The Singaporean variety of English, however, is not homogeneous throughout Singapore: it has been strongly influenced by the diverse local languages. Therefore, there are palpable differences between the ethnic groups.

Among the general features of Singaporean English are a syllable-timed rhythm, the loss of vowel length contrasts and the loss of articles in noun phrases, e.g. She got house. Furthermore, Singaporeans make extensive use of reduplications, e.g. for emphasis as in hot-hot curry, and certain particles, the most common of which is lah.