Tourist at Singapore Airport says local language is ‘Singapori’, sparking playful online banter
SINGAPORE, March 15 — With Singapore Changi Airport consistently ranked top in the World Airport Awards by London-based consultancy Skytrax, it’s not surprising that it often receives rave reviews from tourists all over the world.
A TikTok user from the UK, who goes by the name of Archie, caused a stir online after he posted a reaction video to the facilities at Changi Airport and labelled Singapore’s local language as “Singapori”, or so he thought.
“Singapore airport has the weirdest things,” began the Brit in the video.
While waiting during his six-hour layover at the airport, Mr Archie spotted a sign leading to the “Cactus Garden”.
The Cactus Garden is exactly as it’s name goes — it’s a rest spot with a wide array of cacti and other plants, doubling as a smoking area.
Located at the transit area of Terminal 1, the garden is open around the clock, according to the Changi Airport Group website.
Mr Archie noted: “Even though it’s just a smoking area, I think that it’s a good place to get some outdoors and some fresh air if you’re on a connecting flight.”
“It is nice to go outside and I reckon it’s a lot nicer in the daytime because you can look at the cactuses, look at the plants.
“There were a few plaques to say what they were but they were in Singapori or whatever the language is over here,” he continued.
The Cactus Garden boasts a collection of fascinating flora, including the Golden Barrel Cactus and Old Man Cactus, which are rare plant species that are currently endangered, according to the Changi Airport Group website.
Mr Archie also spotted a koi fish pond which he commented that it was a “bunch of weird waterfall fish features”.
“Where else do you see fish in an airport, mate?” he asked.
‘You speak good Englanari’
Mr Archie’s little slip-up did not go unnoticed by Singapore netizens.
The video, posted a day ago on Thursday (March 14), received over 330,000 views and close to 30,000 likes.
Online users engaged in playful banter and delivered witty comebacks to Mr Archie for calling the local language “Singapori”.
“You speak good Englanari,” teased one TikTok user.
“Botanical names are usually in Latin all over the world. But what do I know...it could be in Singapori. Can’t rule out Engli though,” said a netizen.
Another quipped: “As a linguistics major, I would love to study Singapori.”
A fourth added: “I got A2 for my Singapori in the O-Levels.”
It is possible that Mr Archie meant our colloquial tongue Singlish and not “Singapori”, some netizens tried to reason.
“(It’s) Singlish not Singapori,” one TikTok user pointed out with a crying face emoji.
Entertainment channel Wekaypoh joked: “Petition to rebrand Singlish to Singapori.”
Online users speculated that Mr Archie might have been referring to the scientific names of the plants listed alongside their English names, which are commonly written in Latin.
“We speak English mate, I have no idea what the signs say but I’m sure they’re the scientific names of the cacti,” said a netizen.
A closer look at the signage in the Cactus Garden reveals that each plant indeed has its common English name displayed, followed by its scientific name and a brief description.
“We don’t speak, we sing,” said a commentator, in a playful retort referencing a previous viral video where a foreigner had jestingly remarked that Singaporeans sing rather than speak.
In a video posted a year ago, during a street interview in Australia, the woman had responded, “They don’t speak, they sing,” when questioned about the language spoken by Singaporeans.
The video quickly became viral, with many Singapore online users quick to serve comebacks.
To set the record straight, Singaporeans don’t sing or speak in “Singapori”.
Singapore is a multilingual nation, with English as the primary language for communication and business and Malay as the national language. Additionally, Chinese, Tamil, and other languages are commonly used in various social contexts. — TODAY
