This paper compares data from a Singaporean chit chat forum to informal spoken data. We first perform a qualitative analysis of text samples in a framework of indexicality. Then we present quantitative findings for two (sets of) features each of the contact variety Singlish (particles, the kena- passive) and spoken English in general (discourse markers, contractions). For the former some similarities are observed but we also find that the forum contributors tend to be creative and innovative in their choice of particles. In this connection we argue that they index specific subgroup identities and further point out that Singlish is a rather flexible set of resources. Our findings differ from those of previous research on Jamaican Creole as used in an internet forum, thus showing that the use of contact varieties in computer-mediated communication can take different forms. The general features of spoken English are used comparatively less in the forum data, indicating that using Singlish features in writing is not tantamount to writing down spoken language. Moreover, we draw attention to features of computer-mediated communication in in the chit chat forum data. Finally we discuss implications in terms of the Dynamic Model of the evolution of Postcolonial Englishes ( Schneider 2007 ).

中文翻译：

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与非正式口语相比较的新加坡互联网聊天

本文将来自新加坡聊天论坛的数据与非正式语音数据进行了比较。我们首先在可索引性框架内对文本样本进行定性分析。然后，我们介绍两种接触特征（套）的定量发现，每种接触特征包括英语接触（颗粒，被动接触）和英语口语（话语标记，收缩）。对于前者，我们观察到了一些相似之处，但我们也发现，论坛贡献者在选择粒子方面往往具有创造力和创新性。在这方面，我们认为他们索引了特定的亚组身份，并进一步指出Singlish是一组相当灵活的资源。我们的发现与先前在互联网论坛上对牙买加克里奥尔语的研究不同，因此表明在计算机介导的交流中使用接触品种可以采取不同的形式。论坛数据中使用的英语口语的一般特征相对较少，这表明在写作中使用新加坡语功能并不等于写下口语。此外，我们在聊天室论坛数据中提请注意计算机介导的通信功能。最后，我们根据后殖民英语演变的动态模型（Schneider 2007）来讨论含义。