• The Mandarin term “惹兰” is the transliteration of the Malay word jalan, meaning “street” or “road”.
• The term “惹兰” is an example of translating place names to emphasise their origin.
• Malay is Singapore’s national language, and many place names in early Singapore had Malay roots. To emphasise the status and historical significance of the Malay language, many standardised Mandarin place names are transliterations rather than paraphrases.
• Hence, jalan is mostly transliterated as “惹兰”, rather than paraphrased as, say, “路” (“road”). This was part of the Government’s policy to foster a sense of national identity by preserving collective memories.

Elderly residents living in the Jalan Besar area will soon be invited to make their appointments for COVID-19 vaccination at the Jalan Besar Community Club. (Lianhe Zaobao, 6/2/2021)