Varieties of English

Varieties of English, such as Singlish, have got an important role to play in contemporary society. Discuss. Different varieties of English, such as the interesting variety economic consumptiond in Singapore, known as Singlish, have an important role to play in our modern society. Singlish in particular serves as a unifying tongue amidst the unlike(a) cultures and ethnic groups that reside on the island. Although disapproved by the government, it continues to convey a odd Singaporean identity and a taste of the local anaesthetic flavour.It does this through the characteristic enjoyment of phonology, syntax and lexicon, together working to bring a entirely new variety of English itself. The phonology apply by Singlish loudspeaker systems characteristically defines the identity of Singapore. It does this by effectively adding a local flavour to what whitethorn seem like normal English words. Singlish speakers often simplify their sympathetic clusterings, to make speaking easier on the grounds that it may not be said in their own speech i. e. In Chinese or Tamil. A good event of this would be the way that the consonant cluster th is pronounced.A normal English speaker would pronounce the lexical term thing as thing as opposed to the more(prenominal) Singlish way ting, changing the place and manner of articulation from the harder to recite dental, to the easier alveolar. They may overly omit final consonants in words, for example the lexical term about may be expressed as much(prenominal) simpler abou-, completely getting rid of the stop. Both these examples help to convey the singularity of Singlish as a new variety of English. The syntactical affair of language in Singlish makes the links and just about importantly, the differences of the new language to English evident. It does this in multiple ways.A habit of many Singlish speakers is to add conjunctions to the end of sentences. A good example dope be taken from a sight from the hit Si nglish show named I Not Stupid. While the p arents are disciplining their daughter the janitor interjects with a cheeky Haha, my parents utilise to say that also, also being tacked onto the end of the phrase rather than its familiar place between the words parents and used. It is also common to see a Singlish speaker using the incorrect negatives terms in certain sentences. Another example from I Not Stupid, helps to show this when the mother exclaims Can you forefathert mess up my table? using a contraction, tangle witht, in place of the adverb not. In this way, the explicitive use of syntax in the language of Singlish clearly labels its individuality. The use of lexicon in Singlish subconsciously expresses the local flavour of the language and its speakers. Lexical terms are used in a way that is different to many other varieties or English, making it individual and home grown. One of the most distinctive ways in which Singlish differs to model English is the use of discours e particles. The use of la and ne in many contexts keeps the language different and interesting.They can be used in contexts from Why you so silly lah? to Stop it lah Dont subscribe who lah when used with different intonations, conveying completely different emotions. Also, the use of repetition to recapitulate and fiercenesse is one that is not usually used in Standard English, making the language unique to many other such varieties. In the Macmillan English Language Text Book, in conversation, it is mentioned Dont ask who, why you ask ask ask? effectively conveying the emphasis that the speaker wanted to put on the phrase, whereas in normal conversation, we wouldnt repeat the same word three times to gain someones attentionThus is not hard to see how the modified way in which lexical terms are used in Singlish differ to Standard English substantially, and at the same time conveys its uniqueness in society. Singlish, and other varieties of new English, have a very earthsh aking role to play in contemporary society. With the simplifying of consonant clusters and omitting final consonants, the distinct phonology of this variety of English gives a sense home grown-ness that is expressively different to that of Standard English.In the syntactical sense, adding conjunctions to end of sentences and the improper use of negative words help to distinguish Singlish from other varieties and to show the local flavour that is present in Singapore. Similarly, the uniqueness of the language is shown through the various discourse particles used by its speakers and the use of repetition for emphasis. Despite differences in the language of Singlish to Standard English, these differences are the ones that make the language interesting, unique and most importantly, noteworthy in our modern society.