{"id":86253,"date":"2026-09-19T19:39:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T11:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=86253"},"modified":"2026-09-19T19:39:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T11:39:49","slug":"american-speaks-fluent-singlish-with-viral-singlish-wedding-vows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=86253","title":{"rendered":"american speaks fluent singlish with viral singlish wedding vows"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary article-summary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013<!-- --> American Tyler Creasman\u2019s LinkedIn profile notes that he speaks fluent Singlish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Although the 33-year-old left Singapore 15 years ago, his childhood home made such an indelible mark on him that he penned a set of Singlish wedding vows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On July 20, he posted an Instagram reel of him pledging his love to Mellanie Creasman, whom he calls his \u201cchio bu\u201d (a Hokkien-derived Singlish term used to describe an attractive woman). The short video went viral, garnering more than 1.3 million views.<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"responsive-iframe-base instagram instagram-embed\" title=\"instagram embed\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Da_RGp3By2p\/embed\/captioned\/?omitscript=true\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer;falseclipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;\" loading=\"eager\" data-testid=\"responsiveIframe\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Speaking to The Sunday Times via a video call from Phoenix, Arizona, where he is based, Creasman, a general manager at a company specialising in home repairs, says: \u201cYou learn how to talk to people the way they are talking. That was my life when I was a young kid. You can take the kid off the island, but you can\u2019t take the island off the kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">During the 11 years he spent in Singapore starting in 1999, he would code-switch between speaking American English with his parents at home and using Singlish in daily life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He went to local schools \u2013 Qiaonan Primary School and Yumin Primary School \u2013 before attending an international school here. In 2011, he left the Republic at age 18 for university in the United States and later served in the US army for several years.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"landscape inline-media-wrapper\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/a98c7793bbae3a7b48ec97ab10df2931eb17cebd52c77f13b6b8e49d7622c1a4?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/a98c7793bbae3a7b48ec97ab10df2931eb17cebd52c77f13b6b8e49d7622c1a4?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/a98c7793bbae3a7b48ec97ab10df2931eb17cebd52c77f13b6b8e49d7622c1a4?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/a98c7793bbae3a7b48ec97ab10df2931eb17cebd52c77f13b6b8e49d7622c1a4\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/a98c7793bbae3a7b48ec97ab10df2931eb17cebd52c77f13b6b8e49d7622c1a4\" alt=\"Tyler Creasman when he was a Qiaonan Primary 3 pupil in the early 2000s.\" class=\"aspect-landscape flex items-start shrink-0 object-cover landscape article-landscape mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 pt-08 pb-16\">\n<p class=\"inline text-secondary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">Tyler Creasman when he was a Qiaonan Primary 3 pupil in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"inline text-tertiary font-secondary-captions-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\"> <!-- -->PHOTO: COURTESY OF TYLER CREASMAN<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Before he came to Singapore around age six, his family lived in Kunming, China. He still speaks Mandarin.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">While in Singapore, his father worked as a coach and mentor for Christian pastors, while his mother was a freelance actress and vocalist. The couple, now in their 60s, have a younger son, aged 29.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The idea to have a set of Singlish vows, among other vows he took, arose from a discussion with his friends from Singapore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The reel that he crafted features Singlish turns of phrase, a pitch-perfect Singaporean accent and references to Singaporean culture, such as BTO<!-- --> (Build-To-Order) flats,<!-- --> the Baby Bonus and \u201cchope-ing\u201d  (reserving) seats with tissue paper packets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">It includes lines such as \u201cYou want bubble tea? I buy two. Even if you say \u2018no need\u2019, I still buy. If promo is buy five get one, I buy 10, just in case\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He ends with a Singlish interpretation of the traditional wedding pledge: \u201cI vow to be steady pom pi pi (a Singlish term denoting steadfastness) with you, in shiok (Singlish for intensely satisfying) times and in bad, for better or worser, ooh lui or boh lui (with or without money in Hokkien), in sickness and in health, only mati (to die in Malay) then we part lah.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The footage was shot in December 2025 at scenic Carmel-by-the-Sea on the Californian coast, where he and <!-- -->Mellanie<!-- -->, a 34-year-old American journalist, had eloped to tie the knot.<b> <\/b>The couple later held a wedding reception for family and friends in May 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Creasman is not a stranger to online fame. A local YouTube video from when he was a teenager more than 10 years ago showcased his \u201cperfect Singlish\u201d. Titled The Singaporean White Boy, it accrued 1.7 million views.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Singaporean White Boy - The Shan and Rozz Show: EP7\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HylaY5e1awo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Some people who left comments on his latest reel recognised him from that video, identifying him as the boy who used to be called \u201cjinfa\u201d (golden hair in Mandarin) in China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The reactions are enthusiastic, with comments like \u201cHe\u2019s more Singaporean than Singapore itself\u201d, and \u201cAh Boy got married! Congratulations!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Standing out in a culture that people assume is not his has long had a deep influence on Creasman, who has been identified in some parts of the internet as the ang moh (Caucasian) who speaks Singlish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI think if you were a third culture kid, you live with that for life. Anywhere I go, I try and assimilate,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve become American, but in a lot of ways, I\u2019m still much more Asian.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">While the lifestyle in the vast spaces of the US is \u201cstructured around cars\u201d, he likes the Singaporean way of having markets and hawker stalls within walking distance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He appreciates the strong air-conditioning at his local mall near Phoenix, which he quips is much smaller than VivoCity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">On trips to Singapore, he slips into the lingo like a glove. Once, at a hawker centre, he asked a cleaner sweeping the floor: \u201cEh uncle, where got toilet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">His last visit here was in 2023. He had been afraid to visit because it had been 10 years since his last trip. \u201cI thought, what if I go back and I feel like I\u2019m a foreigner?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Thankfully, he did not. \u201cIt was just so familiar and comforting. Even when things have changed, Singapore feels like home,\u201d he says, adding that he would refrain from breaking out into the iconic line, \u201cThis is home truly\u201d, from National Day classic Home (1998).<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In recent years, Creasman tried to come back to Singapore for the longer term. He applied to National University of Singapore to do another degree and was accepted, but got derailed by other plans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He is gratified at the reception his Singlish wedding vows received. \u201cIt\u2019s so sweet. I\u2019m glad it\u2019s been so well-received. In a way, it was a love letter to my Singaporean friends and it ended up being a love letter back to the island.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Online commentators have asked if his American bride understood what he was saying.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">His reply: \u201cProbably not, but I\u2019m not sure she understands what I\u2019m saying every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/life\/americans-singlish-wedding-vows-a-love-letter-to-singapore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 American Tyler Creasman\u2019s LinkedIn profile notes that he speaks fluent Singlish. Although the 33-year-old left Singapore 15 years ago, his childhood home made&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/86255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}