why do singaporeans sound weird when they speak english?

Answer 1

Most Singaporeans are Chinese. From what i see, only the chinese speaks this kind of English. Their English language is quite bad and toneless. So it is because of Chinese tongue.

Just like Indians, Indians have some accents. For example when you say GOD. They tend to say the letter D louder. goDuh! And SURE, they pronounce it as SHORE.

It depends.

Answer 2

Looking at your ID, we can assume that you are of Indian decent. Therefore, if my assumption is correct, let me ask you, if you have travelled to India or even spoken to Indians in Indian on the phone in English?

You may not realise it if you are Indian and share the same ACCENT, but its very difficult to understand them if one is from a non-indian background.

Therefore, can I ask, "Why do Indians sound weird when they speak English? Or Why the French sound weird when they speak English?

It is agreeable that Singaporeans sounds weird when they speak English, however, its UNDERSTANDABLE.

Also, Singaporeans spoken grammar can be appalling at times, but we have to give them marks for trying, since its not their first language and past campaigns to speak more mandarin has caused the English standard to take a dive.

(FYI, in regards to Singapore Mandarin, many Chinese from China also say that Singaporeans mandarin sounds different from the way they speak mandarin, but still, it is understandable).

The point is, it doesn't matter if it SOUNDS weird, as long as the grammar is right and understandable.

I am not sure if you travel much, but do you know how difficult it is to understand simple English even from some places in Europe, not even to mention India and China and many parts of the world.

Before you make a statement like that, you should travel and see the world.

Answer 3

They may not sound like the typical Americans and Britons who speak the English language but they try hard enough and I'll give them an "A" for effort. Come on guys, English is their official language. Its just that, coming from a socio-historical perspective, English was not their mother language.

Please note that Singapore was a then state of Malaysia, therefore its ancestors were Chinese, Malaysians and Indians. It was only when it gained its independence, English language was declared by then Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew that it should be their official language.

Answer 4

I lived in Singapore briefly. They don't claim to speak "English", but "Sin-glish" instead. That's basically grammar-less broken English mixed with Chinese.

Example:
English: Where are you going?
Singlish: You are going where lah ? The word "lah" is actually a Chinese word. The order of the words in the sentence has been swapped to match that of the Chinese language.

Singaporeans are proud of their language, they view it as some kind of national symbol, pride.

Yes, it sounds very strange indeed (almost annoying at times), but what the heck, they are entitled to forming their own language and be proud of it.

Answer 5

We could easily go around asking why Jamaicans, or even the British sound weird when they speak English. Everyone and country has their own accents and intonations

Answer 6

Ooei... it is not sound weird lah.... because we are not speaking English mah.... we are speaking singlish... you know? we speak like this one... it is like I asking you why Indian couples like to running around trees, rolling on the grassy Fields and dance the co-ordinated dance with strangers in Indian movies mah.... why like dat leh? Because It is call CULTURE...

P/S: Singlish = Singaporean English (It includes a mixture of Malay, Chinese Dialect, Indian, English language)

Answer 7

Says who? I'm Singaporean and I loved the way my English is spoken and it has received many positive comments (about my English) from foreigners too.

Answer 8

every country has its own tongue and sometimes it influences their pronounciations with their english as well. u know accents? the Brit cockney accent, texans have their own slang, indians never get understood, japanese have their own broken english. singapore have our own comical informal way of speaking as well. oh well foreigners always sound different from you, its culture. anyway english is the first language in multi-racial, multi-cultural singapore.

Answer 9

I was in Singapore for more than one year. I asked the same question to many Singaporeans. The answer is puzzling. They distinguish their English as SEnglish. I am not sure what they meant.

Answer 10

They do have strange accent but I don't consider it weird.