Ever been overseas and immediately identified another fellow Singaporean because of their Singlish? Our default language has become such a recognisable trait that an American TV show has adopted it in its promotional campaign
Singlish, the unofficial national language of Singapore and a big part of our identity, has become so distinct that it’s not that surprising to find it used in international pop culture – particularly, as a parody for Netflix’s hit TV series: Orange is The New Black. In its latest promo trailer, you can spot a familiar face that fans of local TV will know, and it’s a cameo that cracks us up.
Michelle Chong is a renowned actress-slash-director in Singapore and is famous for her flexibility in playing multiple characters in a local parody news series, The Noose. In this promo video, however, she takes on a more garang (fierce) role using recognisable Singlish terms like ‘siam lah’ (get lost) and claims to love spicy food (even referring to chilli padi as an addictive substance) – a typical Singaporean trait.
Watch part one of the promo video here.
By bringing out her inner ah lian and doing our local lingo proud, she’s successfully garnered attention of Netflix fans in Singapore, and beyond. If you haven’t heard of OITNB yet, aiyoh waiting for what?
The new OITNB series is set to release on 9 June.