Shibboleths

A "Shibboleth" is sort of a password that you pass or fail due to your pronunciation of the word, or your choice of words, or even hand gesture. For example, do you call soft drinks (Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, etc) "Soda", or "Pop" (or "soft drinks" like I just did)?

For example, if you were in Britain, and you wanted to go to "Leicester Square", do you ask for directions to "Lye-chester Square", and get corrected by the locals, "Oh you mean, Lester Square?"

It marks you as a foreigner.

Singapore, being a former British Colony uses British spelling. So Clark Quay, Boat Quay, and Robertson Quay are pronounced "Clark Key", "Boat Key", and "Robertson Key" (An American would have spelt it the way it was pronounced, "Key", e.g. "Key Largo"). These are not pronounced "Clark Kway", "Boat Kway" and "Robertson Kway".

[On a side note, Singapore was established as a British port by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819, and he left the running of Singapore initially to his lieutenant, William Farquhar (above). Now, the history teacher in MY school have been careful to inform us (the students) that this person's name is to be pronounced, "Far-Kwah". However, I have reason to believe, that the name is pronounced, "Far-Ker", which obviously would not do when teaching a bunch of puerile teenage boys (I was in an all-boys school). Any experts (Scots?) on this matter should comment. Thank you.]

But don't worry. This is just a pronunciation guide. There is no test. And if you get any words wrong, just flash your credit card and all will be well. (Money talks. Credit Cards talk with authority!)

This page was created because I am personally irked by foreigners mis-pronouncing names and words, and even acronyms! But don't mind me. Nobody does.

A video on ordering coffee in local "kopitiam" (Coffee Shops)

If you only get your drinks from Starbucks, 7-11, and restaurants, the video below would be irrelevant, and superfluous. 

However, if you find yourself wandering into our neighbourhood coffee shops or hawker centre, and trying to get a coffee, the video below might be helpful. 

That said, if you are in a touristy area, the stall operators of any coffee stall would be able to understand basic orders for coffee. Do note that "kopi" or "teh" (tea) defaults to coffee with condensed milk, and tea with condensed milk. Black coffee (unsweetened), is "kopi-o kosong". "Kopi" is the Bahasa (Malay/ Indonesian) word for coffee. The "o" is from the Chinese (Hokkien dialect) "Orh" meaning black. "Kosong" is again Bahasa meaning "empty" which in this context means, without sugar.

Thus, you can also order "Teh-o kosong", meaning "tea, black, no sugar".

Other variations are covered in the above video.

And no, the coffee shops will not understand "Americano", "Espresso", "Cappuccino", "latte", "macchiato" or "Venti", "Grande", or "tall". 

But they will understand "Teh Tarik" (often pronounced "Teh Tah-ray".) "Tarik" is Malay for "pull". If you are lucky enough to find a traditional "Teh Tarik" stall who will still "pull" the tea, you are in for a visual treat. Pulling the tea, involves pouring the tea from one mug into another mug as the "puller" widens the distance between the mugs. The purpose is to give the tea as much "air time" as it can get to cool the hot tea. 

(As a matter of personal taste, I find teh tarik to be a little too sweet for me. But some people like it.)

(On the matter of pronunciation of Malay (Bahasa) words, my guide here is how Singaporeans pronounce the words, and often the Singlish pronunciation is NOT how an educated Malay might pronounce the word. The Singaporean/Singlish pronunciation is more "pasar melayu" (market Malay) pronunciation, or non-Malays trying to speak Malay, but with their own accents or idiosyncracies. At best.)

From the video above, you will also see (@0:58) hot drinks in plastic bags for take-away. That's a local thing too. If you go to Qingdao, you'll get beer in a plastic bag!

Have you met your Aunty and Uncle in Singapore?

If you are being guided by a local (friend or guide), you may notice that he/she seems to be taking you to places run by his/her aunts and uncles. Even the taxi he/she randomly flags down is an uncle! Was he slowly trailing you just waiting for the signal from your guide?

Well, no.

Just as in the US, dudes may call each other "bro", and in the UK, cockney service staff (stereotypically cab drivers?) might call you "guv" or "guv'ner" even though you are not a governor, in Singapore, we call persons who are obviously senior to/older than us, as "aunty" or uncle" as a casual term of respect. No. We are not related. Would you get better service if you call them "aunty" or "uncle". 

No. (Well, not in my experience. But hey, if taxi uncle suddenly found that he has an Ang Mo nephew...)

Speaking of "Ang Mo"...

So, "Ang Mo" is short for "Ang Mo Kou" which means (AFAIK) "Red Hair Monkey" and is used to mean White or Caucasian people. (But... but... but... NOT ALL Whites have read hair! Yeah, well, the first Whites the Chinese encountered had red hair, okay?!?! Just be glad the first ones were not Ginger!) This is similar to how Hongkongers refer to Caucasians as "Gweilo", meaning "ghost person" (because they are white like ghosts?), or connotatively, "Foreign Devil" which is the usually translation of "Gweilo". Over time, we use "Ang Mo" to mean White person/Caucasian. "Ang Mo" is pronounced "Arng Mo". Not "Eng Mo".

There is a town in Singapore called "Ang Mo Kio". This means, White Person's Bridge, as a bridge nearby was constructed by a White Man (Ang Mo, no clue if he actually had red hair). So, as a rule of thumb, if you (Caucasian) are referred to as an "Ang Mo" (even though you do not have red hair), no insult was intended. Only if someone calls you the full "Ang Mo Kou" and he seems really unfriendly, should you take umbrage.

And if he calls you "uncle", the white roots of your hair is showing...

And if you really have red hair... let me know if more people seem to call you "Ang Mo"...

Words and Names

Most likely, you would arrive at Changi Airport. Pronounced "Charng-Ee". Not "Chang-Eye" or "Change-eye".

"Sungei" is river in Bahasa, and pronounced "Soon(g)-ai" (The "g" is almost silent). Not "Soon-gay" or "sun-guy". You may encounter this if you go to "Sungei Road" or to "Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve" (where you can find crocodiles in the wild).

I've already mentioned "quay" above.

Merlion. It's "Mer" as in "Mermaid". And "Lion" like in "Lion King". So, "Mer-Lion". Not "Merlyon". Or "Mer-li-on". Or "Mer-Leon". But yes, "Mer-Leon" sounds soooo much classier.

"Bonjour, Monsieur. Would you like to try our specialty, the 'Mer-Leon'?"
"Don't you mean, the 'Mer-Lion'?"
"No, monsieur. This is the 'Mer-Leon'. A Black Angus Sirloin - the 'loin' in 'Mer-Leon' - grilled to your required doneness, and topped with a tender Fish Fillet - the 'Mer' in 'Mer-Leon'."
"Oh, so it's 'Surf and Turf'?" 
 "Of course not! That would be vulgar. This is 'Mer-Leon', not some proletariat 'Surf and Turf'! We would not serve such plebeian fare in our tasteful establishment!" 

In the course of exploring the cuisines of Singapore, you may encounter Peranakan culture, and Nyonya cuisine. These refers to "Straits Born" Chinese. A few hundred years ago, their ancestors came to these parts, and married the local Malay girls. They assimilated partly into the local culture, and the result is a fusion of Chinese and Malay culture. These words are not English words, so do not apply English rules of pronunciation. So "Peranakan" is pronounced as 4 syllables - "Per-ra-nak-kan" (not "Prak-na-kan" or "Pran-a-kan"), with no stress on any of the syllables. Nyonya may just be pronounced as "Non-ya". (Cos, who can pronounce "Nyon" correctly anyway?)

Bugis. This refers to a seafaring people from Indonesia (specifically the Sulawesi Islands. They were a significant group of traders in the past). The word is pronounced "Boo-geese" - like if you're trying to frighten some geese. Not "Bug-ese", or "Burg-ese" or "Burgers" or "Boo-jeez" (like you're trying to scare Jesus).

"Mandai" is NOT pronounced "Man Day", or "Monday". It is "Marn-Die". (Actually, it sounds like how an Australian would pronounce "Monday".) This is where the Singapore Zoological gardens, the Night Safari, River Wonders, and Bird Paradise are located. 

(Now, to find an Australian and get him to say, "I was at Mandai on Monday"...)

Tekka. If you go to Little India, you will very likely visit Tekka Centre a.k.a. Tekka Hawker Centre. I've heard visitors call this... actually I can't really fault them for their pronunciation. It's just the stress on the first syllable. The word is actually Chinese dialect. The Hokkien dialect if I am not wrong. And it means, literally, "bamboo foot" (or "foot of the bamboo"). I believe, historically, there was a bamboo grove around here? Who knows! And why did the Indians who moved in NOTgive it an Indian name? Like "Little Mumbai", or "New Chennai", or "Tamil-ton"? Anyway, because of the Hokkien name, the name "Tekka" is pronounced monosyllabically, with no stress (or equal stress) on both syllables. So it's "Tek.kar" (like "Take Car"), not "Tech Car".

Hokkien. Speaking of "Hokkien", this is what Hokkiens call themselves - "Hokkien" in the Hokkien dialect. More specifically, they might say that they are "Hokkien Lang" meaning Hokkien people. In Mandarin, the Hokkien is referred to as "Fujian". Yes, That is the name of China's third Aircraft Carrier. You may encounter "Hokkien" as part of the name of "Hokkien Mee" a.k.a. "Hokkien Prawn Mee", a.k.a. "Hokkien (Prawn) Noodle". The pronunciation is "Hawk-Kien". Not "Hoo-kian", or "Ho-kian" or "Hook-kian".

Hainanese. As in "Hainanese Chicken Rice". As in a person from Hainan Island (China). The Hainanese who came to this part of the world ("Nanyang" meaning "Southern Region", or "Southern Seas" were rather late to the game. The Hokkiens, Teochew, and Cantonese came to "Nanyang" years before the Hainanese. And when the Hainanese arrived, they found that all the good jobs were taken. So they had to turn to "Ang Mo Kang" (meaning work for the Ang Mo, or Caucasians). This often meant cooking for Western households. After their Western employers left, these Hainanese struck out and opened restaurants selling food that they had mastered with their Ang Mo employers. And you  would think it would all be British food. But no. There was also Russian. And of course Hainanese Chicken Rice, Pork chops, Curry, and Kopi and Kaya Toast. "Hainan" translates (literally) to "Sea South", as Hainan Island is the southernmost region of China and it is an island. In the sea. "Hai", pronounced "High", means sea, and "Nan", pronounced "None", means South. So, not "Hey Nun". 

The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore

"Esplanade". This refers to the Theatre(s) called the "Esplanade". It's a bit of a controversy as to how it is pronounced. I've heard Singaporeans call it the "Ess-pla-naid", but some pretentious Singaporeans pronounced it "Ess-pla-nard". So if you want to sound pretentious, pronounce it the latter way. Most Sngaporeans just call it "The Durian" because of the spiky roof. I've heard some foreigners say it looks like the eyes of a housefly. Or a honeycomb. By all means, proclaim your foreignness. 

(Point of Interest: The Durian originally was not designed with the spiky roof coverings. It was designed by an Ang Mo who put in glass panes to let in natural light, and warmth... Forgetting that we are practically at the Equator, and keeping warm is NOT an issue. Fortunately, they found out very quickly that he had designed (inadvertently? unthinkingly?) a greenhouse/hothouse that was going to be very difficult (and expensive) to keep cool. So they put in the partial covers (i.e. the "spikes") to shade the windows and bring down the temperature. Moral of the Story: Don't let an Ang Mo design buildings in Singapore with their preconceived notions of their need for natural light and warmth!)

Macaque. This is a monkey. I believe the sub-species in Singapore are the Long-tail Macaques. The word is pronounced, "Mer-Kaak". Two syllable. Not "Ma-kak-key" or other three syllable abomination. You may encounter some of them in the wilder parts of Singapore. The Macaques, not the three syllable abominations,

Orang Utan. Or as the (damned) Americans (US Citizens) calls it, "Rang-A-Tang". This refers to the orange-haired (fur?) ape that is native to Borneo (as opposed to the one trying to get into the White House). "Orang" is bahasa for "person" or "man". "Utan" means jungle or forest. So, the locals (Malays and Indonesians) saw these apes in the jungle and called them, in their language, "forest people". How egalitarian of them! This is pronounced in 4 (monosyllabic) syllables, "O-Rung-Oo-Tan". Or go ahead and call them "Rang-a-tang", so we know you are American! (And how much more to charge you, you rich Americans, you!)

The dominant political party in Singapore is the People's Action Party, or PAP, pronounced letter by letter (i.e. "Pee-Ay-Pee"). You can of course call it, "Pap", but then we will know you are not local. For added (local) credit, you can say that "PAP" stands for "Pay And Pay".

Extra credit: The United Malay National Organisation was (and still is?) the dominant political party in Malaysia, and NOBODY calls the party the "Yew-En-Em-Oh". No. People in Malaysia and Singapore refers to the party as "UM-NO", as in "Would you (Singapore) like to come back and join Malaysia?" "Um... No."

Our highways are all referred to by their initials. Never pronounced as acronyms. So all these highways are referred to by the letters of their names - BKE, CTE, AYE, ECP, PIE, etc. Yes, there is an "Aye" and a "Pie", but for consistency we refer to those as the "Eh-Why-Ee" and the "Pee-Eye-Ee". (Not as "Aye" and "Pie")

Singaporeans get around with their BMW. No we don't ALL own BMWs. It means "Bus, MRT, and Walk." But yeah, if someone asks you if Singaporeans are rich, or if it is true that one in six Singaporean is a millionaire, you can tell them that yeah, all the Singaporeans you met went around by BMW.

Food (in no particular order)

Carrot Cake/ Chye Tow Kueh. One of the standard misunderstanding is for westerners to see "carrot cake" on the menu or signboard, and order that thinking that they are in for a familiar sweet treat. And then seeing a black or white mess on a plate that they do not recognise. Some visitors, familiar with the dish, will advise that "there are no actual carrots in Singapore's carrot cake". Which is true from a limited perspective.

The problem with translation is that often a when a new foreign object is introduced to a different culture and language, it is translated to something that is familiar and somewhat similar, but is not exactly the same. So when carrots (the orange root vegetable that English speaking people are familiar with) were introduce to China/Chinese, the closest approximation that the Chinese were familiar with was the radish. It was approximately the same category of vegetable (a root vegetable), and was approximately the same shape. Texture-wise, it was also quite similar. So carrots and radishes were called approximately the same thing in Chinese - "Chye tow" (with modifiers to differentiate one from the other).

Then, when the westerners were introduced to "Chye Tow Kuey", and they wondered what it is called, they would have been told that this was "Chye Tow Kuey". When asked what it translates to, they would have been told that "Chye Tow" means "carrot". And Kuey (also spelt "kueh") meant cake. So "Chye Tow Kueh" literally means "carrot cake". But the Chinese meant that it was a Radish Cake.

To avoid confusion (and disappointment), I suggest that we refer to the local dish as "Chye Tow Kuey", and to the western dessert (?) as "Carrot Cake". But nobody listens to me.

Prata/Canai. In Singapore, it's "Roti Prata". In Malaysia, it's "Roti Canai". Prata is possibly a variant of Paratha, which is the "original" Indian flatbread that prata was intended (?) to replicate. The Singapore spin off is more flaky, like a flat croissant. Why is it called "Roti Canai" in Malaysia? You'll have to google it. One theory is that it is from "Chennai". The point is, in Singapore, it's "prata". If you call it "Roti Canai", we will know that you are either from Malaysia, or have been there. And we will fleece you as best we can!

Chendol/Cendol - Singapore tends to spell this "Chendol". I think Malaysians spell it "Cendol". Or it is just an idiopathic variation. In Singapore, we call it "Chen-do". Not "Sen-do". 

Thosai/Dosa/Dosai. In Singapore, it's pronounced, "Toh-Say". Regardless of how it is actually spelt. Usually I see "Thosai". But occasionally I see "Dosa" or "Dosai". I have NO IDEA if the Singapore pronunciation is most accurate. All I am saying is that this is how Singaporeans (that I know) pronounce it. (Again, the point is NOT about correct pronunciation, but "Shibboleth". Are you fitting in, and speaking like a local? Or sticking out like an Ang Mo just asking to be fleeced?)

Popiah. This is a new addition. I just heard someone call it "Popaya" or "Papaya". It's "Po.Pyah" - two syllables, meaning "thin" (Po) cake/biscuit (Piah), or literally "Pancake" or "crepe". In which, cooked turnip and other ingredients are wrapped up in.

Beer on the Rocks? Who drinks Beer with ice? Well, former Mayor Bloomberg (of New York) for one. And also people in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Philippines... Maybe even Vietnam and other parts of Indochina. Yes, it's a thing here. Maybe cos of the heat... Give it a try... We promise we won't tell anyone. "If you drink beer on the rocks in Singapore, it stays in Singapore... until you become the Mayor of New York."

Final Word

If the above all seems too much, forget about it. And pronouce the words the way YOU think it should be pronounced. We are (generally) nice people. As long as we've got our kopi-o that morning. And we can take any manner of Ang Mos butchering the names of foods and places. Cos they have money. You do HAVE money right? You're not one of those cheap, budget backpackers trying to see the world for cheap right?

Bonus section.

All the above are English, or Singlish Shibboleths. Cos I'm functionally monolingual in English/Singlish. But years and years of Mandarin tuition, the tears of my frustrated parents and Mandarin teachers and tutors, exposure to the language in the streets of Singapore, movies, and Chinese New Year songs, some language and culture has entered my brain. Probably by osmosis,

So this is a bonus section for the Chinese/Mandarin speaking. And specifically for "Chinatown", because it is interesting.

In other cities "Chinatown" in Cantonese would be "Tong Yan Kar" (roughly translates to "Tang person town") or "Tang Ren Jie", in Mandarin. 

I do not believe Singapore Chinese refers to Chinatown as "Tang Ren Jie". 

I grew up hearing the Chinese Hokkien refer to the area as "Gu Cheah Chwee", which translates to (literally) "Cow/Bull/Buffalo - Car - Water" because historically bullock carts (the "gu cheah") carrying water ("chwee") came from this area, now called Chinatown, distributing potable water to the rest of the city.

So when you take the MRT (the North-East Line or NEL), and it stops at Chinatown, the announcement in English will be "Chinatown", and the Mandarin announcement will tell you that you have arrived at "Niu Cher Sui" (bullock cart water). Not "Tang Ren Jie".

So now you know this useless bit of trivia.