Aiyoh, why did the atas wordsmiths of Oxford English Dictionary (OED) include Ah Beng and mamak in its latest list of entries for its online site after the hoo-ha over the inclusion of ‘Chinese helicopter‘ earlier this year?

The references to the stereotype of an unrefined Chinese man or southern Indian man might be seen as derogatory or even racist in some quarters.

Aiyah, don’t be too quick to judge the new words team at the globally respected institution. They are not bodoh – it’s highly likely they’re aware that the descriptions could be offensive when they were choosing the new entries.

Yes, we’re talking English and about the latest Singlish words that have been internationally accepted as English words.

They include ‘aiyoh’, ‘aiyah’ (both expressing some form of disappointment), ‘atas’ (highbrow), ‘Ah Beng’, ‘bodoh’ (dumb) and ‘mamak’.

Related: OED gains splendiferous moobs

The Oxford dictionary also gave its nod of approval to more words associated with Singapore and Malaysia food cultures.

Apart from ‘kopitiam’, which refers to coffeeshop establishments that sell a variety of food, Singapore’s popular ‘chicken rice’ and ‘Hainanese chicken rice’ plus ‘char kway teow’, ‘rendang’ and ‘fish ball’ also made the list.

The venerable lexicon institution also gladly accepted ‘ang pow’ and ‘hongbao’, which refer to the red packets containing money given at Chinese New Year and weddings.

Entries for its regular updates for the online dictionary are picked after researchers gather enough evidence testifying to their common usage historically and currently.

When ‘Chinese helicopter‘ was included earlier this year, some observers called for its withdrawal as they felt it was a nearly forgotten Singlish term.

The earlier updates this year have included some surprising Singlish words. Aside from ‘teh tarik’ and ‘char siu’, ‘blur’, ‘sabo’, ‘ang moh’ and ‘shiok’ were picked too.

Famous Singlish expressions like ‘lah’ and ‘kiasu’ words were embraced by OED when it launched its online version in 2000, reported The Straits Times.

Also standing out from the dictionary’s September update of 1,200 new words and 1,000 revised entries are puzzling ‘gobblefunk’ words created by the late British author Roald Dahl in his books for kids.

If you’re still blur after trying to figure out what is ‘uckyslush’ or ‘grobblesquirt’ for years, check out OED online. You might have a ‘splendiferous’ time.

chenj@sph.com.sg

Read also:

I want ‘sotong’ removed from Oxford dictionary

Some find Singlish terms in Oxford dictionary ridiculous

Petition to remove ‘Chinese helicopter’ from OED

“Cheem” Singlish phrases in charades competition

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

HoodChampions via Facebook

SINGAPORE – You may want to leave your cars at home this week as the Formula 1 road closures begin, and 78 parking lots around the island temporarily close on Friday (Sep 16) for a series of community events.

The traffic mayhem will start on Wednesday (Sep 14) at 12.01am and end a week later on Sep 20 at 5.30am, with numerous road closures around the Marina Centre area.

Temporary road closures

During this period, certain roads like St Andrew’s Road, Stamford Road and Esplanade Drive will only be accessible to the public from 5.30am to 9am from Wed to Fri (Sep 14 – 16), and certain periods on Monday (Sep 19).

A single-lane road from Nicoll Highway and Temasek Boulevard will also be opened to the public on Sep 14 – 16 from 10am to 5pm and from 10pm to 6am, The Land Transport Authority said in an advisory.

During the F1 weekend, the road will only be accessible from midnight to 1pm, while on Sep 19, it will be open from midnight to 6am, 10am to 5pm and from 10pm to 6am.

Car parks at Suntec City, Millenia Singapore and Marina Square will remain open to public.

Temporary parking lot closures

In addition to these road closures, 78 parking lots will be transformed into ‘PARKs’ for community events on Friday (Sep 16). 

This means that you will not be able to park at these parking lots affected in areas such as Little India, Telok Ayer, Raffles Place, Outram, Bugis, Kampong Glam, East Coast, Sembawang and Tiong Bahru, The Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a statement today (Sep 13).

The closure timing varies with the earliest timing starting from 8am, while the last parking lot will reopen after 11pm.

During the closure, music performances, nostalgic carnival games, cultural exhibitions, story-telling sessions, workshops, a coffee booth and even a spa will take over these parking lots.

Students from Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), along with their counterparts from LASELLE College of the Arts, School of the Arts, Nanyang Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic are organising the activities for this year’s PARK(ing) Day.

“PARK(ing) Day is more than just turning parking lots into parks and having fun,” said Dr Chong Keng Hua, Assistant Professor at SUTD.

“It is about starting a movement of community design and placemaking in a city – to get the public involved in transforming the streetscape, making it more walkable, more inclusive, safer and livelier.

“I hope that this event will inspire a year-round community movement in making our city better for everyone.”

More information on PARKs in Singapore and their locations can be found here: http://ura.sg/parkingday

grongloh@sph.com.sg

He could have been pierced by branches of a huge fallen tree or hurt by glass shards on Sunday morning.

Thankfully, the teenager’s closed window blinds caught most of the glass while he was asleep at 4.30am.

The eight-storey-tall tree fell on Pearl Bank Apartments with a loud crash, shaking the teenager, his family and other residents out of their slumber.

At least six units from the fourth to the sixth storey were damaged by the fallen heritage tree, estimated to be about 68 years old.

No one was hurt, a police spokesman confirmed.

Tree crashes into 6 Pearl Bank Apartments

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Shin Min Daily News, Lianhe Wanbao

But the building’s exterior was marked by scratches, bent window grilles and broken glass.

The teen’s family of four live on the sixth storey of the condominium at Chinatown.

His mother, who declined to be named, said: “There was a big bang and we thought it was an earthquake. Everyone woke up immediately.”

She went to her son’s bedroom and saw a large tree lying on the window.

“Luckily, I had closed my son’s blinds before I went to bed. (The blinds) ended up catching most of the broken glass,” she told The New Paper yesterday.

It also helped that the bed was a distance from the window, thus avoiding any direct impact from the tree branches.

SHOCK

She said: “There were some glass fragments that still ended up on my son. But thankfully, he was okay and it was just a shock.

“Everything happened quickly. I was frightened for all of 30 seconds and then it was over. I saw more glass falling from upstairs.”

Two levels above, Mr Joel Yeo, 22, had a similar experience, with parts of the tree crashing through his bedroom window.

He, too, escaped unscathed because of the blinds which he had shuttered before he went to bed.

Mr Yeo said: “The winds had been very strong that night. When my windows shattered, I woke up thinking that it was a hurricane.

Read also: 30m-tall heritage tree in Outram crashes into 6 Pearl Bank apartments

“I thought I was going to die so I rushed to wake my family up in case we needed to evacuate the building.”

He soon realised it was the tree that had been standing steadfastly outside his window for the past five years.

His mother, Madam Seow, 48, who is an accountant, recalled: “Even my dog, a border collie, got scared by the noise.

“I had to clean and clean all of yesterday just to get rid of the glass.

“We will continue staying here but it is a real inconvenience as we have to get contractors to repair the damage. The whole process will maybe take more than two months.”

Affected residents were told by NParks to take note of the damage and submit claims to them for the repairs, she added.

STRONG WINDS

Other residents also said winds were unusually strong that night and could have been a factor in the incident.

The National Parks Board (NParks) started to remove the tree soon after it fell, completing its operations by yesterday afternoon.

When The New Paper visited the scene yesterday, tree limbs were on the ground. The area was cordoned off by NParks staff.

The tree, a Purple Millettia, had stood on a slope in Pearl’s Hill City Park, north of the condo.

It fell away from a path next to it and landed on the building.

If it had fallen at a different angle, it would have hit a service road which is accessible only by condo staff.

According to the NParks website, it was more than 60 years old when assessed in 2008. It is older than the condominium, which was built in 1976.

It is not known when the tree was last checked, but trees under NParks’ management are inspected regularly by arborists for defects, instability and disease.

Similar incidents this year

AUGUST

A five-storey-tall tree injured a man when it fell on a bus stop at the junction of Still Road and East Coast Road. He was caught beneath the tree and suffered back injuries.

JULY

A tree landed on motorcyclist Lee Kar Choon, 23, at Admiralty Road West, near Woodlands Waterfront Park, while he was on his way to work. Mr Lee was seriously injured.

JULY

A tree landed on a car at a carpark near Block 117, Serangoon North Avenue 1. No one was hurt.

MAY

A 6m-tall tree fell on an overhead bridge at Braddell Road at night, destroying part of the roof of the sheltered ramp. No one was hurt.

MARCH

A cabby was stuck in his Comfort taxi after a tree toppled onto the vehicle while it was waiting to make a right turn at the junction of Corporation Road and Boon Lay Drive. The tree also damaged a windshield of a van. The cabby and van driver suffered minor injuries and declined to be taken to the hospital.

This article was first published on September 13, 2016.
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