* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.
also can:
dialects
dialect
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English:
dialect
definitions
noun
- (derogatory) any of the various different languages in the Sinitic family spoken throughout the Chinese diaspora, such as Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, Hainanese, etc., except Standard Mandarin
- (derogatory) all non-Mandarin Sinitic languages as a collective whole
- (attributive) the ethnolinguistic community common to speakers of such a language, including its ethnicity, culture, background, etc.
... most younger Chinese Singaporeans are unable to speak theur respective dialects — Teochew, Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese and more — to their elders, such as their grandparents, who may speak primarily in dialect.
— 2016 September 17, Yeo Su-Wen. Today, "Youth must learn dialects or risk losing part of their culture". p.9
While efforts to promote the use of Mandarin among the Chinese will continue unabated, some space can be given to dialect speakers to enjoy dialect entertainment ... Similarly, the MTV channel on SCV had also been allowed to play not more than one in 10 songs in dialect.
When I had my daughter registered for her birth certificate, her dialect group was stated as "Khek". I informed the officer handling her case that it should be "Hakka" as this is the correct term for my dialect group.
— 2004 June 19. The Straits Times, "Birth cert takes the Khek". p.31
Born in Fujian, China and a member of the Henghua dialect group, Mr Ng came to Singapore as a child.
— 2010 February 3. Today, "TRUE INSPIRATION". p.7
usage notes
Its use to mean "language" is proscribed and linguistically incorrect. However, it has been (and continues to be) actively pushed by the Singaporean government throughout state media, education, official documents, etc. in an effort to eradicate these now-minority languages, and to promote Mandarin as the sole valid Chinese language. Because of this decades-long policy of linguistic engineering, 'dialect' has become the common term for such languages in Singapore.