still night

words can never replace the human condition
and yet, im drawn to the allures of a solace
that can never be.
the light underneath a beautiful lampshade flutters rapidly.
the moth, small and simple, knocks about listlessly; enthralled, enlightened.
slowly, its wings just burn.
{ 4:45 am }


just for laughs and nothing more.


lessons my mother taught me....

my mother taught me:

1) about ANTICIPATION -
'you wait! just wait till your father comes back!'

2) about RECEIVING -
'you are going to get it when you reach home!'

3) about HEALTHY COMPETITION -
'aunty mary's son scored 100 marks in math! why can't you be like him??'

4) to MEET A CHALLENGE -
'look at me when im talking to you!'

5) about FINANCIAL PLANNING -
'make sure you marry a rich man/woman in furure...'

6) about HISTORY -
'many many years ago, when i was your age,i used to..........'

7) to be HOUSE-PROUD -
' chalet??? stay what chalet?? you got no house issit???'

8) about GENETICS -
' you ar.....you're just like your father.'

9) about WISDOM OF AGE -
' when you get to my age you'll understand.'

10) about JUSTICE -
' one day you'll have kids, and i hope they turn out just like YOU,
then you'll know what its like.....'

and finally..........

11) about POWER -
' i am YOUR mother you better listen to ME!!'
{ 11:18 am }



{ 11:59 pm }


Past Worries

Up high down a slope

The feelings pummel through

A sandbox,
thick as hope.

You may be built up like a borough,

But one look in the mirror and

the misdeeds done too long ago

surface with too much ease. When

You do offer your soul,

take a step back and think

would you be plugging a hole ?

or dumping more refuse

into
your
sink.
{ 2:30 am }


Just on wednesday, my HW101 Craft Of Writing tutorial had quite a lengthy (and humourous) discussion on singlish and its application. In the class, there were a few foreign students that didn't know wtf we were ranting about. To my surprise(dismay) the teacher didn't know some terms as well. I think singlish is more uniquely singapore than the merlion and sentosa. So, for the benefit of you kangtangs and bananas out there, I've compiled some information (!) on this.

You guys wanted a long informative entry right ? so go on, a deep abyss of lucrative knowledge is awaiting your curious mind!


Singlish 101 - just so you know

Singlish is a pidgin interlanguage native to Malaysia and Singapore. It is the first language of many younger uneducated Singaporeans, especially those whose parents do not share a native language or dialect, and is the second language of nearly all the rest of the country's residents due to the "Speak no dialect" campaign.

The Singaporean government currently discourages the use of Singlish in favour of Singapore Standard English as it believes in the need for Singaporeans to be able to effectively communicate with the other English users in the world. The government runs the Speak Good English Movement to emphasise the point.

Singlish is strongly discouraged in Singaporean schools at a governmental level as it is believed to hinder the proper learning of standard English, and so faces a situation of diglossia. The use of Singlish when speaking in classes or to teachers, however officially frowned upon, is rather inevitable given that many teachers themselves are comfortable with the variety. For many students, using Singlish is also inevitable when interacting with their peers, siblings, parents and elders. In polytechnics, students feel the greater need to socialise with their peers in a learning environment less rigid than primary or secondary school, and as a result Singlish is popular. The government continues to wage an uphill battle in discouraging students from developing a Singlish-speaking habit.

Singaporean men find speaking Singlish necessary during their time in the military, or national service (NS), as Singlish has replaced Hokkien as the standard vernacular in the Singapore Armed Forces. The informality of Singlish fits well in stressful training situations, and are used among soldiers regardless of ethnic groups and level of education. Many phrases originating in the military have filtered into the lexicon over the years and they have become a method of distinguishing those who have undergone NS (National Service). One such phrase is 'kena arrow'.

In most workplaces, Singlish is avoided in formal settings, especially at job interviews, meetings with clients, presentations or meetings.Nonetheless, select Singlish phrases are sometimes injected into discussions to build rapport or for a humorous effect, especially when the audience consists mainly of locals.

In other informal settings, such as during conversation with friends, or transactions in kopi tiams (coffee shops) and shopping malls, Singlish is used without restriction. The only exception is that that it may be considered impolite to speak Singlish when a foreigner is present, as it is likely that he or she will have difficulty comprehending what is being said.

It should also be noted that Singlish itself consists of a diverse continuum ranging from an acrolect that is very similar to British or American English, to a mesolect that is more divergent, to a basilect that is nearly incomprehensible to the average native speaker of English. In a formal situation, the acrolect may be acceptable, while the basilect would be unacceptable; in an informal situation, the situation may be reversed with the acrolect being too stiff and the basilect more acceptable.

YAWN. ok here is what that chunk means

Basilect ("Singlish") "Dis guy Singrish si behpowderful sia. "

Mesolect "Dis guy Singlishdamn powerful one leh."

Acrolect ("Standard")"This person's Singlish is very good."


Examples - Use and Application


Topic prominence

1. Dis country weather very hot one. – In this country, the weather is very warm.
2. Dat person there cannot trust. – That person over there is not trustworthy.
3. Tomorrow dun need bring camera. – You don't need to bring a camera tomorrow.
4. He play soccer also very good one leh. – He's very good at playing soccer too.

To be


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

When occurring with an adjective or adjective phrase, the verb "to be" tends to be omitted:

• I damn naughty.
  

Sometimes, an adverb such as "very" occurs, and this is reminiscent of Chinese usage of the word 'hen' (很）:

• Dis house very nice.
  

It is also common for the verb "to be" to be omitted before passives:

She punished.


and before the "-ing" form of the verb.

1. I still finding.
2. How come you so late you still playing music, ah?
3. You looking for trouble, izzit?
   

Slightly less common is the dropping out of "to be" when used as an equative between two nouns, or as a locative:

1. Dat one de wife lah. ("That lady is his wife.")
2. Dis boy the class monitor. (class president)
3. His house in Ang Mo Kio.

In general, "to be" drops out more after nouns and pronouns (except "I", "he", and "she"), and much less after a clause(what I think is...) or a demonstrative (this is...).


Change of state


Instead of the past tense, a change of state can be expressed by adding already or liao (/liɑ̂u/) to the end of the sentence, analogous to Chinese 了 (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 can refer to a real or hypothetical change of state in the past, present or future.

The frequent use of already in Singapore English is probably a direct influence of the Hokkien liao particle. For example:

1. Aiyah, cannot wait any more, must go oreddy. (Oh dear, I cannot wait any longer. I must leave immediately.)
2. Yesterday, dey go there oreddy. (They made a trip to that place yesterday.)
3. Ah Song kena sai oreddy, then how? (If Ah Song were to get in serious trouble, what would you do?)

Some examples of the direct use of the Hokkien particle are:

1. He throw it liao. (He has already thrown it away.)
2. I eat liao. (I ate or I have eaten.)
3. This new game, you play liao or not? (As for this new game, have you played it yet?)

Interrogative

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, or not is appended to the end of sentences to form yes/no questions.

Or not (HOT FAVOURITE) cannot be used with sentences already in the negative:

1. This book you want or not? – Do you want this book?
2. Can or not? – Is this possible / permissible?
3. The phrase is it is also appended to the end of sentences to form yes-no questions. It is generic like the French n'est-ce pas? (isn't it so?), regardless of the actual verb in the sentence.

Is it (VERY USEFUL TO NOTE) implies that the speaker is simply confirming something he/she has already inferred:

1. They never study, is it? (No wonder they failed their tests!)
2. You don't like that, is it? (No wonder you had that face!)
3. Alamak, you guys never read newspaper is it? – " What, don't you guys ever read a newspaper? No wonder you aren't up to date! "

Reduplication

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.

-You go ting ting a little bit, maybe den you will get answer. (Go and think over it for a while, and then you might understand.)
-So what I do was, I sit down and I ting ting ting, until I get answer lor. (So I sat down, thought, thought and thought, until I understood the issue.)

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

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

-My boy-boy is going to Primary One oreddy. (My son is about to enter Year/Grade/Standard One.)
-We two fren-fren one. (We are close friends.)

However, occasionally reduplication is also found with bisyllabic nouns:

-We buddy-buddy. You don't play me out, OK?
-I'm the kind who is buddy-buddy person.

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

-You go take the small-small one ah. (Retrieve the smaller item, please.)


Kena (v.important to know)


Kena is used as an auxiliary to mark the passive voice, in addition to "to be" and "to get". 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. It is interesting to note that 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 tio or Mandarin 被 bèi:

He was scolded. = He got scolded. = He kena scold/scolded.

If you don't listen to me, you will get punished, after which you will know that you were wrong = If u dun listen, later you get punished, and then you know = dun listen, later you kena punish/punished then you know.

Note that kena is not used with positive things:
*He kena praised.
*He kena lottery.
*He kena jackpot. (huge winnings from playing the slot machine)

Usage 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 strike the lottery!).

However, when used in sarcasm, kena can be used, 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:

• Better clean the room, otherwise you kena. (You will be punished if you don't tidy the room.)
• Dun listen to me, later you kena. (My advice isn't trustworthy, you might be in trouble.)

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

• Better clean the room, otherwise you will kena.
• Dun listen to me, later you will kena.

Some examples of Singlish phrases with Kena:

-kena arrow: be assigned an undesirable task. (derives from National Service/military practice of placing arrows on a name list to denote those responsible for a task)
-kena bully: get bullied
-kena fine: get 'fined', or charged by the police
-kena hantam: be hit by something, such as a ball, or to be beaten up
-kena sabo: become a victim of sabotage or a practical joke
-kena sai: literally "hit by shit"; be harmed by an unpleasant event or object
-kena tekan: tekan means "press", as in "pressure", in Malay; the phrase means to be physically tortured or punished. Often used in the army, which all male citizens must serve in.
-kena whack: be beaten badly, in games or in physical fights
-kena ban/silence: one of the newer uses of kena, it means to be banned/silenced in a computer game. Please note the "silence" is only used when silenced from talking in chat by GMs (Game Masters), not having the "silence" effect that stops you from doing spells.


***There are many examples and definitions, I'd leave that out and go on to, something erm, more important.***

Discourse particles

Particles in Singlish are highly comparable to Chinese. In general, discourse particles occur at the end of a sentence. Their presence changes the meaning or the tone of the sentence, but not its grammaticality.

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

Lah

The ubiquitous word lah, rarely spelled as larh or luh, is used at the end of a sentence.

'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. (On the other hand, 'lah' with a low tone might indicate impatience.)

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

I dun have lah! – I just don't have any of that (which you were requesting)!
Dun know oreddy lah! – Argh, I don't know anymore than what I told you! or I give up trying to understand this!

Lah is also used for reassurance:

Dun worry, he can one lah. – Don't worry, he definitely can do it.
Okay lah. – It's all right. Don't worry about it.

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 cannot appear with a yes-no question.

Other particles should be used instead:

He do that ar?
Later free or not?
Don't tell me he punch her ar?

Wat

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

But he very good at sports wat. – But he is very good at sports(Shouldn't you know this already, having known him for years?).
You never give me wat! – You were the one who didn't give it to me(Or else I would have gotten it, right?)!

It can also be used to strengthen any assertion:

The food there not bad what. Can try la.

**** ok now to my favourite few pieces. ****

Siah

also spelled sia, is used to express envy and for emphasis. The term "siah" is derived from Hokkien which consists of two words 'si' (literally means die) and 'ah' (a form of exclamation).

He very solid siah. – He's more than capable.
Wahlau, heng siah. – Goodness me (Wahlau)! That was a close shave (heng)!

Nia

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

Mary: "I not so old lah, I am 18 years old nia."

"No lah, my house only got one computer nia"

Then You Know

"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 translate as "and you will regret not heeding my advice".

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

" You never study for exams, later fail then you know. "

Got

"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 yǒu (to have):

-Got question? Any questions? / Is there a question? / Do you have a question?
-Yesterday ar, East Coast Park got so many people one! There were so many people at East Coast Park yesterday. / East Coast Park 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 this basis of accusation?, or less politely, There isn't/aren't any! also more loosely,-What are you talking about?; it is normally a generic response to any accusation.

(!) all information taken from Wikipedia

in essence, i feel singlish is really the economy of words and to add a more laidback vibe to conversation. we have to know when to use it, and when not to. SO boys and girls, if you ever use singlish in your examinations/assignments, or if your work presentations aren't presented in the proper queen's english, you ought to be shot (many many times).
{ 1:18 pm }



{ 2:53 am }

shawn ang
leo | 3rd august 87'
aspiring guitarist
avid arsenal fan
soccer fanatic
basket ball lover

the random shoutouts.


the friends.
04A06.. daphne.. isrin.. ah bao.. melvin.. sky.. cheryl.. ler.. sihua.. budi.. rozmail.. evon.. jon..

the past.
July 2004.. August 2004.. September 2004.. October 2004.. November 2004.. December 2004.. January 2005.. February 2005.. March 2005.. April 2005.. May 2005.. June 2005.. July 2005.. August 2005.. September 2005.. October 2005.. November 2005.. December 2005.. January 2006.. February 2006.. March 2006.. April 2006.. May 2006.. June 2006.. July 2006.. August 2006.. September 2006.. October 2006.. November 2006.. December 2006.. January 2007.. February 2007.. March 2007.. May 2007.. June 2007.. July 2007.. August 2007.. September 2007.. October 2007.. November 2007.. December 2007.. January 2008.. February 2008.. March 2008.. April 2008.. May 2008.. June 2008.. July 2008.. August 2008.. September 2008.. October 2008.. November 2008.. December 2008.. January 2009.. February 2009.. March 2009.. April 2009.. May 2009.. June 2009.. July 2009.. August 2009.. September 2009.. October 2009.. November 2009.. December 2009.. January 2010.. February 2010.. March 2010.. April 2010.. May 2010.. June 2010.. August 2010..

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