Many Singapore locals end their sentences with the word ‘lah’ and it completely threw me the first time I heard someone say it. What does ‘lah’ mean?
Since then, I’ve learned that ‘lah’ is part of a local dialect affectionately known as Singlish. It’s a mix of English, Malay, Cantonese and several other languages and it also includes American slang commonly found in TV and movies. Essentially, ‘lah’ is used to soften the force of a statement while also encouraging solidarity. It’s commonly used to modify a verb into a command, especially when the verb may seem impolite. But, conversely, ‘lah’ can also be used to emphasize power and express annoyance, when stressed.
A few examples:
- Okay, lah
- I dun have, lah
- No can do, lah
- Not my fault, lah
Recently I saw an advertisement posted near a bus stop shelter including the word. Funny, lah?
Singapore Advertisement
8:49 pm on March 2nd, 2011
Well, you don’t really put a comma before “lah”, it makes it sound like you’re forcing the “lah” into the sentence.
I think for your last sentence, “lah” is not really needed. If you wanted it to sound Singlish-ish, it could have been, “Dis advertisement damn funny one”, or something like that.
But there’s more to Singlish than the sentences peppered with out “lah”s and “leh”s and “lor”s.