(1) Airflown
Restaurants in Singapore often advertise that their meat is airflown. This means that it has been imported quickly and is therefore flesh. The word airflown does not exist in General English (GenE), and may strike GenE listeners as curious: ‘how else can you fly but through the air?’

(2) Borrow
In most respects, borrow means the same for Singapore English (SgE) and GenE speakers, i.e. ‘take something from someone, usually with their permission, with the understanding that it will be returned after a certain time’. In GenE, this usually carries the implication that the thing will be taken away. For this reason, the SgE request ‘May I borrow your phone?’ sounds strange to GenE listeners, as the speaker is presumably not going to take the phone away. The GenE equivalent in this case is ‘May I use your phone?’

(3) Catch no ball
If Singaporeans say ‘catch no ball’, they mean don’t understand something. This is a literal translation of a Hokkien idiom.

(4) Chop
Apart from the word’s many other meanings, chop is used in SgE to mean a ‘stamp’, e.g. a company’s official stamp. It may also be used as a verb: ‘Please chop this form’. This usage comes from a Hindi word meaning ‘seal’.

(5) Drop
The verb drop can often be used in GenE to talk about alighting from cars: ‘Can you drop me off at the bus stop?’ ‘I’ll drop you right outside the entrance.’ Both of these contain the word drop used in a transitive sense, i.e. with an object (me, you). In SgE, the verb is often intransitively, as in ‘Stop the car; I can drop here’. This intransitive use can only occur in GenE with the meaning ‘fall’. When it means ‘alight from a car’, the verb get out is used.

(6) Friend
In GenE the word friend is a noun. In SgE its usage has been extended so that it can also be used as a verb, as in the sentence “I won’t friend you any more”. The corresponding GenE verb is be your friend.

(7) Give me
When some Singaporeans order food, for example at fast food restaurants, they say ‘Give me a hotdog’. This is grammatically correct. However, to British English (BrE) listeners this lacks common courtesy. In particular, the use of command give makes the sentence come across a strong order. There are various ways of saying this politely in BrE: ‘A hotdog, please’ or ‘Can I have a hotdog’.

(8) Got
For some SgE speakers, got is used as an all-purpose verb of possession. It obviously comes from the BrE have got, possibly because of the fact that have is always unstressed in this construction and therefore not perceived by these speakers. It is often heard in repetitive structures: “What kind of juice have You got?” “Orange juice got, apple juice got, pineapple juice got”.

(9) Off day
In GenE, there are two expressions: an off day and a day off. An off day means day when nothing goes right because you do things badly: ‘The goalkeepers had an off day and let in three simple goals’. A day off refers to a day’s leave taken from work: ‘I took a day off on Friday to catch up with the gardening’. In SgE, the first expression is used with the second meaning; in other words a SgE off day is a day’s leave. GenE listeners may therefore wonder why SgE speakers feel they perform so badly, when in fact they are simply taking time off work.

(10) One kind
One kind is used in SgE to mean ‘bad or weird’. It is used of a person’s behavior or appearance (as a mark of their personality): ‘Her dress is so one kind, I don’t understand her’, ‘she is so one kind’.

(11) Spend
When Singaporeans speakers take someone out for dinner on his birthday, they may say
“Let me spend you”. In GenE, you cannot spend a person; you can only spend money, time or energy. The GenE equivalent of the SgE construction is ‘Let me treat you”, i.e. “I will pay for the meal”.

(12) Spoilt
In GenE, there are restrictions on the kinds of things that can be spoilt. Spoil is defined as ‘destroy the value, quality or pleasure of’. Your enjoyment, the evening, a child, your appetite, the view and food can all be spoilt in GenE. Apart from food, these are all quite abstract concepts. It is not possible for machinery to be spoilt. However, that is the most common usage of this word in SgE: ‘My keyboard is spoilt’. Broken is the normal GenE word for this.

Source : “Making Sense of Singapore English” by Adam Brown. Published by Federal Publications (S) Pte Ltd.

“The One Minute Manager”, written by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, reveals the three simple, easy-to-use One Minute Management Secrets. The One Minute Manger sets One Minute Goals with his people to make sure that they know what they are being held accountable for and what performance look like. He tries to catch them doing something right so that he can give them a One Minute Praising. Finally, if they have the skills to do something right and they don’t, he will give them a One Minute Reprimand.

(a) One Minute Goals Setting
* agree on your goals
* see what good behavior looks like
* write out each of the goal on a single sheet of paper using less than 250 words
* read and re-read each goals which requires only a minute or so each time you do it
* take a minute every once in a while out of your day to look at your performance
* see whether or not your behavior matches your goals

(b) One Minute Praisings
* tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are doing
* praise them immediately
* tell people what they did right and be specific
* tell people how good you feel about what they did right and how it helps the organisation and the other people who work there
* stop for a moment of silence to let them “feel” how good you feel
* encourage them to do more of the same
* shake hands or touch people in a way that makes it clear that you support their success in the organisation

(c) One Minute Reprimands
* tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know how they are doing and in no uncertain terms

the first half of the reprimand
* reprimand people immediately
* tell people what they did wrong and be specific
* tell people how you feel about what they did wrong and in no uncertain terms
* stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let them “feel” how you feel

the second half of the reprimand
* shake hands or touch them in a way that lets them know you are honestly on their side
* remind them how much you value them
* reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in t his situation
* realize that when the reprimand is over, it’s over

Source: “The One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

We study English in school and we are able to use English to communicate with others. Do you know where did the English language come from? Yes, it is from Britain but do you know that many of the English words we use today are not really English words? I mean they are not originally from Britain. These are known as “borrowed words”. Some people might call them “stolen words” because the words are never return.

Some of these words are imported from Latin. Others are from German, France and Scandinavia (such as Norway). French was once the official language in Britain and the Royal Families and first class people speak French. Those who speak English are considered as second class people. No wonder the French are so proud of their language and reluctant to speak English even if they know the language well. If you are want to go to Paris, please learn a few words of French, such as merci, bonjour and monsieur as you might get ignored by the French if you do not speak a single word of French.

Here are the Seven Ages of English. You could see that Britain has been invaded by many people. First, the Romans where Latin was bought in and later comes the Ango-Saxon (now known as German), the Vikings from Scandinavia and the Norman (the French).

(1) Pre-English Period ( -c. AD 450)
Local languages in Britain are Celtic. After the Roman invasion c. 55 BC Latin becomes the dominant language of culture and government. Many communities in Britain are bilingual Celtic-Latin.

(2) Early Old English (450 – c. 850)
Anglo-Saxon invasion c AD 499 when Romans leave. Settlers bring a variety of Germanic dialects from mainland Europe. First English literature appears c. AD 700. English borrows many words from Latin via the church.

(3) Later Old English (c. 850-1100)
Extension invasion and settlement from Scandinavia. In the north of England dialects of English become strongly influenced by Scandinavian languages. In the south King Alfred arranges for many Latin texts to be translated.

(4) Middle English (c. 1100-1450)
Norman conquest and Norman rule. English vocabulary and spelling now affected by French, which becomes the official language in England, Educated English people trilingual (French, Latin, English).

(5) Early Modern English (c. 1450-1750)
Includes the Renaissance, the Elizabethan era and Shakespeare. The role of the church, of Latin and of French declines and English becomes a language of science and government. Britain grows commercially and acquires overseas colonies. English taken to the Americas, Australia and India. Slave trade carries black speakers of African languages to Caribbean and America, giving rise to English creoles. English acquires a typographic identity with the rise of printing. Many attempts to “standardize and fix” the language with dictionaries and grammars.

(6) Modern English (c. 1750-1950)
Britain experiences industrial revolution and consolidates imperial power, introducing English medium education in many parts of the world. English becomes the international; language of advertising and consumerism.

(7) Late Modern English (c. 1950 – _
Britain retreats from empire. New standardized varieties of English emerge in newly independent countries. English becomes the international language of communications t4echnology. American English becomes the dominant world variety.

Source: “English history, diversity and change” by David Graddol, Dick Leith and Joan Swann.

汉皇重色思倾国，御宇多年求不得。
杨家有女初长成，养在深闺人未识。
天生丽质难自弃，一朝选在君王侧。
回眸一笑百媚生，六宫粉黛无颜色。
春寒赐浴华清池，温泉水滑洗凝脂。
侍儿扶起娇无力，始是新承恩泽时。
云鬓花颜金步摇，芙蓉帐暖度春宵。
春宵苦短日高起，从此君王不早朝。
承欢侍宴无闲暇，春从春游夜专夜。
后宫佳丽三千人，三千宠爱在一身。
金屋妆成娇侍夜，玉楼宴罢醉和春。
姊妹弟兄皆列士，可怜光彩生门户。
遂令天下父母心，不重生男重生女。
骊宫高处入青云，仙乐风飘处处闻。
缓歌慢舞凝丝竹，尽日君王看不足。
渔阳鼙鼓动地来，惊破霓裳羽衣曲。
九重城阙烟尘生，千乘万骑西南行。
翠华摇摇行复止，西出都门百余里。
六军不发无奈何，宛转蛾眉马前死。
无人花钿委地收，翠翘金雀玉搔头。
君王掩面救不得，回看血泪相和流。
黄埃散漫风萧索，云栈萦纡登剑阁；
峨嵋山下少人行，旌旗无光日色薄。
蜀江水碧蜀山清，圣主朝朝暮暮情。
行宫见月伤心色，夜雨闻铃肠断声。
天旋地转回龙驭，到此踌躇不能去；
马嵬坡下泥土中，不见玉颜空死处。
君臣相顾尽沾衣，东望都门信马归。
归来池苑皆依旧，太液芙蓉未央柳。
芙蓉如面柳如眉，对此如何不泪垂！
春风桃李花开日，秋雨梧桐叶落时。
西宫南内多秋草，落叶满阶红不扫。
梨园弟子白发新，椒房阿监青娥老。
夕殿萤飞思悄然，孤灯挑尽未成眠。
迟迟钟鼓初长夜，耿耿星河欲曙天。
鸳鸯瓦冷霜华重，翡翠衾寒谁与共？
悠悠生死别经年，魂魄不曾来入梦。
临邛道士鸿都客，能以精诚致魂魄。
为感君王辗转思，遂教方士殷勤觅。
排空驭气奔如电，升天入地求之遍。
上穷碧落下黄泉，两处茫茫皆不见。
忽闻海上有仙山，山在虚无缥缈间。
楼阁玲珑五云起，其中绰约多仙子。
中有一人字太真，雪肤花貌参差是。
金阙西厢叩玉扃，转教小玉报双成。
闻道汉家天子使，九华帐里梦魂惊。
揽衣推枕起徘徊，珠箔银屏迤逦开。
云髻半偏新睡觉，花冠不整下堂来。
风吹仙袂飘飘举，犹似霓裳羽衣舞。
玉容寂寞泪阑干，梨花一枝春带雨。
含情凝睇谢君王，一别音容两渺茫。
昭阳殿里恩爱绝，蓬莱宫中日月长。
回头下望人寰处，不见长安见尘雾。
唯将旧物表深情，钿合金钗寄将去。
钗留一股合一扇，钗擘黄金合分钿。
但教心似金钿坚，天上人间会相见。
临别殷勤重寄词，词中有誓两心知。
七月七日长生殿，夜半无人私语时。
在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝。
天长地久有时尽，此恨绵绵无绝期。

• If adults commit adultery, do infants commit infantry?
• If olive oil is made from olives, what do they made baby oil from?
• If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian consume?
• If pro and con are opposites, is progress the opposites of congress?
• A broadcast report noted that the “Supreme Court is reviewing a request by a prison to allow use of a new drug developed for lethal injections, even though it has not been certified safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration.”
• Convicted murderer William Code Neal asserted at his sentence hearing, “I accept responsibility for the murder. If I lose my life, I can live with that.”
• If a group insurance handbook : If your medical insurance terminates for any reason including death, you may elect within 30 days to continue such medicine insurance.
• One a leaflet : If you cannot read, this leaflet will tell you how to get lessons.
• Fifty-five people percent of young people looking for their first jobs are unemployed.
• As you will see, the limitations of this product are endless.
• You can get two free drinks for the price of one.
• Once he’d gone past the point of no return, there was no going back.
• Publicize your business absolutely free. Send $6.
• The only different between me and a madman is that I am not mad – Salvador Dali.
• Turn your coins into cash today.
• Ad for answering machine : You may leave message of any length up to five minutes.

We are living in an advertising world. The advertisements here are more entertaining than the articles, stories and special features.

• Our vacuum cleaner sucks
• If any piece proves defective, we will replace it with one of the similar quality
• You can order our rings by post. State size or enclose a string tied around your finger
• All the chicken you can eat. This is the same delicious chicken we have been serving for the past five years
• We offer competitive salaries, full benefits, and real growth opportunities that are often promised, but rarely delivered
• Divorce $99. Bankruptcy included
• Help wanted : must have experience sewing, crafts, and quitting
• Wanted : Salesgirl. Must be respectable until after Christmas
• Wanted : Woman to hook rugs and a salesman
• Jack’s laundry : Leave your clothes here. And spend the afternoon. Have a good time.
• Shakespeare’s Pizza – Free chopsticks
• Apt for rent : Water, heat, garbage provided
• Free : farm kittens, ready to eat
• For sale : Antique desk suitable for lay with thick legs and large drawers
• Tired of cleaning yourself? Let me so it.
• Our bikinis are exciting. They are simply the tops.
• Try our cough syrup. You will never get any better.
• Wanted : Young woman to pick fruits and produce at night.