Another reason to be proud of being a Singaporean, perhaps? Last March, Oxford’s English Dictionary(OED) quarterly update stated that 19 new “Singapore English” items have been added into its lexicon.
Other words that were added include new senses of common English words and loanwords from the Chinese and Malay language.
Singlish words are mainly formations in English that are only used in Singapore, OED said on its website.
The words include “blur“(slow in understanding), “ang moh“(a light-skinned person, esp. of Western origin or descent; a Caucasian), “sabo” (to harm, inconvenience, or make trouble for; to trick, play a prank on) and “lepak” (to loiter aimlessly or idly; to loaf, relax, hang out).
Some of these terms are also from Malaysian origins, such as “teh tarik” (sweet tea with milk).
“Wah“(is used – especially at the beginning of a sentence – to express admiration, encouragement, delight and surprise) is also included into OED so now, it’s a term that’s acceptable to use in a sentence.
Singapore food terms are also included such as “char siu” and “chilli crab“.
Additionally, OED also added “Chinese helicopter”, which it defines as a derogatory term for a Singaporean whose schooling was conducted in Mandarin Chinese and who has limited knowledge of English.
Previously, there were other Singlish terms that have already made it into OED’s online version such as “Lah” and “sinseh” in 2000 and “kiasu” in 2007.
Interestingly, on 11 Feb last year, “kiasu” was also selected as the OED’s Word of the Day.
For the full list of words and definitions, click here.
Source: Straits Times
