How much of Singlish do I speak? I can confidentally rate myself a 5/10 for the use of Singlish in my speech. Apart from the occasional "Aiya" and "Wah lau eh" (this word only comes out when I get very frustrated by the driver in front of me when I am at the wheel), the "lah-s", "mehs", "one" are rarely used in my daily speech. However, I have the ability to switch to colloquial English peppered with Singlish terms whenever there is a need for, as I feel that this makes me alot more approachable to certain people that I come into contact with.
I don't speak perfect Queen's English, or English with an accent. My spoken English is simply local English with an effort to watch my tenses (which tends to go a little haywire when I get excited). Nevertheless, despite the lack of spoken Singlish at home, the boy speaks rather Singlish-ly.
"I am very sharp one," and the other term he uses goes like this, "Why ah?"
I still can't figure out where he learned to always add the word "one" at the end of his sentence. I have been gently trying to correct his English, "There is no need to say 'One', Kyle," but he has been rather quick to point out my error as well.
"That's a big one," as I pointed out a fairly large tomato at the supermarket.
His question to me then was, "Why is there a 'One'?"
I had to break into a long explanation why the word "One" could be used in this case.
As for the other term, "Why ah?" I noticed that my helper tends to pepper the end of all her questions with an 'Ah'. So I told him not to speak like my helper, whose pronounciation of the word 'bag' tend to sound like 'bug."
Unfortunately, I tend to let 'Ah' slip into my sentences whenever I get frustrated with him. "Why do you have to do that ah?" And his response to me will be, "You just said "Ah" Mummy." He will then give me a 'I caught you not speaking properly' look' :} And that will usually break the tension and leave me feeling a little embarassed.
As for attempts to banish Singlish totally? I don't think it will be possible, since he is exposed to Singlish on a daily basis, being in a regular kindergarten with classmates who tend to speak Singlish at home. However, there will be an effort to remind him to speak proper English, yet giving him some flexibility to adopt some Singlish terms in his speech.
The best consolation I can think of is this: Especially If you have heard how most primary school kids speak these days…I am certain it will be a breeze to assimilate in primary school when you are able to speak the same 'language' as most of your peers.
