redirected from
kiasi-ism
Commonly found variants; note these may range from acceptable alternatives to
non-standard forms or incorrect spellings*.
* 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.
* 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:
kiasi-ism
* The diacritic ◌̃ represents a nasalized vowel.
[ SSS:
kiãsiism ]
kiasiism
简
繁
Detailed etymology
definitions
noun
- a stereotypically Singaporean mindset of cowardliness, risk-aversion, fear of death, and a reluctance to take action when there may be perceived negative consequences
Singaporeans, chose to take it a step further — by imbibing our children with the virtues of the three Ks: kiasuism, kiasiism and caning.
— 1999 January 23, Ken Jalleh Jr. The New Paper, "Raising top kids buy the book". p.60
usage notes
* The nasal vowel is almost always unmarked by speakers, though it is very important to the pronunciation of the term. In a dipthong or tripthong, the recommended convention is to mark the final vowel, unless it is spelled using a repeated letter, in which case the first-occurring repeated letter is marked.