An email from Spain
An email that came to our inbox a month back and double confirmed the fact that singlish is studied around the world.
It is a Spanish school that wrote to us for permission to use our Singlish notebook artwork for their textbook. We are thrilled of course and gave them permission to reproduce our graphics.
From Japan to Germany, universities and schools have used Singlish as a case study in linguistic courses. Despite 'Speak Good English' campaigns, Singlish has not only survived but thrived as our part of our identity and heritage.
Singlish first emerged when Singapore gained independence 50 years ago and English was chosen as the common language for the Chinese, Malay and Indian races. The various ethnic groups began infusing English with their own dialects and that's how we ended up with 'Let's lim kopi lah!'
Tourists buying Singlish products as souvenirs and universities teaching about Singlish point to the fact that Singlish is here to stay. And we are proud to have made a small contribution to this trend.