Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, commonly known as Singdarin[a] or Singnese,[b] is a Mandarin dialect native and unique to Singapore similar to its English-based counterpart Singlish. It is based on Mandarin but has a large amount of English and Malay in its vocabulary. There are also words from other Chinese languages such as Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew as well as Tamil.[3] While Singdarin grammar is largely identical to Standard Mandarin, there are significant divergences and differences especially in its pronunciation and vocabulary.
Today, Singdarin remains often used and is commonly spoken in colloquial speech in Singapore and occasionally even on local television, and most Chinese-speaking Singaporeans are able to code-switch between Singdarin and Standard Mandarin, likewise with most Singaporeans in general with Singlish and standard Singapore English. Furthermore, most non-Chinese Singaporeans are also generally able to understand or speak Singdarin due to many of its phrases and words being widely used in common parlance throughout Singapore, including words which were initially not of Mandarin origin but subsequently adopted into Singdarin.
It is believed that Singadrin, like Singlish, further developed due to the government's policy of high density public housing of Singaporeans of different ethnic groups living together.
Like its Singlish equivalent, Singdarin evolved because many Singaporean Chinese families come from mixed language environments. For instance, children may be raised in households in which one parent speaks English or Malay while the other speaks Chinese or coming for other Chinese dialects, such as Hokkien or Cantonese. Indian languages such as Tamil were also commonly heard in such environments.[5]
Singdarin has also evolved largely because Singapore is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society. One of the most important policies of the Singaporean government is to foster social cohesion and multi-ethnic harmony, and prevent neglected areas or districts and ethnic enclaves from developing.
Therefore, instead of letting certain ethnic groups to live in isolated communities like they did in the past, the Singapore government encourages the majority of Singaporeans that live in state HDB housing to be a melting pot of Chinese, Malays, Indians and other different ethnicities who speak different languages. This is believed to reduce differences between the diverse linguistic and ethnic groups in Singapore, and to ensure racial harmony.[6]
As the majority of Singaporeans live in such housing environments, which have families coming from various linguistic, racial and ethnic backgrounds, there is a tendency for different languages to be mixed in order to facilitate more effective communication between the different races. In short, it leads to the creation of a hybrid culture (known colloquially as the Singaporean "rojak" culture).[5]
This and the tendency for the Singaporean Chinese people to use the mixed language that they use at home in daily colloquial conversation has since influenced the Mandarin spoken in schools, resulting in "Singdarin" being formed. It was in this environment that Singdarin developed.
Examples of Singdarin dialogue
Below are some examples of Singdarin dialogue spoken amongst some Chinese Singaporeans.
originate from Teochew (死父, literally meaning dead father and hence in such a context, "on my dead father") and has the general meaning of 'damn'.
sibeh sian！[Very boring!]
walao eh
我的天啊！
my gosh/oh my god
originate from Singaporean Hokkien vulgar word "wa lan eh 我𡳞呃/我膦呃" (literally 'my dick'). "Wa lau eh 我老呃" (literally 'my father') is a more polite variant of it.
Walao eh, 你怎么可以这样？ [My god, how can you be like that?]
guai lan
令人讨厌的家伙
annoying/irritating person
originate from Singaporean Hokkien vulgar word "guai lan 怪𡳞/怪膦" (literally 'strange dick').
他sibeh guai lan的！ [He is an annoying person!]
sua ku
井底之蛙
someone who has not been exposed to the society and is not well-informed about many things
from Hokkien word "suaku 山龟" (literally "tortoise on the mountain")
这个人很sua ku! [This guy is a tortoise on the mountain]
salah
错/坏掉了
incorrect/something went wrong
from Malay
计算机salah了 ! [Something went wrong with the computer]
ulu
偏僻
remote
from Malay
这个地方这么 ulu ，连一只鬼影都没有! [That place is very remote, not a single ghost (person) around!]
terok
难搞/困难
troublesome
from Malay
那位顾客sibeh terok！ [That customer is very troublesome!]
sibei jialat
非常(真假)麻烦
really difficult
from Hokkien
那个东西不懂被谁弄到乱七八糟，sibei jialat! [Somebody has made a huge mess of that thing, which makes things really difficult for us!]
Usage of English technical terms
Since English is the main working and educational language of Singapore, many Chinese Singaporeans are more familiar with the English professional terminology (technical terms) used at work, rather than that of Mandarin. This led to many Chinese Singaporeans tending to mix large numbers of English professional terms into Mandarin at work, instead of using Chinese technical terms. As such, a form of Singdarin spoken at work appears, resulting in some degree of communication barrier at work between the Chinese Singaporeans and the Chinese from China or Taiwan.
Comparison between Singdarin spoken at work in Singapore and Mandarin spoken at work in China is shown below:
^. 《三联生活周刊》. Archived from the original on 12 September 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
^顧長永 (Gu Changyong) (25 July 2006). 《新加坡: 蛻變的四十年》 (Singapore: The Changing Forty Years). Taiwan: 五南圖書出版股份有限公司. p. 54. ISBN978-957-11-4398-9.
^"重视新加坡本土华语的文化意义 (Attending to the cultural significance of Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin)". 華語橋 (Huayuqiao). Retrieved 11 February 2011.
^Cavallaro, Francesco; Seilhamer, Mark Fifer; Yen Yee, Ho; Bee Chin, Ng (10 August 2018). "Attitudes to Mandarin Chinese varieties in Singapore". Journal of Asian Pacific Communication. 28 (2): 195–225. doi:10.1075/japc.00010.cav. hdl:10356/137340. S2CID 149993315. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
^ abKaur, Tarra (23 March 2018). "11 Things You Should Know About Singaporean Culture". theculturetrip.com. Culture Trip. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
^"Ethnic Integration Policy and SPR Quota - Housing & Development Board (HDB)". Housing and Development Board (HDB). Retrieved 23 December 2020.
^ ab"新加坡式华语". 联合早报网. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
External links
Video Example of Singdarin
Singaporean Mandarin Database - Promote Mandarin Council
January 04, 2023
singdarin, confused, with, sindarin, singaporean, mandarin, colloquial, singaporean, mandarin, commonly, known, singnese, mandarin, dialect, native, unique, singapore, similar, english, based, counterpart, singlish, based, mandarin, large, amount, english, mal. Not to be confused with Sindarin or Singaporean Mandarin Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin commonly known as Singdarin a or Singnese b is a Mandarin dialect native and unique to Singapore similar to its English based counterpart Singlish It is based on Mandarin but has a large amount of English and Malay in its vocabulary There are also words from other Chinese languages such as Cantonese Hokkien and Teochew as well as Tamil 3 While Singdarin grammar is largely identical to Standard Mandarin there are significant divergences and differences especially in its pronunciation and vocabulary SingdarinColloquial Singaporean MandarinSingnese新加坡式华语星式中文RegionSingaporeNative speakers1 5 million estimate Language familySino Tibetan SiniticMandarinSingaporean MandarinSingdarinLanguage codesISO 639 3None mis GlottologNoneThe Singaporean government had previously discouraged the use of Singdarin in favour of Standard Singaporean Mandarin under the Speak Mandarin Campaign SMC as it believed in the need for Singaporeans to be able to communicate effectively with other Chinese speakers from mainland China Taiwan or other Sinophone regions However such campaigns have been toned down in recent years in response to push back by Singaporeans expressing the uniqueness of Singdarin in Singaporean culture 4 Today Singdarin remains often used and is commonly spoken in colloquial speech in Singapore and occasionally even on local television and most Chinese speaking Singaporeans are able to code switch between Singdarin and Standard Mandarin likewise with most Singaporeans in general with Singlish and standard Singapore English Furthermore most non Chinese Singaporeans are also generally able to understand or speak Singdarin due to many of its phrases and words being widely used in common parlance throughout Singapore including words which were initially not of Mandarin origin but subsequently adopted into Singdarin Contents 1 Origins 2 Examples of Singdarin dialogue 3 English loanwords 4 Loanwords from other languages 5 Usage of English technical terms 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksOrigins Edit It is believed that Singadrin like Singlish further developed due to the government s policy of high density public housing of Singaporeans of different ethnic groups living together See also Demographics of Singapore and Public housing in Singapore Like its Singlish equivalent Singdarin evolved because many Singaporean Chinese families come from mixed language environments For instance children may be raised in households in which one parent speaks English or Malay while the other speaks Chinese or coming for other Chinese dialects such as Hokkien or Cantonese Indian languages such as Tamil were also commonly heard in such environments 5 Singdarin has also evolved largely because Singapore is a multi cultural multi ethnic and multi lingual society One of the most important policies of the Singaporean government is to foster social cohesion and multi ethnic harmony and prevent neglected areas or districts and ethnic enclaves from developing Therefore instead of letting certain ethnic groups to live in isolated communities like they did in the past the Singapore government encourages the majority of Singaporeans that live in state HDB housing to be a melting pot of Chinese Malays Indians and other different ethnicities who speak different languages This is believed to reduce differences between the diverse linguistic and ethnic groups in Singapore and to ensure racial harmony 6 As the majority of Singaporeans live in such housing environments which have families coming from various linguistic racial and ethnic backgrounds there is a tendency for different languages to be mixed in order to facilitate more effective communication between the different races In short it leads to the creation of a hybrid culture known colloquially as the Singaporean rojak culture 5 This and the tendency for the Singaporean Chinese people to use the mixed language that they use at home in daily colloquial conversation has since influenced the Mandarin spoken in schools resulting in Singdarin being formed It was in this environment that Singdarin developed Examples of Singdarin dialogue EditBelow are some examples of Singdarin dialogue spoken amongst some Chinese Singaporeans Singdarin dialogue English translation Standard Mandarin你的 nǐde office 在 zai 哪里 nǎlǐ Where is your office 您的辦公室在哪裡 Raffles Place 很 hen 靠近 kaojin MRT 1 Raffles Place located near the MRT station 莱佛士坊 在地鐵附近 离地鐵不遠你 nǐ 在 zai 那边 nabian 做 zuo 多久 duōjiǔ 了 le How long have you been working there 你在那里工作多久了 不 bu 太 tai 久 jiǔ six months 我 wǒ 想 xiǎng find another job Not long 6 months I m thinking of finding another job 没多久 六个月 我想找一份新 的 工作Maybe 明年 mingnian when 我 wǒ complete 我的 wǒde accounting course Maybe next year when I complete my accounting course 可能明年我修完会计课程之后But 我 wǒ 要 yao 去 qu 吃饭 chifan But I m going for my dinner 不过我要去吃饭1 Usually the word station is omitted English loanwords EditThe following are the common English loan words used in Singdarin English loanwords Standard Mandarin words Examples of usagebut 不过 但 是 可 是 But 他很聪明leh But he s very clever then 然后 Then 他就来了 Then he comes actually 其实 Actually 我本来要去的 Actually I wanted to go there share 共享 分 分享 Eh 蛋糕可以跟我share吗 Can you share your cake with me blur Singlish 搞不清楚状况 模糊不清 你知道吗 他弄到我很blur Do you know he makes all at sea anyway anyhow 反正 不管怎 么 样 Anyway 我一定要 该去 Anyway I must go That s why 所以 于是 That s why 我很讨厌他 That s why I hate him Loanwords from other languages EditJust like Singlish certain words used in Singlish are also interchangeably used in Singdarin Loanwords Standard Mandarin words Definition Notes Example of usagebuay tahan 受不了 cannot tolerate formed by combination of Hokkien word beh 𣍐 袂 cannot and Malay word tahan tolerate 哇 袂 tahan 咧 wa beh tahan leh Wow I cannot tolerate it sibeh 非常 very damn originate from Teochew 死父 literally meaning dead father and hence in such a context on my dead father and has the general meaning of damn sibeh sian Very boring walao eh 我的天啊 my gosh oh my god originate from Singaporean Hokkien vulgar word wa lan eh 我𡳞呃 我膦呃 literally my dick Wa lau eh 我老呃 literally my father is a more polite variant of it Walao eh 你怎么可以这样 My god how can you be like that guai lan 令人讨厌的家伙 annoying irritating person originate from Singaporean Hokkien vulgar word guai lan 怪𡳞 怪膦 literally strange dick 他sibeh guai lan的 He is an annoying person sua ku 井底之蛙 someone who has not been exposed to the society and is not well informed about many things from Hokkien word suaku 山龟 literally tortoise on the mountain 这个人很sua ku This guy is a tortoise on the mountain salah 错 坏掉了 incorrect something went wrong from Malay 计算机salah了 Something went wrong with the computer ulu 偏僻 remote from Malay 这个地方这么 ulu 连一只鬼影都没有 That place is very remote not a single ghost person around terok 难搞 困难 troublesome from Malay 那位顾客sibeh terok That customer is very troublesome sibei jialat 非常 真假 麻烦 really difficult from Hokkien 那个东西不懂被谁弄到乱七八糟 sibei jialat Somebody has made a huge mess of that thing which makes things really difficult for us Usage of English technical terms EditSince English is the main working and educational language of Singapore many Chinese Singaporeans are more familiar with the English professional terminology technical terms used at work rather than that of Mandarin This led to many Chinese Singaporeans tending to mix large numbers of English professional terms into Mandarin at work instead of using Chinese technical terms As such a form of Singdarin spoken at work appears resulting in some degree of communication barrier at work between the Chinese Singaporeans and the Chinese from China or Taiwan Comparison between Singdarin spoken at work in Singapore and Mandarin spoken at work in China is shown below Singdarin spoken at work in Singapore 7 Mandarin spoken at work in China 7 English translation你的 cable tray 要从 ceiling 上走 你的电线桥架要在吊顶天花板上铺设 Your cable tray needs to be lined up along the ceilingServer room 里面的 fire sprinkler 拆了 你们的 fire department 会 allow 吗 机房里面的消防喷淋拆了 你们的消防部门会批准吗 If you dismantle the fire sprinkler inside the server room will the fire department approve it 今天 sibeh 热咧 Buay Tahan 啦 今天的天气太热了 我忍受不了了 The weather today is too hot It s unbearable See also Edit Singapore portalChinese Singaporean Hokkien influence on Singaporean Mandarin Languages of Singapore Singaporean Hokkien Singaporean Mandarin Singlish Standard Singaporean MandarinNotes Edit simplified Chinese 新加坡式华语 traditional Chinese 新加坡式華語 pinyin Xinjiapōshi Huayǔ Wade Giles hsin1 chia1 p o1 shih4 hua2 yu3 1 Chinese 星式中文 pinyin Xingshi Zhōngwen Wade Giles hsing1 shih4 chung1 wen2 lit Sing apore colloquial Chinese language 2 References Edit 中文 外来语来聚 掺 三联生活周刊 Archived from the original on 12 September 2010 Retrieved 1 August 2010 顧長永 Gu Changyong 25 July 2006 新加坡 蛻變的四十年 Singapore The Changing Forty Years Taiwan 五南圖書出版股份有限公司 p 54 ISBN 978 957 11 4398 9 重视新加坡本土华语的文化意义 Attending to the cultural significance of Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin 華語橋 Huayuqiao Retrieved 11 February 2011 Cavallaro Francesco Seilhamer Mark Fifer Yen Yee Ho Bee Chin Ng 10 August 2018 Attitudes to Mandarin Chinese varieties in Singapore Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 28 2 195 225 doi 10 1075 japc 00010 cav hdl 10356 137340 S2CID 149993315 Retrieved 29 October 2021 a b Kaur Tarra 23 March 2018 11 Things You Should Know About Singaporean Culture theculturetrip com Culture Trip Retrieved 28 October 2021 Ethnic Integration Policy and SPR Quota Housing amp Development Board HDB Housing and Development Board HDB Retrieved 23 December 2020 a b 新加坡式华语 联合早报网 Archived from the original on 8 July 2012 Retrieved 1 August 2010 External links EditVideo Example of Singdarin Singaporean Mandarin Database Promote Mandarin Council Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Singdarin amp oldid 1125861311, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
