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How helpful did you find this?

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5 Common Pronunciation Mistakes Chinese Speakers Make

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Consider the speaking styles of Jack Ma Yun, Ronny Chang, Emma Radanacu, Cindy Wu, Eileen Gu, Dr Grace and all the other Chinese speakers of English who have featured so far, and any others you wish to consider.  What elements of their delivery do you aspire to and wish to emulate?  In which elements do you perceive any commonality?  Does analyzing their speech help you to improve your own in any way?  Does it make you feel more confident in your own achievements?

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Consider the speaking styles of Jack Ma Yun, Ronny Chang, Emma Radanacu, Cindy Wu, Eileen Gu, all the other Chinese speakers of English who have featured so far, and any others you wish to consider. What elements of their delivery do you aspire to and wish to emulate? In which elements do you perceive any commonality? Does analyzing their speech help you to improve your own in any way? Does it make you feel more confident in your own achievements?

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It's good to listen to as wide a range as possible of spoken English, as often as possible.  Nowadays there is a massive selection available online, in podcasts, in film, or on tv or radio.  Below are some examples to dip into.  Thanks for adding your own.

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Please add your own choices to this section

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Please add your own choices to this section

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The aim is to gain constant exposure to as wide a range of genres and varieties of expression as possible. Also to consider your own goals or models of speech you aspire to.

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Ronny Chieng On Why We Need an Asian President

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Which of these, in your opinion, is most important in achieving the accent you aspire to?  Please rank (1-12) in order of importance:
Active communication
Accent reduction videos
Self awareness
Drills
Muscle Memory
Exposure (to target accent)
Minimal pairs practice
Pronunciation software
Necessity
L1 interference - specific practice (see/review the two videos now posted downscroll)
Phonetic symbols
Feeling socially at ease

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TASK

Whilst out and about in London tomorrow, or on your family trip to Norwich, listen out for examples of ways that English people around you use icebreakers.  Make a list, mental or written, for discussion in the next session.

You might want to try out a few of your own, or from the examples your have heard. Below are some ideas to help you along the way. As I said, I think a smile and an engaging demeanour goes a very long way... Also, having a cute little boy along with you is sometimes the only icebreaker you will need...

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As discussed, it's quite important to have at least a passing knowledge of what is going on in the world in order to be able to strike up conversations in the workplace or elsewhere.  Discussing British politics, or any politics, can be a minefield.  Nonetheless, some kind of awareness can help to keep you 'in the loop'.  In the next session, we will consider how the kind of news stories that are thrown out by the media can best be handled...

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Douglas Murray on partygate & France's miserable choice – The Week in 60 Minutes | SpectatorTV

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Trying to introduce yourself to a new person can be intimidating. If you don't know anything about them, how will you know what to say? How can you start an interesting conversation with a total stranger? Here are five English icebreakers to help thaw the icy-cold awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time.

Introduce yourself

This is the most obvious way to start a conversation. It takes confidence, though. Make your introduction more memorable by offering some information about yourself rather than just giving your name. For example, you could explain how you know the person organising the event or why you are at the event. This will give the other person a chance to either ask you a question or offer some information about themselves.

Comment on the surroundings

If you are talking to someone face-to-face, the surroundings are something you both share. Comment on the food or the venue and you know it's a topic the other person will able to talk about, too - you're in the same place together, after all!

Find something in common

Even if you think you don't know anything about this new person, you actually do - you know they're in the same room as you. You can ask "What brings you here?" to find out why someone is at the event or "How do you know the host?" to find out how you know a common friend.

Give a compliment

Everyone likes to hear nice things said about them. Comments on clothes or accessories are a safe way to start a conversation. For example, you could say "Those shoes look great!" and follow up with "Where did you get them?" Questions like this are good because they invite the person to tell you more about themselves. Make sure not to make comments about a person's body in English, though. It's a sensitive topic and likely to offend people.

Ask a question

Almost all people have jobs, so why not ask the person, "So what do you do for a living?" Or "Where are you from originally?" meaning you want to know where they were born. Again, questions make any first-time conversation easier. If the person is polite, they will ask you the question in return, which will give you a chance to talk about yourself. Asking questions is a great way to find a topic you are both interested in talking about.

So, those are our top five ways to start a conversation in English. Try using them next time you find it tricky to start a conversation. Who knows? You might even make some new friends.

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Best icebreakers to start a conversation in English!

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Trying to introduce yourself to a new person can be intimidating. If you don't know anything about them, how will you know what to say? How can you start an interesting conversation with a total stranger? Here are five English icebreakers to help thaw the icy-cold awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time.

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She was born and raised in Nanjing, China, until the age of 10. Cindy read Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at the University of Oxford, where she also read for a Master of Science in contemporary Chinese studies. Her research focused on Chinese political propaganda and modern youth opinion.

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Top 10 Ice-Breakers To Start A Conversation | Don’t Be Nervous | Speak Confidently With Strangers

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How would you handle potentially controversial issues when brought up in your work environment?

Have a browse through the following recent examples.

Can you think of any more extreme examples of issues which might be awkward to discuss with your colleagues?  Please post any examples

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Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak among more than 50 fined over Downing Street partygate scandal

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Prince William and Kate Middleton declined the invitation to Brooklyn Beckham's wedding. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not even invited to the ceremony in Florida

David Beckham's eldest son Brooklyn is getting married tonight - without his dad's royal pals.

Becks and Posh had invited Kate and William to the star-studded £3 million wedding in Florida.

But the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - whose guests at THEIR wedding in 2011 included the Beckhams - declined the request.

Meanwhile Prince Harry and Meghan, who also had David and Victoria as wedding guests in 2018, were not even invited to Brooklyn's bash to see him get hitched to billionaire heiress Nicola Peltz, 27.

The Beckhams were reported to have agonised over which royal couple to choose because of the alleged rift between William and Harry, who now lives in California with actress Meghan.

In the end they plumped for William and Kate because of their long history of friendship.

A source close to the Beckhams said: "David and Victoria wrote to William and Kate inviting them and the family to their son's wedding, and William replied wishing them a great deal of joy but they are unable to attend."

The source claimed Prince William and Kate was always the Beckhams' choice, as opposed to rumoured guests Harry and Meghan, but cited security as one of the factors in the Cambridges not attending. "David's attachment and history go back with William and Kate and they have a very strong relationship and they were their choice of wedding guests," said our source.

"It was always about them, it was never about Meghan and Harry.

"They are the people David and Victoria are attached to and it's always been about them because they've had a long history together."

But there will be plenty of other celebrity guests to soften the royal snub when chef Brooklyn, 23, tie the knot with Transformers actress Nicola at her parents' stunning ocean-front £76million estate in Palm Beach.

Soccer legend David, 46, will be master of ceremonies while brothers Romeo, 19, and Cruz, 17, are joint best men and little sister Harper, 10, is among the bridesmaids.

Guests include TV chef Gordon Ramsay, Spice Girls Mel B and Emma Bunton, tennis ace Serena Williams and Victoria Beckham's close friend, Eva Longoria.

Other big names include model Gigi Hadid, US reality star Nicole Ritchie, Madonna's son Rocco Ritchie, American footballer Tom Brady and his supermodel wife Gisele Bündchen - as well as David's football pals Dave Gardner, Gary Neville and his brother Phil.

Nicola is set to wear three separate bridal dresses, including a £100,000 Valentino gown she chose during a special trip to Rome, for the Jewish ceremony while Brooklyn wore a suit and skullcap.

He arrived at the venue wearing a white tracksuit while riding a golf cart with the couple's pet dog.

A source tonight told the Sunday People : "The ceremony was stunning. It was no expense spared, every luxury was catered for.

"There are also hundreds if not thousands of candles placed around the estate to light it up into the night."

US rapper Snoop Dogg performed a DJ set and Marc Anthony - ex-husband of film star Jennifer will serenade the couple during performances inside one of three huge marquees.

The big tents include a dance floor, a stage, a drum kit and a white grand piano set up inside the property's sprawling gardens.

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William and Kate turn down Brooklyn Beckham wedding and Harry and Meghan snubbed

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Prince William and Kate Middleton declined the invitation to Brooklyn Beckham's wedding. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not even invited to the ceremony in Florida David Beckham's eldest son Brooklyn is getting married tonight - without his dad's royal pals. Becks and Posh had invited Kate and William to the star-studded £3 million wedding in Florida.

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What's your view on the present discussions re Rishi Sunak's wife's wealth and non dom status in the UK - as wife of the chancellor and potential successor to the PM?

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Rishi Sunak's wife Akshata Murty to pay UK tax on overseas earnings | ITV News

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Have a browse and see if they bring up any issues which are meaningful to you. What kind of cultural issues are involved?

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Conversation Skills & Techniques - Get The Friends You Want

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Are your conversation skills at the level you want them to be? Do you know how to carry conversations with new people, existing friends, and acquaintances? Learn and master conversation skills and techniques so you can meet the right people, stay in touch, make friends, and build the social life you want.

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7 Tips for Non-Awkward Socializing With Your Co-workers

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After all, you don’t want to be “that guy” at the office happy hour (you know who we’re talking about).

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Socialising with work colleagues | The Psychologist

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How would you describe your team members at work?

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Can you come up with a graphic to show the balance of conversation topics amongst your colleagues and post above?

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Any comments?

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Russia Ukraine Crisis  - China Increases Fuel Production to Buffer Global Energy Crisis

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Higher level exposure through listening to academic talks

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Higher level exposure through listening to academic talks

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For your vocal delivery to reflect your educational background and language skills, you should be exposing yourself to a wide range of more elevated content and delivery styles.  Here are some examples of academic talks in line with your stated interests:

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PLEASE ADD YOUR OWN SELECTIONS AND REFLECT UPON THEM IN THE COMMENTS AND IN OUR ONLINE SESSIONS.

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Follow up from today's session.  Let's discuss what you have learned from this video when we meet again.

How much of this information do you think your British friends and colleagues are aware of?

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The Difference between the UK, Great Britain & England Explained

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Ukrainian problems with obtaining British visas

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Ukrainian problems with obtaining British visas

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UK only approves 'around 50' visas to Ukraine refugees | ITV News

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Did Queen Elizabeth Walk With Prince Andrew As Show Of Approval?

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Real life examples identified in your own speech

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Real life examples identified in your own speech

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It's called...

Authentic

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Practice in eliminating L1 interference x 5 

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Theory behind five examples of L1 interference

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Theory behind five examples of L1 interference

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5 most common examples of L1 interference in English pronunciation by Mandarin Chinese speakers

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Academic article on Chinese learner pron probs

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Academic article on Chinese learner pron probs

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CHRIS WEINS is American by nationality, but it  turns out that his mother is actually Chinese!  Double click on the picture below to read his bio and to find his city and global food tours. 

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CHRIS WEINS is American by nationality, but it  turns out that his mother is actually Chinese!  Double click on the picture below to read his bio and to find his city and global food tours. 

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How does Chris Weins convey his trademark enthusiasm?
Consider his:
Facial expressions
Body language
Tone of voice
Intonation
Use of language

What particular expressions can you identify?

Feel free to browse through his channel and his city and global food tours to get an overview.  There are many international types of food and a wide variety on Chinese street food alone.  Two examples are posted below:

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Great to meet you, I’m Mark Wiens! I’m an eater, traveler, author, blogger, video host, a coffee drinker, and some other random things, but mostly I just love to eat delicious food. My wife Ying and I are based in Thailand, but we frequently travel while making food videos, and blogging. We also occ…

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Chinese Food Tour in Yunnan - AMAZING STREET FOOD and Ethnic Feast! | Yunnan, China Day 1

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An amazing variety of Pakistani food in Dubai

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An amazing variety of Pakistani food in Dubai

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The ULTIMATE 16 Hour Pakistani Street Food Tour w/ Mark Wiens and Ali in Dubai, UAE - LET'S EAT!

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Very interesting academic article on Singlish and Minimal Pairs

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Very interesting academic article on Singlish and Minimal Pairs

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Singlish to "International English"

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"International Accent" vs Singlish Accent

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How to speak good Singlish: Ah, Meh, Leh, Sian, Lor, Lah, aka Singlish sentence modifiers

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Singlish - Wikipedia
From Phonology session, I highlighted some issues I have that is Common to Singlish:
1.The voiceless stops – /p/, /t/ and /k/ – are sometimes unaspirated
2. Dark L tends to be lost after the back vowels /ɔ/, /o/, /u/, Hence pall = paw /pɔ/, roll = row /ro/, tool = two /tu/, and for some, pearl = per /pə/
3. Syllabic consonants never occur. Hence taken [tekən] and battle [bɛtəɤ], never [tekn̩] or [bɛtl̩]. When the final /l/ is vocalised, little and litter may be homophones
4.  replaces final plosive consonants of syllables in regular- to fast-paced speed speech, especially stops: Goodwood Park becomes Gu'-wu' Pa'
5. Final consonant clusters simplify, especially in fast speech.[47] In general, plosives, especially /t/ and /d/, are lost if they come after another consonant: bent = Ben /bɛn/, tact = tack /tɛk/, nest = Ness /nɛs/.
6. In final position, the distinction between voiced and voiceless sounds – i.e. /s/ & /z/, /t/ & /d/, etc. – is usually not maintained (Final-obstruent devoicing). As a result, cease = seize /sis/ and race = raise /res/.[46] This leads to some mergers of noun/verb pairs, such as belief with believe /bilif/

7. Vowel comparison between Singlish and English diaphonemic system: (Please refer to the table in the wikipedia)

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Prince William expresses 'profound sorrow' over slavery during speech in Jamaica

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Exaggerated broken Singlish on an advertising board outside a cafe in Pulau Ubin

Singlish (a portmanteau of and ); formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English, is an English-based creole language originating in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact between speakers of many different Asian languages languages in Singapore, such as Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Teochew, and Tamil. The term Singlish is a blend of Singaporean slang and English and was first recorded in the early 1970s.

Singlish originated with the arrival of the British and the establishment of an English-medium education in Singapore. Elements of English quickly filtered out of schools and onto the streets, resulting in the development of a pidgin language spoken by non-native speakers as a lingua franca used for communication between speakers of the many different languages used in Singapore. Singlish evolved mainly among the working classes who learned elements of English without formal schooling, mixing in elements of their native languages. After some time, this new pidgin language, now combined with substantial influences from Peranakan, southern varieties of Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, became the primary language of the streets. As Singlish grew in popularity, children began to acquire Singlish as their native language, a process known as creolization. Through this process of creolization, Singlish became a fully-formed, stabilized and independent creole language, acquiring a more robust vocabulary and more complex grammar, with fixed phonology, syntax, morphology, and syntactic embedding.

Like all languages, Singlish and other creole languages show consistent internal logic and grammatical complexity, and are used naturally by a group of people to express thoughts and ideas. Due to its origins, Singlish shares many similarities with other English-based creole languages. As with many other creole languages, it is sometimes incorrectly perceived to be a "broken" form of the lexifier language - in this case, English. Due in part to this perception of Singlish as "broken English", the use of Singlish is greatly frowned on by the government. In 2000, the government launched the Speak Good English Movement to eradicate Singlish, although more recent Speak Good English campaigns are conducted with tacit acceptance of Singlish as valid for informal usage. Several current and former Singaporean prime ministers have publicly spoken out against Singlish. However, the prevailing view among contemporary linguists is that, regardless of perceptions that a dialect or language is "better" or "worse" than its counterparts, when dialects and languages are assessed "on purely linguistic grounds, all languages-and all dialects-have equal merit".

In addition, there have been recent surges in the interest of Singlish internationally, sparking several national conversations. In 2016, Oxford English Dictionary (OED) announced that it has added 19 new "Singapore English" items such as " Hawker centre", "shiok" and "sabo" in both its online and printed versions. Several Singlish words had previously made it into the OED's online version, which launched in March 2000. Words such as "Lah" and "sinseh" were already included in OED's debut, while "kiasu" made it into the online list in March 2007. Reactions were generally positive for this Singaporean identity to be recognized on a global level, and Singlish has been commonly associated with the country and is considered a unique aspect of Singaporean culture.

Singlish and English in Singapore exist along a creole continuum, ranging from standard English with local pronunciation on one end, to the most colloquial registers of Singlish on the other.

After Singapore's independence in 1965, and successive "Speak Mandarin" campaigns, a subtle language shift among the post-1965 generation became more and more evident as Malay idiomatic expressions were, and continued to be, displaced by idioms borrowed from Chinese spoken varieties, such as Hokkien.

The continuum runs through the following varieties:

1. Acrolectal: Acrolectal Singaporean English is very similar to Standard English as spoken in other English-speaking countries, with some differences in pronunciation.

2. Mesolectal: An intermediate form between Standard English and basilectal Singlish. At this level, a number of features not found in standard English begin to emerge.[citation needed ]

3. Basilectal: This is the most colloquial form of speech. Here, one can find all of the unique phonological, lexical, and grammatical features of Singlish. Many of these features can be attributed to the influence of different Chinese varieties, Malay, and Indian languages such as Tamil, though some features appear to be innovations unique to Singlish. Both the basilect and mesolect are referred to as "Singlish".

4. : This represents the first stage of development of the Singlish language, before creolisation took place and solidified Singlish as a fully-formed creole. As with all pidgins, speakers of the pidgin form of Singlish speak another language as a first language and Singlish as a second language. However, since a substantial number of people today learn Singlish natively, the number of speakers at the "pidgin" level of Singlish is dwindling. This is because by definition, a pidgin is not learned natively.

Since many Singaporeans can speak Standard English in addition to Singlish, code-switching can occur very frequently along the continuum. In addition, as many Singaporeans are also speakers of Chinese, Malay, or Indian languages such as Tamil or Hindi, code-switching between English and other languages also occurs dynamically.

Each of the following means the same thing, but the basilectal and mesolectal versions incorporate some colloquial additions for illustrative purposes.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority's free-to-air TV code states that the use of Singlish is only permitted in interviews, "where the interviewee speaks only Singlish," but the interviewer must refrain from using it. Despite this, in recent years the use of Singlish on television and radio has proliferated as localised Singlish continues to be popular among Singaporeans, especially in comedies, such as Under One Roof and Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd. Singlish is sometimes used by ordinary people in street interviews broadcast on TV and radio on a daily basis, as well as occasionally in newspapers.

Although Singlish is officially discouraged in Singaporean schools, in practice, there is often some level of code-switching present in the classroom. This is rather inevitable given that Singlish is the home language of many students, and many teachers themselves are comfortable with the variety.

In many white-collar workplaces, Singlish is avoided in formal contexts, especially at job interviews, meetings with clients, presentations or meetings, where Standard English is preferred. Nevertheless, selected Singlish phrases are sometimes injected into discussions to build rapport or for a humorous effect, especially when the audience consists mainly of locals.

In informal settings, such as during conversation with friends, or transactions in kopitiams and shopping malls, Singlish is used without restriction. For many students, using Singlish is inevitable when interacting with their peers, siblings, parents and elders. Singapore humour writer Sylvia Toh Paik Choo was the first to put a spelling and a punctuation to Singlish in her books Eh Goondu (1982) and Lagi Goondu (1986), which are essentially a glossary of Singlish, which she terms 'Pasar Patois'. This is later followed by publishing of a few other Singlish books including Coxford Singlish Dictionary (2002) by Colin Goh, An Essential Guide to Singlish (2003) by Miel and The Three Little Pigs Lah (2013) by Casey Chen, and Spiaking Singlish: A companion to how Singaporeans Communicate (2017) by Gwee Li Sui.

In recent times, Singlish is considered by linguists to be an independent language with its own systematic grammar. Linguists from universities around the world have referred to local productions to demonstrate to students how Singlish has become a unique language variety. There have been recent surges in interest in Singlish usage, sparking national conversations. In 2016, Oxford English Dictionary (OED) announced that it has added 19 new "Singapore English" items such as ang moh, shiok and sabo in both its online and printed versions. Several Singlish words had previously made it into the OED's online version, which launched in March 2000. Words such as lah and sinseh were already included in OED's debut, while kiasu made it into the online list in March 2007. Local celebrities were generally pleased for this Singaporean identity to be recognized on a global level.

Due in part to this perception of Singlish as "broken English", the use of Singlish is greatly frowned on by the government. In 2000, the government launched the Speak Good English Movement to eradicate Singlish, although more recent Speak Good English campaigns are conducted with tacit acceptance of Singlish as valid for informal usage. Several current and former Singaporean prime ministers have publicly spoken out against Singlish. However, the prevailing view among contemporary linguists is that, regardless of perceptions that a dialect or language is "better" or "worse" than its counterparts, when dialects and languages are assessed "on purely linguistic grounds, all languages-and all dialects-have equal merit".

Singlish pronunciation, while built on a base of British English, is heavily influenced by Malay, Hokkien and Cantonese. There are variations within Singlish, both geographically and ethnically. Chinese, Native Malays, Indians, Eurasians, and other ethnic groups in Singapore all have distinct accents, and the accentedness depends on factors such as formality of the context and language dominance of the speaker.

The consonants in Singlish are given below:

Pronunciation of ⟨th⟩: As onset consonants, the dental fricatives - and - often merge with and , so three is pronounced like tree, and then like den. As coda consonants (i.e., at the end of syllables), they are fronted to and respectively, so north is pronounced like norf, and bathe like bave. The contrast is usually maintained in acrolectal speech, though even among educated speakers there is some variation.

Glottal stop insertion: A glottal stop [ʔ] may be inserted at the beginning of words starting with a vowel, as in German. As a result, final consonants do not experience liaison, i.e. run onto the next word. For example, "ran out of eggs" is realised as [ɹɛnʔau̯tʔɔfʔeks] for some speakers (compare General American [ɹɛən‿aʊɾ‿əv‿ɛɡz]), with glottal stops in lieu of null onsets. This contributes to what linguists have described as the 'staccato effect' of Singapore English.

Glottal replacement: A glottal stop [ʔ] may replace final stop consonants (except /p,b/), especially in fast-paced speech: Goodwood Park becomes Gu'-wu' Pa' [ˈɡuʔˈwuʔˈpaʔ], exist is realised as [ɛʔˈzist], and there may be a glottal stop at the end of words like back and out.

Final-obstruent devoicing: Word-finally, the distinction between voiced and voiceless sounds, i.e. - , - , etc., is sometimes not maintained. As a result, cease = seize /sis/ and race = raise /res/ for some speakers.

Cluster reduction: Final consonant clusters may simplify, especially in fast speech. In general, plosives, especially and , are lost if they come after another consonant that is non-lateral, e.g. want = one /wan/, tact = tack /tɛk/. Additionally, may be deleted after , e.g. flask /flas/.

Distinction between /l/ and /r/: While it may be believed that the distinction between /l/ and /r/ is not stable at the basilectal level, as TV personality Phua Chu Kang's oft-repeated refrain to "Use your blain!" (use your brain) and "'Don pray pray!'" (Don't play-play, i.e. Don't fool around) may seem to indicate, it is more of a self-deprecating, rather self-aware joke, like "died-ed".[citation needed ] One might note, however, that both these examples involve initial consonant clusters (/bl/ and /pl/ respectively), and conflation of /l/ and /r/ is found less often when they are not part of a cluster.

Broadly speaking, there is a one-to-many mapping of Singlish vowel phonemes to British Received Pronunciation vowel phonemes, with a few exceptions (as discussed below, with regard to egg and peg). The following describes a typical system. There is generally no distinction between the non-close front monophthongs, so pet and pat are pronounced the same /pɛt/.

At the acrolectal level, the merged vowel phonemes are distinguished to some extent. These speakers may make a distinction between the tense vowels /i,u/ (FLEECE, GOOSE) and the lax vowels /ɪ,ʊ/ (KIT, FOOT) respectively. Some speakers introduce elements from American English, such as pre-consonantal [ɹ] (pronouncing the "r" in bird, port, etc.). This is caused by the popularity of American TV programming. Current estimates are that about 20 per cent of university undergraduates sometimes use this American-style pre-consonantal [ɹ] when reading a passage.

Vowel comparison between Singlish and English diaphonemic system:

The raised vowel /e/ is found in some words where /ɛ/ would be expected, including leg and bed, among some speakers. This is not entirely predictable, as egg has a close vowel (so it rhymes with vague) while peg has an open vowel (and rhymes with tag); and similarly for most speakers bed has a close vowel (so it rhymes with made), while fed has a more open vowel (the same vowel as in bad). The word next has the raised vowel and does not rhyme with text. Which vowel occurs in each word therefore appears in these cases not to be predictable. This is illustrated by the fact that red /red/ and read (past tense) /rɛd/ are not homophones in Singlish.

/ai/ remains /ai/ in Singlish, except when followed by /l/, in which case it is the monophthong /a/.

Examples of words that have idiosyncratic pronunciations: flour /fla/ (expected: /flau.ə/ = flower); and their /ðja⁓dja/ (expected: /ðɛ⁓dɛ/ = there). Flour/flower and their/there are therefore not homophones in Singlish.

In general, Singlish vowels are tenser - there are no lax vowels (which RP has in pit, put, and so forth).

The vowels in words such as day /de/ and low /lo/ are pronounced with less glide than the comparable diphthongs in RP, so they can be regarded as monophthongs - i.e. vowels with no glide.

Where other varieties of English have an unstressed /ə/, i.e. a reduced vowel, Singlish tends to use the full vowel based on orthography. This can be seen in words such as accept /ɛksɛp/, example /ɛ(k)sampəl/, purchase /pətʃes/, maintenance /mentɛnəns/, /prizɛnteʃən/, and so on. However, this does not mean that the reduced vowel /ə/ never occurs, as about and again have /ə/ in their first syllable. It seems that the letter 'a' is often pronounced /ə/, but the letter 'o' usually has a full vowel quality, especially in the con- prefix (control, consider, etc.). There is a greater tendency to use a full vowel in a syllable which is closed off with a final consonant, so a full vowel is much more likely at the start of absorb /ɛbzɔb/ than afford /əfɔd/.

In loanwords from Hokkien that contain nasal vowels, the nasalisation is often kept - one prominent example being the mood particle hor, pronounced [hõ˨].

Singlish is semi-tonal as words of Sinitic origin generally retain their original tones in Singlish. On the other hand, original English words as well as words of Malay and Tamil origin are non-tonal.

One of the most prominent and noticeable features of Singlish is its unique intonation pattern, which is quite unlike non-creole varieties of English. For example:

Singlish is syllable-timed compared to most varieties of English, which are usually stress-timed. This in turn gives Singlish a rather staccato feel.

In words with lexical stress, the syllable bearing the highest pitch within a prosodic word is normally the rightmost one, regardless of underlying stress. Words with no stress (e.g. the) and unstressed initial syllables (e.g. undo) have a low tone. Every other syllable, including stressed ones, is assigned a mid tone. For example, the word redundant [ɹi˨ˈdan˧.dənt˦] , which has lexical stress on the second syllable, is pronounced with a rising series of level tones. In compound words, e.g. watermelon [ˈwɔ˧.tə˦ˌmɛ˧.lən˦] , tone assignment occurs individually in each constituent word (water and melon). These patterns are well-established in Singapore English and do not apply to loanwords from Chinese with lexical tone.

There is a tendency to use a rise-fall tone to indicate special emphasis. A rise-fall tone can occur quite often on the final word of an utterance, for example on the word cycle in "I will try to go to the park to cycle" without carrying any of the suggestive meaning associated with a rise-fall tone in British English. In fact, a rise-fall tone may be found on as many as 21 per cent of declaratives, and this use of the tone can convey a sense of strong approval or disapproval.

There is a lack of the de-accenting that is found in most dialects of English (e.g. British and American), so information that is repeated or predictable is still given full prominence.

There is often an 'early booster' at the start of an utterance, so an utterance like "I think they are quite nice and interesting magazines" may have a very high pitch occurring on the word think.

There may be greater movement over individual syllables in Singlish than in other varieties of English. This makes Singlish sound as if it has the tones of Chinese, especially when speakers sometimes maintain the original tones of words that are borrowed into Singlish from Chinese.

Overall, the differences between the different ethnic communities in Singapore are most evident in the patterns of intonation, so for example Malay Singaporeans often have the main pitch excursion later in an utterance than ethnically Chinese and Indian Singaporeans.

Generally, these pronunciation patterns are thought to have increased the clarity of Singlish communications between pidgin-level speakers in often noisy environments, and these features were retained in creolisation.

The grammar of Singlish has been heavily influenced by other languages in the region, such as Malay and Chinese, with some structures being identical to ones in Chinese varieties. As a result, Singlish has acquired some unique features, especially at the basilectal level.

Singlish is topic-prominent, like Chinese and Malay. This means that Singlish sentences often begin with a topic (or a known reference of the conversation), followed by a comment (or new information). This contrasts with Standard English, which is subject-prominent and thus the semantic relationship between topic and comment is not as important there. In Singlish, nouns, verbs, adverbs, and even entire subject-verb-object phrases can all serve as the topic:

The above constructions can be translated analogously into Malay and Chinese, with little change to the word order.

The topic can be omitted when the context is clear, or shared between clauses. This results in constructions that appear to be missing a subject to a speaker of Standard English, and so called PRO-drop utterances may be regarded as a diagnostic feature of Singlish. For example:

Singlish

Standard English

Cannot anyhow go like dat one leh.

You/it can't just go like that.

How come never show up?

Why didn't you/he/it show up?
(See the use of never in place of didn't under the "Past tense" section.)

I like badminton, dat's why I every weekend go play.

I play badminton every weekend because I like it.

He sick, so he stay home sleep lor.

He's not feeling well, so he decided to rest at home and sleep!

Nouns are optionally marked for plurality. Articles are also optional. For example:

He can play piano.

I like to read storybook.

Your computer got virus or not? - Does your computer have a virus?

This one ten cent only. - This one only costs 10 cents.

It is more common to mark the plural in the presence of a modifier that implies plurality, such as many or four.

Many nouns which seem logically to refer to a countable item are used in the plural, including furniture and clothing. Examples of this usage from corpus recordings are:

So I bought a lot of furnitures from IKEA.

Where are all the stuffs I ordered?

I had to borrow some winter clothings.

The copula, which is the verb to be in most varieties of English, is treated somewhat differently in Singlish:

The copula is generally not used with adjectives or adjective phrases:

It is also common for the present participle of the verb to be used without the copula:

The zero copula is also found, although less frequently, as an equative between two nouns, or as a locative:

Dat one his wife lah. ('That lady is his wife.')

Dis boy the class monitor.

His house in Toa Payoh

In general, the zero copula is found more frequently after nouns and pronouns (except I, he, and she), and much less after a clause (what I think is...) or a demonstrative (this is...).

Past tense marking is optional in Singlish. Marking of the past tense occurs most often in irregular verbs, as well as verbs where the past tense suffix is pronounced /ɪd/. For example:

Due to consonant cluster simplification, the past tense is most often unmarked when it is pronounced as /t/ or /d/ at the end of a consonant cluster:

He talk so long, never stop, I ask him also never. - 'He talked for so long without stopping and wouldn't even stop when I asked him to.'

The past tense is more likely to be marked if the verb describes an isolated event (it is a punctual verb), and it tends to be unmarked if the verb in question represents an action that goes on for an extended period:

There seems also to be a tendency to avoid use of the past tense to refer to someone who is still alive:

Note in the final example that although the speaker is narrating a story, she probably uses the present tense in the belief that the tour guide is probably still alive.

Instead of the past tense, a change of state can be expressed by adding already or liao (/liâu/) to the end of the sentence, analogous to the Chinese ( le). This is not the same as the past tense, but more of an aspect, as it does not cover past habitual or continuous occurrences, and it refers to a real or hypothetical change of state in the past, present or future.

The frequent use of already (pronounced more like "oreddy" and sometimes spelt that way) in Singlish is probably a direct influence of the Hokkien liao particle. For example:

Some examples of the direct use of liao:

He throw liao. (He has already thrown it away.)

I eat liao. (I ate or I have eaten.)

This new game, you play liao or not? (As for this new game, have you played it yet?)

Negation works in general like English, with not added after to be, to have, or modals, and don't before all other verbs. Contractions ( can't, shouldn't) are used alongside their uncontracted forms. However, due to final cluster simplification, the -t drops out from negative forms, and -n may also drop out after nasalising the previous vowel. This makes nasalisation the only mark of the negative.

Another effect of this is that in the verb can, its positive and negative forms are distinguished only by the vowel (aside from stress):

Also, never is used as a negative past tense marker, and does not have to carry the English meaning. In this construction, the negated verb is never put into the past-tense form:

In addition to the usual way of forming yes-no questions, Singlish uses two more constructions:

In a construction similar (but not identical) to Chinese A-not-A, or not is appended to the end of sentences to form yes/no questions. Or not cannot be used with sentences already in the negative:

You want this book or not? - Do you want this book?

Can or not? - Is this possible / permissible?

The phrase is it, appended to the end of sentences, forms yes-no questions. Is it implies that the speaker is simply confirming something they have already inferred:

The phrase isn't it also occurs when the speaker thinks the hearer might disagree with the assertion.

There are also many discourse particles (such as hah, hor, meh, and ar) used in questions. (See the "Discourse particles" section elsewhere in this article.)

Another feature strongly reminiscent of Chinese and Malay, verbs are often repeated (e.g. TV personality Phua Chu Kang's "don't pray-pray!" pray = play). In general verbs are repeated twice to indicate the delimitative aspect (that the action goes on for a short period), and three times to indicate greater length and continuity:

The use of verb repetition also serves to provide a more vivid description of an activity:

Want to go Orchard walk walk see see () or not? ('Let's go shopping/sightseeing at Orchard Road.')

Don't anyhow touch here touch there leh. ('Please don't mess with my things.')

In another usage reminiscent of Chinese, nouns referring to people can be repeated for intimacy. Most commonly, monosyllabic nouns are repeated:

However, occasionally reduplication is also found with disyllabic nouns:

Adjectives of one or two syllables can also be repeated for intensification:

In Singlish, discourse particles are minimal lexemes (words) that occur at the end of a sentence and that do not carry referential meaning, but may relate to linguistic modality, register or other pragmatic effects. They may be used to indicate how the speaker thinks that the content of the sentence relates to the participants' common knowledge or change the emotional character of the sentence.

Particles are noted for keeping their tones regardless of the remainder of the sentence. Most of the particles are borrowed from southern Chinese varieties, with the tones intact.

Research on Singlish discourse particles have been many but varied, often focusing on analysing their functions in the sentences they appear in.

Wah Lau / Walao

Wah lau ([wâlǎu]) is used as an interjection or exclamation at the beginning of a sentence, and it usually has a negative connotation. It is derived from a Hokkien or Teochew phrase that means 'my father' (), abbreviated form of "my father's" (我老的; ).

Wah lau! I can't believe the teacher gave us so much work to do in such a tight deadline!

Kena ([kəna]or[kana]) can be used as an auxiliary to mark the passive voice in some varieties of Singlish.

It is derived from a Malay word that means "to encounter or to come into physical contact", and is only used with objects that have a negative effect or connotation. Verbs after kena may appear in the infinitive form (i.e. without tense) or as a past participle. It is similar in meaning to passive markers in Chinese, such as Hokkien 著; or Mandarin 被; :

Kena is not used with positive things:

Use of kena as in the above examples will not be understood, and may even be greeted with a confused reply: "But strike lottery good wat!" ('But it's a good thing to win the lottery!'). However, when used in sarcasm, kena can be used in apparently positive circumstances, though with an ironic modicum of success, for example:

He kena jackpot, come back to school after so long den got so much homework! ('He received a lot of homework upon returning to school after a long absence.')

When the context is given, kena may be used without a verb to mean 'will be punished.'

Using another auxiliary verb with kena is perfectly acceptable as well:

From Hokkien 著; , tio ([tiò]; pronounced with a low tone due to Hokkien tone sandhi) can be used interchangeably with kena in many scenarios. While kena is often used in negative situations, tio can be used in both positive and negative situations.

He tio cancer. ('He was diagnosed with cancer.')

He tio jackpot. ('He struck the jackpot.')

He tio lottery. ('He struck lottery.')

Tio fined lor, what to do? ('I got fined, couldn't help it.')

Tio has a lighter negative tone when used negatively, compared to kena.

Kena fined lor, what to do?

Tio fined lor, what to do?

Both mean the same, but kena makes the speaker sound more unhappy with the situation than tio.

Tio also sounds more sympathetic when talking about an unfortunate incident about someone close.

Her mum tio cancer. ('Her mum was diagnosed with cancer.')

Sad sia, so young tio cancer. ('How sad, he was diagnosed with cancer at such a young age.')

Using kena in the following might not be appropriate, as they seem impolite, as if the speaker is mocking the victim.

The word one is used to emphasise the predicate of the sentence by implying that it is unique and characteristic. It is analogous to the use of particles like ( ge) or ( ga) in Cantonese, ( e) in Hokkien, (-wa) in Japanese, or ( de) in some dialects of Mandarin. One used in this way does not correspond to any use of the word one in Standard English. It might also be analysed as a relative pronoun, though it occurs at the end of the relative clause instead of the beginning (as in Standard English).

Wah lau! So stupid one! - 'Oh my gosh! He's so stupid!'

I do everything by habit one. - 'I always do everything by habit.'

He never go school one. - 'He doesn't go to school (unlike other people).'

Is like that one. - 'It is how it is.'

The word then is often pronounced or written as den /dɛn/. When used, it represents different meanings in different contexts. In this section, the word is referred to as den.

i) Den can be synonymous with so or therefore. It is used to replace the Chinese grammatical particle 才; 纔; (see ii).

When it is intended to carry the meaning of therefore, it is often used to explain one's blunder/negative consequences. In such contexts, it is a translation from Chinese 所以. When used in this context, the den is prolonged twice the usual length in emphasis, as opposed to the short emphasis it is given when used to mean cái.

Never do homework den (two beats with shifts in tone sandhi, tone 2) indicating replacement of 所以) kena scold lor.

- 'I did not do my homework, that's why (therefore) I got a scolding'

Never do homework (pause) den (two beats with shifts in tone sandhi, tone 2) indicating replacement of 然后; 然後) kena scold lor.

- 'I did not do my homework; I got a scolding after that'

Never do homework den (one beat with no shift in tone sandhi, indicating ) kena scold lor.

- 'It is only due to the fact that I did not do my homework that I was scolded.'

However, den cannot be freely interchanged with so.

The following examples are incorrect uses of den, which will sound grammatically illogical to a Singlish speaker:

The reason for this is that den often marks a negative, non-volitional outcome (either in the future or the past), while the above sentences express volition and are set in the present. Consider the following examples:

ii) Den is also used to describe an action that will be performed later. It is used to replace the Chinese particle 才; 纔; . When used in this context, the den is pronounced in one beat, instead of being lengthened to two beats as in (i).

If shortened, the meaning will be changed or incorrectly conveyed. For example, "I go home liao, den (two beats) call you" will imbue the subtext with a questionable sense of irony, a lasciviousness for seduction (three beats), or just general inappropriateness (random two beats indicating a Hong Kong comedy-influenced moleitou Singaporean sense of humour).

iii) Den can used at the beginning of a sentence as a link to the previous sentence. It often has the meaning "after that". In other cases, it carries a connotation of an exclamation.

iv) Den can be used to return an insult/negative comment back to the originator. When used in such a way, there must first be an insult/negative comment from another party. In such contexts, it is a translation from the Chinese 才; 纔; .

A: You're so stupid!

B: You den stupid la - 'You're the stupid one'

A: You're late!

B: You den late lor. - 'You're the late one'

v) "Den?" can be used as a single-worded phrase. Even if den is used in a single-worded phrase, even with the same pronunciation, it can represent four different meanings. It can either be synonymous with "so what?", or it can be a sarcastic expression that the other party is making a statement that arose from his/her actions, or similarly an arrogant expression which indicating that the other party is stating the obvious, or it can be used as a short form for "what happened then?".

[Synonymous with "so what?"]

[Sarcastic expression] Speakers tend to emphasise the pronunciation of 'n'.

Context: A is supposed to meet B before meeting a larger group but A is late for the first meeting

[Arrogant expression] Speakers have the option of using den in a phrase, as in "Ah bu den" or "Ah den". In this case it serves approximately the same purpose as 'duh' in American English slang.

A: Wah seh! You actually make this computer all by yourself ah?

B: Ah bu den!

[Ah, but then? (What happened after that?)]

vi) Den can also indicate a conditional (an if-then condition), implying an omitted if/when:

I late den take taxi, otherwise dun take. - 'When I'm late, [only] then do I take a taxi; otherwise I don't take taxis.' = 'I only take a taxi when I'm late.'

You want to see Justin Bieber den go lah! - 'If you want to see Justin Bieber, then go [to the concert]!'

Oi originating from the Hokkien (, oe), is commonly used in Singlish, as in other English varieties, to draw attention or to express surprise or indignation. Some examples of the usage of Oi include:

Oi, you forgot to give me my pencil!

Oi! Hear me can!

Oi! You know how long I wait for you?!

Oi! Wake up lah!

As oi has connotations of disapproval, it is considered to be slightly offensive if it is used in situations where a more polite register is expected, e.g. while speaking to strangers in public, people in the workplace or one's elders.

The ubiquitous word lah (/lá/ or /lâ/), sometimes spelled as la and rarely spelled as larh, luh or lurh, is used at the end of a sentence. It originates from the Chinese word (, POJ: lah particle, so there may be a stressed and an unstressed variant and perhaps as many as nine tonal variants, all having a special pragmatic function. lah) or the same word in Malay. It simultaneously softens the force of an utterance and entices solidarity, though it can also have the opposite meaning so it is used to signal power. In addition, there are suggestions that there is more than one

In Malay, lah is used to change a verb into a command or to soften its tone, particularly when usage of the verb may seem impolite. To drink is minum, but 'Here, drink!' is minumlah!. Similarly, lah is frequently used with imperatives in Singlish:

Lah also occurs frequently with yah and no (hence "Yah lah!" and "No lah!..."). This can, with the appropriate tone, result in a less-brusque declaration and facilitate the flow of conversation: "No more work to do, we go home lah!" However, if the preceding clause is already diminutive or jocular, suffixing it with -lah would be redundant and improper: one would not say "yep lah", "nope lah", or "ta lah" (as in the British ta for 'thank you').

Lah with a low tone might indicate impatience. "Eh, hurry up lah."

Lah is often used with brusque, short, negative responses:

Lah is also used for reassurance:

Lah is sometimes used to curse people

Lah can also be used to emphasise items in a spoken list, appearing after each item in the list.

Although lah can appear nearly anywhere, it does not appear with a yes-no question. Other particles are used instead:

The particle wat (/wàt/), also spelled what, is used to remind or contradict the listener, especially when strengthening another assertion that follows from the current one:

It can also be used to strengthen any assertion:

The food there not bad wat. Can try lah.

This usage is noticeably characterised by a low tone on wat, and parallels the assertive Cantonese particle in expressions like .

Mah (/má/), originating from Chinese (, ma), is used to assert that something is obvious and final, and is usually used only with statements that are already patently true. It is often used to correct or cajole, and in some contexts is similar to English's . This may seem condescending to the listener:

Lor (/lɔ́/), also spelled lorh or loh, from Chinese (囖/咯; ), is a casual, sometimes jocular way to assert upon the listener either direct observations or obvious inferences. It also carries a sense of resignation, or alternatively, dismissiveness. that "it happens this way and can't be helped":

If you don't do the work, then you die liao lor! - 'If you don't do the work, then you're dead!'

Kay lor, you go and do what you want. - 'Fine, go ahead and do what you want.'

Dun have work to do, den go home lor. - 'If you're done working, you should go home.' (What are you waiting for?)

Ya lor. - Used when agreeing with someone

Leh (/lɛ́/or/lé/), from Chinese (咧; ), is used to soften a command, request, claim, or complaint that may be brusque otherwise:

Gimme leh. - 'Please, just give it to me.'

How come you don't give me leh? - 'Why aren't you giving it to me?'

The ticket seriously ex leh. - 'Argh, the tickets are really expensive.'

But I believe safe better than sorry leh. - 'The thing is, I believe it's better to be safe than sorry.'

Why you never give up your seat leh? -

Especially when on a low tone, it can be used to show the speaker's disapproval:

You call her walk there, very far leh. ('If you ask her to go there on foot, it will be a rather long distance.')

Hor (/hɔ̨̌/), from Hokkien (乎; ), also spelled horh, is used to ask for the listener's attention and consent/support/agreement: It is usually pronounced with a low tone.

Then hor, another person came out of the house. - 'And then, another person came out of the house.'

This shopping center very nice hor? - 'This shopping centre is very nice, isn't it?'

Oh yah hor! - 'Oh, yes!' (realising something)

Like that can hor? - 'So can it be done that way?'

Ar (/ǎ/), also spelled arh or ah, is inserted between topic and comment. It often, but not always, gives a negative tone:

This boy ah, always so rude one! - 'This boy is so rude!'

Ar (/ǎ/) with a rising tone is used to reiterate a rhetorical question:

How come like dat one ah? - 'Why is it like that? / Why are you like that?'

Ar (/ā/) with a mid-level tone, on the other hand, is used to mark a genuine question that does require a response: ( or not can also be used in this context):

You going again ar? - 'Are you going again?'

Hah (/hǎ/), also spelled har, originating from the British English word huh or Hokkien (唅; ), is used to express disbelief, shock or used in a questioning manner.

Har? He really ponned class yesterday ar! - 'What? Is it true that he played truant (=ponteng, shortened to pon and converted into past tense, hence ponned) yesterday?'

Har? How come he tio caning? - 'What? How did he end up being caned?'

Meh (/mɛ́/), from Cantonese (咩; ), is used to form questions expressing surprise or scepticism:

/siǎ/, also spelled sia or siah, is used to express envy or emphasis. It is a derivative of the Malay vulgar word sial (derivative of the parent, used interchangeably but sometimes may imply a stronger emphasis). Originally, it is often used by Malay peers in informal speech between them, sometimes while enraged, and other times having different implications depending on the subject matter:

Kau ade problem ke ape, sial? - 'Do you have a problem or what?' (negative, enraged)
Sial ah, Joe bawak iPad ni ari. - 'Whoa, Joe brought an iPad today.' (positive, envy)
Takde lah sial. - 'No way, man.' or 'I don't have it, man.' (positive, neutral)
Joe kene marah sial. - 'Joe got scolded, man.' (positive, emphasis)

Malays may also pronounce it without the l, not following the ia but rather a nasal aah. This particular form of usage is often seen in expressing emphasis. There is a further third application of it, in that a k is added at the end when it will then be pronounced saak with the same nasal quality only when ending the word. It is similarly used in emphasis.

However, Singlish itself takes influence only from the general expression of the term without any negative implication, and non-Malay speakers (or Malays speaking to non-Malays) pronounce it either as a nasal sia or simply siah:

He damn zai sia. - 'He's damn capable.'

Wah, heng sia. - 'Goodness me' (=Wahlau)! 'That was a close shave (=heng)!'

/siâo/ Derived from Hokkien (痟; ). Siao is a common word in Singlish. Literally, it means 'crazy'.

Summary of discourse and other particles:

Nia, which originated from Hokkien, means 'only', mostly used to play down something that has been overestimated.

"Then you know" is a phrase often used at the end of a sentence or after a warning of the possible negative consequences of an action. Can be directly translated as "and you will regret not heeding my advice". Also a direct translation of the Chinese .

Mother: "Ah boy, don't run here run there, wait you fall down then you know ah."

There is/there are and has/have are both expressed using got, so that sentences can be translated in either way back into British/American/Australasian English. This is equivalent to the Chinese 有; ('to have'):

Got question? 'Any questions? / Is there a question? / Do you have a question?'

Yesterday ar, Marina Bay Sands got so many people one! 'There were so many people at Marina Bay Sands yesterday. / Marina Bay Sands had so many people [there] yesterday.'

This bus got air-con or not? 'Is there air-conditioning on this bus? / Does this bus have air-conditioning?'

Where got!? Where is there [this]?, or less politely, 'There isn't/aren't any!'; also more loosely, 'What are you talking about?'; generic response to any accusation. Translation of the Malay mana ada? which has the same usage.

Can is used extensively as both a question particle and an answer particle. The negative is cannot.

Gimme can? 'Can you please give that to me?'

Can! 'Sure!'

Cannot. 'No way.'

Can can be repeated for greater emphasis or to express enthusiasm:

Boss: "Can you send me the report by this afternoon?" Employee: "Can, can!" ('No problem!')

The Malay word with the same meaning, , can be used in place of can to add a greater sense of multiculturalism in the conversation. The person in a dominant position may prefer to use boleh instead:

Employee: "Boss, tomorrow can get my pay check or not?" Boss: "Boleh lah ..." ('sure/possibly')

The phrase like that is commonly appended to the end of the sentence to emphasize descriptions by adding vividness and continuousness. Due to its frequency of use, it is often pronounced lidat ([laɪˈdæt]):

He so stupid like that. - 'He really seems pretty stupid, you know.'

He acting like a one-year-old baby like that'. - He's really acting like a one-year-old baby, you know.'

Like that can also be used as in other Englishes:

Why he acting like that? - 'Why is he acting this way?'

If like that, how am I going to answer to the gong shi ting? - 'If that's the case, how am I going to answer to the board of directors?'

In British English, also is used before the predicate, while too is used after the predicative at the end of the sentence. In Singlish (also in American and Australian English), also (pronounced oso, see phonology section above) can be used in either position.

Also is also used as a conjunction. In this case, "A also B" corresponds to "B although A". This stems from Chinese, where the words 也; , 还; or 都; (meaning 'also', though usage depends on dialect or context) would be used to express these sentences.

I try so hard oso cannot do. ('I tried so hard, and still I can't do it.' or 'I can't do it even though I tried so hard.')

The order of the verb and the subject in an indirect question is the same as a direct question.

Ownself is often used in place of yourself, or more accurately, yourself being an individual, in a state of being alone.

Har? He ownself go party yesterday for what? 'Why did he go to the party alone yesterday?'

Not all expressions with the -self pronouns should be taken literally, but as the omission of by:

Wah, hungry liao! You eat yourself, we eat ourself, can? ('Hey, I/you should be hungry by this time! Let's split up and eat. ([then meet up again]')

Some people have begun to add extra eds to the past tense of words or to pronounce ed separately, sometimes in a form of exaggeration of the past tense. Most of the time, the user uses it intentionally to mock proper English.

"Just now go and play game, character dieded siah!" 'When I played a game just now, my character died!'

Many signs in Singapore include all four official languages: English, Chinese, Tamil and Malay.

Much of Singlish vocabulary is derived from British English, in addition to many loanwords from Sinitic languages, Malay, and Tamil. There has been a rise in American English influence in recent years.

An instance of a borrowing from Hokkien is kiasu, which means ' frightened of losing out', and is used to indicate behaviour such as queueing overnight to obtain something; and the most common borrowing from Malay is makan, meaning 'to eat'.

In many cases, words of English origin take on the meaning of their Chinese counterparts, resulting in a shift in meaning. This is most obvious in such cases as borrow/lend, which are functionally equivalent in Singlish and mapped to the same Hokkien word, ( chio), which can mean to lend or to borrow. (' (from Southern Min, although Singaporeans spell it as oi), can borrow me your calculator? '); and send can be used to mean 'accompany someone', as in "Let me send you to the airport ", possibly under the influence of the Hokkien word ( sang). However, the Malay (meng)hantar can also be used to mean both 'send a letter' and 'take children to school', so perhaps both Malay and Chinese have combined to influence the usage of 'send' in Singapore.

1. ^ Yoon, David. "STANDARD ENGLISH AND SINGLISH: THE CLASH OF LANGUAGE VALUES IN CONTEMPORARY SINGAPORE" (PDF). La Trobe University. Singaporean English or Singlish, as it is better known to the local populace, is an English creole that has long been a contesting issue between pro-Singlish and anti-Singlish proponents.

2. ^ "Chinese-based lexicon in Singapore English, and Singapore-Chinese culture" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2010.

3. ^ "Chinese-based lexicon in Singapore English, and Singapore-Chinese culture" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2010.

4. Ong, Kenneth Keng Wee (2017). "Textese and Singlish in multiparty chats". World Englishes. 36 (4): 5,17. doi:10.1111/weng.12245. Historically, Singlish has evolved from an English-based pidgin

5. ^ Napitupulu, Andi; Simanjuntak, Be. "Singapore English (Singlish)". Yuan Ze University: 3.

6. ^ Wong, Tessa (6 August 2015). "The rise of Singlish" - via www.bbc.co.uk.

7. ^ Labov, William (1969). "The logic of non-standard English". Georgetown Monograph on Language and Linguistics (22): 1-44.

8. ^ CAVALLARO, FRANCESCO; NG, BEE CHIN; SEILHAMER, MARK FIFER (1 September 2014). "Singapore Colloquial English: Issues of prestige and identity". World Englishes. 33 (3): 378-397. doi:10.1111/weng.12096. hdl:10220/38871. ISSN 0883-2919.

9. Jeremy Au Young (22 September 2007). "Singlish? Don't make it part of Spore identity: PM". The Straits Times.

10. ^ hermesauto (12 May 2016). "Shiok! 19 Singlish items added to the Oxford English Dictionary". The Straits Times.

11. ^ ABDUL RAHMAN, NOOR ASHIKIN (13 May 2016). "Some find new Singlish terms in Oxford dictionary 'ridiculous'". AsiaOne.

12. ^ Wong, Theresa (6 August 2015). "The rise of Singlish". bbc.com. BBC News. Singapore is known for its efficiency and Singlish is no different - it's colourful and snappy. You don't have a coffee - you "lim kopi". And if someone asks you to join them for a meal but you've already had dinner, you simply say: "Eat already." Singlish first emerged when Singapore gained independence 50 years ago, and decided that English should be the common language for all its different races. That was the plan. It worked out slightly differently though, as the various ethnic groups began infusing English with other words and grammar. English became the official language, but Singlish became the language of the street.

13. ^ Harada, Shinichi (January 2009), "The Roles of Singapore Standard English and Singlish", Information and Communication Studies, Bunkyo University, 40: 69-81

14. ^ "Content Code for Nationwide Managed Transmission Linear Television Services" (PDF). Infocomm Media Development Authority.

15. See, for example, an entire opinion column written in Singlish by ^ The Straits Times regular columnist Koh, Buck Song, "To have or not to have a dictionary, big question leh", published 24 April 1995, available online at: http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jacklee/Files/19950424-ST-BadNewsforAllEngPurists.pdf

16. ^ hermesauto (12 May 2016). "Shiok! 19 Singlish items added to the Oxford English Dictionary". The Straits Times.

17. ^ ABDUL RAHMAN, NOOR ASHIKIN (13 May 2016). "Some find new Singlish terms in Oxford dictionary 'ridiculous'". AsiaOne.

18. ^ Leimgruber, Jakob R. E. (2013). Singapore English: Structure, Variation, and Usage. Cambridge University Press. p. 66.

19. ^ 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.

20. Tan, Kah Keong (2005) 'Vocalisation of /l/ in Singapore English'. In David Deterding, Adam Brown and Low Ee Ling (eds.) ^ English in Singapore: Phonetic Research on a Corpus, Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education (Asia), pp. 43-53.

21. ^ Wee, Lian-Hee (2008). "Phonological patterns in the Englishes of Singapore and Hong Kong". World Englishes. 27 (3-4): 480-501. doi:10.1111/j.1467-971X.2008.00580.x.

22. ^ Hong, Jasper. "Negotiating social meanings in a plural society: Social perceptions of variants of /l/ in Singapore English" (PDF). Language in Society. 52: 617-644. doi:10.1017/S0047404522000173.

23. Deterding, David (2000) 'Measurements of the /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ vowels of young English speakers in Singapore'. In Adam Brown, David Deterding and Low Ee Ling (eds.), ^ The English Language in Singapore: Research on Pronunciation, Singapore: Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics, pp. 93-99.

24. Deterding, David (2006) 'Reduced vowels in SE Asia: should we be teaching them?', ^ SOUTHEAST ASIA: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6 (1), 71-78.(on-line version)

25. ^ Lim, Lisa (2011). "Tone in Singlish: Substrate Features from Sinitic and Malay" (PDF). Typological Studies in Language. Philadelphia; Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 95. doi:10.1075/tsl.95.16lim.

26. ^ Ng, E-Ching (1 March 2012). "Chinese meets Malay meets English: origins of Singaporean English word-final high tone". International Journal of Bilingualism. 16 (1): 83-100. doi:10.1177/1367006911403216. S2CID 144346839.

27. ^ Tan, Ludwig (2003) 'Topic prominence and null arguments in Singapore Colloquial English'. In David Deterding, Low Ee Ling and Adam Brown (Eds.) English in Singapore: Research on Grammar, Singapore: Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics, pp. 1-10.

28. ^ Tan, Ludwig (2007) Null Arguments in Singapore Colloquial English. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.

29. ^ Leong, Alvin (2003) Subject omission in Singapore Colloquial English. In David Deterding, Low Ee Ling and Adam Brown (Eds.) English in Singapore: Research on Grammar, Singapore: Singapore Association for Applied Linguistics, pp. 11-21.

30. ^ Wee, Lionel. "Lor in colloquial Singapore English". Journal of Pragmatics, 2002, p. 711

31. ^ Wee, Lionel (2004) 'Singapore English: morphology and syntax'. In Bernd Kortmann, Kate Burridge, Rajend Mesthrie, Edgar W. Schneider and Clive Upton (eds.) A Handbook of Varieties of English. Volume 2: Morphology and Syntax, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 1058-72.

32. ^ Richards, Jack C. and Tay, Mary W. J. (1977) 'The la particle in Singapore English', in William Crewe (ed.), The English Language in Singapore, Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, pp. 141-156.

33. Deterding, David (2000) 'Potential influences of Chinese on the written English of Singapore'. In Adam Brown (Ed.) ^ English in Southeast Asia 99: Proceedings of the Fourth 'English in Southeast Asia' Conference, Singapore, National Institute of Education, pp. 201-209. (on-line version)

Fasold, Ralph W.; Connor-Linton, Jeff (2006). An Introduction to Language and Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-84768-1.

Fox, Margalit (12 September 1999). "The Way We Live Now: 9-12-99: On Language; Dialects". The New York Times.

O'Grady, William; Archibald, John; Aronoff, Mark; Rees-Miller, Janie (2001). Contemporary Linguistics. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's. ISBN 9780312247386.

Wardhaugh, Ronald (2002), "Pidgins and Creoles", An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (fourth ed.), Blackwell Publishing, pp. 57-86

Crewe, William (ed. 1977) The English Language in Singapore. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.

Deterding, David and Hvitfeldt, Robert (1994) 'The Features of Singapore English Pronunciation: Implications for Teachers', Teaching and Learning, 15 (1), 98-107. (on-line version)

Foley, Joseph (ed. 1988) New Englishes: the Case of Singapore, Singapore: Singapore University Press.

Gopinathan, S., Pakir, Anne, Ho Wah Kam and Saravanan, Vanithamani (eds. 1998) Language, Society and Education in Singapore (2nd edition), Singapore: Times Academic Press.

Gupta, Anthea Fraser (1992) 'Contact features of Singapore Colloquial English'. In Kingsley Bolton and Helen Kwok (eds.) Sociolinguistics Today: International Perspectives, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 323-45.

Low, Ee Ling and Brown, Adam (2005) English in Singapore: An Introduction. Singapore: McGraw-Hill.

Pakir, Anne (1991) 'The range and depth of English-knowing bilinguals in Singapore', World Englishes, 10(2), 167-79.

Tongue, R. K. (1979) The English of Singapore and Malaysia (2nd edition). Singapore: Eastern Universities Press.

Wee, Lionel (2004) 'Singapore English: Phonology'. In Edgar W. Schneider, Kate Burridge, Bernd Kortmann, Rajend Mesthrie and Clive Upton (eds.) A Handbook of Varieties of English. Volume 1: Phonology, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 1017-33.

Wee, Lionel (2004) 'Singapore English: morphology and syntax'. In Bernd Kortmann, Kate Burridge, Rajend Mesthrie, Edgar W. Schneider and Clive Upton (eds.) A Handbook of Varieties of English. Volume 2: Morphology and Syntax, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 1058-72.

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Singlish (a portmanteau of and ); formally known as Colloquial Singaporean English, is an English-based creole language originating in Singapore. Singlish arose out of a situation of prolonged language contact between speakers of many different Asian languages languages in Singapore, such as Malay, Cantonese, Hokkien, Mandarin, Teochew, and Tamil.

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When you listen, pick out the common elements that that these speeches share in terms of delivery.  Is there anything notable that strikes you across the board?  You can add your own examples as you think relevant. Please either comment or be prepared to discuss in the next session.

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Excellent feedback on:
Audience engagement
Demeanour
High level command of language
Pronunciation
Structure
Pacing
Content

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When practising it is better to concentrate only on areas where you have an actual problem.  Most lists of minimal pairs are exhaustive and generic, applying across the whole range of L2 learners.  Even if some confusions apply to Chinese speakers in general, they may not apply to you, not least in view of the Singlish interference we have identified.

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How to Pronounce DIPHTHONGS in BRITISH ENGLISH

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To what extent do you think this kind of voice training is effective?

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How I Improved My Pronunciation | TIPS to improve Your Chinese Speaking

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How useful is this kind of help? Why/Why not?

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English pronunciation lesson for Chinese speakers

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Work towards identifying a list that applies only to you.  (See yellow highlighted items and examples below.)  Develop your critical ear so that you can routinely self-correct. Practice regularly but briefly to build up 'muscle memory'. Extend to putting the sounds in context, rather than just focussing on the minimal pairs in isolation - as this is just a starting point.

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Are there any ways you would improve upon your talk for next time? Please comment below:

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Orientation, diagnosis and self-awareness

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Eliminating L1 interference

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The power of oratory

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Personal engagement

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Exposure

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Conveying enthusiasm

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English pronunciation practice for Chinese speakers

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Correction of common English pronunciation mistakes made by learners with Chinese as their first language.

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Below is a list of words that vary only by one having the final sound /t/ and the other the final sound /d/.

You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.

Partly because the pronunciation of final /t/ and initial /t/ are very different, even students who don't have general problems with /d/ and /t/ can have problems recognising and pronouncing these two sounds at the end of words.

Elementary

bat bad

got god

hat had

write ride

Pre-Intermediate

ant and

at add

bet bed

bought bored

cart card

eight aid

feet feed

heart hard

hit hid

hurt heard

mat mad

meant mend

neat need

not nod

plate played

sat sad

sent send

set said

sheet she'd

sight side

spent spend

state stayed

taught toured

wait weighed

Intermediate

beat bead

bent bend

bright bride

but bud

cat cad

cute queued

debt dead

fat fad

heat heed

height hide

hot hod

kit kid

meet mead

oat owed

pat pad

port poured

pot pod

quit quid

route rude

short shored

slight slide

sought sawed

tent tend

tight tied

Upper-Intermediate

bleat bleed

cot cod

fate fade

float flowed

font fond

gloat glowed

haunt horned

it id

moat mode

mount mound

plot plod

site sighed

slit slid

spite spied

stunt stunned

tint tinned

Advanced

blurt blurred

clot clod

faint feigned

goat goad

grit grid

nought gnawed

pant panned

peat peed

pert purred

plaint planed

pleat plead

punt punned

scant scanned

shunt shunned

skint skinned

skit skid

spurt spurred

stoat stowed

tart tarred

teat teed

trot trod

Written for EnglishClub by Alex Case

Voiced by Jonathan Taylor

Next: final /ŋk/ and /ŋ/

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Useful minimal pairs practice of final /t/ and /d/ as in hat and had, useful practice for speakers of many languages. Minimal pairs are words that vary by only a single sound. Pronunciation for learners of English.

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Below is a list of words that vary only by one starting with the sound /v/ and the other starting with the sound /w/. You can use this list to practise the sounds, or as a list of words to be careful in pronouncing.

/v/ is pronounced with the top teeth biting the bottom lip. /w/ is produced with rounded lips.

If you are practising on your own, try saying both words and making sure your pronunciation of each is different, for example by looking at your mouth shape in the mirror.

Pre-Intermediate

V we

vent went

vest west

vet wet

Intermediate

vary wary

veil whale

verse worse

Vick wick

vile while

vine wine

vow wow

Upper-Intermediate

vie why

vine whine

volley wally

V's wheeze

Advanced

V wee

vein wane

versed worst

Written for EnglishClub by Alex Case

Voiced by Jonathan Taylor

Next: final /k/ and /g/

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Useful minimal pairs practice of /v/ and /w/ as in VEST and WEST, useful practice for speakers of many languages. Minimal pairs are words that vary by only a single sound. Pronunciation for learners of English.

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Churchill "We will fight on the beaches"...

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Churchill "We will fight on the beaches"...

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What was your reaction?

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Winston S Churchill: We Shall Fight on the Beaches

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Zelensky Channels Churchill In Historic Speech

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Extracts from Nelson Mandela's statement from the dock at the opening of his trial on charges of sabotage at the supreme court of South Africa in Pretoria on 20 April 1964. Mandela, leader of the African National Congress and of the struggle against the racist apartheid regime, was given a life sentence, of which he served 27 years, most of which was in the prison on Robben Island

* Find out more about the speech

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Nelson Mandela, 1964: 'I am prepared to die' - audio recording of speech at sabotage trial

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Extracts from Nelson Mandela's statement from the dock at the opening of his trial on charges of sabotage at the supreme court of South Africa in Pretoria on 20 April 1964

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Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

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ENGLISH SPEECH | The Best SPEECHES ever (English Subtitles)

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What do you think of this view of history? How does it relate to the previous view of Lady C? How do rate the difference between American and British accents?

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Where did Russia come from? - Alex Gendler

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Trevor Noah - comedian and political commentator - South African/USA

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Trevor Noah - comedian and political commentator - South African/USA

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How does he:
engage with his audience?
animate his speech?
pace what he is saying - for comic effect?

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War in Ukraine - NATO Countries Exercise Caution | The Daily Show

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What do you make of their accents/communication skills?
Who do you think their audience is? What about the content?  Do you agree?

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What plus features can you pick out in DB's presentation skills?

What do you think of her argument?

How have things progressed since she gave this talk? How much of what she predicted has come true?

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Dambisa Moyo: Is China the new idol for emerging economies?

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Why is Ukraine the West's Fault? Featuring John Mearsheimer

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From one of Britain's most eminent historians, recently 'cancelled' for his views, which are found by some to be too controversial!  So much for Freedom of Speech!

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Do you agree with her view of history (from 27 mins)?
What do you think of her speaking style and audience engagement?

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Exploring current affairs

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Socializing at work

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Taking control

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Moving on