Almost everyone speaks English in Singapore, in theory. Reality is slightly different. Here's 3 reasons why knowing English might not always be enough for you to communicate effectively in Singapore.
- It's British English, and spoken in a more formal way than we're used to in Canada. It takes me a moment to understand, and then I'm surprised that I didn't understand immediately in the first place. Some people obviously don't understand me. I've had a few people look confused and just walk away. They're usually young though. Most people try very hard to help me understand or to understand what I'm asking.
2. In addition to English there are 3 other common languages (Malay, Mandarin and Tamil). My first encounter with this was Housekeeping at the hotel. I didn't need the room cleaned, just the garbage taken out because there were diapers in there. The housekeeper gave up after a few minutes and called another woman who appeared, interpreted and then left. Part of the problem was I should have been using the word trash, which the woman probably knew. She definitely didn't speak much English. This seems to be a pretty common scenario. One non-English speaker paired with an English interpreter to help them both get the job done. After house keeping left, Jonathan asked Google, or perhaps it was Siri, to say "Please take out the trash" in Malay. I've really got to remember that trick.
3. There's also Singlish. Singlish is the melting pot of slang which has incorporated words and sayings from the languages found surrounding and within Singapore into the English spoken locally here. Singlish is seamlessly tossed in a totally English conversation. Combined with the local accent, Singlish causes you to wonder if you are still having an English conversation, or have crossed into another language, like how my Quebecois friends used to crossover and speak completely in French for a while before realizing why I was looking at them so blankly.
I haven't even started learning Singlish. But here's some common English words I am trying to relearn.
CANADA - SINGAPORE
Coffee - Kopi (It's very strong coffee, with sweetened condensed milk. There's other more words added for other flavours).
Community Centre - Community Club
Elevator - Lift
Food Court - Hawker Centre
Garbage - Trash
Grocery Store - Super Market or Wet Market
Kid - Child
Stroller - Pram/Stroller
Take Out - Take Away
Theatre - Cinema
Washroom - Toilet