Foreigner says he finds it ‘rude and awkward’ when Singaporean colleagues switch to Chinese mid-conversation

SINGAPORE: A European professional took to social media to share that he finds it “rude and awkward” whenever his Singaporean colleagues suddenly switch to Chinese in the middle of conversations.

Posting on the r/askSingapore subreddit on Monday (Dec 1), the foreigner wrote that although his colleagues were all “very nice and welcoming,” he was frequently thrown off whenever they abruptly switched to Chinese mid-conversation without any explanation or translation, leaving him uncertain as to whether the discussion still concerned him or if he was expected to quietly bow out of the exchange.

According to him, this happened multiple times every day, both during “work-related discussions and even at meals.”

“Like there were me and 3 Singaporean colleagues sharing a table, and all of a sudden they all just switched to Chinese,” he said. “At some point, they always switched back to English but never explained why or what they needed to chat about in Chinese. I find it quite rude and awkward at the same time.”

Wondering if this was normal in the city-state, he asked at the end of his post: “Is this something usual in Singapore, or should I take it personally?”

“It’s not about you at all.”

Locals who read his post explained that code-switching (jumping between languages) is extremely common in Singapore, especially among Chinese Singaporeans who grew up speaking a mix of English, Mandarin, and dialects at home.

One Redditor assured him that it’s unlikely his colleagues were trying to exclude him. “As a local Chinese, I’m guilty of this. I think most Singaporeans who are bilingual will be guilty like me, too. We are not bad-mouthing you or talking behind/in front of your back. This is how the bilingual brain works. Also, sometimes when we can’t think of the suitable word to converse in English, we are able to exactly pinpoint the word in Chinese. Vice versa.”  

Another wrote, “Everyone does this. It’s just more comfortable to talk to different people in different languages. It’s not about you at all.”

A third remarked, “Code switching is a feature of Singaporeans, and not just Chinese (it’s just more difficult to find a non-Chinese group, especially overseas, but it’s possible). A single sentence can have English, Singlish, Chinese, Malay, Tamil, Hokkien, and so on, all mixed in. That’s just how we speak.”

A few commenters also told the foreigner that if he genuinely wanted to understand what was being discussed, he could simply speak up. They suggested that he politely ask his colleagues to switch back to English or even use the classic Singaporean line, “Guys, channel 5 please?” 

One wrote, “Use this singlish colloquial term on them, ‘Eh got subtitle?’ Non-English channels in SG usually will have subtitles. Or ‘Channel 5 can?’ This is our national English channel, which is relatable to millennials.”

In other news, one Singaporean woman recently shared online that her foreign husband absolutely refuses to consider an HDB flat because he thinks it is basically a long-term rental arrangement with the government. 

She said he despises the “99-year lease” and insists that “they do not truly own the home”.

Read more: SG woman says her foreign husband refuses to buy HDB because he sees it as paying rent for 99 years, only willing to consider freehold condo