Just curious. It becomes a symbol(can I say 'image'?) of Singapore, When ppl imitate Singaporean, they must say that 'lah' word at the end of the sentence.
2006-06-30 07:06:19 · 12 answers · asked by Noname 2 in Travel ➔ Asia Pacific ➔ Singapore
And those words like 'yah lor', 'ya la', 'meh?', 'wa lao'....etc
That make Singapore a unique place with its own language.
2006-06-30 16:34:08 · update #1
The ubiquitous word "lah" is derived from Malay. In the original Malay, 'lah' is appended to the end of the word and is not a separate word by itself. As used in Singlish however, it is mainly used at the used at the end of a sentence.
In Malay, 'lah' is used to change a verb into a command or to soften its tone, particularly when usage of the verb may seem impolite. To drink is minum, but 'Here, drink!' is minumlah. Similarly, 'lah' is frequently used with imperatives in Singlish: Drink, lah! (Come on, drink!)
Some of my foreign friends try to imitate me and add a 'lah' to their speech. But it's not so simple! You can't just add 'lah' to just any sentence. It's incorrect usage! *grin*
For anyone who is interested to try, here are some basic guidelines:
'Lah' occurs frequently with "Yah" and "No" (hence "Yah lah" and "No lah"). The results sound less brusque and facilitate the flow of conversation.
Lah is often used with brusque, short, negative responses:
Dun have, lah! (Brusque response to, "Lend me some money, can?")
Lah is also used for reassurance:
Dun worry, he can one lah. Don't worry, he can [do it].
It's okay lah. It's all right.
Lah can also be used to emphasize 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. Another particle should be used instead:
Where are you ar?
Correct or not ar? ^_^
2006-07-04 15:11:22 · answer #1 · answered by lb2k 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it started out from the Chinese as a form of espression. Some actually meant things - wah lao is actually a shortened version of the hokkien term meant to mean , my husband. I guess it all started from gossiping and ended up in lost in translation in our daily language due to the mix of races in Singapore.
2006-07-01 06:56:33 · answer #2 · answered by chickenlittlecookie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Phua Chu Kang.. lah
2006-07-04 00:20:04 · answer #3 · answered by cjunmeng 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is more of being multi-ligual. Many are borrowed expressions from the chinese and malay languages. And this had stuck with the locals ever since.
2006-07-02 06:00:58 · answer #4 · answered by peanutz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the government
nothing is allowed in singapore without the governments permisssion
2006-07-05 09:57:33 · answer #5 · answered by jayden 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hee... heee... mainly it was a language problem....
translation problem.... mandrain translated to english..
addition problem..( alike to mixing of salad) a of english, with a little of mandrain, with a little of dialect, with a little of malay..
there you will have a mixture of a "wonderful" salad..
2006-06-30 16:42:44 · answer #6 · answered by galfriends2001 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the government
u cant do anything in singpaore without government permission
2006-07-05 11:30:33 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I dont think its anyone in particular. I think it sort of evolved.
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2006-07-05 00:40:40 · answer #8 · answered by ☆The-Siren 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
singaporean
2006-07-11 05:37:11 · answer #9 · answered by Nikiki 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
American Indians do that, too.
2006-06-30 07:10:00 · answer #10 · answered by lady Ironhair 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋