Singlish

Sometimes when we talk, we tend to let a bit of Singlish slip in, like ‘lah’, ‘mah’, ‘leh’, etc.  Recently, I noticed my little girl has learnt to speak Singlish!  Oh dear!  Not that I am ashamed of Singlish.  Not at all, it is, afterall, a unique trait of Singaporeans.  However, I do feel that we should start our children off on the right path and teach them to speak proper English at this young age.  So whenever I hear her speak Singlish, I will remind her not to speak that, and make her repeat the sentence in proper English.

So whilst I am diligently correctly her English, this forgetful mommy will sometimes let Singlish slip into my words.  Old habits die hard.  And now the tables have overturned, its my daughter’s turn to correct me.  Whenever she catches me speaking Singlish, she will say “Mommy, cannot say ‘mah’ (or ‘leh’, ‘lah’).  And this mommy will sheepishly repeat in proper English.  This has happened quite a few times, and usually I am even not aware I had spoken Singlish.  Looks like mommy has to be more mindful of her language :p.