Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
世界各地都以类似的方式为地名命名。通常没有官方命名仪式，但是地名往往参考人们的意见而定。然后一个组织接手为地名命名。一个地方经常会有2个名字：一个来自百姓，一个来自政府。在许多地区，古老的习惯很难改变，在官方命名之后的很长时间地名的非官方称呼依旧盛行。

Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries-in both the West and the East.
在新加坡的许多道路和地区都是以先驱者命名，为了让后代铭记。因此就有了像“斯坦福路”和“莱佛士坊”这些名称。这在许多国家被作为传统一直保留着——不论是西方还是东方。

Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus-obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
另一个命名方式是以其它地区命名。也许是为了增进两地之间的友好合作关系，也许是居住在这里的人们最初来自于这些道路名称命名的地区。这个秘密在我们参观一些前英国基地时更为明显。如果你进入 Selector Airbase 空军基地，你就会看见皮卡迪利广场——显然是由一些怀旧的皇家空军人员命名的。

Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, "Base Basah" means "wet rice" in Malay. Now why would anyone want to name a road "Wet Rice Road"? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
一些地区以经常在那里举行的活动命名。Base Basah路就是一个有趣的例子。马来语中“Base Basah”的意思是“弄湿了的米”。现在为什么会有人想要用“湿米路”来命名呢？原因很简单。在拓荒的日子里，湿了的米会沿着这条路铺开晾晒。

A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is "Circular Road" for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like "Paya Lebar Crescent". This road is called a crescent because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.
新加坡有几条道路是以形状命名的。其中一条是“环形道路”。其他道路可能会有部分名称来描述其形状，如“Paya Lebar Crescent”。这条路之所以称为月牙（crescent），是因为它从主干道开始，形成一个月牙形状，然后又连接主干道。