What is Vernacular?
Vernacular can be classified as the type of English spoken by the people in a particular region or community. It is typically used in informal or everyday communication and may differ significantly from the standardised language of a country or region. They are often passed down through generations and are an integral part of a community’s identity and cultural heritage.
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In Singapore, for example, our linguistic landscape is variegated. Mandarin, Malay and Tamil are the official languages spoken by the locals. This multicultural landscape led to the formation of our vernacular, Singlish.
Singlish in Our Daily Lives
English was officialised as the lingua franca of Singapore such that Singaporeans of different races could communicate with one another. With multilingual users of English, there were Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and Hokkien influences that resulted in Singlish.
This colloquial form of English, like other vernaculars, is not given importance as it is seen as a ‘marked’ form. Vernacular languages are usually seen as a deviation from the standard form which is a prescriptive view of language. However, vernacular forms continue to be used because of the many strengths it has. This is a big reason why Singlish is still widely used on a daily basis. Let’s take a look at why Singlish is not a deficit but merely a different form of English.
Singlish: A Deficit or Difference?
The local government made efforts to discourage the use of Singlish in the 80’s and 90’s. Singapore was a young, growing country then. Understandably, it had to fit the image of being internationally marketable. By speaking Standard English, Singapore would appear appealing to superpower nations such as the US and UK. However, in pursuing economic growth, the benefits of using Singlish in communication were not touched upon. The use of Singlish was disenfranchised in favour of Standard English.
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Recently, Singapore has adopted an endocentric approach that recognises Singlish as a cultural marker. Instead of looking outwards to set what should be the standard for English, Singapore now creates its own standards. This is different from the earlier perspective on Singlish. Though countries like the UK and US still contribute to what the standards should look like, Singaporeans are more willing to embrace endonormative standards of English. Here are the reasons why Singlish is relevant in our daily lives and many Singaporeans still embrace it:
- Breaking Barriers – Singapore is a multi-racial country with Indian and Chinese immigrants joining the Malays in the early days. With multiple languages and dialects being spoken, English had to be made the lingua franca. This allowed the different ethnic groups to communicate.
However, they also incorporated linguistic elements from their mother tongues to the English, which led to the formation of Singlish. Using words from other languages while speaking English creates an inclusive environment where Singaporeans of various races are able to connect. We get a better cultural understanding by being exposed to languages of other ethnicities.
- Casualness – Whereas Standard English is used in formal situations, Singlish is used in informal, conversational settings. The casualness of Singlish builds camaraderie between different socio-economic groups.
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For example, using Standard English will not sit well with the kopitiam staff when ordering food. Using the lingo ‘kopi o kosong’ or ‘kopi siew dai’ gets the message across to the drink stall staff more succinctly. From speaking to our colleagues in our workplaces to other scenarios, Singlish is widely used. Despite the socio-economic groups, when interacting with different Singaporeans in our daily lives, Singlish helps us to connect.
Creative expressions – Using Singlish enhances the meaning of various expressions that English cannot capture. There are numerous unique phrases and idioms that Singlish offers in place of Standard English ones.
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For example, ‘Goondu’ which has Tamil origins is used widely by Singaporeans to refer to someone who is clueless and clumsy. ‘Yaya papaya’, derived from the Malay language, refers to a haughty individual. The renowned term ‘Kiasu’, which has Hokkien origins, points to a competitive person. Also, if you’ve noticed, the title for this article is inspired by the famous Singlish meme, ‘how can dis be allow’.
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Utilising these linguistic elements can add creativity, richness and flavour to communication. It allows for a more diverse range of expressions and helps create a sense of belonging and identity within our community.
Pluricentricity
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Singlish is an example of how the English language evolves over time, showing that languages are not a product but a social process. It evolves while adapting to take on the changing needs of the community.
This is why most Singaporeans are able to code-switch between Standard English and Singlish. This ability to code-switch also reflects the pluricentric approach to English in Singapore where the importance is given to both the colloquial and the standard form. However, students can struggle without having a clear distinction between the two forms.
Singlish in School
The usage of Singlish is also found within the school environment to suit the needs of students. Classroom talk, where Singlish is used, builds rapport between students. However, since English is our first language, one should not get used to Singlish taking its place. After all, it is beneficial for universal communication, facilitating international business, diplomacy, travelling and of course to get through Singapore’s education system! As such, Standard English will always remain relevant and every Singaporean should know Standard English.
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The formative years in school lays down the foundation of the English language. This is where they acquire the rules of grammar, syntax and phonetics. If that foundation is not strong, students are likely to mix up the syntax and grammar, which will become an issue.
Here are ways which students can build their grammar in Standard English.
If you are a parent or educator, you can go through grammar points, such as verb tenses, sentence structures, punctuation and subject-verb agreement with them. In specific, these are grammar patterns and rules that challenge the Singlish structure. Practising these allows students to understand the underlying principles of Standard English and how to use them in different contexts.
Improving Grammar Habits
Here are some exercises to strengthen the overall grammatical awareness of students:
Verb Tenses:
- Study the different verb tenses in English, including present, past, future and their variations (e.g. present continuous, past perfect).
- Go through the appropriate usage of each tense, such as using the present tense for general truths, the past tense for completed actions, and the future tense for upcoming events.
- Practise forming sentences using various verb tenses to reinforce your understanding.
- Pay attention to irregular verbs and their conjugations. Regular practice and exposure to verbs in context will help you internalise their correct usage.
Sentence Structures:
- Familiarise students with the basic sentence structure in English: subject + verb + object (SVOCA). Understand how to expand sentences with modifiers, clauses and phrases.
- Learn about different sentence types, such as declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences and their corresponding structures.
- Practise constructing sentences with a variety of structures to enhance your sentence-building skills. You can also encourage students to work backwards for them to understand how they arrive at the structure.
- Study and use transitional words and phrases to connect ideas and improve sentence fluency.
Punctuation:
- When conversing in Singlish, punctuation is often forgotten and set aside. Hence, it is good for students to master the use of punctuation marks, including periods, commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes, quotation marks and question marks.
- Understand the rules for punctuating different sentence structures, such as using commas for appositives or introductory phrases, semicolons to separate closely related independent clauses, and periods to end declarative sentences.
- Study specific punctuation rules, such as using apostrophes for contractions and possessives, and quotation marks for direct speech or dialogue.
Subject-Verb Agreement:
- Understand the concept of subject-verb agreement, which states that a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb.
- Pay attention to the number (singular or plural) of the subject and ensure that the verb agrees with it.
- Watch out for tricky cases, such as collective nouns, indefinite pronouns and subjects separated from the verb by phrases or clauses.
- Practise constructing sentences that demonstrate correct subject-verb agreement to reinforce the rules.
Conclusion
Overall, we have seen how the different structures of the local variety do not make it wrong. At the same time, we also highlighted the importance of being proficient in Standard English and ways that educators and parents can train their students. SAP’s Grammar series are dependable resources to hand out to your children and/or students to enrich their linguistic skills. These books are aligned with the MOE curriculum and also incorporate additional up and coming educational methods.
The ‘Learning+ English Grammar Workbook’ series is specially designed to teach primary school students the correct use of grammar in the English language. The assessment book contains strategic checkpoints for students to check their mastery of the grammar items. It is also equipped with adaptive learning with Analytics Intelligence to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses, and helps recommend worksheets to overcome areas that students are weak in.
The Conquer English series has multiple versions that focus on different aspects. There is the grammar series and also the vocabulary, synthesis and transformation ones. The series provides notes and examples for efficient learning in primary school students.
For secondary school students, the Strengthen English series is a useful resource for students seeking to train themselves in various components. This series introduces essential topics in grammar and vocabulary, their comprehension, writing and speaking skills.
As mentioned above, Singaporean students may be familiar with Singlish buzzwords and idioms. However, to equip them with the knowledge on Standard English, exposing students to ‘Strengthen English Idioms For Secondary Levels’ and ‘Phrasal Verbs’ series will improve their comprehension and writing skills.
We hope that you, as an educator/parent, will find these resources useful in strengthening the Standard English abilities of your child/student!
