Got in Singapore English
Zhiming Bao, Department of English Language and Literature, National University of Singapore, Block AS5, 7 Arts Link, Singapore 117570, e-mail: bao@nus.edu.sg
In English, the word get is categorially versatile.41 It can be used as a lexical verb (I got a raise), as a copula verb (I got angry), and as an auxiliary verb to mark the passive voice (I got bitten). It ranks among the most frequently used words in English (Biber et al. 1999). Not surprisingly get is similarly versatile in Singapore English, the colloquial variety of the English language spoken in Singapore. Surprisingly though, got, but not get, has acquired peculiar uses which are not found in other varieties of English. One such novel use ...
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