Language Matters | What Singlish words and phrases going mainstream tell us about Singaporean identity

From ‘blur like sotong’ to shiok, the use of Singlish, once explicitly discouraged, is now celebrated in Singapore – as it should be

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A sign in Singlish. Singlish, once discouraged, now thrives in the city state. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:45am, 3 Aug 2025Updated: 9:02am, 4 Aug 2025

Ten years ago, the English-language world witnessed a small milestone in a larger jubilee.

At Singapore’s 50th National Day celebrations on August 9, 2015, the unthinkable came to pass. In the National Day parade section themed “Identity – Uniquely Singapore”, alongside floats of Singaporean food, there were props depicting words from Singapore English, also known as Singlish, such as the particles “lah” and “leh” and phrases including “blur like sotong”.

Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore’s prime minister at the time, posted on his Facebook account a week after: “I’m glad that at 50, we are less ‘blur like sotong’, and more confident and comfortable with everything that makes us Singaporean.”

This was not trivial. Such official endorsement was particularly significant in light of Singapore’s official language policy and planning, which includes the annual Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) that, since 2000, has explicitly discouraged the use of Singlish in favour of “Good English”.

Library personnel set up standees that promote the use of correct spoken English in a library in 2006 in Singapore. The Speak Good English Movement, launched in 2000, discouraged the use of Singlish in favour of “Good English”. Photo: AP

The following year saw another milestone, this time extending beyond the nation’s shores.

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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From ‘blur like sotong’ to shiok, the use of Singlish, once explicitly discouraged, is now celebrated in Singapore – as it should be

From ‘blur like sotong’ to shiok, the use of Singlish, once explicitly discouraged, is now celebrated in Singapore – as it should be