Could we communicate well in Singlish?

Singapore has cultivated its own blend of colloquial language which is colorful and interesting at its best, and very confusing as well as confounding at worst.

Our local blended colloquialism makes interesting conversation pieces, and as long as we are communicating among the locals, including our famous Mr. Neil Humphreys, there appears no communication issue.

Notwithstanding the use of multiracial languages all compacted into one single sentence at times, it doesn’t help us develop the proper conversational skill of any language at all.

It only display the fact that we are competent in using some words some of the time, in a uniquely Singapore context.

Does the daily use of such colloquial language have an impact on our conversational skills? The major issue doesn’t lie with our dexterity in adapting the use of different languages in making interesting expressions, but would instead impede our ability to learn any language effectively.

Would we be able to converse with someone from Hong Kong in Cantonese, blending in other Malay or dialect words and expressions? Would some from Taiwan be able to understand our Singapore blend of Hokkien?

What could be worse when we start to blend Malay and dialects into our conversation with a foreigner when English isn’t their native language? It could be confusing, and would appear we are not conversant in English with our blend of adulterated Singlish.

I have no qualms with our uniquely and interesting blend of English, but feel we should be mindful when and how we should be using this, especially in communicating with people who could come from anywhere around the world.

It would be a major concern when children are learning Singlish from young, which becomes difficult to correct when it develops into a hard-core habit.