Singaporean English called Singlish - subtly different word shifts

Problem
I know what they mean but it sounds different.

Answer
Stop worrying about Singlish and be glad that you are constantly reminded that you are in a foreign country and if you come from England, America, or Singapore, you have your own brand of English.

Here are some differences which strike me in Singapore even though I've been visiting and living in the country on and off for more than twenty years, since the 1990s.

A Singaporean asks me, 'Where do you stay?'

I answer, "I live near Cashew MRT." (Meaning Cashew underground railway station. MRT is the Mass Railway Transit system.)

I don't copy his sentence construction and he does not copy mine. I am wondering whether it is time for me to start echoing local people and talking like them. However, I have positioned myself as a teacher of English, so I should sound English to maintain my credibility.

I ponder the subtle uses of the word stay in British English. When I say I am staying somewhere, I mean temporarily. I am staying with a friend, on holiday. That's a temporary arrangement. Living with a friend would be a permanent arrangement.

You stay in a hotel. Years ago, people lived in hotels, for years.

On the other hand, I could say, "We went to Singapore on a two-year contract but ended up staying there for more than a decade." That's a long-stay arrangement.

Car parks are short-stay and long-stay. You don't live in a car park.

Moving and Shifting
My conversation with the Singaporean continues. He says, " I used to live near there, but I have shifted to Yishun."

That's very Singaporean. Nobody in London would say that. I might move from the centre of town to the suburbs. I shift furniture. You shift something small and heavy, like a wardrobe, a big box of records. You say, "Can you help me shift this into the corner of the room?"

You don't shift people, unless they are in wheelchairs or on stretchers and unconscious. You shift something with a trolley. Lift and shift. You shift things short distances, within the same room, or within a house or building. Lift and push. You don't shift yourself.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages.

How your hands pull you forward or upward when swimming the breast stroke

How Should You Place Your Hands, Arms and Legs When Swimming?

Problem
What's the 'correct' way to do it? Does it matter?

Answer
What's correct according to one swimmer or teacher or era might not be correct for another.

In theory you don't even need arms to swim. I've seen international competitions in which an arnless swimming won, propelling themselves at huge speed through the water using only their legs.

I was amazed that they didn't sink, head first.

Several thoughts emerge. (Pardon the unintended pun.)

Arms may cause drag, holding you back.

Your head position keeps your eyes and mnouth and nose in or out of the water.

Speed comes from pushing though the water with either arms or legs or both.

What works is what works for you. I tried moving my hands back against the water. Then I tried pushing my hands diaognally down. Trhe effect is different. Move your hand back moves your forward. Pushing your hands down pushes you upward. When I pushed my hands down, my head came upward.

In many situations you would not want your head coming upward. You would get greater speed with your head half submerged wehnd doing the crawl. You only turn sideways or come up for air every other second / every backward arm stroke or every fourth second / second armstroke. My husband does two crawl armstrokes before breathing.

With breaststroke, the downward push brings your head up. Why would you ever need to do this? Maybe if you are a novice or panic easily and want to breath.

Pulling down deliberately with both arms simultaneously is the butterfly stroke. Exhausting.

Seeing Ahead And Being Seen
Maybe you want to watch where you are going. Maybe you want to be seen, by rescuers or companions or escorts in a boat. Maybe you want to avoid waves which wash into your mouth or face or eyes.

Maybe you want your face out of the way of obstacles, debris, or insects or other wildlife.

Why would you ever want to keep your head under water? To hide. (Like those horror movies, WWII, or River Wild, where you are the hero hiding from the human baddies pursuing you.) To see what is on the swimming pool base, search for items you have dropped or lost. Out in the sea to see the seabed below, to enjoy viewing wildlife, search for lost treasure - with or without goggles.

Try operating your arms like paddles, and see what different effects that has.

You can read about swimming on Wikipedia and see videos on Youtube. The disadvantage of links to youtube is that they are numbers and letters and don't tell you the contents. The wikihow links tell you what you are getting.

Useful websites
https://www.wikihow.com/Swim-the-Breaststroke
https://www.wikihow.com/Swim-the-Butterfly-Stroke
https://www.wikihow.com/Swim-Freestyle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_River_Wild

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker.