Singapore English

proper noun

A localised variety of English found in Singapore, made up of two varieties: high (Singapore Standard English) and low (Singapore Colloquial English, Singlish).

Meanings

proper noun
  1. A localised variety of English found in Singapore, made up of two varieties: high (Singapore Standard English) and low (Singapore Colloquial English, Singlish).

    Dr Chua says that by the 21st Century, Singapore English will be qualitatively different but will retain its basic character.

    1995, Catherine Lim, The Straits Times, page 21
    5 more examples

    A retired British civil servant and an Oxford graduate at that, vigorously advocates that Singaporeans should speak Singapore English.

    1972, Evelyn Ng, The Straits Times, page 5

    This question has aroused considerable interest since the publication of Stephen Snow Menneer’s article on Singapore English in the January issue of the NYLTI (National Youth Leadership Training Institute) Journal.

    1972, Pang Cheng Lian, New Nation, page 8

    I have always been of the opinion that anybody, particularly expatriates, who subscribe to the “Singapore English” idea is a saboteur, and should not be entrusted with the teaching of the language to our students.

    1980, Vivian Quek, New Nation, page 6

    More recently, in the past five years, there has been the effort to collect, computerise, and analyse a million-word corpus of both written and spoken Singapore English.

    1999, National University of Singapore, Singapore Studies: Critical Surveys of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol II, page 78

    In the following paragraphs the term Singapore Colloquial English refers to the very informal variety used in some situations by native or proficient speakers of Singapore English, who choose this variety as an alternative to Standard English and often mix it with Standard English (or with other languages).

    2000, Anthea Fraser Gupta, Postimperial & Postcolonial Literature in English, page (online)

    Synonyms: Singaporean English

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA localised variety of English found in Singapore, made up of two varieties: high (Singapore Standard English) and low (Singapore Colloquial English, Singlish).

Translations

Polish dialekt singapurski języka angielskiego
  • dialekt singapurski języka angielskiegodialect of English
Cite this entry
APA

Singapore English. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Singapore%20English

MLA

“Singapore English.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Singapore%20English. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Singapore English,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Singapore%20English.

Source: Singapore English on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.