Ten years ago, the English-language world witnessed a small milestone in a larger jubilee.
At Singaporeโs 50th National Day celebrations on August 9, 2015, the unthinkable came to pass. In the National Day parade section themed โIdentity โ Uniquely Singaporeโ, alongside floats of Singaporean food, there were props depicting words from Singapore English, also known as Singlish, such as the particles โlahโ and โlehโ and phrases including โblur like sotongโ.
Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporeโs prime minister at the time, posted on his Facebook account a week after: โIโm glad that at 50, we are less โblur like sotongโ, and more confident and comfortable with everything that makes us Singaporean.โ
This was not trivial. Such official endorsement was particularly significant in light of Singaporeโs official language policy and planning, which includes the annual Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) that, since 2000, has explicitly discouraged the use of Singlish in favour of โGood Englishโ.
The following year saw another milestone, this time extending beyond the nationโs shores.