Sylvia Toh
Sylvia Toh Paik Choo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946 or 1947 (age 78–79)[1] |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Occupation(s) | Newspaper columnist, humour writer |
| Chinese name | |
| Chinese | 杜碧珠[2] |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Dù Bìzhū |
| Hokkien POJ | Tō͘ Phek-chu |
Sylvia Toh Paik Choo (杜碧珠; born 1946) is a Singaporean newspaper columnist and humour writer.
Early life and education
[edit]Toh was born in Penang to a Hokkien-speaking family. Her family moved to Singapore shortly after her birth. She studied at St Margaret’s Girls School but left the school at 14 after failing school examinations. She then studied at a private school and then Stamford College for her O and A levels respectively.[3]
Career
[edit]She is the author of Eh Goondu! (1982) and Lagi Goondu! (1986), the first two books on Singlish.[4] She was the first to put a spelling and punctuation to Singlish. Written with good humour, the books can be considered as social history. Toh has been compared to Art Buchwald and Mark Twain.[citation needed]
She previously wrote for The New Paper before moving to fashion website Superadrianme.[5]
In 2023, Toh was inducted into the Singapore Media Industry Hall of Fame.[6]
In 2024, Toh was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.[7]
Bibliography
[edit]- Eh Goondu! (1982, Eastern Universities Press) ISBN 9971711680
- The Pick of Paik Choo (1982, Times Books International) ISBN 997165122X
- Friendship, Courtship, Hatred, Love (1983, Times Books International) ISBN 9971651335
- Lagi Goondu! (1986, Times Books International) ISBN 9971652242
- The Original Singapore Sling Book (1986, Landmark Books) ISBN 9813002026
- On the Buses (1987, Landmark Books) ISBN 9813002077
- The Hosomes! (1994, Singapore Courtesy Council)
- Paik-Choo (2011). The complete eh, goondu!. Singapore : Tarrytown, N.Y., USA: Marshall Cavendish Editions ; Marshall Cavendish Corp. ISBN 978-981-4328-45-6.
References
[edit]- ^ "Are You Calling Me 'Old'? Turn Back The Clock". CNA Insider. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018 – via WatsupAsia.
How do seniors REALLY feel when we call them 'old' or assume they need help? 'I would think of my grandparents. Never when people say "elderly" do I think they mean me' – Sylvia Toh Paik Choo, 70.
- ^ "Untitled". Lianhe Zaobao. 6 July 1985. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
- ^ "SYLVIA TOH PAIK CHOO". Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ^ Jagdish, Bharati (13 February 2016). "'I find Singaporeans a cynical lot': Grandmother of Goondus Sylvia Toh". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ Malinda-White, Kyle (20 October 2013). "Former TNP Journo Sylvia Toh Paik Choo Now Writes For Superadrianme". Popspoken. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ Woon, Wallace (15 July 2003). "ST journalist's reporting on China bags him Singapore Press Club award". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ Tan, Kirby (8 March 2024). "Sprint queen Shanti Pereira, 'Grandmother' of Singlish Sylvia Toh inducted into Singapore Women's Hall of Fame". CNA Lifestyle. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
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- 1940s births
- Living people
- Singaporean people of Chinese descent
- Singaporean journalists
- Singaporean women journalists
- Women humorists
- 20th-century Singaporean women writers
- 20th-century Singaporean writers
- 21st-century Singaporean women writers
- 21st-century Singaporean writers
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