A glimpse of Singlish!

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We brothers had a glimpse of what Singlish was like way back in the early 70's in that Bedok kampong house itself. We were between 7 and 9 years old but still vividly remember the interesting experience until now. Our mother would diligently curate our English reading for us then. Alas, our dear second cousin would come and stay with us every June school holidays for a couple of days to a week or so. She was Chinese educated but wanted to learn English too. But she spoke in English what she thought in Chinese and out came a literal translation of what was on her mind. So when we ate our meals and she wanted us to pass a dish over, it's "Boy bring come bring come" then it's "Please take go take go". I had wondered at that time whatever did she mean. Because only the three of us ate together while the adults ate at the main table, no one knew of our conversation....

Colourised by Nusan N




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