SINGAPORE  — With Singapore Changi Airport consistently ranked top in the World Airport Awards by London-based consultancy Skytrax, it is not surprising that it often receives rave reviews from tourists all over the world.

A TikTok user from the United Kingdom, who goes by the name of "Archie" online, caused a stir after he posted a reaction video to the facilities at Changi Airport and labelled Singapore’s native language as “Singapori”.

The Englishman starts the video saying: “Singapore airport has the weirdest things.”

While waiting during his six-hour layover at the airport, he spotted a sign leading to the “Cactus Garden”. 

The Cactus Garden is a rest spot with an array of cacti and other plants, doubling as a smoking area.

Located at the transit area of Terminal 1, the garden is open around the clock, Changi Airport Group's website states. 

Mr Archie noted: “Even though it’s just a smoking area, I think that it’s a good place to get some outdoors and some fresh air if you’re on a connecting flight.

“It is nice to go outside and I reckon it’s a lot nicer in the daytime because you can look at the cactuses, look at the plants.

“There were a few plaques to say what they were but they were in Singapori or whatever the language is over here.” 

The Cactus Garden boasts a collection of fascinating flora, including the Golden Barrel Cactus and Old Man Cactus, which are rare plant species that are currently endangered, Changi Airport Group's website states.

Mr Archie also spotted a koi fish pond and described it as a “bunch of weird waterfall fish features”. 

“Where else do you see fish in an airport, mate?” he asked.

'YOU SPEAK GOOD ENGLANARI'

Mr Archie’s little slip-up did not go unnoticed by Singapore TikTok users. 

His video, posted a day ago on Thursday (March 14), has so far received more than 330,000 views and close to 30,000 likes.

Online users engaged in playful banter and delivered witty comebacks to Mr Archie for saying "Singapori" is the language used here.

One TikTok user teased: “You speak good Englanari.”

Another said: “Botanical names are usually in Latin all over the world. But what do I know… it could be in Singapori. Can’t rule out Engli though.” 

Someone else quipped: “As a linguistics major, I would love to study Singapori.”

A fourth added: “I got A2 for my Singapori in the O-Levels.”

It is possible that Mr Archie meant the colloquial tongue Singlish and not “Singapori”, some viewers tried to reason.

One TikTok user pointed out with a crying face emoji: “(It’s) Singlish not Singapori.”

Entertainment channel Wekaypoh joked: “Petition to rebrand Singlish to Singapori.”

Some online users ventured to say that Mr Archie might have been referring to the scientific names of the plants listed alongside their English names, which are commonly written in Latin.

One comment went: “We speak English, mate. I have no idea what the signs say but I’m sure they’re the scientific names of the cacti.” 

A closer look at the signage in the Cactus Garden reveals that each plant indeed has its common English name displayed, followed by its scientific name and a brief description.

In a playful retort referring to a previous viral video where a foreigner had jestingly remarked that Singaporeans sing rather than speak, one viewer wrote: “We don’t speak, we sing.”

In the video posted a year ago, during a street interview in Australia, a woman responded, "They don’t speak, they sing," when questioned about the language spoken by Singaporeans.

The video quickly became viral, with many Singapore online users quick to serve comebacks.

To set the record straight, Singaporeans do not sing instead of speaking, or speak in "Singapori".

It is a multilingual nation here, with English as the primary language for communication and business, and Malay as the national language. Additionally, Chinese, Tamil and other languages and dialects are commonly used in various social contexts.