Singlish
Ugh just got soaked. Got late to have lunch so all the buth packets in the kadey were over so i had to hop to dinemor to get a bite. Unfortunately 45 seconds into the trip it started to piss down, a 3 wheeler fellow had just scooted passed me and horned to see if i wanted a lift but i cockily shook my head, he must have laughed when it started to rain. Anyway I just got back and ate.
This morning when i walked into office one of the secatries gave her usual greeting of “ahh malli baba, you came?” and i said “yes, yes, how?” and went into my room. Now both sentences contain big chunks of Singlish, which is I think mixing Sinhalese and English words in the same sentence and also mixing Sinhalese Grammar into English sentences. It’s something that we don’t always notice but when you (I) think about it, it’s fascinating. Some examples:
How? (used as a single word, one of my standard greetings) - Kohomada?
I’ll go and come - Gihing ennang.
ahh you came? - ahh aawada?
Anything followed by no..eg. can’t be no? - Wenna ba ne?
How to do this? - Kohoma karannada?
Who to tell? - Kaata kiyannada?
what to do so? - monawa karannada ithin?
what men?? - mokado oy??
There’s probably lots more but can’t think of them. Singlish is best expressed by Carl Muller. He’s such an under-rated writer bc lots of ppl are put off by the profanity and the starkness of what he writes about. I must admit the first time i read Colombo I thought bloody hell, i didn’t know seeya is into this shit! (the first scene is one of the Galle Face umbrella scenes, great fun). But if you do allow an open mind it’s really possible to enjoy his writing style and fantastic story telling skills. He gives a real taste of Sri Lankan life, not just the oh so lovely beaches and the oh so horrible war, he writes about the perverse Sri Lankan culture where outside everyone is very conventional and God fearing whilst at home they go abuse the neighbour’s servant girl. He also writes in the style that Sri Lankan ppl speak in, therefore lots of Singlish. My favourite thing about Carl Muller is the fact that the same book can make me laugh like mad at one point and make me incredibly sad at another. For a first time reader the obvious start is The Jam Fruit Tree and then progress along the 3 generations of the Von Bloss family (my favourite is Once upon a tender time). Keep an open mind and bring along your sense of humour.
When it comes to linguistics, the term “Singlish” is used for what is used in Singapore. “Sri Lankan English” is called Sinenglish. Just for the record btw. And if you are interested in this check out the following article-
“Sinenglish Introduced and Defined, Dr. Wimal Wickramasinghe; in Pof.Piyaseeli Wijemanna ed. Uvasara(1999: 506-518, Colombo: S. Godage)
Comment by Loahn Gunaweera — June 3, 2005 @ 6:31 am
I love carl mueller 1 He is so funny my belly aches,and i get tears laughing at his books.I’ve read the von bloss sagas and all three were terrific! although I don’t understand all the singlish,and cultural connotations, as I’m not Sri lankan, nevertheless ,I enjoyed the works thoroughly,and a book on his short stories too.
Comment by anon — June 3, 2005 @ 6:52 am
Oh god how I enjoyed the von blosses trilogy! My belly ached and tears rolled down my cheeks as I laughed like a chimp reading the stories. He is really good! I admit to not fully knowing singlish being Indian, however could get the gist of the words.He also had a funny collection of short stories.Hilarious! I hope he gets more recognition for his art.
Comment by anon — June 3, 2005 @ 6:57 am
Nice, thanks Lohan. yeah i’d also heard about the singapore english thing, in fact i got a T-shirt saying “Relax-Lah”. Never heard the term sinenglish though, always thought that SL and singapore shared singlish. Learn something new each day.
Comment by ddm — June 3, 2005 @ 6:59 am
Hey anon,
nice to see that muller has spread the gospel beyond sri lanka! actually a lot of the cultural connotations are relevant to the Burgher community which is a unique culture within Sri Lanka. Sadly the Burgher community has shrunk since the 1950’s, so a lot of those cultural connotations are new to me as well. He still writes to the local papers and magazines,and maintains the sharp wit.
Comment by ddm — June 3, 2005 @ 7:04 am
Actually, the first that I read of his books was given to me by a lankan friend.It was “once upon a tender time”.Then, I wenty digging out the rest of his books which are published by Penguin too.So that’s how it all happened ! lol! Well, by the way love ur island nation!
Comment by anon — June 4, 2005 @ 12:22 pm