal events|L*]] is a [[Pitch accent (intonation)|pitch accent]] falling on stressed syllables. The gradual downwards movement of pitch towards the end of the sentence is represented by the [[boundary tone]] L%.<ref name=chongintonation />]]

Singapore English is characterised by a unique intonational system where pitch tends to be slightly raised at the end of a word with lexical stress. According to one analysis, the rightmost syllable of a [[Stress (linguistics)|stressed]] word or [[phonological word]] is marked with higher pitch, while words with no stress (e.g. '''''my''' house'') and unstressed initial syllables (e.g. '''''a'''gain'') carry relatively lower pitch. Meanwhile, all other non-final stressed syllables (e.g. '''''wri'''ter'') coincide with a mid level tone, or a similar pitch contour between low and high levels. There is also a tendency for pitch contours to be accentuated near the start of a sentence and diminished towards the end, and for pitch to drop or level out at the end of declarative sentences. For example, in the phrase ''I don’t remember'' [[Tone letter|{{IPA|[aɪ˨ ˈdon˦ ɹɪ˨ˈmɛm˧.bə˦]|cat=no}}]], pitch starts off low in ''I'', then rises to a higher level in ''don’t''. The word ''remember'' is then realised with a less accentuated low–mid–high pitch contour.<ref name=ngintonation /><ref name=chongintonation />

Tone assignment only takes place within the scope of the phonological word. ''Cranberry'' takes on a high–mid–high pitch contour [[Tone letter|{{IPA|[ˈkɹɛn˦ˌbɛ˧.ɹi˦]|cat=no}}]], since ''cran'' and ''berry'' are analysed as separate words. Similarly, in ''brainstorm'' [[Tone letter|{{IPA|[ˈbɹeɪn˦ˌstɔːm˦]|cat=no}}]], ''brain'' and ''storm'' are both assigned high pitch.<ref name=wee08 /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ng |first=E-Ching |date=March 1, 2012 |title=Chinese meets Malay meets English: origins of Singaporean English word-final high tone |journal=International Journal of Bilingualism |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=83–100 |doi=10.1177/1367006911403216|s2cid=144346839 }}</ref> Prefixes with stress constitute their own phonological words, so the ''re'' in ''reenact'' [[Tone letter|{{IPA|[ˈɹi˦.ɛn˨ˌɛkt˦]|cat=no}}]] is high-pitched. In words where the prefix is unstressed or less salient, like ''unfortunate'' [[Tone letter|{{IPA|[an˨ˈfɔ˧.tʃə˧.nət˦]|cat=no}}]] and ''nonsense'' [[Tone letter|{{IPA|[ˈnɔn˧.səns˦]|cat=no}}]], the prefix is not treated as a separate unit with stress and is therefore not assigned high pitch.<ref name=chongintonation />

Words are not restricted to discrete level tones. One alternative analysis posits that high pitch is associated with the right edge of an [[Phonological hierarchy|accentual phrase]], and low pitch with the left edge; an accentual phrase may consist of a content word with zero or any number of preceding unstressed function words. For instance, in a sentence like ''I joined the call'', in which ''I joined'' is analysed as a single accentual phrase, ''joined'' can be realised with rising pitch starting from the low pitch in ''I'', in lieu of consistently high pitch.<ref name=chongintonation /><ref name=chongprominence>{{cite journal |first1=Adam J. |last1=Chong |first2=James Sneed |last2=German |title=Prominence and intonation in Singapore English |journal=Journal of Phonetics |volume=98 |year=2023 |doi=10.1016/j.wocn.2023.101240 |url=https://hal.science/hal-04423826 }}</ref> In this model, phonological words (e.g. ''cran'' and ''berry'' in ''cranberry'') and prefixes with stress are analysed as belonging to separate accentual phrases.<ref name=chongintonation /> Other intonational variants have also been noted. For instance, flat pitch contours can sometimes span the entire length of words and accentual phrases where rising contours would normally be expected.<ref name=chongprominence /><ref>{{cite conference |first1=Adam J. |last1=Chong |first2=James Sneed |last2=German |title=Variability in tonal realisation in Singapore English intonation |conference=International Congress of Phonetic Sciences |location=Melbourne, Australia |date=August 2019 }}</ref>

Wider pitch range is associated with the introduction of a topic near the start of a sentence.<ref name=deterdingintonation>{{Cite journal |last=Deterding |first=David |date=December 1994 |title=The intonation of Singapore English |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=61–72 |doi=10.1017/S0025100300005077 }}</ref> Elsewhere in the sentence, differences in pitch are less prominent, so low, mid and high tones may collapse into roughly the same pitch level. Moreover, at the end of declarative sentences and [[Question#Open questions|open-ended question]]s, "high-pitched" syllables are weaker and often replaced with a drop or leveling out in pitch.<ref name=chongintonation /><ref name=deterdingintonation /> For example, in the sentence ''I left all my things on the table'', pitch is much higher on ''left'' than it is on the second syllable of ''table'', which has underlying high pitch but tends to be realised instead with a fall or leveling out in pitch. Yes-no questions are accompanied with rising pitch, as is the case in many other dialects of English.<ref name=chongintonation /> Rising pitch is also commonly used when there is non-final information at the end of an utterance, sometimes to indicate a non-final item in a list.<ref name="deterdingbook" />

==== Timing ====

Unstressed initial syllables are often realised with shorter duration and lower intensity.<ref name=chongprominence /> There is also a tendency for the last syllable in an utterance to be lengthened or dragged out.<ref name="deterdingbook" />

Singapore English tends towards [[Isochrony|syllable timing]], unlike British English, which is considered stress-timed.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Low Ee Ling|author2=Esther Grabe|author3=Francis Nolan|title=Quantitative Characterizations of Speech Rhythm: Syllable-Timing in Singapore English|journal=Language and Speech|volume=43|issue=4|year=2000|pages=377–401|doi=10.1177/0023830900043004030|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 }}</ref>