The Language Nazi Strikes Back
Monday, August 04, 2008
The Language Nazi Strikes Back
And I return, for yet another round of common language bashing, although it is going to be a little different this time around. Today's entry is going to deal with Singlish, although not every aspect of it certainly. Singlish isn't necessarily a language by itself, but a combination of different languages and a certain accent that is very distinct and recognizable. It is not going to be difficult to find a Singaporean if you are overseas, all you need to do is to open up your ears. For the most part, Singlish isn't necessarily "wrong" in the traditional sense, although grammatical mistakes are aplenty in the structure of the language itself. However, these little mistakes are just aspects of the language that makes it so special and unique, and at times, homely too. It is an welcoming language to me personally, it gives me a feeling of familiarity somehow. To call it a beacon of hope would be pushing it, but I'd be comforted if I hear someone speak in that accent in a foreign land, that's for sure. Anyway, I am fine with Singlish as a whole, in fact I speak that way at times to my friends. It is a cute little language that combines aspects of English, mandarin, malay and hindi - so beat that.
And I return, for yet another round of common language bashing, although it is going to be a little different this time around. Today's entry is going to deal with Singlish, although not every aspect of it certainly. Singlish isn't necessarily a language by itself, but a combination of different languages and a certain accent that is very distinct and recognizable. It is not going to be difficult to find a Singaporean if you are overseas, all you need to do is to open up your ears. For the most part, Singlish isn't necessarily "wrong" in the traditional sense, although grammatical mistakes are aplenty in the structure of the language itself. However, these little mistakes are just aspects of the language that makes it so special and unique, and at times, homely too. It is an welcoming language to me personally, it gives me a feeling of familiarity somehow. To call it a beacon of hope would be pushing it, but I'd be comforted if I hear someone speak in that accent in a foreign land, that's for sure. Anyway, I am fine with Singlish as a whole, in fact I speak that way at times to my friends. It is a cute little language that combines aspects of English, mandarin, malay and hindi - so beat that.
However, things have changed a little ever since I came to Singapore so many years ago. At first, I couldn't understand a word my classmates were saying, the way they added strange accented sounds at the end of their sentences like "lah" or "meh". I couldn't understand those at all, but I ended up saying "lah" and "meh" at the end of my sentences anyway, just to fit into the crowd. In the beginning, there were only so many distinctively things about Singlish that I noticed, and some of them are "lah", "meh" and "liao". I am not sure where "meh" came about, but "lah" is definitely derived from the chinese word with the same pronunciation. It usually amplifies the meaning of the sentence, perhaps with a slight hint of annoyance or irritation. Imagine your parents trying to ask you to clear out the trash for the umpteenth time. Your reply to this, for the umpteenth time, is probably going to be "I will 'lah'" in Singapore's context. The meaning of a sentence is not going to be lost, or the structure wrong, if you take away this "lah" at the end of any sentence. Still, it helps to bring forth a sense of irritation, perhaps a verbal cue of sorts for you to stop asking and shut the hell up.
"Liao" kind of acts like the word "already" in proper English language. Like, if you take the above example again, "liao" at the end of the sentence would probably mean that you have "cleared the trash already", something along the lines of that. It probably denotes the completion of the subject in the sentence, and it could be anything really. While I am not sure of how "meh" came about, I shall try to explain its usage anyway. "Meh" is kind of like the question mark, only it isn't a punctuation. "Meh" usually appears at the end of a question, practically any kind of question you can think of right now, it probably applies really well. Nothing much to say about "meh", but just the kind reminder to add a question mark behind "meh", although they really mean the very same thing. "Leh" has almost the same meaning as "liao", which is "already". However, "leh" was probably created when "liao" didn't work very well at a point in time. It further amplifies on the fact that you might have already done something, and by combining "liao" and "leh" at the end of a sentence, it should get the point across. If that doesn't work, throw in a series of Hokkien vulgarities, which I will not get into.
Like I said before, I have nothing against Singlish, nothing at all. In fact, I probably have more problems with internet short forms more than any other languages in the world. However, in recent years, the integration of various languages into Singlish has made it a language that is somewhat unbearable, in some aspects. The normal "leh", "liao", "meh" and "lah" still very much exists, but there have been more of such "words" being added into the Singlish dictionary that, sometimes the locals themselves can't even take it that well any longer. It is especially true amongst the younger generation of Singaporeans, you hear them talk on the phone in buses or the way that they blog on the internet. It can be incredibly irritating to read words like "bah" and "le" at the end of sentences, especially when the sentences themselves are already in short forms and numbers - what's up with that? Nobody can type properly any longer, they have to type in alternating capitalized letters, and they also have to add an obscene amount of "Xs", "Os" and "Z"s at the end of every sentence.
With that said, "bah" totally works when you are speaking mandarin. It is a legitimate word, and it has been in existence for as long as the language. However, you don't speak in English and then decide to add that word to the end of your sentence and think that it is cute, that it is adorable, that it is something fashionable to do - it isn't. Whoever came up with that idea must be very proud of doing so right now, because the trend has caught on with the younger generation. It is one thing if people are only going to restrict this habit to the internet. It is another thing when they actually speak that way in real life. It's really disturbing, if you ask me, because it is almost like somebody suddenly announcing an error message when he cannot solve a math problem in school, or your parents prompting you about "shutting down" when you tell them you are about to go to bed. Speaking that way in real life is creepy, and it does not make you "cute", it really doesn't.
The same goes with "le", and it probably came from the same idiotic person as well. "Le", in mandarin, is a perfectly fine word. Nothing is wrong with "le" in mandarin, but the problem comes when you apply it to a perfectly normal sentence in English. The first time I saw "bah" and "le" in any sentence, I died three times over before I regained my composure. It was strange, and it was cringe-worthy to say the very least. However, it is not like people are curbing this bad habit either - they are promoting it. Everyday, thousands upon thousands of young Singaporeans are taking up the habit to type and speak with "bah" and "le" at the end of their sentences - what's up with that? It irritates me to no end, and the same goes for my peers and my sister, who happen to be very anal people just like myself when it comes to language. I hear people like that on buses and trains all the time, and they have also gone as far as saying internet languages like "lol" and "wtf" in their sentences. If this is going to be the dawn of a common language as George Orwell predicted in 1984, I'd rather drink hydrochloric acid and then put my head into a rubbish truck at the same time just to suffocate myself. The horrors!
As if "bah" and "le" isn't enough, there are people out there who use "wor" as well. What in the world is "wor"? Who came up with that? Unlike the previous words I introduced, this one isn't the result of some punk-headed teenager with a bad imagination. This one is actually rooted in the older generation in Singapore, and I remember distinctively how my Chinese teacher in the second grade used to say it at the end of her sentences all the time. I remember her very well, because she used to teacher my sister's class as well, and she was the kind of teacher who has been in the business for way too long. You could tell from the thinning hair and the droopy face, and the way she always looked so tired after a lesson was being taught. What I remember the most about her was the way she smelled like old people when she called my name to the front of the class, the way her fingers used to be stained with chalk dust, and the fact that she said "wor" at the end of every sentence for no apparent reasons. Just imagine Mr. Mackey from South Park, and the way he says "m'kay" all the time. Only, my chinese teacher probably wasn't trying to say anything vulgar to the class, or at least I hope not.
So, "bah" and "le" annoys me, while "wor" baffles me. The next one completely blows everything out of the water. So, we have one generation that spoke the traditional Singlish, then we have the younger generation speaking another type of Singlish. Now we have a brand new breed of these punk-headed teenagers with bad imaginations, coming up with different variations of those words that we have grown so comfortable and used to. Remember "le"? Well, somebody took that word, added a "H", then removed the "E" and replaced that with an "U". That's right, I bet most of you locals haven't even heard of this one before - it's "luh". I first heard it from the sister of a friend while we had a conversation over the internet, I'm not sure how that happened by the way. When she uttered that strange alien tongue over the MSN window, I asked her what was that all about. She said everybody her age (pretty young) was saying that in school now. It felt like some viral infection that cannot be stopped, and I wonder what it means. Actually, "leh" and "luh" aren't very different at all, they are just different words. This may be an effort to kick out the old and bring in the new, it's a revolution for all the wrong reasons.
I foresee, in the near future, we are going to have even more of these irritating words tagged to the end of perfectly ordinary English sentences. "Meh" hasn't actually been touched yet, and I see the "E" being taken out and replaced by "O", or something like that. It is going to sound ridiculous, in fact it already sounds ridiculous. But the next generation of people aren't going to care whether or not it sounds ridiculous - to a lot of foreigners, Singlish already sounds that way, anyway. To me, Singlish is more like the Irish accent, or the Scottish accent. Most foreigners aren't going to understand what in the world we are saying, but there is a subtle sense of camaraderie when you are speaking in the same accent with somebody else. You truly feel like you belong to a community, somehow, and the feeling is great. The problem comes, however, when this same community is conflicted with one another when it comes to the words to use and to speak. To say that I am a Language Nazi, really, is an over-statement. I let too many things slide, but not this one. Not this one, not ever.
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