Blog Post: Singapore Culture

I feel that Singapore culture is one that is a hybrid and also borrowed. Since we are a multicultural country, it is inevitable that there is a mixture of cultures from the many different ethnic and nationalities in Singapore.

The hybridised nature of our culture can readily be seen in our unofficial language in Singapore - Singlish. Singlish is a mixture of english and native dialects, and in other words and informal derivative from English. This unique language ties most Singaporeans together, and makes us different from other countries, Singlish has become a cultural symbol of sorts.

On national television, Singlish has also been used. In the popular sitcom Phua Chu Kang, Gurmit Singh (a local comedian/artiste) takes on the role of Phua Chu Kang, a contractor who speaks 'fluent' Singlish. Even in movies, Singlish has stood centre stage, especially in productions by Jack Neo (a local producer).

Singapore also has a culture of borrowing. Thus is evident in our many locally produced variety programs. Many of these shows stems from Taiwanese variety shows of the same kind.

Many may think that due to these factors, Singapore does not have a unique culture of it's own. But I'd like to view this 'ability' to blend in different cultures and to seamlessly accommodate different cultural aspects of people into ours society as something uniquely Singapore.