Oldest Singlish Term Discovered Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2001 Topic: The Arts by Chin Du Lan Our own famous journalist Cherry N. George (who is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in the Ivy League University of Stamfart in California) has discovered what is possibly the oldest Singlish term known to man. Mr. George was doing research in the archives of the Colonial Library, when he stumbled across the find. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I came across this newspaper cutting of the Straits Settlement Times in 1932," said an excited George. "Where there was a transcript of a conversation between a Chinese and Indian immigrant. This would certainly add to the rich Singapore linguistic heritage!” The term that has gotten him so hyped up is what appeared in the 1932 newspaper between a Mr. Ah Seng and Mr. Thambi which is reproduced as follows: Thambi: Eh, Ah Seng where you going? I orrrrrredy order the food for you! Ah Seng: Donch mind, I only goes 10 minutes, I cannot tahan, I must “PUT SHIT” (term emphasised) Thambi: OK Lah, you go and “PUT” first ah, I wait for you lah! Ah Seng: Nebber mind, you carry on first, lah! The term “Put Shit” is actually a verbatim translation of the Hokkien term “pung sai” into English. During those days, English was the language of communication between the ethnic groups unlike present day Singapore which promotes Mandarin. And that is the root of many other terms used to describe other bowel movements. The other term “Put Fart” is also an English translation of the Hokkien term “pung pui”. The Singapore Museum Board has reportedly offered $2,500,000.00 for the newspaper cutting. “It would certainly draw in more visitors to the Museum and would educate Singaporeans on its rich cultural heritage,” says Ms. Floreign Talent, a UK citizen and Chief Curator of the museum [Editor’s Note: Ms Talent was on the dole in the UK for 3 years before being given the top post through Singapore’s Foreign Talent Scheme.] Ms. Talent added “So far our research shows that only Singaporeans aged 40 and above are familiar with this term. This term has been lost to the younger generations. The closest term currently used is ‘Skius, I go toilet, carry on’. We must make all efforts to preserve this dying language. If nothing is done by the government to revive it, we predict that Singlish will become extinct within the next 15 years”. Apparently, despite earlier misgivings about the use of Singlish, the Singapore government has taken a keen interest in this. "We are convinced about the use of Singlish now that we have been persuaded it can be translated into tourist dollars," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Colonial Brown-nosers. Accordingly, the government will be spending $25 million over the next 5 years to preserve this dying language. The government will be setting up a committee comprising of Ang Mor foreign talents and Malaysian citizens disguised as Singaporeans to spearhead this initiative. The government is confident that this will be a resounding success. --talkingcock.com
