The Singapore language is influenced by the Cantonese dialect
After Cantonese spread to Singapore with the migration of the population, Singapore's local language and Cantonese have blended, and many unique sayings developed.
In terms of word sequencing, the reason why most Singaporeans will habitually place “first (先) ”at the back of the sentence instead of at the front (standard Chinese grammar)is due to the influence of Cantonese and Hokkien dialects
Standard Grammatical Chinese:
I'm going to eat first
(我先去吃饭)
Cantonese Grammar:
I'm going to eat first
(我去吃饭先)
Ordering Drinks at the Kopitiam:
(Coffee/Tea) Additional sugar
(Kopi/Teh) Gah Dai
(Coffee/Tea) Less Sugar (Kopi/Teh) Siu Dai
Cantonese pronunciation:
Ga1 Dai2/Siu2 Dai2
Singapore pronunciation: Ga1 Dai3/Siu2 Dai3
Gah Dai - Add Bottom
Siu Dai - Less bottom
Add to the end (i.e. more sugar)
Don't add so much (i.e. less sugar)
Due to the influence of other local dialects and Malay, the pronunciation in Singapore is slightly different from that in Guangdong
Singlish:
"Why you so kancheong one?"
Kan cheong - nervous (Cantonese pronunciation)
Kancheong is Cantonese
Singlish : Meh
Cantonese expression: What are you doing?
(nei zou mie)
"咩" is a Cantonese modal, which means "what" in Mandarin
Meh - what
(Cantonese modal)
Most Cantonese interrogative sentences have the word "咩(mie)" at the end, and Singlish, influenced by Cantonese, often adds "咩" (meh) at the end interrogative sentence.
Singlish : “I Pok Kai already”
Meaning in Singlish: Describes the "moonlight clan" who have spent all their pocket money or salary by the end of the month and become penniless.
Meaning in Cantonese:
can be used as a curse word, it can also mean exposing a corpse on the roads or I'm dead(self deprecating)
Pok Kai - Falling on the Street
(Cantonese pronunciation)
Although the meaning of Pok Kai in Singlish is different from Cantonese, but they have the same pronunciation and both means "abjection". Also, due to the influence of the local environment, different meanings are then derived in Singapore.
Common Phrases in Singapore:
Yam Seng
Yam Seng - Cheers
(Cantonese pronunciation)
Yam Seng in Cantonese
"Yin Sheng" is a shout that Singaporeans (regardless of their nationality) will shout at festive banquets, expressing a toast with auspicious and joyous meanings.
Singlish:
Gao Dim
Gao Dim - It's done
(Cantonese pronunciation)
Gao Dim is Cantonese
Singlish:
"Very Lup Sap"
Meaning:
Dressed casually, sloppy
Lup Sap - rubbish
(Pronunciation for both Cantonese and Hokkien)
Although Lup Sap in Singlish is slightly different from Cantonese, but the pronunciation is the same and it both means "dirty". Singapore also has different meanings due to the influence of the local environment.
Singlish:
"So Zhor Deng"
Zhor Deng - Blocking the top
(Cantonese pronunciation)
Zhor Deng is Cantonese
Singlish:
Pak Tor
Pak Tor - Dating
(Cantonese pronunciation)
Pak Tor is Cantonese
Have you ever wondered why many Singaporeans have the same Chinese surname, but when translated/written in English it is different? This is because different dialect groups influence the pronunciation of the English surnames.
Cantonese surnames
Common Singaporean Cantonese Surnames:
Chan
Chen
Hui
Xu
Leong
Liang
Cheong
Zhang
Chang
Ceng
Yeong/Yong
Yang
Cheng
Zheng
Fong
Feng
Lau
Liu
Shum/Sum
Shen
Lam
Lin
Law
Luo
Lai
Li
Choy/Choi
Cai
Ng
Wu
Wong
Huang
Wong
Wang
References
Singapore NTU Graduate Student Union (29 May 2020). What kind of magical language is Singlish? Sohu. Online date: January 10, 2022. Checked from: https://www.sohu.com/a/398566597_744394
LearnDialect.sg (8 Aug 2019). An Introduction, and its Singaporean Context. LearnDialect.sg. Online date: January 10, 2022. Checked from: https://www.learndialect.sg/cantonese-singapore-introduction/
Singlish Dictionary (August 6, 2018). https://www.singlish.net/