Particles Ah and Lah of Singapore Colloquial English in Mothership Videos: A Discourse Analysis
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https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/linguistika/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24843/ling.2022.v29.i02.p08
LINGUISTIKA, SEPTEMBER 2022
p-ISSN: 0854-9613 e-ISSN: 2656-6419
Vol. 29 No.2
Particles Ah and Lah of Singapore Colloquial English in Mothership Videos: A Discourse Analysis
I Kadek Maesa Dwi Payana Putra1, I Nyoman Sedeng2 1,2English Department, Udayana University, Indonesia e-mail: 1[email protected]
Abstract--This research was carried out based upon the habitual speaking attitude of Singaporeans in Singapore Colloquial English by adding discourse particles ah and lah. Data were gathered from Mothership YouTube channel in Mothership Hits the Streets section from January to December 2020. There were two objectives; finding out the types and explaining the assigned functions of discourse particles ah and lah of SCE found in Mothership videos. It was conducted through applying qualitative approach which observation, document analysis, discourse analysis, and descriptive-interpretative method were employed. Theories applied to this research were discourse particles classification by Wong (2004), roles of discourse particles by Low & Deterding (2003), and context of situation by Halliday & Hasan (1985). The results showed that four types of ah and three types of lah were used by Singaporeans as seen in the videos; perlocutionary ah, vocative ah, emphatic ah, ah as question marker, impositional lah, propositional lah, and persuasive lah. Two functions were identified; utterance-final marker and audible comma particle. On the frequencies, 38 occurrences of particle ah and 62 occurrences of particle lah.
Keywords— discourse particles, SCE, ah, lah
Abstrak--Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan mendasar pada kebiasaan berbicara masyarakat Singapura dalam bahasa Inggris sehari-hari Singapura dengan menambahkan partikel wacana ah dan lah. Data diperoleh dari kanal YouTube Mothership, tepatnya bagian Mothership Hits the Streets dari Januari sampai Desember 2020. Dua tujuan yang ingin dicapai yaitu mengetahui jenis dan menjelaskan fungsi partikel wacana SCE ah dan lah yang ditemukan pada koleksi video Mothership. Pendekatan kualitatif diterapkan pada penelitian ini, melibatkan metode observasi, analisis dokumen, analisis wacana, dan deskriptif-interpretatif. Teori yang diterapkan terdiri dari discourse particles classification oleh Wong (2004), roles of discourse particles oleh Low & Deterding (2003), dan context of situation oleh Halliday & Hasan (1985). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa empat jenis partikel ah dan tiga jenis partikel lah digunakan oleh masyarakat Singapura seperti terlihat pada video; perlocutionary ah, vocative ah, emphatic ah, ah as question marker, impositional lah, propositional lah, dan persuasive lah. Dua fungsi partikel teridentifikasi, yaitu utterance-final marker dan audible comma particle. Frekuensi kemunculan partikel sebanyak 38 partikel ah dan 62 partikel lah.
Kata Kunci— partikel wacana, SCE, ah, lah
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The revolutionary spread of English over the world has invented changes in the sociolinguistic profile of the language and resulted in new varieties of English (A.Al-Mutairi, 2019:85). A number of English varieties have been recognised worldwide, such as Indian English, Australian English, and Singaporean English. Of the several varieties, one intriguing variety which still takes the concern of linguists is Singaporean English. There are two varieties of English used in Singapore i.e., Singapore Standard English (SSE), which is similar to Standard English over the globe, and Singapore Colloquial English (SCE).
SCE is commonly known as Singlish and differs significantly from Standard English at all levels (Wong, 2014:6). It is mutually understood and used within the multi-racial Singaporean community. According to Qizhong (2009:17-18), there are seven typical features found in SCE, they are copula deletion, subject and object deletion, lack of tense and agreement features on the verb, aspectual markers, tag questions, passive constructions, and discourse particles.
Of the existing features, discourse particle is the common to be recognised. Discourse particles express the speakers’ attitude towards the addressee or the situation spoken about, encompassing their assumption, intention, and emotion (Wierzbicka, 1991:341 as cited in Wong, 2004:740). Singaporeans are naturally used to adding discourse particles in speaking, which according to Leimgruber (2011:54), there are ten particles i.e., ah, hor, lah, leh, lor, hah, mah, what/wot, meh, and ya. Among them all, ah and lah are the most prevalent particles used in everyday speaking which is also in line with the findings in ICE-SIN (International Corpus of English-Singapore) in spoken category that they have the highest frequency. (Vivien, 2005:36).
Concerning on several considerations – that SCE is one of the most-learnt varieties of English that is discussed continuously, the use of SCE and its discourse particles are increasingly becoming a native variety of many Singaporeans, and is functioned as an impactful means for expressing
national identity – it is suggested that the topic is worth-discussing and needs to be seen more.
In addition to this, some previous analysis done by Wulandari (2016) and Febryanto (2018) have attempted to investigate the use of SCE discourse particles. This indicates that this topic has been acknowledged to be put into discussion. Those previous studies examined scripted communication in the form of movies and comedy-themed videos which the conversations containing ah and lah are more scripted. This present study, instead, examines real communication events among Singaporeans in the form of informal interview audio-visuals in which the utterances are more natural, less-scripted, and accurate, in order to answer the gap that has not been provided in the previous studies in terms of factualness.
Viewing this phenomenon, research questions are formulated in attempts to investigate the use of ah and lah. First, what types of discourse particles ah and lah of SCE found in Mothership videos. Second, what functions assigned to discourse particles ah and lah of SCE in Mothership videos. Furthermore, the objectives of this study are finding out the types and explaining the assigned functions of discourse particles ah and lah of SCE found in Mothership videos.
Although some studies regarding this topic have been done previously, this topic, however, is still rare to be found in discussions. Therefore, it is believed that this study is relevant in present day due to the incorporation of new, recent elements and, hence, enriches the literature regarding SCE and its discourse particles.
Real speech events among Singaporeans in the form of informal interview audio-visuals were utilised as the data wherein they are taken from Mothership YouTube channel. The examined videos were those in Mothership Hits the Streets section wherein the staff randomly interviews people on the street for discussing a certain issue. The ones published in January until December 2020 were being focused on. The speech events are natural and less-scripted since the videos are in the
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form of informal interview with the society. Thus, the phenomenon can be identified obviously and is accurate.
The process of collecting data was undertaken through observation and document analysis method. Observations were done in three steps. First, a general observation was done in the collection of videos in Mothership YouTube channel. After observing generally, only relevant videos were gathered. In this case, the videos from Mothership Hits the Street section uploaded on January to December 2020 were collected. Lastly, the selected videos were observed thoroughly to find out the phenomenon of particles ah and lah. Altogether with it, document analysis method was conducted in several steps. First, the selected videos were watched comprehensively, and simultaneously conducted note-taking to make transcriptions. Then, the transcriptions were reviewed to find out the appearance of particles ah and lah by marking them. Lastly, they were listed in order to simplify the process of analysing data.
The data was analysed through discourse analysis and descriptive-interpretative method. Conducting the analysis, it was done in several steps. First, the collected data was processed through discourse analysis method and theory of context of situation by Halliday & Hasan (1985) to gain comprehensive understanding of the usage and to identify the social context. Then, making interpretation through the context to find out the equal meanings in Standard English to assist in elaborating explanation. Lastly, analysing the occurrences of particles ah and lah by applying theory of discourse particles classification by Wong (2004) and of roles of discourse particles by Low & Deterding (2003). Tables and checklists were also provided. In addition, the number of occurrences were also noted to provide information regarding the distribution. Having done with the analysis, it proceeded to elaborating analysis through descriptive method.
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3. Results and Discussions
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3.1. Types of Discourse Particle Ah
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The analysis of types of discourse particle ah in Mothership videos has come to a result. Based on the findings, it is found that 4 types of particle ah appear in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. Those are perlocutionary ah, vocative ah, empathic ah, and ah as question marker. To elaborate, there found 38 total occurrences which are made up over the four types. The detailed distributions of each type of particle ah are presented in table 3.1. below.
Table 3.1. Number of Occurrences Types of Particle Ah
|
No. |
Types of SCE Discourse Particle Ah |
Number of Occurrence |
|
1. |
Perlocutionary ah Interrogative ah |
1 |
|
Imperative ah |
10 | |
|
Declarative ah |
9 | |
|
2. |
Vocative ah |
1 |
|
3. |
Emphatic ah |
15 |
|
4. |
Ah as question marker |
2 |
|
TOTAL |
38 |
Perlocutionary ah is intended to affect an addressee by saying something, including to frighten, sympathize, persuade, etc. Based on the findings, there occurs 20 perlocutionary ah in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. The detailed analysis of three subtypes of it are presented below.
Interrogative ah
Data 1
Title : What Do People in Singapore
Think About the Idea of Cruise to Nowhere?
Context : Person 1 shared his thoughts about
what couples usually do on a staycation with a sense of humour and tried getting validation by asking back.
Interviewer : What do you think people usually do on staycations?
Person 1 : I mean if we friends, drink. Then
play games, poker, something like that lah. That’s all I know ah,
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for now.
Interviewer : What about couples?
Person 1 : Uh, couples, tsk, the usual thing
lah. You know ah?
Data 1 shows an informal interview between a guy and an interviewer. Person 1 shares his thought about what people do on staycations. Moreover, he adds about a more specific thing couples usually do on a staycation that everyone would have known by putting some jokes around. Trying to get validation on it, he asks the interviewer back by saying ‘you know’ with additional particle ah spoken in rising tone to strengthen the sense of interrogative, expecting the interviewer validate it. Looking to the occurrence and context, particle ah in data 1 is best classified as interrogative ah. It is obvious that the use of interrogative ah is intended to achieve an effect, making the hearer aware that the utterance is a question to validate the speaker’s idea.
Imperative ah
Data 2
Title : How Tech-savvy are Seniors in
Singapore?
Context : The interviewer concluded the
session after having enough ideas of young people contribution to the seniors in Singapore to cope with today’s digitalization by commanding the audience.
Interviewer : So, young people out there, do help your uncle, aunty, makcik, pakcik, ah!
Data 2 shows an utterance from the interviewer conveyed to the audience which relates to how the seniors in Singapore cope with digitalization and how young people take their parts. Finished interviewing some people she met on the streets, she brings about a conclusion that the help of young people is critical. Thus, she tells them to be willingly helping the seniors in using technology. While giving command, she adds particle ah to build an obvious imperative mood,
expecting the audience do something as commanded. Particle ah in data 2 is fitly classified as imperative ah as it is used to achieve an effect, intended to make the audience aware that the utterance is an order to obey and to do so.
Declarative ah
Data 3
Title : Are Singaporeans Scared of the
Novel Coronavirus?
Context : Person 3 answered a question
related to coronavirus. He declared his feeling over the current situation and clarified a little bit of reason behind it.
Interviewer : How do you feel about the Wuhan virus?
Person 3 : I feel it’s quite scary ah, like
knowing that it came to Singapore already.
Data 3 reflects a situation where an adolescent has an informal interview session with a staff. Knowing that the case has increased, he declares his feelings and explains a simple clear reason. Having that specific intention, he subconsciously adds discourse particle ah to create an even more obvious declarative mood, expecting the interviewer aware of the statement and understand it. Having sought this contextually, the particle ah in data 3 is certainly a declarative ah. It is due to the intention of achieving effect through declaring and explaining; making the interviewer understand and have a clear sight on something being declared.
The use of vocative ah in speech usually indicates the mood of the speaker, identifies a person, and clarifies the attention, by inserting the particle after one’s name, title, or specified designation. Based on the findings, there is only 1 case of vocative ah in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. Data 4
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below is provided to help discern the use of vocative ah with a clear context of situation.
Data 4
Title : What Do You Think of “Reverse”
Vending Machines?
Context : Person 1 shared her thoughts about
her personal experience of utilising the rubbishrecycle machine. She added by affirming the mood and highlighting her point while saying army did the same.
Interviewer : Has this machine encouraged you to recycle?
Person 1 : I think it got lah, I got see one,
army one ah, he also come to recycle.
Data 4 presents an informal interview between an old woman and the interviewer. Person 1 shares her personal viewpoint about the encouragement to recycle she gets by using the machines. Moreover, she adds that even an army is also willing to recycle through the machines. She puts particle ah right after mentioning army (which is a title) to build a kind of obvious attention on it and identify that person towards the interviewer. Viewing the occurrence of particle and the context surrounded it, ah in this particular case obviously belongs to be vocative. It is concluded from how it is used by the speaker after mentioning one’s title. Along with such context, the speaker wants to clearly point out the particular person and build attention to highlight more.
Typical features of emphatic ah are the strong sense to emphasise something being concerned, to give a highlight, and done without any doubt. Referring to the findings, it is noted that emphatic ah appears 15 times in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. Consider representative data 5 as follow to get the perspective and contextual understanding on how emphatic ah is used.
Data 5
Title : What Do People in Singapore
Think About the Idea of Cruise to Nowhere?
Context : Person 1 shared his willingness to
take the cruise although swab test policy applied. He convinced about it by emphasising good considerations and strengthened his desire.
Interviewer : If you had to do a swab test, would you still take the cruise?
Person 1 : Uhh.. swab test.. uh.. okay okay
lah, go lah. For two, three hundred dollars, go cruise, just a swab test, a bit of pain, can ah.
Data 5 shows an interaction in which a guy is interviewed by an interviewer for discussing a particular hype about cruise to nowhere in Singapore. Person 1 shares his personal viewpoint about taking a trip on that cruise even though swab test is needed. He is very up for that idea because of all the advantages. Convincing the interviewer about his personal thought, he emphasises his overall utterance by explaining the considerations and saying ‘can’ at the end while inserting discourse particle ah to strengthen the main point without any doubt. Seeing this, the occurrence of discourse particle ah in data 5 is obviously emphatic ah. It is intended to affirm the utterance by emphasising the point being concerned undoubtedly to make it highlighted.
Particle ah spoken in a low tone denotes that it is used as a question marker to build the sense of question to an utterance that does not really sound interrogative. Aligning with the findings, there appears 2 question markers ah in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. Representative data 6 is presented below to assist in getting contextual understanding and the use of question marker ah.
Data 6
Title : What Do You Think of “Reverse”
Vending Machines?
Context : Asked about recent things
happened to the rubbish-recycle machine, person 3
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shared what she observed. Was not really sure about it, she asked back to the interviewer.
Interviewer : Recently when people bring trolleys filled with bottles, then the machine gets too overworked, do you know about that?
Person 3 : Sometimes I don’t know why
people misuse, use so many, keep doing and doing. Is it-, that is a problem ah? I no idea leh.
Data 6 reveals a rather informal interview about the recent things happen to the rubbishrecycle machines, where a senior and an interviewer participate in it. Person 3 shares what she recently observes. However, not really sure about what she thinks, she wonders by saying words intended to be a question. She adds particle ah and speaks with a rather low tone to make a clear sense of question out of a less proper interrogative speech. Having reviewed the occurrence of the particle with such context, it is clear that particle ah in data 6 is classified as question marker ah. The use of particle ah is to create the sense of question to an utterance that does not really sound interrogative enough to be understandable.
The analysis of types of discourse particle lah in Mothership videos has led to its insightful findings. Referring to the findings, 3 types of discourse particle lah appear in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. They are impositional lah, propositional lah, and persuasive lah. In addition to this, there are 62 in total which are made up over the three types. To be exact on the occurrence, the detailed distributions of each type of particle lah are provided in table 3.2. as follows.
Table 3.2. Number of Occurrences Types of Particle Lah
No. Types of SCE Discourse Particle Lah Number of
Occurrence
Particle lah that is intended to ‘impose an idea or view on the interlocutor’ or ‘modify the interlocutor’s thought’ denotes that it is used as an impositional lah. It is spoken in low tone to make it sound slightly gentler. Based on the findings, 13 occurrences of impositional lah happen as seen in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. Consider representative data 7.
Data 7
Title : How Much Allowance Should We
Give to Our Parents in Singapore?
Context : Person 3 responded to the question
and shared her idea about allowance for parents. She was serious about it and intended to make the interviewer to think the same idea as what she said.
Interviewer : Do you think what you give your parents should be based on how much was given to you when you were younger?
Person 3 : This one not so good lah. Cannot
one way ticket lah. Later they’re not so happy lah.
Data 7 presents a senior and an interviewer do an interview regarding allowance every person should give to parents. Knowing that the idea is not fit to her, person 3 shares what she believes. She really concerns that things being talked should not be that way and tries to force her personal view to the interviewer. She adds discourse particle lah in a low tone, marking that she wants to modify the interlocutor’s thought. The occurrence of discourse particle lah in the data 7 is obviously impositional lah. They match the features of impositional lah which are spoken in a low tone to force idea on someone and modify the interlocutor’s thought in a good imposing way.
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The typical point when lah is used as propositional lah lies on its aim to put emphasis with rather falling tone that strengthens statements, ideas, suggestions, or even advices. In accordance with the findings, there are 23 occurrences of propositional lah as seen in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. Look at the representative data 8 below.
Data 8
Title : What are Singaporeans
Going to do with Their Cash Payout?
Context : Asked about the impact of
COVID-19, person 1 answered it by stating what he went through during the pandemic that affected his income.
Interviewer : How has COVID-19 affected your
income?
Person 1 : I am a Grab food rider. Not
a lot of
orders lah.
Data 8 presents an interview which happens to person 1 and an interviewer. They discussed about the impact of COVID-19 has brought to the income. Telling the interviewer, person 1 shares how it affects the daily orders he gets as a rider of online food delivery service. He also adds discourse particle lah to put emphasis on his utterance and to show that the statement is firm enough. In accordance with the occurrence of discourse particle lah in data 8, it clearly belongs to propositional lah. This comes after looking to the features it has that fit to those belong to propositional lah, such as spoken with a rather falling tone to
emphasise the points and indicate such firm sense that strengthens the utterance.
The idea of persuasive lah can be seen on how it is employed as a particle that denotes the sense of persuading, convincing, or requesting someone about something and is spoken in mid-rising tone. Based on the findings, persuasive lah occurs 26 times as seen in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. Consider the
representative data 9 below to find out more about it.
Data 9
Title : What Do People in
Singapore Think About the Idea of Cruise to Nowhere?
Context : Person 1 shared his
convincing and persuading perspective that the idea about cruise to nowhere with such cost was a good choice.
Interviewer : Have you heard about the cruise to
nowhere? It’s about S$300+ for 2
nights. Do you think that’s worth
it
Person 1 : It’s worth it because it is on
a
cruise. Because usually cruise can
cost about five to six hundred.
Sometimes it can go up to a
thousand dollars. I mean
like, for
two days three hundred
dollars, it’s
kind of worth it lah.
Data 9 reports an interview between a guy with an interviewer who talk about the new offer of taking a cruise to
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nowhere with a fixed cost. Knowing that the cost is much affordable, person 1 shares his positive perspective about it. Moreover, he also tries to convince everyone by stating more reasons and advantages. He ends it up by stating his main point while still generating a sense of persuading by adding discourse particle lah which is spoken in a mid-rising tone. Having reviewed the occurrence, it is obvious that particle lah in data 9 belongs to persuasive lah. The use of particle lah is to create the sense of convincing and persuading someone about a particular thing to influence someone’ s thought.
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3.3. Functions of Discourse Particles Ah and
Lah
The analysis of functions of discourse particles ah and lah in Mothership videos has brought about the results. In accordance with the findings, 2 functions of discourse particles are clearly identified in Mothership Hits the Streets videos from January to December 2020. Those two functions are utterance-final marker and audible comma particle which are both assigned to the two discourse particles ah and lah. The number of occurrences in particle ah is 38 in total which are made up over the two functions. Moreover, the total number in particle lah is noted as much as 62 wherein are made up over the two functions. Detailed distributions of each function are provided as follows in table 3.3. and 3.4.
Table 3.3. Number of Occurrences Functions of Particle Ah
No. Functions of SCE Number of
Discourse Occurrence
Particle Ah
Audible Comma
. Particle
Utterance-Final
Marker
TOTAL 38
Table 3.4. Number of Occurrences Functions of Particle Lah
|
No . |
Functions of SCE Discourse Particle Lah |
Number of Occurren ce |
|
1. |
Audible Comma Particle Utterance-Final Marker |
24 |
|
2. |
38 | |
|
TOTAL |
62 |
The idea of audible comma particle is observable by paying attention to the position where the particle is placed. An audible comma particle is inserted in the utterance which has more than one point of concern, phrase, or even clause. Thus, the insertion here is intended to mark the boundary between them. Referring to the findings, there are 16 occurrences of particle ah and 24 occurrences of particle lah wherein they are functioned as an audible comma particle. Consider the representative data 10 below to see how this function assigned to those two particles.
Data 10
Title : Singapore GE2020: Where
do Old People Get Election Updates from?
Context : Person 1 shared what he
thought of the new way of rallies of 2020 Singapore General Election and stated a reason afterward.
Interviewer : Do you know that there are online
rallies now?
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Person 1 : I believe online is better
lah,
because don’t have to go to the
place.
Data 10 presents an interview happens between an old man and an interviewer wherein they discuss about 2020 Singapore General Election. With the current situation, person 1 believes that the online way of holding rallies is a better option. He also adds a following reason right after stating the answer by inserting discourse particle lah to mark the boundary between the different points. The occurrence showed in data 10 clearly denotes the function as an audible comma particle. It is viewed from the middle position where the particle is placed and its aim that more to make a separation between two idea, phrases, or clauses, thus the utterance can be more obvious and understandable.
The function of particle as an utterance-final marker is to mark the final part of what is being conveyed and occurs at the final of the utterance. In accordance with the findings, it is found that both particles ah and lah are functioned as utterance-final marker 22 times and 38 times. In order to get a deeper understanding, see the representative data 11 provided below.
Data 11
Title : Are the Millennials in
Singapore Financially Woke or Broke? Context : Talking about the age of
retirement, person 3 stated his desire to retire at a specific age.
Interviewer : When do you think you’ ll retire?
Person 3 : Honestly, I want to retire by
like
40 lah.
Data 1 1 shows that two people, an adult and an interviewer, talk in an interview regarding how millennials do their work, their financial plan and retirement. Being asked about when to retire, person 3 states his honest desire to retire at the age 40. Moreover, he also adds particle lah to mark an end to his utterance. Discerning the occurrence in representative data 1 1 clearly indicates their function as an utterance-final marker. It is identified from the final position where the particle is placed and its aim that is more to mark an end to the utterance.
The analysis and discussion in this study come with insightful findings to which clear conclusions can be drawn upon. In regard to the types of discourse particle ah, it appears that four types as stated in the applied theory are found in the data. They are perlocutionary ah (consisting of interrogative ah, imperative ah, and declarative ah), vocative ah, empathic ah, and ah as question marker. More on the findings, emphatic ah appears as the prevalent type to occur with 15 occurrences. Having 10 occurrences, imperative ah follows afterward. Behind it, declarative ah appears 9 times. The rest of the frequencies includes ah as question marker with 2 occurrences, interrogative ah with 1 occurrence, and last but not least, vocative ah with 1 occurrence. It can be inferred that the use of discourse particle ah in Mothership videos is more frequent as an expression that implies a strong sense to emphasise something being concerned, to give a highlight, and is done without any doubt.
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Concerning the types of discourse particle lah, three classifications as provided in the theory are clearly identified in the data. The types comprise impositional lah, propositional lah, and persuasive lah. To add up more on the frequencies, the prevalent type to occur is persuasive lah with 26 occurrences. Following afterward, there is impositional lah that occurs 23 times. The latter, there is propositional lah with 13 occurrences. Viewing the distributions has brought about an inference that the use of discourse particle lah in Mothership videos is more frequent as an expression that implies the sense of persuading, convincing, or sometimes requesting someone to influence ones’ thought.
In respect of the functions of particles ah and lah, the two functions as stated in the applied theory are observable in the data. The functions assigned to discourse particles ah and lah comprise utterance-final marker and audible comma particle. Furthermore, both particles ah and lah are frequently functioned as utterance-final marker wherein each of which reaches 22 and 38 occurrences. On the other part, their function as an audible comma particle appears less in which particle ah reaches 16 occurrences and particle lah reaches 24 occurrences. These distributions lead to a statement that both ah and lah in Mothership videos are frequently assigned the function as utterance-final marker rather than audible comma particle as they are primarily employed at the end of utterance to mark an end of it.
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