Colloquial Singapore English

and
Contact Linguistics

EL1101E/GEK1011
The Nature of Language
Week 11, Tutorial 9
Question 1
CONTACT LINGUISTICS AND
SINGAPORE ENGLISH
A pidgin is a simplified form of speech which arises to fulfil certain
restricted communication needs among people who have no
common language.

Example: Chinese Pidgin English

Example: Chinese Pidgin English (CPE)

• English: Can you do it?

• Mandarin: 可以不可以 ?
• CPE: Can do, no can do?
A creole arises when a pidgin becomes the mother tongue of a
speech community, the next generation grow up speaking this
language as their first language.

Example: Jamaican Creole aka Patois

 Singapore English is a ‘creoloid’ because
1. It has similar structural variables to post-creoles based on the same ‘standard’
language.

2. Did not develop from a pidgin but by some other process.

3. It developed from the transference of features into the ‘standard’ language

from the languages of several (sometimes unrelated) ethnic groups.

4. The superordinate language is usually only one of the official languages.

5. It is usually also used as lingua franca in inter-ethnic group communication

within the speech community where it is one of the sub-varieties.

(Platt, 1975)
• Part 2B)

African Pidgin/Carribean
Singapore English
Creole

Colonial ruling meets multilingual

Slave History (different languages)
people

Need for common language among English-medium Straits Settlement

workers and between slave-masters schools

Sole means of expression Separate Mother Tongue still spoken

Question 2
NP ELLIPSIS AND
SUBSTRATIST EXPLANATION
What is noun phrase ellipsis?

It refers to subject, object and possessor

omission in Colloquial Singapore English.
 Subject Omission
Standard English:
After one gets sick, one cannot help it.

Colloquial Singapore English:

After Ø get some sickness, Ø can’t help it.

The subject “one” is ommited

 Object Omission
Standard English:
‘I have never tried it before.’

Colloquial Singapore English:

I never try Ø before lah.

The object ‘it’ is ommited.

 Possessor omission
Standard English:
‘My head is painful.’

Colloquial Singapore English:

Ø Head very pain.

The possessor ‘my’ is ommited

 So where did noun phrase ellipsis in
Colloquial Singapore English originate from?
 Subject Omission
Standard English:
How do I get to Malacca Train Station?

Hokkien:
Ba la ka cia tau bhe an zua ki
Malacca station will how go

The subject ‘I’ is ommited

 Subject Omission
Standard English:
I remember, when I was still small, I often went fishing.

Malay:
Ingat-ingat, waktu masih kecil, sering pergi memancing
remember when still small often go fishing  

The subject ‘I’ is omitted

 Object Omission
Standard English:
I have never tried it before

Chinese:
Wo mei shi guo
I never try before

The object ‘it’ is omitted

 Object Omission
Standard English:
I have never tried it before

Malay:
tidak pernah cuba sebelum ini
Never tried before

The object ‘it’ is omitted

 Possessor Omission
Standard English:
My head is painful

Mandarin:
tou hen tong
Head very painful

The possessor ‘my’ is omitted

 Possessor Omission
Standard English:
My head is painful

Cantonese:
Tao ho tong wor
Head very pain

The possessor “my” is omitted

In our examples, we see that noun phrase ellipsis can be found in

Malay
Mandarin
Hokkien
Cantonese

Noun phrase ellipsis in CSE does come from both Malay and varieties of
Chinese such as Mandarin, Hokkien and Cantonese.
Question 3

PRAGMATICS OF SENTENCE-FINAL PARTICLES

Example 1 - LAH
Yes, I love
you!
Do you love me?

Do you REALLY I REALLY

love me? love you
LAH!

Function:
• Aggressive statement of emotion
Example 1 - LEH
Yes, I love
you!
Do you love me?

Do you REALLY I REALLY

love me? love you
LEH!

Function:
• Makes the sentence sounds softer than the previous
Example 1 - LOR
Yes, I love
you!
Do you love me?

Do you REALLY I tell you how

love me? many times
already! I REALLY
love you LOR!

Function:
• Resigned expression of a feuding spouse which has no choice
Example 2(a) - LAH
Can help me do this
survey? You’ll stand to
win attractive prizes!

Huh? Are you

sure can win?

Really! There’s
something here for
everyone LAH.

Function:
• Appeal for accommodation.
• Persuade you to help to do the survey.
Example 2(a) - LAH
OI! Can help me with
this question?

What LAH!

Function:
• Mood marker (annoyance)
• The mood or attitude being conveyed will depend on specific
contextual factors.
Example 2(a) - LAH
Maybe not, I have a lot
of assignments due this
We’re going to week.
catch a movie. Do
you want to join
us?
Just come with
us LAH!

Function:
• Soften the force of an utterance
• “Come with us”  A request
• “Come with us LAH”  makes it more polite and persuasive
Example 2(b) - WHAT
No car parks here,
WHAT. You stupid
ah? Why you don’t
just park here?

Function:
• Indicate obviousness that the person asking the question
did not think twice about it.
• Marks contradiction - A thinks that B can park here but B
replies that he can’t cause there are no other cars around.
Example 2(b) - WHAT
But she can cook Mabel’s cooking
WHAT. Her fried very lousy leh!
rice very tasty!

Function:
• Marks contradiction – Edelia and Gabrielle has different
thoughts about the standard of Mabel’s cooking.
Example 2(c) - HOR
This shopping Yeah, super big and
centre very nice a lot of shops! I like
HOR. it too!

Function:
• Attempt to garner support for a proposition
Example 2(c) - HOR
That guy is always trying to
take advantage of others.
Never do his part for the
(no response)
group project.

Yeah lor!!

HOR?

Function:
• Attempt to garner support for a proposition
Example 2(c) - HOR
The use of HOR requires that the speaker assert a proposition.
Hence, HOR is only found with questions which have a
declarative form.
I bought a prada
wallet yesterday at You very rich
the shopping centre! hor?
Example 2(d) - MEH
Which book should I Confirm? You don’t
buy? A or B ah? I think like that one (book A)
I’m going to get book B. MEH?

Function:
• Indicate skepticism/surprise
• Mabel thought that Gabrielle will choose book A instead of
book B.
 
Example 2(d) - MEH
Mabel! You can bake Yeah! You didn’t know
ah! Why you never tell MEH?
me!

Function:
• Indicates surprise 
Question 4

OWNSELF IN CSE = 自己’ ZIJI’ IN CHINESE?

自己
(ZIJI)

Chinese dialects

SINGLISH
Vernacular Malay
OWNSELF
Ownself is likely to have derived
from ziji
Both exclude involvement of others
Semantically, ziji can express a
contrast between the ‘self’ in question
and others who could be involved

Zhe shi wo ziji zuo de!

This is I ownself do one!
{as opposed to having other people involved}
In imperatives, both do not require the
subject (NP) to precede it

Example 1
(You) Ownself open the door lah!
Example 2
(Ni) ziji chi fan!
  (You) eat rice by yourself!

Take note
You can’t do this in English!
You yourself open the door!
*Yourself open the door!
Ownself is may not have derived
from ziji
 Ziji—regular reflexive
Ziji can function like a regular reflexive
(Used to refer back to the subject/object of the sentence)
BUT ownself cannot function as a regular reflexive
Example 4
Lisi is blaming himself.
Lisi zai zebei (ta) ziji
Example 3
He cut himself.
*He cut ownself.
 Overall
Seems like they can replace each other
Even though ziji is in fact a Chinese expression
Based on example 1
Why you keep asking me!
You ziji go open door lah!

Why you keep asking me!

You ownself go open door lah!
 Conclusion
Ownself is likely to have developed on the
basis of the form and functions of the
Chinese expression 自己 ‘ self’

Although the functions of ziji seems to be

wider
THANK YOU! 
 References
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