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Sunday, May 26, 2019

Varieties of English

Varieties of side of meat, such(prenominal) as Singlish, have an important role to conform to in contemporary society. Discuss. Different varieties of incline, such as the interesting variety apply in Singapore, known as Singlish, have an important role to play in our modern society. Singlish in finicky serves as a unifying tongue between the diverse cultures and ethnic groups that reside on the island. Although disapproved by the government, it continues to convey a unique Singaporean individuation and a taste of the local flavour.It does this through the distinctive work of phonology, syntax and lexicon, together working to bring a whole new variety of English itself. The phonology used by Singlish speakers characteristically defines the identity of Singapore. It does this by effectively adding a local flavour to what may masterm like normal English words. Singlish speakers often simplify their consonant clusters, to make speaking easier on the grounds that it may not be sa id in their own verbiage i. e. In Chinese or Tamil. A good example of this would be the way that the consonant cluster th is evaluated.A normal English speaker would pronounce the lexical term thing as thing as opposed to the more Singlish way ting, changing the place and manner of articulation from the harder to reckon dental, to the easier alveolar. They may also omit final consonants in words, for example the lexical term about may be expressed as much simpler abou-, entirely getting rid of the stop. Both these examples help to convey the uniqueness of Singlish as a new variety of English. The syntactical use of language in Singlish makes the connect and most importantly, the disaccordences of the new language to English evident. It does this in multiple ways.A habit of many Singlish speakers is to add conjunctions to the end of sentences. A good example peck be taken from a scene from the hit Singlish show named I Not Stupid. While the parents are disciplining their daugh ter the janitor interjects with a cheeky Haha, my parents used to say that also, also being tacked onto the end of the phrase rather than its familiar place between the words parents and used. It is also common to see a Singlish speaker using the incorrect negatives terms in certain sentences. An another(prenominal) example from I Not Stupid, helps to show this when the mother exclaims rear end you dont mess up my table? using a contraction, dont, in place of the adverb not. In this way, the distinctive use of syntax in the language of Singlish clearly labels its individuality. The use of lexicon in Singlish subconsciously expresses the local flavour of the language and its speakers. Lexical terms are used in a way that is antithetic to many other varieties or English, making it individual and home grown. One of the most distinctive ways in which Singlish differs to Standard English is the use of discourse particles. The use of lah and ne in many contexts keeps the language differ ent and interesting.They can be used in contexts from Why you so silly lah? to Stop it lah Dont ask who lah when used with different intonations, conveyance of title completely different emotions. Also, the use of repetition to reiterate and emphasise is one that is not usually used in Standard English, making the language unique to many other such varieties. In the Macmillan English Language Text Book, in conversation, it is mentioned Dont ask who, why you ask ask ask? effectively conveying the emphasis that the speaker wanted to put on the phrase, whereas in normal conversation, we wouldnt repeat the same word three times to gain soulfulnesss attentionThus is not hard to see how the special way in which lexical terms are used in Singlish differ to Standard English substantially, and at the same time conveys its uniqueness in society. Singlish, and other varieties of new English, have a very significant role to play in contemporary society. With the simplifying of consonant clu sters and omitting final consonants, the distinct phonology of this variety of English gives a sense home grown-ness that is expressively different to that of Standard English.In the syntactical sense, adding conjunctions to end of sentences and the improper use of negative words help to distinguish Singlish from other varieties and to show the local flavour that is present in Singapore. Similarly, the uniqueness of the language is shown through the various discourse particles used by its speakers and the use of repetition for emphasis. Despite differences in the language of Singlish to Standard English, these differences are the ones that make the language interesting, unique and most importantly, noteworthy in our modern society.

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