Singdarin

Not to be confused with Sindarin and Singaporean Mandarin.

Singdarin
Region	Singapore
Native speakers	no statistics yet
Language family	Chinese Creole Singdarin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–

Colloquial Singaporean Mandarin, also known as Singdarin (simplified Chinese: 新加坡式华语; traditional Chinese: 新加坡式華語; pinyin: Xīnjiāpōshì Huáyǔ）is an interlanguage native to Singapore. It is considered to be a Mixed language or a Mandarin-based Creole spoken in Singapore. It has evolved primarily due to a combination of two main languages: Mandarin and English. For this reason, Singdarin is sometimes known as "Anglo-Chinese". There were also words from Malay or other Chinese dialects, which are mixed into Singdarin.

Singdarin is the first language of quite a number of younger Singaporeans, especially those whose parents speak a mix of different languages at home such as English, Mandarin, Hokkien etc. Singdarin is also spoken colloquially on streets and among young teenagers in Singapore. In general, well-educated Chinese Singaporean are able to code-switch between Singdarin and Standard Mandarin.

The grammar of Singdarin is usually in Chinese Mandarin, but in some circumstances, it could inter-switch to that of English. The vocabulary of Singdarin consists of a large number of words from English, Hokkien, Malay etc. It is often used when Singaporean Chinese do not know the Chinese equivalent of the word they wish to say, and instead use English words to convey the meaning.

Native Chinese from China or Taiwan generally finds it difficult to understand Singdarin due to large number of English or Non-Mandarin words used. The Singaporean government currently discourages the use of Singdarin in favour of Standard Singaporean Mandarin as it believes in the need for Singaporeans to be able to communicate effectively with the other native Chinese from China or Taiwan.

How Singdarin was formed

Like its Singlish equivalent, Singdarin evolved because many Singaporean-Chinese families have a mixed language environment. For instance, one parent might speak English while the other speaks Chinese, leading to their children combining and mixing the two languages together in a process known as creolization.

Singdarin has also evolved largely due to Singapore being a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society. One of the most important policies of the Singapore government is to ensure social and multi-ethnic harmony. Therefore, instead of letting certain racial/ethnic group to live in an isolated community like they did in the past, the Singapore government encourages the majority of Singaporeans to live in HDB flats that have now become a melting pot of Chinese, Malays, Indians and other different ethnicities who speak different languages. This is believed to reduce differences between the diverse linguistic and ethnic groups in Singapore.

As the majority of Singaporeans live in HDB flats, which have families coming from various linguistic, racial and ethnic background, there is a tendency for different languages to be mixed in order to facilitate more effective communication between the different races. In short, it leads to the creation of a hybrid culture (known colloquially as a "rojak" culture).

This and the tendency for the Singaporean Chinese people to use the mixed language that they use at home in daily colloqual conversation has since influenced the Mandarin spoken in schools, resulting in "Singdarin" being formed.It was in this environment that Singdarin was formed.

Examples of Singdarin (Anglo-Chinese) dialogue

Below are some examples of Singdarin dialogue spoken amongst some Chinese Singaporeans.

Singdarin (Anglo-Chinese) dialogue	Chinese Transliteration	English Translation	Proper Mandarin
Ni de office zai nali?	你的Office 在哪里？	Where is your office?	您的办公室在哪里？
Raffles Place. Hen kaojin MRT. (usually the word 'station' is omitted)	Raffles Place, 很靠近 MRT. (usually the word 'station' is omitted)	Raffles Place, located near the MRT station.	莱佛士坊，离地铁站不远处
Ni zai na li work duo jiu le?	你在那里 work 多久了	How long have you been working there?	你在那里工作多久了？
Bu tai jiu. Six months. Wo xiang find another job.	不太久，Six Months, 我想 find another job	Not long ago, 6 months, I'm thinking of looking for a job	不太久，六个月，我想找一份新的工作
Maybe ming nian when wo complete wo de accounting course.	Maybe 明年 when 我 complete 我的 accounting course	Maybe next year when I complete my accounting course	可能明年，当我完成我的会计课程
But wo yao qu chi fan	But 我要去吃饭	But I'm going for my dinner	不过我要去吃饭

Typical English Loan Words used in Singdarin

The following are the common English loan words used in Singdarin.

English Loan Words in Singdarin	Proper Mandarin Words	Example of Usage
But	不过/但是	But 他很聪明的！ (But he's very clever!)
Then	然后	Then, 他就來了！ (Then he comes!)
Actually	其实	Actually, 我本来要去的！ (Actually, I wanted to go there!)
Share	共用/分/分享	呃! 蛋糕可以跟我share吗？ (Can you share your cake with me?)
Blur	搞不清楚状况/模糊不清	你知道吗？他弄到我很blur! (Do you know he makes me very blur?)
Anyway/Anyhow	无论如何/不管怎样	Anyway, 我都会去! (Anyway, I will go!)
That's why	所以	That's why 我很讨厌他! (That's why I hate him!)

Loan Words from other languages used in Singdarin

Just like Singlish, certain words used in Singlish are also interchangeably used in Singdarin.

Loan Words used in Singdarin	Proper Mandarin Words	Definition	Notes	Example of Usage
buay tahan	受不了	cannot tolerate	formed by combination of Hokkien word "beh 袂" (cannot) and Malay word "tahan" (tolerate)	哇！袂 tahan 咧! (wa, be tahan leh) [wow, cannot tolerate it leh]
sibeh	非常	very/damn	originate from Teochew and has the general meaning of 'damn'.	sibeh 显！[very boring]
walau eh	我的天啊！	my gosh/oh my god	originate from Singaporean Hokkien vulgar word "gua lan eh 我老呃" (literally 'my father's (dick)'). "wa lau eh" is a more polite variant of it.	walau eh, 你怎么可以这样？ [my god, how can you be like that?]
guai lan	令人讨厌的家伙	annoying/irritating person	originate from Singaporean Hokkien vulgar word "guai lan 怪膦" (literally 'strange dick').	他sibeh guai lan的! [he is an annoying person!]
sua ku	井底之蛙	someone who has not been exposed to the society and is not well-informed about many things	from Hokkien word "suaku 山龟" (literally "tortoise on the mountain")	这个人很sua ku! [this guy is a tortoise on the mountain]
salah	错/坏掉了	incorrect/something went wrong	from Malay	电脑salah了 ! [something went wrong on computer]
ulu	偏僻	remote	from Malay	这个地方这么 ulu ，连个人影都没有! [that place is very remote, not a single person around!]
terok	麻烦/困难	troublesome	from Malay	那位顾客sibeh terok! [that customer is very troublesome!]

Usage of English technical terms in Singdarin

Since English is the main working and educational language of Singapore, many Chinese Singaporeans are more familiar with the English professional terminology (technical terms) used at work, rather than that of Mandarin. This led to many Chinese Singaporeans tending to mix large number of English professional terms into Mandarin at work, instead of using Chinese technical terms. As such, a form of Singdarin spoken at work appears, resulting in some degree of communication barrier at work between the Chinese Singaporeans and the Chinese from China or Taiwan.

Comparison between Singdarin spoken at work in Singapore and Mandarin spoken at work in China is shown below:

Singdarin spoken at work in Singapore	Mandarin spoken at work in China	English translation
你的cable tray 要从 ceiling 上走。	你的电线桥架要在吊顶天花板上铺设。	Your cable tray needs to be lined up along the ceiling
Server room 里面的 fire sprinkler 拆了，你们的 fire department 会allow吗？	机房里面的消防喷淋拆了，你们的消防部门会批准吗？	If you dismantle the fire sprinkler inside the server room, will the fire department approve it?

Other terms associated with Singdarin

There are other terms associated with Singdarin such as "Broken Chinese", "Half-bucket" (半桶水） or "Half-past Six Chinese". These are the terms used by Singapore's Chinese language professionals to refer to the mediocre (or low) proficiency level of Mandarin language amongst certain Chinese Singaporeans. The terms describe that when measured against the 100% Standard Mandarin, certain Chinese Singaporeans are only 50-65% proficient in the Mandarin language.

Part of the reasons for these could be due to the widespread use of Singdarin in Singapore. Singdarin has led to the impression of "broken Chinese" or "bad Chinese", and is generally considered to be an adulterated form of Mandarin language. Speaking Singdarin is a natural linguistic habit derived from speaking a mixed language in the daily life of Singaporeans. However, the lower proficiency in Mandarin Chinese was mainly due to a lack of practice and exposure to more proper Chinese language, a lack of practice in speaking, hearing, reading and writing Chinese. This further led to a limited Chinese vocabulary or knowledge on Chinese cultural subjects, thus making it difficult for Singdarin speakers to speak pure Mandarin fluently. Singdarin speakers will generally find it difficult to communicate (at a higher level) if they were to communicate with native Chinese from China or Taiwan.

See also

• Chinese Singaporean
• Singaporean Mandarin
• Singlish
• Languages of Singapore

References

• 新加坡式华语
• 《联合早报网》: 新加坡式华语

External links

• Video Example of Singdarin