By Shivali Nayak, Multimedia Journalist, RazorTV
SINGLISH is an integral part of our Singaporean identity, and
one true blue Singaporean has been fighting to keep it alive for
the last 30 years - by penning down Singlish phrases used by
everyday Singaporeans.
The result? Two books titled 'Eh, Goondu!' and 'Lagi Goondu',
published in the 1980s that went on to become best sellers.
The author, Sylvia Toh, launched her sixth book, 'The Complete
Eh, Goondu!' on Sunday. This book, a compilation of her two best
sellers from the 1980s, comes with a new foreward and a new book
cover. However, the content remains the same.
Sylvia hopes the new book will help post-baby boomers appreciate
Singapore's social fabric of the 1980s. As for the baby boomers
themselves, she hopes the read will a trip down memory lane as they
re-live life in Singapore as it was in the 1970s and 1980s.
Observing the evolution in Singlish over time, Sylvia noted that
Singlish phrases back in the 1970s and 1980s involved mostly
Hokkien influences, coupled with smatterings of Teochew and
Cantonese phrases, as dialects were still very much in use in those
days. These phrases have petered down over the years simply because
most households now speak only Mandarin.
The 64-year-old writer, who is also a columnist with The New
Paper, also observed the similarities between Singlish and American
slang due to the heavy exposure to Western media.
