In Singlish, many words sound the same. For someone who is not familiar with Singlish, this affects what is being heard by the listener and some words might be misunderstood.
So, are you ready to look at some of the rules to speak Singlish?
Rule 1: Do not pronounce consonants
Try to skip consonant sounds. Singlish does not distinguish between voiced and voiceless plosives for end consonants. The plosives (/t/, /d/, /p/, /k/, /g/) should not have an explosion of air when pronounced. For example,
- paint = pain
- raft = rough
- thin = tin
Rule 2: Speak in a fast manner
Try to speak really fast and bunch up syllables and words. This is commonly known as the 'machine gun' style. According to research done in UK, the ideal speaking speed is 164 words per minute and 0.48 seconds pause between sentences. So, challenge yourself and speak way faster than this!
Rule 3: Use short vowels
There is no distinction between short and long vowels as well. Singlish words are all short. For example,
- beat = bit
- bait = bed
- sheep = ship
Rule 4: Leave out grammatical endings
There is no hard and fast rule for grammar in Singlish. You can simply omit plurals or past tenses. For example,
- I went to the zoo yesterday. = I go zoo yesterday.
- There are so many birds. = There are so many bird.
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