Singdarin
Singdarin | |
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Singnese | |
Region | Singapore |
Native speakers | No statistics yet |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | None (mis ) |
Glottolog | None |
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Life in Singapore |
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Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, also known as Singdarin (simplified Chinese: 新加坡式华语; traditional Chinese: 新加坡式華語; pinyin: Xīnjiāpōshì Huáyǔ; Wade–Giles: hsin1 chia1 p'o1 shih4 hua2 yü3),[1] is an interlanguage native to Singapore. In Taiwan, this language variety is known as Singnese (Chinese: 星式中文; pinyin: Xīngshì Zhōngwén; Wade–Giles: hsing1 shih4 chung1 wen2; lit. 'Sing[apore] colloquial Chinese language').[2] It is based on Mandarin but has a large amount of English in its vocabulary. For this reason, Singdarin is sometimes known as "Anglo-Chinese". There are also words from Malay and other Chinese languages.[3]
In general, well-educated Chinese Singaporeans are able to code-switch between Singdarin and Standard Mandarin.
Singdarin grammar is usually identical to Chinese. In some circumstances, there is code-switching with English.[citation needed] Singdarin vocabulary consists of a large number of words from English, Hokkien and Malay, among other languages, often when speakers do not know the Mandarin equivalent of what they wish to express, and instead use English words to convey the meaning.
It is almost identical to the Colloquial Malaysian Mandarin spoken in Malaysia, while native Chinese from China or native Taiwanese from Taiwan generally find it difficult to understand Singdarin due to large number of English or non-Mandarin words used. The Singaporean government currently discourages the use of Singdarin in favour of Standard Singaporean Mandarin as it believes in the need for Singaporeans to be able to communicate effectively with native Chinese from China or Taiwan.
Origins[]
Like its Singlish equivalent, Singdarin evolved because many Singaporean Chinese families come from mixed language environments. For instance, children may be raised in households in which one parent speaks English while the other speaks Chinese or coming for other Chinese dialects, such as Hokkien or Cantonese respectively.
Singdarin has also evolved largely because Singapore is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society. One of the most important policies of the Singaporean government is to ensure social and multi-ethnic harmony. Therefore, instead of letting certain ethnic groups to live in an isolated community like they did in the past, the Singapore government encourages the majority of Singaporeans to live in HDB flats that have now become a melting pot of Chinese, Malays, Indians and other different ethnicity who speak different languages. This is believed to reduce differences between the diverse linguistic and ethnic groups in Singapore.
As the majority of Singaporeans live in HDB flats, which have families coming from various linguistic, racial and ethnic background, there is a tendency for different languages to be mixed in order to facilitate more effective communication between the different races. In short, it leads to the creation of a hybrid culture (known colloquially as a "rojak" culture).
This and the tendency for the Singaporean Chinese people to use the mixed language that they use at home in daily colloquial conversation has since influenced the Mandarin spoken in schools, resulting in "Singdarin" being formed. It was in this environment that Singdarin developed.
Examples of Singdarin (Anglo-Chinese) dialogue[]
Below are some examples of Singdarin dialogue spoken amongst some Chinese Singaporeans.
Singdarin (Anglo-Chinese) dialogue | English translation | Standard Mandarin |
---|---|---|
你的 office 在 哪里 ? | Where is your office? | 您的办公室在哪里? |
Raffles Place, 很 靠近 MRT.1 | Raffles Place, located near the MRT station. | 莱佛士坊,在地铁站附近/离地铁站不远 |
你 在 那边 做 多久 了? | How long have you been working there? | 你在那里工作多久了? |
不 太 久 Six months. 我 想 find another job. | Not long, 6 months. I'm thinking of finding another job. | 没多久,六个月。我想找一份新(的)工作 |
Maybe 明年 when 我 complete 我的 accounting course | Maybe next year when I complete my accounting course | 可能明年我修完会计课程之后 |
But 我 要 去 吃饭 | But I'm going for my dinner | 不过我要去吃饭 |
1 Usually the word 'station' is omitted.
English loanwords[]
The following are the common English loan words used in Singdarin.
English loanwords | Standard Mandarin words | Examples of usage |
---|---|---|
but | 不过 / 但(是) / 可(是) | But 他很聪明leh! (But he's very clever!) |
then | 然后 | Then, 他就来了! (Then he comes!) |
actually | 其实 | Actually, 我本来要去的! (Actually, I wanted to go there!) |
share | 共享 / 分 / 分享 | Eh!蛋糕可以跟我share吗? (Can you share your cake with me?) |
blur (Singlish) | 搞不清楚状况 / 模糊不清 | 你知道吗?他弄到我很blur! (Do you know he makes all at sea?) |
anyway/anyhow | 无论如何 / 不管怎(么)样 | Anyway, 我一定要/该去! (Anyway, I must go!) |
That's why | 所以 / 于是 | That's why 我很讨厌他! (That's why I hate him!) |
Loanwords from other languages[]
Just like Singlish, certain words used in Singlish are also interchangeably used in Singdarin.
Loanwords | Standard Mandarin words | Definition | Notes | Example of usage |
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buay tahan | 受不了 | cannot tolerate | formed by combination of Hokkien word "beh WIKI |