In Singapore, an international cosmopolitan, English serves an important role and is widely used. But when I first came here 9 years ago, I was baffled to hear the way locals speak English. I found Singaporean English very alien. Born in a non-English-speaking country, I initially thought it was because I wasn’t exposed enough to an English-speaking environment. But soon enough, I found out that was not the reason.

Pronunciations of Singaporean English, or Singlish as lovingly refered to by the locals, are far different from any other known accent. A lot of distinctive exclamations are also added in the end of almost every sentence: ah, lah, leh, lor, mah… Yet, it’s not fair to pick Singlish out as an aberration. After all, every region has its particular way of pronunciation and some special words that originate from the local culture and history.

What’s really confusing is the Singlish grammar. It doesn’t fit into the pattern of standard English. Instead, a sentence is broken down and re-constructed in Chinese grammar with other Asian words freely mixed together. As such, Singlish is often perceived as bad or poor English.

Typical examples of Singlish include phrases like: “also can”; “reached already”; “today go where makan (eat)” “behind got food”, which are incomprehensible for foreigners. But everybody in Singapore understands what the others are talking about. Not only Singaporean Chinese, but also Indians and Malays here speak the same way.

However, Singlish isn’t a weird product from an Asian city. Its birth has historic reasons. Singlish was born in a time of hardship, when the country just got up on its own feet and the population largely consisted of under-educated immigrants. When Singapore gained self-governance from Britain half a century ago, the government decided to keep English as the main language in a bid to gain an edge in global commerce and facilitate the integration into the global economy.

Bilingualism has since become an important part of the education system in Singapore. Besides the mother tongue each ethnic group learns, English is the medium of instruction in all schools and institutions. Almost everyone can speak two languages, some can even speak more than two.

Apart from that, Singapore is a multi-racial society. Among the four official languages: English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, English is the most commonly used one. It is a linguistic means to bridge the barriers among its diverse ethnic groups and bond them as one nation.

But the other languages have also exerted their influence on English. Especially in casual conversations, each ethnic group tends to use its own slang to emphasize a particular meaning, which opens to more interpretation than the words themselves when taken into the context of the local culture. As a result, a mix of English and Hokkien, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil forms a unique language.

Passed down from old generations, the popularity of Singlish is still rising in modern Singaporean society. It is even fashionable for the youth. They have become the stalwart for this “cultural heritage”. On the one hand, it is a label for a younger generation who has a much stronger sense of national identity; on the other hand, it gives them a chance to make fun of themselves.

As a matter of fact, the youngsters not only embrace Singlish, but also to a large extent, scoff at the idea of speaking standard English. For them, standard English is too fancy and speaking it is an act of showing off.

A lot of Singaporeans share this sentiment: Singlish is part of Singaporean culture and the identity of Singaporeans. However, many others, particularly the well-educated Singaporeans and those who have received their education overseas, don’t agree. They strongly discourage the use of Singlish and don’t conceal their distaste for it. In their eyes, Singlish does not only hinder people’s communicative ability, but is also embarrassing and taints the image of the nation.

Expatriates have openly expressed their disappointment. On the Straits Times Forum, people returned from Britain and Australia wrote about their frustrations in communicating with the local Singaporeans.

Just recently, the founding father and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said that Singaporeans should accept the trend of speaking American English. Current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has also said that Singlish shouldn’t be part of the identity of Singapore.

The government created an annual Speak Good English Movement to promote standard English and it is serious about cracking down on Singlish. In 2002, Singapore released a movie titled Talking Cock. It actually has nothing to do with obscenity. (It means “talking nonsense”.) The authority slapped a NC-17 on the movie, though it didn’t contain any sexual or violent images. The sole reason is “excessive use of Singlish”. The 15-second promotional TV spot was also banned.

Despite the crackdown, Singaporeans still prefer to use Singish for communication in their social lives. But it is largely avoided in schools, workplaces and formal meetings. Yet, it’s not rare that a few typical Singlish words will jump out on those occasions. That sometimes works its charm to transform a deadly serious meeting into a more lively and engaging discussion.

I witnessed this charm once. During one solemn meeting in the office, the speaker was spitting out all kinds of jargons, which were hard to kindle our interest. When half the room was on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness and one of the coworkers inadvertently let out a mournful sigh, our leader who usually speaks standard English managed to inject an instant vitality to the room: “Please lah, don’t be like this leh! You all blur like sotong (clueless as a squid) ah?” All of a sudden, the room bursted with laughers.

This kind of humorous effect works particularly well in local stand-up comedies. Often on these occasions, even the standard English-Speaking elites are seen to enjoy the fun. Comedians know how and when to insert a few Singlish words to deliver a punch line. Those jokes will not appear hilarious if the cultural context is left out. It’s the same reason that British humor doesn’t necessarily work in America.

The ambivalence about Singlish is evident in the country. The debate of preserving or abandoning it will go on. At this point, Singlish remains popular and shows no sign of fading from the Singaporean society.