How do you recognise a Singaporean accent?

Syllable-timed rhythm, giving each syllable roughly equal weight. Final consonants glottalised, so “eight” ends in a catch. Dark L at the end of a word turns into a vowel: “mail” as “meö”. Singlish vocabulary and particles: “kiasu”, “void deck”, “lah”.

Which famous people have a Singaporean accent?

Joseph Schooling and Fandi Ahmad are speakers whose recorded speech anchors the Singapore English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a Singaporean accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the Singapore English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

Singapore

The Singaporean accent

Singapore English runs from a standard close to British English through to Singlish, and the accent is shared across the range. It is strongly non-rhotic — coda R is dropped in over ninety per cent of conversational tokens — syllable-timed rather than stress-timed, and it merges “cot” with “caught” and the vowels of “kettle” and “cattle”. Both TH-stopping and TH-fronting are documented, so “three” can be “tree” and “teeth” can be “teef”.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a Singaporean accent

Syllable-timed rhythm, giving each syllable roughly equal weight.
Final consonants glottalised, so “eight” ends in a catch.
Dark L at the end of a word turns into a vowel: “mail” as “meö”.
Singlish vocabulary and particles: “kiasu”, “void deck”, “lah”.

Also known as Singaporean accent, Singapore English, Singlish, Singaporean English. Spoken in Singapore.

The Singaporean pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a Singaporean speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the broad vowel of “father”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
“car” ends in a vowel, with no R sound
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a clear T in the middle of “bottle”, or a catch in the throat instead of the T in “bottle” — “bo’le”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” rhyme
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound the same, or two of “Mary”, “marry” and “merry” match and one differs
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” is one flat sound — deh
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” is one flat sound — gaw
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “tyoon”, with a Y sound after the T
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
no — they sound different
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a d-like sound — “dat”
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” share a vowel
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” sounds like “tree”, starting with T, or “three” sounds like “free”, starting with F
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
the H in “house” is pronounced
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in Singapore

Expected everyday vocabulary for a Singaporean speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Soft drink
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Dinner
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Bun
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Fries
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Sweets
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Trolley
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeaway
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Convenience store
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	You all
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Rubbish bin
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Alley / alleyway
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cool box / cool bag
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Queuing
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Traffic lights
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Roundabout
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use

Speakers with a Singaporean accent

Joseph Schooling
Singapore
A Singapore English reference profile; Schooling was born and raised in Singapore.
Fandi Ahmad
Singapore
A Singapore English reference profile; Fandi was born and raised in Singapore.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.