Alamak! Why Singapore English is so colourful
Singaporeans are the most frequent users of colorful words in English after Americans, Britons, and Australians, according to a study reported by CNN. As native English speakers, Americans, Britons, and Australians naturally use English expletives more often than non-native speakers from places like India or Pakistan. But Singaporeans use such words more frequently than even native English speakers from New Zealand and Canada. 'English in Singapore is increasingly seen not as a second language, but as a native language,' the study notes.
Singapore has indeed appropriated the English language as its own. This sense of ownership comes through powerfully in Catherine Lim's book Romancing the Language .
'It's said that even if you speak several languages, there's only one in which you live — your mother tongue,' she wrote. 'The language in which I live, breathe, think and dream is, by that definition, not the Hokkien of my parents and their parents, and their parents' parents, all the way back to the southern Chinese province of Fujian, where we came from, so long ago. It is English. English is my mother tongue in the fullest, most meaningful sense of the word.'
She recalled her first encounter with English at age six when she attended a convent school in the town of Kulim in what was then Malaya. 'The sheer excitement of the new language had instantly relegated the Hokkien of my birth and upbringing to secondary position. It seemed that I was walking into a brave new world.'
Not every child experiences this dramatic transition from one language to another in Singapore now that English has become the first language for so many people. According to the Department of Statistics, Singapore, almost half the population speaks English most frequently at home.
However, people generally mind their language, both in Singapore and abroad. Bad words are rarely used, according to the CNN study. Based on web data (excluding social media and private messaging), the research found 'vulgar words' made up just 0.036% of all words in data from the United States, 0.025% in Britain, 0.022% in Australia, and 0.021% in Singapore. The incidence was even lower in New Zealand (0.020%), Malaysia (0.019%), Ireland (0.019%), Jamaica (0.017%), and Canada (0.016%).
Given its clean image, Singapore might have been expected to be more discreet in its language. But the study suggests that 'youthful swearing in Singapore' could be a reaction against the government's 'strict stance against swearing and offensive language in public areas'. New entries in Oxford English Dictionary
Alamak! The Malay word just slipped into the Oxford English Dictionary, which calls it an 'interjection' expressing 'surprise, shock, outrage, dismay or outrage.' The local word 'lah' also entered the dictionary, which says it's 'used with various kinds of pitch to convey the mood and attitude of the speaker,' as in 'Come and see lah,' a quote from the former newspaper New Nation .
Words used in Singapore and Malaysia have been creeping into the Oxford English Dictionary over the years. The newest entries, added in the March 2025 update, mostly refer to favourite local dishes that have made Singapore a haven for foodies:
Kaya: A jam made from coconut milk, eggs, and sugar, usually flavoured with pandan leaf, found in Singaporean, Malaysian, and Indonesian cuisine.
Kaya toast: A sandwich consisting of two slices of toasted bread spread with butter and kaya, popular in Singapore and Malaysia.
Ketupat: A small rice cake boiled in a pouch of woven palm leaves, originating in Indonesia but also popular in Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Otak-otak: A Southeast Asian dish of ground fish or seafood mixed with spices and coconut milk, wrapped in banana or palm leaves, and cooked by steaming or grilling over charcoal, usually served with nasi lemak.
Nasi lemak: A Malay dish of rice cooked in coconut milk and flavored with pandan leaf, served with various garnishes like cucumber slices, fried fish, roasted peanuts, cooked egg, and sambal, typically eaten for breakfast.
Fish head curry: A dish influenced by Chinese and South Indian cuisine, featuring a large fish head (usually sea bream or snapper) cooked in tangy tamarind-based curry gravy with vegetables like eggplant and okra.
Half-boiled egg: An egg cooked briefly in freshly boiled water so the yolk and white remain runny, then cracked open and served in a bowl, seasoned with dark soy sauce and white pepper.
Steamboat: A dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables dipped in boiling stock by diners at the table, or the metal pot used for cooking and serving such dishes. See also Should everyone in Singapore speak English?
Tapau: To take food or drink from a restaurant for consumption elsewhere.
These new entries join Singapore words already in the dictionary:
Shiok: An exclamation expressing admiration or approval.
Ang moh: A light-skinned person, especially of Western origin; a Caucasian.
Atas: Sophisticated, highbrow, classy—sometimes with negative connotations of arrogance or snobbishness.
Blur: Slow in understanding; unaware, ignorant, confused.
Chicken rice: Boiled, roasted, or braised chicken served with rice cooked in chicken stock and flavoured with ginger and pandan leaves, originating in Hainan province but particularly popular in Singapore and Malaysia.
Chilli crab: Crab cooked in a sweet and spicy gravy containing red chillies and tomato.
Hawker centre: A food market where individual vendors sell cooked food from small stalls with shared seating.
HDB: Housing and Development Board.
Lepak: The practice of loitering aimlessly or idly; loafing, relaxing, hanging out.
Killer litter: Objects thrown or falling from high-rise buildings, endangering people below.
Singlish: An informal variety of English spoken in Singapore, incorporating elements of Chinese and Malay.
One reason so many Singaporean and Malaysian delicacies have entered the Oxford English Dictionary is that its editors seek 'untranslatable words'. 'The names of local dishes tend to be borrowed into English rather than given an Anglicised name,' explains Danica Salazar, OED executive editor, discussing the inclusion of terms like 'kaya toast' and 'nasi lemak'. That's why exclamations like 'alamak' and 'lah' have also made it into the dictionary. They are really untranslatable lah!
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