From the master of Singlish himself! Following on the success of his 2017 hit, Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to How Singaporeans Communicate, Gwee Li Sui is back with a series of three ‘Leeter’ books covering the quintessential features of Singlish, Singapore’s unofficial language – written in Singlish! In this third volume, we look at where Singlish words come from: ‘There are England terms like ‘act cute’ and ‘act blur’ whose meanings we tweak, Melayu ones we keep like ‘cabut’ and ‘pakat’, cheena ones we use like ‘cheong hei’ or translate into England like ‘wait long-long’, Tamil words like ‘goondu’ and ‘aiyoh’, distorted Japanese words like ‘bakero’, and so on. Then got phrases made with words from different languages that become something lagi tok kong, such as ‘buay tahan’ and ‘jiak kentang’.

Following on the success of his 2017 hit, Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to How Singaporeans Communicate, Gwee Li Sui is back with a series of three “Leeter” books covering the quintessential features of Singlish, Singapore’s unofficial language – written in Singlish! In this second volume, we learn that Singlish is not just about lah and leh: “Singlish oso got idiom and proverbs wor. Such kinds of expression make natural sense within a language and often cannot be translated without lugi-ing some depth. Consider how much shiokness ‘blur like sotong’ and ‘bak chew tak stamp’ bring to a situation with people being tekanded. Use ‘pattern more than badminton’, ‘mee siam mai hum’, or ‘last time policeman wear shorts’, and you’ll have pecah lobang your true fewling on a matter without saying more.”

From the master of Singlish himself! Following on the success of his 2017 hit, Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to How Singaporeans Communicate, Gwee Li Sui is back with a series of three “Leeter” books covering the quintessential features of Singlish, Singapore’s unofficial language – written in Singlish! In this first volume, we delve into what is known as the end-particle: “a modifier that primarily comes at the end of a sentence or a clause. Its appearance changes the meaning of the whole construction – yes, it is that powderful one! We will look at a whole bunch of them: lah, leh, ler, lor, loh, liao, ha, ah, hor, wor, mah, meh, siol, sial, sia, eh, nia, neh, and bah. Some are long-long oredi got use although their uses may have evolved. Others are sibeh new even to my ears!"

Singlish is a punchy and witty patois used in Singapore. It mixes English with words, phrases, and syntaxes from the languages of different ethnic groups living in the country. This fascinating feature of Singaporean life favours efficient communication and humour and is well-loved by many. Spiaking Singlish doesn’t just describe Singlish elements; there are already several such references books. Rather, it aims to show how Singlish can be used in a confident and stylish way to communicate. Gwee Li Sui’s collection of highly entertaining articles shares his observation of how Singlish has evolved over the decades. To appeal to the “kiasu” nature of readers, each of the 45 pieces comes with a bonus comic strip. There is also a Singlish quiz at the end of the book for readers to test their grasp of Singlish! Spiaking Singlish is possibly the first book on Singlish written entirely in Singlish, complete with colloquial spelling. It may also be the most stimulating of them all. Fear not if you find this book too bizarre: all Singlish words and phrases are indexed and explained at some point in the book

Following on the success of his 2017 hit, Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to How Singaporeans Communicate, Gwee Li Sui is back with a series of three "Leeter" books covering the quintessential features of Singlish, Singapore's unofficial language - written in Singlish! In this second volume, we learn that Singlish is not just about lah and leh: "Singlish oso got idiom and proverbs wor. Such kinds of expression make natural sense within a language and often cannot be translated without lugi-ing some depth. Consider how much shiokness 'blur like sotong' and 'bak chew tak stamp' bring to a situation with people being tekanded. Use 'pattern more than badminton', 'mee siam mai hum', or 'last time policeman wear shorts', and you'll have pecah lobang your true fewling on a matter without saying more."

Following on the success of his 2017 hit, Spiaking Singlish: A Companion to How Singaporeans Communicate, Gwee Li Sui is back with a series of three " Leeter" books covering the quintessential features of Singlish, Singapore' s unofficial language - written in Singlish!In this third volume, we look at where Singlish words come from: " There are England terms like ' act cute' and ' act blur' whose meanings we tweak, Melayu ones we keep like ' cabut' and ' pakat' , cheena ones we use like ' cheong hei' or translate into England like ' wait long-long' , Tamil words like ' goondu' and ' aiyoh' , distorted Japanese words like ' bakero' , and so on. Then got phrases made with words from different languages that become something lagi tok kong, such as ' buay tahan' and ' jiak kentang' .

Many songs and stories have been written about how important mothers are to their children. But what story would you tell if you put pen to paper? Perhaps things you had learned from her that made you who you are today. Perhaps express your gratitude for the sacrifices she had made for you. Or perhaps matters left unresolved that have since become a thorn in your relationship. Insightful and heart-wrenching, packed with poignant anecdotes. These letters testify to the nurturing love that mothers have for their children. In this collection of mini-essays edited by award-winning author Felix Cheong, sons and daughters write letters to their mother about their relationships and articulate what has often not been expressed.