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Multicultural families

Here's where to share your experience of raising a child or growing up in a multicultural family.

Singapore Accent

13 replies

expat3 · 22/04/2024 20:21

Hi ,

My son will turn 5 in October and currently we are posted in Delhi. we might move to Singapore for three - four years. My worry is will he pick up the Singlish accent in coming years. I know people there don't use complete sentences and lot of times not even use TH sound ... although we will be sending him to British /IB school .. but these schools have dual language system and have one mandarin teacher in the class almost whole day. Mandarin is a plus of course. But not sure about my child's accent .. what it's going to be like after 3-4 years

Any similar expat experiences

Please share views.

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TheBossOfMe · 22/04/2024 20:27

If you're in expat schools, it's really not an issue.

blueshoes · 22/04/2024 20:34

Did he pick up an Indian accent?

FakeMiddleton · 22/04/2024 20:43

My mum has a Singlish accent... mine is full blown RP

somethingfunny · 22/04/2024 20:56

He will pick up a British/international accent, not Singlish. I went to a British and then international IB school in Singapore as a child and sounded British with an international twist (my family is from a non-English speaking EU country originally). Accents change over time too, so if you move elsewhere after Singapore his accent will change again.

EveryOtherNameTaken · 22/04/2024 21:31

International schools won't have Singlish. I went to one and nobody had one. He's more likely to pick up whichever accent the teacher or his best friend has. It will alter again in time as @somethingfunny says.

expat3 · 23/04/2024 05:03

@blueshoes yes he has a bit and phrases as well 😂

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expat3 · 23/04/2024 05:06

Thank you everyone. Post Singapore it will be either Uk/Europe or US.
I know having an accent is not something one should worry about but not completing sentences and not not using proper English in coming times is I am worried about especially my child is a quick Learner and it's difficult to make him unlearn stuff.

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Secnarf · 23/04/2024 05:39

My parents are from Singapore. Most of my father’s family still live there. We’ve just returned from a visit, where there was a large family event, attended by 50 plus people.

We’ve been maybe once a decade, so it isn’t a case of my being used to it, and not realising.

There is a difference between the Singaporean accent and Singlish. The family all have an accent but in day to day speech, talk with normal sentence construction. They can all talk Singlish and really ham it up by choice, but they don’t in normal conversations. People I interacted with in shops, the MRT and hawker centres also did not speak to me in Singlish. The children who my little girl played with in the play areas/splash parks of the tourist attractions also spoke properly - accented, but in normal sentences.

Even if he did pick up the accent, he will be likely to lose it. My brothers grew up in Singapore, and moved here at age 10 and 12. They both have a plummier RP than me. One went to private school, and the other just went to the local South London comp.

A few of my daughter’s friends happen to be from families who were ex-pat in Singapore for a period. (found this out when chatting about Easter plans, and we said we were going). All sound British now. The one that we knew from the point they relocated home, sounded American when she first got here. Same as my two cousins who went to international school in Indonesia.

Secnarf · 23/04/2024 05:42

Actually, the thing I noticed about the way Singaporeans spoke, wasn’t Singlish. It was their ability to seamlessly segue between English, Bahasa and three or four dialects of Chinese, depending on who they were speaking to.

TheNinjaWife · 23/04/2024 06:15

I moved around a lot until my DD was eleven. Her accents included South African, Dorset, Indian and Australian. She is now an adult and has a ‘normal’ English accent, so much so nobody ever questions it (SW England).
My one regret is not recording the different accents.

BumbleShyBee · 23/04/2024 06:27

Agree with above, Singaporeans can switch on/ off their Singlish accents. If your son is in international school, his accent will likely become more 'transatlantic' (an American / British hybrid) but depends on which intl school he goes to as some have more diverse school populations than others. It will also be heavily influenced by your (his parents') accents.

RecycleMePlease · 23/04/2024 06:30

My kids spent the first half of their lives in various international schools - they both have standard English accents with a very slight 'international' twang - which fades in and out depending on who they're talking to/where we were living last.

expat3 · 23/04/2024 17:37

This topic is so so interesting 😂
Getting to know everyone experiences is amazing. How kids pick up language and accents is so deep. Like you say people change accents depending who they are speaking to. Superb. Which is a fact. I also feel even the tone of our speech. I think my worry is out of window now. Happy to read your experiences 🙂🙂

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