But the most useful native phrase I've encountered is 'free thinker'. As in, "So, are you a Buddhist? Christian?" "No, I'm a Free Thinker" meaning of no particular religion but with an open mind to all practices.
--update--
Ian works at the cafeteria and tried to correct the pronunciation of his name.
Ian: Wo de ming bu shi "Yen", shi "Ian". [My name is not Yen, but Ian.]
Loud Chinese girl: Ee-yen?
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Cute Singaporeanisms
They pronounce 'Ross' as 'Rose' much to the consternation of a guy at work. They pronounce 'Ian' as 'Yen', as in Chinese fang bian. They have difficulty with the 'woo' sound, leading to pronunciations like '...ooden ladders'.
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2 comments:
Strange that Singaporeans would have so much issue with "woo" -- I mean, HOW many people with the surname Woon are there in the area??
I think it's the the mapping of the W letter to the 'w' sound. I think they associated the 'w' sound with a diphthong, e.g. ua, rather than with a consonant.
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