'Trying very hard with his slang': Singaporean studying in Canada gets flak over his accent

The Singaporean accent is a unique one, with its own distinctive sound and terms like "lah", "meh" and "lor" thrown into the mix.

But one man from Singapore who was recently interviewed in Canada seems to have caught the attention of netizens because of his supposed accent.

First, let's give you some context.

CanPR, a Canadian immigration assistance app, posted a TikTok video last Saturday (July 22) asking a man, who said he was from Singapore, what he liked about Canada.

The Singaporean, who mentioned that he was studying commerce in York University, answered that there's more "balance in life". "In Asia, everything is too fast-paced," he added.

And when asked what he would recommend to someone coming from Asia to Canada, he replied: "Just come here and experience the Western side of working experience [sic]. It's different!" 

He also mentioned that Asia has a workaholic culture. 

The arbiters of the Singaporean accent

It would seem that some netizens did not take too well with the way the man spoke, criticising his accent.

One comment mentioned how he was "trying very hard with his slang". 

Others also highlighted that his accent was put on for the interview. 

On the other hand, some users came to his defence, mentioning that he was probably code switching, which refers to the ability to alternate between two or more languages or language varieties. 

Some also took offence when he referred to Asia as a country. 

 

This is not the first time the Singaporean accent was under the spotlight. 

Last year, A Thai Netflix drama, The Judgement, had received quite a bit of flak from Singaporeans over one of the characters' Singaporean accent. 

One of the scenes from the series was uploaded to TikTok by user Poorkaikai. "Didn't know Singaporean accent is just 'lah'," the user wrote. "Died hearing this." 

In the 39-second clip, the Singaporean character approaches the female lead after taking a picture of her from afar, speaking in what was apparently supposed to be a Singaporean accent: "Hello lah, I'm Singapore ah. I'm a photographer lah." 

Poorkaikai's video has garnered more than 116,000 views and almost 300 comments from netizens who pointed out the character's inaccurate usage of the beloved Singapore slang.

ALSO READ: Ang moh who grew up in Singapore defends use of Singlish after accusations of 'casual racism'

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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