“SINGLISH”
by Desmond Kelly ‘the Star of eLanka’
The newest? , “Singlish” word/s to come to my notice recently has been “Cuchi-Cuchi” & “Kichi-Kichi”
Let us get to the first one first, which is the best way to start, anyway. The first “Singlish-Classic” is, or should be, “Kuchu-Kuchu” & we have to add three simple English letters to that, to combine the phrase “kuchu-kuchu fie”(all 3 words must be pronounced rapidly,(like this), “kuchukuchufie”, in a sibilant whisper preferably, for example “don’t kuchu-kuchu-fie in the corner”, meaning, in the “Kelly” form of poetry (the very best) ,including the second cute word “Kichi-Kichi”, into the bargain, like so :-Another Kelly original.
“Don’t kuchukuchufie therein, kichikichi my chin.”
Sorry, fakirs, I feel reasonably sure that you were expecting something else, as the title of my new song but I had to keep it short & to the point.
Below, is the chorus of the song. I will not bore you with too many verses because I have not written any as yet.
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e
L
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k
a.
No need to “whisper”, no need to “tickle”
Get eLanka now, get out of a “pickle”
“Don’t kuchu-kuchu-fie in the corner (darling)
Come to the front (iss-serata-avilla), tell
I’ll kichi-kichi you, like Jack Horner (darling)
And then, we’ll both go to hell! “
In order to elaborate on “Singlish” as I see.it, there are far too many words or phrases that come into this quaint category for me to “fill-in”, right here in this “article”, which somehow reminds me that, for the benefit of thousands? , of my readers, I must now, without further delay, not hesitate to “translate” so that THEY can also understand what the “hell” I am talking about.
“Kuchu-kuchu” (verb) meaning “whisper”
“fie”(adverb), meaning “stretching” it a little
“kichi-kichi”,(verb) meaning “tickle”(no adverb needed)
but we have to remember that Jack sat in a corner
And we will both go to “hell”(self- explanatory) . With all this “whispering & tickling” where else will we end up? !.
Getting serious about it, this is why I have always said that ENGLISH is the most important Language.
There have been, over the years, MANY “Orators”, I have personally watched on television, speaking their own individual “tongues” have had to resort to English words, at times, spasmodically, when they forgot words in their own language. Our own Desmond deSilva, a “Prince” of Baila, where Wally Bastiensz was the undisputed “King”, has recorded many CDs in his own inimitable style, singing “SINGLISH SONGS” with totally “gay abandon” Desmond, of course, was 100% “straight”(three more words that this “Word-Nerd” cannot understand) “gay” , in our time was “Merry” & “Straight” meant that you were not “Crooked”. “Nerd”, in our day meant “Perfectionist”, far too bloody long a word, so it was changed to simply “Nerd”, but, to make it even more confusing, a “Computer-Nerd, or bleeding-Perfectionist” is now termed “Geek”. I do suppose it was coined to rhyme with “Seek” because we look for every bloody thing, on a computer).
Anyway, there are “two (2) Desmonds who love their homeland & their “Singlish” in different ways. One loves to “sing” about it & the other loves to “write” about it. I con you not, about it, but we, are both considered to be “Icons” of this particular Language, so please do not go and “kuchu-kuchu fie” in the corner, spread the word around and, as I have said so often, join our eLanka website & enjoy my superb “Singlish”whenever I am able to bring it to you. I will now say “goodbye” in a totally different Language.
“Aloha, baby, & may your respective shadows never grow less”. Desmond Kelly.
Star of eLanka.
