Singapore English

Singapore English (SgE, SE, en-SG) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Singapore. In Singapore, English is spoken in two main forms: Singaporean Standard English, which is indistinguishable grammatically from British English, and Singaporean Colloquial English, which is better known as Singlish.<ref name=bunkyo.ac.jp>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Singapore is a cosmopolitan society.<ref name="UN">Template:Cite web</ref> For example, in 2015, among Singaporeans of Chinese descent, over a third spoke English as their main language at home while almost half spoke Mandarin and the rest spoke various varieties of Chinese such as Hokkien.<ref name="SingstatGHS2015">Template:Cite web</ref> Most Singaporeans of Indian descent speak either English or a South Asian language. Many Malay Singaporeans use Malay as the lingua franca among the ethnic groups of the Malay world, while Eurasians and mixed-race Singaporeans are usually monolingual in English.

English is the medium of communication among students from preschool to university in Singapore. Many families use two or three languages on a regular basis, and English is often one of them. The level of fluency in English among residents in Singapore also varies greatly from person to person, depending on their educational background, but English in general is nevertheless understood, spoken and written as the main language throughout the country.

Classification of Singapore English

Singapore English can be classified into Singapore Standard English (SSE) and Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The language consists of three sociolects; Acrolect, Mesolect, and Basilect.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both Acrolect and Mesolect are regarded as Standard Singapore English, while Basilect is considered as Singlish.<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite web</ref>

• Acrolect; there is no substantial difference from Standard British English (SBE), though there may be some features of pronunciation that indicate the speaker is Singaporean, such as use of a full vowel in unstressed syllables and a relatively monophthongal realisation of the Template:Sc2 vowel.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
• Mesolect; it has some features distinct from SBE<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
  1. Question tenses in an indirect form; e.g. "May I ask where is the toilet?"
  2. Indefinite article deletion (copula absence); e.g. "May I apply for car licence?" (Instead of saying "a" car licence)
  3. Lack of marking in verb forms (Regularisation); e.g. "He always go to the shopping centre."
• Basilect (Singlish);<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
  1. Generalised "is it" question tag; e.g. "You coming today, Is it?"
  2. Consistent copula deletion; e.g. "My handwriting no good, lah."
  3. Use of particles like ah; lah, e.g. "Wait ah; Hurry lah, I need to go now!"

Singaporeans vary their language according to social situations (Pakir 1991) and attitudes that they want to convey (Poedjosoedarmo 1993).<ref name="videoweb.nie.edu.sg">Template:Cite journal</ref> Better educated Singaporeans with a "higher" standard of English tend to speak "Standard" Singapore English (the acrolect), whereas those who are less-educated or whose first language is not English tend to speak Singlish (the basilect).<ref name="videoweb.nie.edu.sg"/> Gupta (1994) said that most Singaporean speakers systematically alternate between colloquial and formal language depending on the formality of the situation.<ref name="videoweb.nie.edu.sg"/>

Standard Singapore English

Standard Singapore English is the standard form of English used in Singapore. It generally resembles British English and is often used in more formal settings such as the workplace or when communicating with people of higher authority such as teachers, bosses and government officials.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Singapore English acts as the "bridge" among different ethnic groups in Singapore.<ref name="Leimgruber"/> Standard Singapore English retains British spelling and grammar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The British established a trading post on the island of Singapore in 1819, and the population grew rapidly thereafter, attracting many immigrants from Chinese provinces and from India.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The roots of Standard Singapore English derive from nearly a century and a half of British control. Its local character seems to have developed early in the English-medium schools of the 19th and early-20th centuries, where the teachers often came from India and Ceylon, as well as from various parts of Europe and from the United States of America. By 1900 Eurasians and other locals were employed as teachers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Apart from a period of Japanese occupation (1942–1945), Singapore remained a British colony until 1963, when it joined the Malaysian federation, but this proved a short-lived alliance, largely due to ethnic rivalries. Since its expulsion from the Federation in 1965, Singapore has operated as an independent city-state. English served as the administrative language of the British colonial government, and when Singapore gained self-government in 1959 and independence in 1965, the Singaporean government decided to keep English as the main language to maximise economic prosperity. The use of English as the nation's first language serves to bridge the gap between the diverse ethnic groups in Singapore; English operates as the lingua franca of the nation. The use of English as a global language for commerce, technology and science has also helped to expedite Singapore's development and integration into the global economy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Public schools use English as the main language of instruction, although students are also required to receive part of their instruction in their mother tongue; placement in such courses is based on ethnicity and not without controversy.<ref> Template:Cite journal </ref> The standard Singaporean accent used to be officially RP. However, in recent decades,Template:When a standard Singaporean accent, quite independent of any external standard, including RP, started to emerge. A 2003 study by the National Institute of Education in Singapore suggests that a standard Singaporean pronunciation is emerging and is on the cusp of being standardised.<ref name="emergent-patterns" /> Singaporean accents can be said to be largely non-rhotic.<ref name="non-rhotic">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2023, opposition leader Pritam Singh advocated for English proficiency testing for immigrants seeking Singaporean citizenship.<ref name="proposal">Template:Cite web</ref> Polling data of native-born Singaporeans show broad support for the proposal.<ref name="polling">Template:Cite web</ref>

Singapore's Speak Good English Movement

The wide use of Singlish led the government to launch the Speak Good English Movement in Singapore in 2000 in an attempt to replace Singlish with Standard English. This movement was made to show the need for Singaporeans to speak Standard English. Nowadays, all children in schools are being taught Standard English with one of the other official languages (Chinese, Malay, Tamil) being taught as a second language. In Singapore, English is a "working language" that serves the economy and development and is associated with the broader global community. Meanwhile, the rest are "mother tongues" that are associated with the country's culture. Speaking Standard English also helps Singaporeans communicate and express themselves in their everyday life.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2014, the Singaporean government made an announcement entitled "Speak Good English Movement brings fun back to Grammar and good English", where the strategies that would be used to promote their program in the following years were explained. Specifically, the government would release a series of videos demystifying the difficulty and dullness of the grammatical rules of the English language. These videos provide a more humorous approach to learning basic grammar rules. Singaporeans will now be able to practise the grammatical rules in both written and spoken English thanks to a more interactive approach.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Update inline

Malay, Indian, and Chinese influences

Although Standard Singapore English (SSE) is mainly influenced by British English and, recently, American English, there are other languages that also contribute to its use on a regular basis. The majority of Singaporeans speak more than one language, with many speaking three to four.<ref name="Singapore Colloquial English">Template:Cite web</ref> Most Singaporean children are brought up bilingual. They are introduced to Malay, Chinese, Tamil, or Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish) as their native languages, depending on their families' ethnic backgrounds and/or socioeconomic status. They also acquire those languages from interacting with friends in school and other places. Naturally, the presence of other languages in Singapore has influenced Singapore English, something particularly apparent in Singlish.<ref name="Singapore Colloquial English"/>

Both Singapore English and Singapore colloquial English are used with multiple accents. Because Singaporeans speak different ethnic mother tongues, they exhibit ethnic-specific features in their speech such that their ethnicity can be readily identified from their speech alone.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The strength of one's ethnic mother tongue-accented English accent depends on factors like formality<ref>Deterding, D. & Poedjosoedarmo, G. (2000). To what extent can the ethnic group of young Singaporeans be identified from their speech? In A. Brown, D. Deterding, & E. L. Low (Eds.). The English Language in Singapore: Research on Pronunciation, (pp. 1–9). Singapore: SAAL.</ref> and their language dominance.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Words from Malay, Chinese, and Tamil are also borrowed, if not code-switched, into Singapore English. For example, the Malay words "makan" (to eat), "habis" (finished), and the Hokkien word "kiasu" (Template:Zh) are constantly used, having been adopted into the lexicon, to the point that Singaporeans are not necessarily aware of which language those words are from. The nativisation process has progressed so far that the word "kiasu" has been used in the Singapore press since 2000 without being italicised,<ref name="Singapore Colloquial English"/> and went onto claim international recognition, being admitted to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2007.<ref name="Leimgruber">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Overview of Singaporean accents

Broadly speaking, Singaporean English accents are based on the sound systems of standard non-rhotic Southern British English accents, as is often the case with dialects of English spoken in Commonwealth nations aside from Canada.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Like many Southern British English dialects, the vowels in Template:Sc2 Template:IPAblink and Template:Sc2 Template:IPAblink are distinct in Singapore English, and almost all speakers use the Template:Sc2 vowel Template:IPAblink in the word plant, [[Trap–bath split|rather than the Template:Sc2 vowel]] Template:IPAblink.<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, endonormative Singaporean accent with characteristics primarily driven by conventions and language change within the country.<ref name="emergent-patterns" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Accents still vary, depending on age, ethnicity and upbringing.<ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>

Rhoticity

Singapore English is predominantly non-rhotic, like Australian and 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-like accents.<ref>Template:Cite journal</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 words than in function words, and in reading than in conversation.<ref name="rvariation">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name=tanyy2016>Template:Cite book</ref> Rhoticity is nevertheless generally uncommon and seldom consistent,<ref name="rhotic2">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="rhotic3">Template:Cite journal</ref> even in environments where a linking r could occur, e.g., my brother is and my sister is.<ref name="rhotic">Template:Cite journal</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 intrusive r (e.g., pronouncing drawing as draw-ring) were negligible.<ref name="rvariation" />

Front vowels

File:Formant plot for monophthongs in Singapore English.svg

Monophthongs of Singapore English on a normalised formant chart, from Template:Harvcoltxt. Here, Template:IPA represents the Template:Sc2 vowel, and Template:IPA and Template:IPA, in red, are allophones of Template:IPAc-en and Template:IPAc-en in open syllables. The vowels in Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2 are not included in this plot.

File:Singapore English checked monophthongs chart.svg

Checked monophthongs of Singapore English, based on descriptions by Template:Harvcoltxt, Template:Harvcoltxt and Template:Harvcoltxt, and data from Template:Harvcoltxt. In this diagram, Template:IPA represents the Template:Sc2 vowel, though it is still unclear whether it is distinguishable from Template:IPA, the Template:Sc2 vowel. The vowels in mat and met Template:IPA are merged in this diagram.

File:Singapore English free monophthongs chart.svg

Free monophthongs of Singapore English. In this diagram, Template:IPA represents the Template:Sc2 vowel Template:IPA in open environments (e.g., in the word more). Free vowels tend to be longer in open syllables, e.g., bee Template:IPAblink, law Template:IPAblink, fur Template:IPAblink, than in closed syllables, e.g., beat Template:IPAblink, suits Template:IPAblink, load Template:IPAblink.<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>

• Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2: The Template:Sc2 vowel is closer to the vowel in Template:Sc2 in Singapore English than in most other dialects, and at its most extreme, it can be as high and front as the latter vowel, making sit and seat homophones.<ref name=educatedsge /> Several studies confirm significant overlap between these two vowels,<ref name=eaemerger /><ref name="lin2021" /><ref name="tan2010" /> however Template:Harvcoltxt 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 ridTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPA and readTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPA; in this case the Template:Sc2 vowel is markedly shorter.<ref name="tan2010" /><ref>Template:Cite conference</ref>
• Template:Sc2: According to Template:Harvcoltxt, the vowel in Template:Sc2 Template:IPA has minimal diphthongal movement, meaning there is little change in its quality over time. It may be described as a short Template:IPAblink or long monophthong Template:IPAblink. Acoustic measurements suggest that, on average, this vowel is slightly more diphthongal for Chinese Singaporeans than for Malays.<ref name="deterding-measurements">Template:Cite book</ref>
• Met–mat merger: The vowels in metTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAc-en and matTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAc-en are almost never distinguished Template:IPAblink in conversational speech.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=eaemerger>Template:Cite conference</ref><ref name="deterding2010">Template:Cite book</ref> Any distinction is less likely between words ending in stop consonants, like met and mat, though bedTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink and badTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink are kept distinct (see Template:Section link).<ref name=educatedsge /> Some studies report that Template:IPAc-en tends to be less centralised in vowel space.<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="tan2010">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Template:Sc2: The vowel in Template:Sc2 is open-midTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink, and long in most environments — care has a long vowel Template:IPA while cat Template:IPA has a short one.<ref name="Bao Zhiming 1998 pp. 152-174" /><ref name="low2014">Template:Cite book</ref>

Next–text split

For nearly all speakers, the words next and text do not rhyme due to a vowel split affecting the Template:Sc2 lexical set. The word next is realised with the raised vowelTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink, which is distinguished from the low-mid vowelTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink in text.<ref name="deterding1" /> The raised vowelTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink 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 Template:Sc2, in which case dead rhymes with made, but not with fed. Taking this into account, speakers with the complete met–mat merger will distinguish lagTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink from legTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink, but not the words lad Template:IPAblink and led Template:IPAblink. The raised vowel can also occur in red, making redTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink and readTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink (as in I have read the book) non-homophones.<ref name="deterdingbook" /><ref name=nwavconference /><ref name="emergent-patterns" />

Speakers use the raised vowel Template:IPAblink in bed, dead, edge, egg, head, heavy, instead, leg, next, red, said and says,<ref name=nwavconference>Template:Cite conference</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 vowelTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink.<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 Template:IPA and Template:IPA, this split is not phonologically conditioned, unlike Template:IPA raising in Pacific Northwest English.<ref name=eaemerger />

Central and back vowels

• Template:Sc2: The Template:Sc2 vowel Template:IPA is a mid central vowel, Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink.<ref name="sea1" />
• Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2: Usually, the vowels in luck and lark overlap are both open centralTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink. Speakers may maintain a length distinction, in which case the latter vowel is longer, though this is less likely in syllables closed by voiceless stop consonants like p, t and k.<ref name="educatedsge">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="tan2010" /> Like all free vowels, the Template:Sc2/Template:Sc2 vowel is generally longerTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink in open syllables.<ref name="Bao Zhiming 1998 pp. 152-174" />
• Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2: The Template:Sc2 vowel is generally quite high and back in Singapore English.<ref name="educatedsge" /> Like Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2, acoustic measurements show that there is significant overlap between the Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2 vowels, raising the possibility of a [[Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels#FOOT–GOOSE_merger|Template:Sc2–Template:Sc2 merger]].<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="lin2021" /><ref>Template:Cite conference</ref> Template:Harvcoltxt demonstrate that the Template:Sc2 vowel is generally short and that the Template:Sc2 vowel is associated with a longer average duration. While previous studies have categorised Template:IPAc-en as a back vowel Template:IPAblink in Singapore English, more recent ones suggest that [[Fronting (sound change)#Vowel shifts|Template:Sc2-fronting]] is now prevalent among younger speakers, and that it is more accurate to classify this variant of Template:IPAc-en as a near-back Template:IPAblink or centralised Template:IPAblink vowel.<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="tan2010" /><ref name="lin2021">Template:Cite thesis</ref>
• Template:Sc2: Like the Template:Sc2 vowel, the vowel in Template:Sc2 has limited diphthongal movement over time for most speakers, so it is sometimes described as a monophthong Template:IPAblink or Template:IPAblink.<ref name="deterding-measurements" /><ref name="educatedsge" /> Template:Harvcoltxt concludes that, though they may be classified as such, the Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2 vowels are not completely monophthongal, with all of the speakers in the study exhibiting some diphthongal movement in the articulation of these vowels.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2: The Template:Sc2 vowel is a rounded, low back vowel Template:IPAblink. The vowel in Template:Sc2/Template:Sc2 may be longer and closer to cardinal Template:IPAblink and this tendency is stronger before voiced consonants and in open syllables — acoustic studies by Template:Harvcoltxt show that speakers produce an allophone of the Template:Sc2 vowel that is higher and further back in words not closed by final consonants, like more and saw. The Template:Sc2 vowel is otherwise the same as the Template:Sc2 vowel for many speakers, resulting in identical pronunciations for cot and caught Template:IPAblink,<ref name="deterding1" /><ref name="tan2010" /> though newer studies suggest that there are older speakers who still maintain this distinction.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Vowel in last, half, etc.

For the vast majority of speakers, the words grass, last and path are pronounced with the Template:Sc2 vowel Template:IPAc-en Template:IPAblink—the a in father—like most dialects from the south of England.<ref name="deterding1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=starr2019>Template:Cite journal</ref> Unlike some varieties of North American English, auntTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPA and antTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPA do not sound the same in Singapore English. While speakers will generally use the Template:Sc2 vowelTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink in the words laugh, ask, half, example and even some words that normally have Template:IPA in Southern English dialects, like plastic and elastic, many speakers will use the Template:Sc2 vowelTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPATemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink in gasp.<ref name=tanyy2016 /><ref name=starr2019 /> Usage of the Template:Sc2 vowelTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPA in dance and can’t has also been reported, but this is generally rare.<ref name=tanyy2016 /><ref name=starr2019 />

Diphthongs

There are five diphthongs in Singapore English: Template:IPA, not counting Template:Sc2, Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2. The diphthongs in Template:Sc2, Template:Sc2 and Template:Sc2 do not differ significantly from their counterparts in Received Pronunciation.<ref name="low2014" /> Words with triphthongs in other dialects, like fire and towel, are normally broken down into two syllables.<ref name=triphthongs>Template:Cite book</ref>

The vowel in Template:Sc2 is always a centering diphthong: Template:IPA, Template:IPA or Template:IPA.<ref name="educatedsge" /><ref name="sea1">Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Harvcoltxt notes that, while words like tour and sure are always pronounced with the diphthong Template:IPA or Template:IPA, many speakers will use the Template:Sc2 vowel after Template:IPAc-en, like in cure and endure Template:IPA,<ref name="emergent-patterns">Template:Cite journal</ref> if not Template:IPA or Template:IPA.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Consonants

Fricatives and stop consonants

• Pronunciation of ⟨th⟩: Th-stopping is common at the start of syllables, making tree and three homophones. This is generally more common in informal settings.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Dental fricatives may undergo th-fronting at the end of words, so teeth sounds like teef,<ref name="deterdingbook" /><ref name="sea1" /> though many speakers will use a Template:IPA sound in the word maths Template:IPA.<ref name="deterdingbook" /> For some Tamil bilinguals, word-final th sounds are alternatively realised as stops.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

• Intervocalic t and d: Speakers with more innovative accents may realise intervocalic t and d (e.g., in little and medal) as 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 Template:IPA and Template:IPA in these environments.<ref name=tanyy2016 />

• Stop consonants: Stop consonants in Singapore English are usually not released at the end of words, and voiceless stops can be 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 Template:IPA, as in Malay.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Liquid consonants

• Pronunciation of final "l": There are three prevalent variants of final "l" in Singapore English: dark "l"s, clear "l"s and vocalised "l"s.<ref name=hong2023>Template:Cite journal</ref> For speakers who vocalise their "l"s, the "l" sound can be dropped entirely after back vowels, diphthongs with back vowels, and sometimes mid central vowels, so that mole sounds like mowTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPA, and small like smawTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPA. The diphthong Template:IPAc-en is also monophthongised into Template:IPAblink before a vocalised "l", so Nile and now are similar-sounding.<ref name="vocalisation">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=wee08>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="heggarty2013">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=lim2004>Template:Cite book</ref> Vocalised "l"s are realised as high back vowels Template:IPAblink with varying degrees of 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 Template:IPAblink. The alveolar tap Template:IPAblink or trill Template:IPAblink 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>Template:Cite journal</ref> A rare and emergent variant of r, described as a labiodental approximantTemplate:NbspTemplate:IPAblink, has also been reported. Across English dialects, this phenomenon is known as R-labialisation.<ref name="rvariation" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Final consonant cluster reduction

Final consonant clusters, like Template:IPA, are often simplified in conversational Singapore English, in which case list Template:IPA drops its final t, flask Template:IPA its final k, and world Template:IPA its final d, though speakers are seldom consistent in doing so.<ref name="deterdingbook" /> Other examples include:

Template:IPA → Template:IPA: environment Template:IPA, end Template:IPA

Template:IPA → Template:IPA: act Template:IPA, Template:IPA → Template:IPA: next Template:IPA

Template:IPA → Template:IPA: lift Template:IPA, Template:IPA → Template:IPA: lifts Template:IPA

Combinations of two consonants with an s as the second component, like the Template:IPA in rats and Template:IPA in tags, and many other final consonant clusters do not usually undergo simplification.<ref>Template:Cite journal</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 like in some North American dialects, there are several exceptions.<ref name="deterdingbook" /><ref name="heggarty2013" />

• The words want and what are pronounced with the open central Template:Sc2 vowel instead of the rounded Template:Sc2 vowel, like most varieties of North American English. In the English spoken in Southern England and Australia, these words are usually pronounced with the Template:Sc2 vowel.<ref name="emergent-patterns" />
• Many speakers use the Template:Sc2 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 Template:IPA in informal or conversational speech, making it distinct from there Template:IPA, which rhymes with mare.

• Flour is pronounced Template:Respell, and is clearly distinct from flower.<ref name=triphthongs />
• Seems and seen are sometimes realised with the lax i vowel found in words like Template:Sc2.<ref name="deterdingbook">Template:Cite book</ref>
• The vowel in love is the mid central Template:Sc2 vowel, rather than the open Template:Sc2 vowel.<ref name="deterdingbook" />
• December is sometimes DeTemplate:IPAember, with a Template:IPAc-en, at least for some speakers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Twelve is sometimes realised with an initial ch Template:IPAc-en sound.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Stress and intonation

Stress-tone relationship in SgE according to Ng (2011)<ref name=ngintonation>Template:Cite book</ref>

Single phonological word		Multiple phonological words
example	pitch contour	example	pitch contour
rat	HTemplate:NoteTag	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>Template:Cite journal</ref>	M–H–M–H
minimum	M–M–H	anticlockwise	M–H–H–H

File:SgE-Intonation.svg

Pitch contour of a declarative sentence in Singapore English, from Chong (2012). Here, aL and Ha mark the left and right edges of an accentual phrase, and L* is a 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 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. again) carry relatively lower pitch. Meanwhile, all other non-final stressed syllables (e.g. writer) 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|Template:IPA]], 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|Template:IPA]], since cran and berry are analysed as separate words. Similarly, in brainstorm [[Tone letter|Template:IPA]], brain and storm are both assigned high pitch.<ref name=wee08 /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Prefixes with stress constitute their own phonological words, so the re in reenact [[Tone letter|Template:IPA]] is high-pitched. In words where the prefix is unstressed or less salient, like unfortunate [[Tone letter|Template:IPA]] and nonsense [[Tone letter|Template:IPA]], 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 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>Template:Cite journal</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>Template:Cite conference</ref>

Wider pitch range is associated with the introduction of a topic near the start of a sentence.<ref name=deterdingintonation>Template:Cite journal</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 open-ended questions, "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 syllable timing, unlike British English, which is considered stress-timed.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Foreign dialects of English in Singapore

A wide range of foreign English dialects can be heard in Singapore. American and British accents are often heard on local television and radio due to the frequent airing of foreign television programmes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Singapore Colloquial English / Singlish

Unlike Singapore Standard English, Singlish includes many discourse particles and loan words from Malay, Mandarin and Hokkien. Many of such loan words include swear words, particularly Hokkien profanities such as "kanina" and "chee bai".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Hence, it is commonly regarded with low prestige in the country and not used in formal communication.<ref name="bunkyo.ac.jp"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

However, Singlish has been used in several locally produced films, including Army Daze,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Mee Pok Man<ref>[1] Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and Talking Cock the Movie,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> among others. Some local sitcoms, in particular Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> also feature extensive use of Singlish.

The proliferation of Singlish has been controversial and the use of Singlish is not endorsed by the government. Singapore's first two prime ministers, Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong, have publicly declared<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> that Singlish is a substandard variety that handicaps Singaporeans, presents an obstacle to learning standard English, and renders the speaker incomprehensible to everyone except another Singlish speaker. The country's third, Lee Hsien Loong, has also said that Singlish should not be part of Singapore's identity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, the government launched the Speak Good English Movement in 2000 to encourage Singaporeans to speak proper English.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Despite strong criticisms of Singlish, linguist David Yoong has put forward the argument that "Singaporeans who subscribe to Singlish and have a positive attitude towards the code see Singlish as a language that transcends social barriers" and that the language can be used to "forge rapport and, perhaps more importantly, the Singaporean identity".<ref name="latrobe.edu.au">[2] Template:Webarchive</ref> Sociolinguist Anthea Fraser Gupta also argues that Singlish and standard English can and do co-exist, saying that "there is no evidence that the presence of Singlish causes damage to standard English". This was followed by organisers of the Speak Good English Movement clarifying that they are "not anti-Singlish", with their primary intention instead to ensure that Singaporeans are able to speak standard English first. A spokesperson was quoted as saying: "The presence of Singlish causes damage to standard English only when people do not have a good grounding in standard English".<ref>Anthea Fraser Gupta, "Singapore Colloquial English and Standard English", Singapore Journal of Education 10/2 (1989): 33–39. Online at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02188798908547659 and https://doi.org/10.1080/02188798908547659</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

English language trends in Singapore

In 2010, speakers of English in Singapore were classified into five different groups:

1. Those who have no knowledge of English (extremely few people, most of whom were born before the 1940s);
2. Those who regard English as a foreign language, have limited command of, and seldom speak the language (mostly the older age groups);
3. Those who learnt English at school and can use it but have a dominant other language (many people, of all ages);
4. Those who learnt English at school and use it as their dominant language (many people, of all ages);
5. Those who learnt English as a native language (sometimes as a sole native language, but usually alongside other languages) and use it as their dominant language (many people, mostly children born after 1965 to highly educated parents).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Template:As of, English is the most commonly spoken language in Singaporean homes. One effect of mass immigration into Singapore since 2000, especially from China, has been an increase in the proportion of the population to whom English is a foreign language. The most recent trend in Singapore favours an increasing use of English as well as stability in the use of Mandarin at the expense of other varieties of Chinese (apparently as the Chinese population switches first to Mandarin, then to English) while the use of Malay slowly erodes.

Language most frequently spoken at home (%)<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite book</ref>

Language	1990	2000	2010	2015	2020<ref>General Household Survey 2015 Template:Webarchive p. 18</ref>
English	18.8	23.0	32.3	36.9	48.3
Mandarin	23.7	35.0	35.6	34.9	29.9
Chinese dialects	?	23.8	14.3	12.2	8.7
Malay	14.3	14.1	12.2	10.7	9.2
Tamil	2.9	3.2	3.3	3.3	2.5
Others	?	0.9	2.3	2.0	1.4

In 2010, 52% of Chinese children and 26% of Malay children aged between 5 and 14 speak English at home, as compared to 36% and 9.4% respectively in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

Other official languages in Singapore

English is Singapore's main and one of the four official languages, along with Malay, Chinese and Tamil.<ref name="Constitution of Singapore">153A Official languages and national language, Part XIII General Provisions, Constitution of the Republic of Singapore.</ref> The symbolic national language is Malay for historical reasons.<ref name="Constitution of Singapore" /> All official signs, legislation and documents are required to be in English, although translations in the other official languages are sometimes included, though it is not necessary. Under the education system, English is the language of instruction for all subjects except the official Mother Tongue languages (the other three official languages) and the literatures of those languages.

See also

• Commonwealth English

Further reading

• Template:Cite journal