Foreigner to Singaporeans: ‘Your accent sounds lovely — do you even know that?’

SINGAPORE: Accents may be fair game for making fun of in different countries across the globe, but a Reddit user who’s been doing business in Singapore for almost two decades took to the platform to ask, “Do Singaporeans know how lovely the Singapore accent sounds?”

In a post on r/askSingapore on Thursday (Oct 9), u/lordtekken_2 wrote that they “absolutely love” the sound of Singapore-accent English or Singlish when someone speaks it in a public setting, adding that they find it comforting.

“Many layers from vocabulary choices to intonation, it sounds simultaneously professional and adorable at the same time,” the post author wrote, adding that they are “curious if others agree.”

Their post has since been widely commented on, with other Reddit users eager to share their opinions and experiences.

A popular comment came from someone who agreed that Singlish can be “really cute,” but added: “Sometimes I really just cannot understand what they’re saying with the accent, and some really talk very fast.”

In response to the comment above, another Reddit user shared: “Today I spoke in my somewhat professional but still predominantly Singlish accent at a meeting to a Japanese, an Australian, and a European. Dead silence, and I had to rephrase and speak slowly. I have been thinking about it the whole day, cos I feel embarrassed about it LOL.”

A commenter from America wrote that their Singaporean employees “code switch when they talk to each other versus talking to me. Sometimes I’ll overhear them talking to each other, and I cannot understand them. They have to dumb down their Singlish so their poor boss can understand.”

Perhaps, as in other countries, it’s the locals who can sometimes find fault with their accent.

“I’m Singaporean, and I always thought our accent was irritating. Glad that some people like it lol,” wrote one.

Another wrote that they found Singlish “at its most endearing when it’s full on cranked to 11… Singlish, combined with our general Singapore accent, spoken fast, is practically undecipherable to anyone that’s not Singaporean, except probably Malaysians lol. I think that has its own special charm to it.”

One said that they “only get super irritated when the YouTube ads pop up with Singlish that grates on my nerves. Normal conversational English, it depends on context. If informal, I’m totally fine.”

“I love our accent, I feel like it’s more friendly and warm. But it could also be my upbringing, all my loving family and the funny and kaypoh random aunty uncle all speak like that, so duh it makes me feel right at home,” opined another, but added, “I do find it jarring when I hear it on the media though, like on TV.”

An appreciative commenter chimed in with: “I work in an MNC where I am the only Singaporean in my team, and I am always embarrassed when I speak because I read somewhere that our accent sounds unprofessional. This post makes me feel a lot better about myself. Thanks!” /TISG

Read also: Singaporeans debate ‘attractiveness’ of SG accent