Ten years ago, the English-language world witnessed a small milestone in a larger jubilee.
At Singaporeās 50th National Day celebrations on August 9, 2015, the unthinkable came to pass. In the National Day parade section themed āIdentity ā Uniquely Singaporeā, alongside floats of Singaporean food, there were props depicting words from Singapore English, also known as Singlish, such as the particles ālahā and ālehā and phrases including āblur like sotongā.
Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporeās prime minister at the time, posted on his Facebook account a week after: āIām glad that at 50, we are less āblur like sotongā, and more confident and comfortable with everything that makes us Singaporean.ā
This was not trivial. Such official endorsement was particularly significant in light of Singaporeās 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 āGood Englishā.
The following year saw another milestone, this time extending beyond the nationās shores.