202. Singlish Singlish
The Allusionist
Helen Zaltzman
4.7 • 3.8K Ratings
🗓️ 29 October 2024
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
There's so much more to say about Singlish after last episode that we're saying some more of it this episode. Poet and academic Gwee Li Sui, author of Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to how Singaporeans Communicate, describes the resistance he received in Singapore when he published Singlish translations of literary works - and why they are important and celebratory for Singlish. And Stacey Mei Yan Fong, baker and author of 50 Pies, 50 States, explains how the language that used to be embarrassing for her is now a huge comfort.
Find out more about the episode and read the transcript at theallusionist.org/singlishsinglish. And listen to the previous episode about Singlish at theallusionist.org/singlish.
To help fund this independent podcast, take yourself to theallusionist.org/donate and become a member of the Allusioverse. You get regular livestreams with me and my collection of reference books, inside scoops into the making of this show, and watchalong parties - we're enjoying Merchant Ivory films, the current seasons of Great British Bake Off and the Canadian version, and Taskmaster featuring my brother Andy. Coming up, we've got What We Do In The Shadows, Pride & Prejudice, and Carol! And best of all, you get to bask in the company of your fellow Allusionauts in our delightful Discord community.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, with music and editorial assistance from Martin Austwick of palebirdmusic.com. Thanks to Y-Lynn Ong. Find @allusionistshow on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Xitter, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, etc.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the illusionist in which I Helen Zoltzmann break the glass to use the emergency language. |
| 0:10.0 | Previously on the illusionist, Bébek Gurung talked about growing up in Singapore, |
| 0:15.0 | speaking Singlish with his family and his peers, |
| 0:18.0 | while teachers and the government of Singapore |
| 0:20.0 | tried to suppress the language. |
| 0:22.0 | There was so much to say about Singlish that we're |
| 0:25.1 | returning to it this episode. Just before we get into it I wanted to remind you |
| 0:30.0 | of the excellent times you can have if you become a member of the allusion verse. |
| 0:34.4 | Not only are you helping fund the making of this show. |
| 0:37.8 | You get behind the scenes information about the making of this show. |
| 0:41.7 | Usually a glimpse into me at my most berserk, plus regular |
| 0:46.2 | relaxing live streams with me and my dictionaries, plus you get the company of your fellows |
| 0:52.0 | in the allusion-verse Discord community, where among other things, like sharing knitting advice and book recommendations and how to cook bagets, we watch things together, like the current British and Canadian seasons of Bakeoff and |
| 1:04.8 | Taskmaster featuring my brother Andy. |
| 1:08.3 | And on the agenda we've got the film, what we do in the shadows, We are deep into our merchant ivory season with the Bostonians, |
| 1:15.9 | Howard's End and Mississippi Masala still to come. Then, mid-November, we are going to be watching the BBC miniseries of Pride and Prejudice, yes the one with the |
| 1:28.8 | wet shirt scene that was deleted from the |
| 1:35.0 | illusionist dot ogated from the winterful season hits we'll be watching the film Carol together. |
| 1:37.0 | Join us the illusionist.org slash donate |
| 1:41.0 | and while you're there on the website |
| 1:42.0 | I usually mention this at the end of every episode, but it's worth noting at the start too. |
| 1:46.0 | At the shows Forever Home, the Illusionist.org. Every episode has its own post, with links to the guests and more information about the topics. |
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