lah
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Translingual[edit]
Symbol[edit]
lah
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
An anglicised spelling of la.
Noun[edit]
lah (plural lahs)
Etymology 2[edit]
From Malay lah, Cantonese 啦 (laa1) or Hokkien 啦 (--la). Doublet of la.
Pronunciation[edit]
Particle[edit]
- Placed at the end of a sentence to accentuate the mood or attitude of the speaker.
- Don’t do it lah, it’s not worth it. ― Disapproval
- Hurry up, lah! ― Impatience
- 1978, Leong Choon Cheong, Youth in the Army, Singapore: Federal Publications, →OCLC, page 75:
- Don’t know lah […] this is very hard to say.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:lah.
- Placed at the end of a sentence to convey reassurance or solidarity.
- You won’t drown one lah. The water is very shallow.
- 1999, Alfian Sa'at, Corridor, Singapore: SNP Editions, →OCLC, page 15:
- Don’t worry lah. We’ll meet the deadline.
- Asserts that something is clear or straightforward.
- Go and ask if they can help you lah!
- They’re not wrong lah...
- Used to tone down an imperative sentence.
- Reinforces an assertion.
- These shoes are too small lah.
- (rarer) Follows each item in a list of examples.
- 2010, Haresh Sharma, Those Who Can't, Teach, Epigram Books, Act I, scene ii:
- He teach them how to cook lah, learn computer lah... […]
- (in fixed expressions) Used sarcastically when stating the obvious.
- No lah, no lah. ― Sarcastic reply
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Lee, Junwen (2022) “An Analysis of Colloquial Singapore English lah and Its Interpretation across Speech Acts”, in Languages, volume 7, number 3, , page 203
- Ler Soon Lay, Vivien (2006) “A relevance-theoretic approach to discourse particles in Singapore English”, in Kerstin Fischer, editor, Approaches to Discourse Particles, , pages 149–166
Further reading[edit]
- Singlish "lah", with a possible deep connection to colloquial Arabic from Language Log
- Manglish "lah" and its affinity to Arabic "muhibbah" from Language Log
Anagrams[edit]
Malay[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Particle[edit]
lah
- (informal) Final particle indicating an imperative, reassurance or emphasis.
- Saya ada di sini lah. ― I'm here.
- Kau ni bodoh betul lah! ― You are so stupid!
- Diam lah! ― Shut up!
- Pergi sana lah! ― Go there!
Descendants[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Norse lágr, from Proto-Germanic *lēgaz.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
lāh (plural and weak singular lāhe, comparative lāhere, superlative lāhest)
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “loue, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
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