[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-429927-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-429927-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","the-singlish-interjection-bojio-meaning-life-and-culture","The Singlish Interjection bojio - Meaning, Life and Culture","","Chapter discusses Singapore English and Singlish as reflections of an evolving Singapore culture, emphasizing how cultural keywords carry special, culture-specific meanings and ways of thinking. Drawing on Wierzbicka’s semantic and cultural perspective, it argues for a distinct Singapore culture beyond Chinese, Malay, and Indian cultures. Examples of Singlish phrases losing relevance (e.g., Marina kids, graduate mothers, dangerous dogs) show cultural change over short periods. It further analyzes the interjection bojio via keywords such as kiasu and its NSM explication.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/","Literature",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-singlish-interjection-bojio-meaning-life-and-culture/429927/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-singlish-interjection-bojio-meaning-life-and-culture/429927.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"dawugda","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-29",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",10,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does the chapter argue about Singapore culture and Singapore English?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The chapter argues that Singapore culture is evolving and that Singapore English is culturally distinct from traditional native or Anglo varieties. It supports this by referencing Wierzbicka’s view of Singapore culture and cultural keywords.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the chapter illustrate cultural evolution through Singlish phrases?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It gives examples of Singlish phrases that emerged and then disappeared or lost relevance over time, such as Marina kids, graduate mothers, and dangerous dogs. Their decline is used to show shifting social and regulatory contexts.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What is kiasu, and how is its meaning explained?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"kiasu is described as a salient cultural keyword meaning a fear of missing out, including a specific attitude toward doing things now. The chapter explains this using Wierzbicka’s Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) explication and notes its descriptive adequacy.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},429927,1791307705,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,91,95,100,105,110,115,120,123,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":125},"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":26,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},3985747870947,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","5  \nThe Singlish interjection bojio  \nJock Onn Wong  \n1  . The evolving nature of Singapore English  \nOne of the most important publications by Wierzbicka for me asa Singaporean is the paper entitled ‘Singapore English: A semantic and cultural perspective’ (Wierzbicka 2003) . In my opinion, this was the first paper incisively written on the meaning and culture of Singapore English. In the paper, Wierzbicka pioneered the argument that there is a ‘Singapore culture’ (2003: 328) over and above the various cultures (Chinese, Malay and Indian) that thrive in the country. By studying a number of Singaporean cultural keywords, she showed that while Singaporeans are said to speak English, their English is culturally distinct from what was traditionally known as native varieties of English or what some might now call Anglo English (Wong 2008; Goddard 2012) . Cultural keywords are ‘special, culture-specific meanings’ that ‘reflect and pass on not only ways of living characteristic of a given society but also ways of thinking’(Wierzbicka 1997: 5) and studying Singapore English cultural keywords can help us understand and appreciate Singaporean ways of thinking. Regrettably, there seems to be little scholarly interest in the studying of the Singapore English with a view to understanding the ways of thinking it embodies. This chapter tries to fill this gap.  \nMeANiNG , LiFe AND CULTURe  \nOne of the ideas that stood out for me in Wierzbicka’s paper is that Singapore culture is ‘evolving’ (2003: 328) and that is the theme that I want to broach in this chapter. That Singapore culture is evolving is reflected in Singlish, the main variety of Singapore English used among Singaporeans in all but the most formal settings. It may be seen in how Singlish cultural keywords or phrases can emerge or disappear, often ina short period. Examples of Singlish phrases that went out of use or are no longer relevant might be Marina kids, graduate mothers and dangerous dogs, phrases documented in Ho’s book chapter (1992: 212) . Marina kids were younger teenagers who spent their leisure time socialising in Marina Square, a shopping mall, during the early years of the mall (late ’80s/ early ’90s) when it was not yet popular with shoppers. The Marina kids socialised in groups and were seen as a public nuisance. They disappeared when the mall became popular. Graduate mothers were the beneficiaries of the controversial ‘Graduate Mothers Priority Scheme’ introduced by the government in 1984, which saw the government using ‘financial and social incentives to encourage graduate women to marry and procreate’.1 The discriminatory scheme understandably antagonised many women, which led to the formation of AWARE (Association of Women for Action and Research), whose mission is to ‘To remove all gender-based barriers so as to allow individuals in Singapore to develop their potential to the fullest and realise their personal visions and hopes’, the following year.2 Apparently, the discriminatory nature and unpopularity of the Graduate Mothers Priority Scheme led to its demise less than a year later. Subsequently, the phrase graduate mothers began to lose its cultural salience. The phrase dangerous dogs was used to refer to kinds of pet dogs that ‘must be muzzled when outside their owners’ premises’ (Ho 1992: 212). However, a search for the phrase on the AVS (Animal & Veterinary Service) homepage now does not yield any result, except for the clause,‘Such potentially dangerous dog breeds are listed under the Second Schedule of the Animals and Birds (Dog Licensing and Control) Rules (“Specified Dogs”).’3 Presumably, this is because the owning of such dogs in Singapore is now regulated. This in turn suggests that there have been fewer and fewer ‘dangerous dogs’ in Singapore, which might explain why the phrase has lost its cultural importance and dropped out of use.  \n1 Available [at: www.aware.org.sg/2010/11/the-birth-of-awarepart-one/](at: www.aware.org.sg/2010/11/the-birth-of-","cbCaiopN614SnOmB","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiopN614SnOmB","pdf",292336,17,"English","# The evolving nature of Singapore English\n# MeANiNG, LiFe AND CULTURe\n## Singlish cultural keywords and change\n# THE SINGLISH INTERJECTION BOJIO","[{\"question\":\"What does the chapter argue about Singapore culture and Singapore English?\",\"answer\":\"The chapter argues that Singapore culture is evolving and that Singapore English is culturally distinct from traditional native or Anglo varieties. It supports this by referencing Wierzbicka’s view of Singapore culture and cultural keywords.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the chapter illustrate cultural evolution through Singlish phrases?\",\"answer\":\"It gives examples of Singlish phrases that emerged and then disappeared or lost relevance over time, such as Marina kids, graduate mothers, and dangerous dogs. Their decline is used to show shifting social and regulatory contexts.\"},{\"question\":\"What is kiasu, and how is its meaning explained?\",\"answer\":\"kiasu is described as a salient cultural keyword meaning a fear of missing out, including a specific attitude toward doing things now. The chapter explains this using Wierzbicka’s Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) explication and notes its descriptive adequacy.\"}]","The Singlish Interjection bojio - Meaning, Life and Culture | PDF",1790651508,26]